Transforming Fire

Sunday, May 19, Pentecost – Acts 2:1-21. Also Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, Romans 8:22-27, John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15.

A core theme of our readings today is the movement of the Spirit of God through the world and the transforming work it does. And a major symbol of that Spirit is fire.

Fire is one of those aspects of life that is both terrifying and enthralling. I can’t imagine how frightening it must be to be caught in a fire. We’ve seen a lot of news footage in recent years about terrible wildfires out West. When fire blazes, it destroys everyone and everything in its path, leaving black destruction in its wake.

But I’m also mesmerized when sitting in front of a campfire or fireplace. I can’t keep myself away from it. I’ll poke at it and play with it, sometimes fanning the flames into greater life and sometimes cutting off the airflow and accidentally putting it out. I can’t say that I’m a talented fire starter, but I’m magnetically drawn to the dancing of the flames.

In a way, we can say that the Spirit of God is equally enthralling and terrifying. When the Spirit blows through our lives, we can be completely turned upside down and feel like we’ve been battered by the winds or burned by the fire.

Fire and breath are both common symbols used when people talk about mystical experiences, those close encounters with the Living God. I remember hearing a popular author named Caroline Myss talk about how in times past, people used to have to go into a convent or monastery and live the religious life to seek mystical experiences. But these days, we’re what might be called “kitchen table mystics.” There we are, vacuuming the living room, saying to no one in particular, “I wonder what my purpose here is?”

When we utter words like that, Myss says, it’s like heaven suddenly snaps to attention asking us if we’re serious or not. Because when we’re serious about questions like that, heaven is ready to send transforming fires and violent winds into our lives that may leave us breathless.

That’s kind of the way I felt a little over a year ago. Back then I had two part-time remote jobs, but one of them wasn’t fitting very well anymore. I remember asking God if there wasn’t something else I could do half-time. Well, clearly there was because within a matter of months, I was appointed Redeemer’s interim minister. That was certainly being blown in a direction I hadn’t expected!

The Spirit came into my life and birthed something new, but it wasn’t without wind and fire.

Today, we celebrate Pentecost, which we mark as the day the Church was born. Pentecost was a Jewish festival celebrated 50 days after Passover to commemorate God’s giving of the Torah (Law) to Moses on Mt. Sinai. You may remember that event on the mountain was accompanied by fire, wind, and violent shaking of the earth.

Now in this reading from Acts, we again find wind and the fire of the Spirit blazing through believers’ lives and turning them upside down. Nothing would ever be the same again.

This is the way the Spirit works throughout scripture. At creation, God’s Spirit hovers over the waters of chaos bringing the world and new possibilities for life into existence. Also in Genesis, we find that it’s the breath or Spirit of God that breathes life into the first humans. The Spirit both animates and sustains life.

One of the alternate readings for today was the story of the valley of dry bones from the book of Ezekiel. In that story, it’s the Spirit of God that knits together the dead bones and revives them again to life.

It seems God is good at bringing new life to dry bones.

The Spirit is God’s presence in the world and in our deepest hearts. The Spirit is present when Jesus is conceived and when he is baptized. It drives him into the wilderness where his ministry becomes clear. That Spirit has the power to transform us into people who can serve in God’s Kingdom, and through our transformation, God transforms others. And just like how fire catches and moves from one branch to another, it moves from person to person.

As Nichole Torbitzky writes, Pentecost is about

the action of God’s spirit to transform. It is the story of how God will not leave us alone and lost. God will never leave us aimless or hopeless or mired in grief. God can’t force us to follow, but God can offer us the Spirit. Time and again, God will offer us a way forward, a way toward the good and the better. Sometimes that offer can be experienced as powerful, like a great rushing wind or the feeling of being aflame. Sometimes, maybe most times, that offer is gentle opportunity, the opening of eyes and doors.”

We learn from both Paul’s letter to the Romans and John’s Gospel that the Spirit is not just external to us. No, it is in fact our “deepest reality and source of holy energy.” (Epperly) But this isn’t just true for us as individuals. This is true for our congregational lives as well. Jesus promises us that the Spirit gives us wisdom, insight, and the resources we need.

Bruce Epperly reminds us that those dry bones in Ezekiel show us that

God’s Spirit brings hope to our hopelessness and fear about ourselves and our institutions. This is a message to the church, that is, to the church given up for dead, tired, aging, losing influence and membership and apparently on its last legs. There is hope for new life. God’s breath of life can change everything, inspiring us with hope, energy, and possibility. The form this energy takes may force us to transform our congregations. New life means change, but it is a change that gives vitality and inspires mission. Still, when energized and renewed, the dry bones of a congregation can get up and go, running without weariness and rising like an eagle, regardless of size or challenge.”

One thing we can be sure of is that while this Spirit intercedes on our behalf with sighs too deep for words, giving us comfort, it also agitates us with new visions, new possibilities, as well as the courage we need to bring those visions into reality.