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HOLY FIRE FIRE!! The speaking of this word causes us to become uncomfortable. It was one of the four basic elements in the formative years of alchemy and chemistry -- earth, air, water, and fire. Things have changed a lot since then. This morning we will share some thoughts about the chemistry of fire, specifically the chemistry of holy fire. There are three things that are needed for fire. The first, in no order of priority, is something combustible, something that will burn. This material has to be capable of supplying the fuel for the fire. We have learned that the fuel source can be tricky. We know that if it is too wet, it won't start easily. If we try to burn a tree trunk, it takes too much effort to get it started. If we have a huge pile of brush, it requires a temperature higher that we can get with a match to really get it going. So the fuel that's required to start the fire is important. It needs to be something that will burn, and usually burn very easily. In the first passage of the second Creation story, Genesis 2: 4-8, we can see that God has created the heavens and the earth but no water has been supplied and no one was around to tend any crops. God formed the first Adam from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The fuel (the first Adam) for the fire had been formed. God had begun to build the holy fire. Keep that in mind as we move to the second requirement for fire. The second requirement for fire is a source of air or oxygen. The Second Creation story did not stop with the formation of Adam. God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life into the first Adam and thus we have the source of air for the holy fire. This breath of air is called the ruah in Hebrew. This is not just the breath of life. It's not just the air that we see every day. In Hebrew the ruah is the very Spirit of God. It's God's Spirit that made Adam who he was. To just breathe air in and out is not enough. We must have God's Spirit. Once Adam had been formed and had been animated, the stage was set for holy fire to ignite. This Spirit is critical to the Israelites in the Old Testament and it is still critical to us today. Godís Spirit was the power that caused the dry bones in Ezekiel's vision to move (Ezekiel 37: 1-14). Ezekiel had a vision and saw a valley of dry bones. God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. They rattled, they grew muscles and flesh, but they could not move because there was no breath in them. This was like Adam. God formed him from the dust but he couldn't move. God then told Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath. He called the winds from the four corners of the earth and the breath came into them and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. The fire had reached into the bones. Things started to move. God's Spirit will cause us to get up and do what needs to be done even when we don't think it's possible. I'm an avid fan of NPR and I listen to Prairie Home Companion. I like the expression that Garrison Keillor uses when he talks about eating Powdermilk Biscuits. He says it gives shy people the courage to get up and do what needs to be done. God's like Powdermilk Biscuits. You get the courage to get up and do what needs to be done, because of the Spirit of God. The third requirement for fire is an ignition source. So far we've got fuel and we've got air, and now we have to have something that sets the thing on fire. Ignition sources from a chemical standpoint can be both internal and external. A fire can erupt simply because the right things are placed in position next to each other. For example, when liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are used as rocket fuel, they only have to get close to one another and we have a tremendous reaction that results in lots of water vapor that propels the vehicle. This concept was used in the early stages of the space program for rocket fuel. The reaction was enhanced by the use of other chemicals to boost the amount of gas that propelled the rocket. That's what God's Spirit's like. This sounds like we may have uncovered the kind of fire that God used to guide the Israelites out of Egypt by night (Exodus 13: 21) so that they could travel safely. Can you picture that? That's God's Spirit in action here on earth. That's God putting fire into real terms. That pillar of fire took them to safety. For us these external sources take many forms, like sparks, lasers, matches, and magnifying glasses. But what is our ignition source? What moves us to the point of taking God's Spirit, the ruah that has been breathed into us, and allowing it to catch fire? John Wesley found that having the credentials to be a pastor didn't provide the fire that he needed. As he traveled back to England from an unsuccessful missionary journey to Georgia, he had to have his faith tested during a storm on shipboard. Wesley was very frightened. But the Moravians who were returning with him sang hymns during the storm -- they never worried or wavered -- and Wesley recognized the fire in their bones. He spent some time with the Moravians, studying with them. And during prayer one evening at Aldersgate, he felt his heart strangely warmed (the fire had reached his bones). He then became the preacher that God wanted him to be. Do you feel the fire in your bones? Is there a yearning to know that God is here in every breath? We are the fuel that allows God's Spirit to move freely to those who worship with us and those who have yet to know God's grace and love. We become all flame, as Pastor Anne has described, because our God is an all-consuming fire. The product of fire is change, transformation. From the dust of the earth, the first Adam became a living being, filled with God's Spirit. The dry bones in Ezekiel's vision grew muscle and flesh, but they couldn't move until they had God's Spirit, his breath. God's Spirit is here. We must move from being inanimate to being living, loving disciples of Jesus Christ. Breathe deeply God's Spirit. Feel it in every part of your body, every thought, every deed. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind. Love your neighbor. Love does not reside within. Love moves from within to without. That's why the doors of the church are always open, our hearts are open, and we are open to God's Spirit. Let us leave this place knowing that there is fire in our bones -- the fire that started in Genesis and continues in Jesus the Christ, who took that fire and spread it throughout the world. We are the fuel. God is the source of air, and our ignition source. Amen. (c) 2001, Bill Humphrey Return to Sermon Page |