Trinity Episcopal Church, Hartford, CT - Fire Is a Dangerous Thing

Fire can be a dangerous thing. Each year we witness the devastation of thousands of acres reduced to rumble by wildfires fueled by winds and dry conditions, spreading out of our control, consuming everything in their path. Last summer there was a fire at the George Beach home, a residence that Trinity Church helps manage on Allen Place in Hartford. The fire was contained in one apartment which was completed destroyed, but the smoke permeated the building and the entire facility had to be vacated. For days residents were unable to return home. Provisions were made for them to come here to Trinity during the day, and the Red Cross provided motel rooms. Lives were disrupted, possessions destroyed, apartment doors were smashed open. Fires are frightening and unpredictable. Even a small one like that at the Beach home had ramifications for everyone in the building. Fire can be dangerous; at the same time it is a life-giving force that we cannot live without. The celestial fire of the Holy Spirit is no different. It is both life giving and extremely dangerous. It is unable to be controlled. It spreads as the Spirit wills and permeates everything, fueled by the breath, the pneuma of God. The Spirit which descended upon the apostles as tongues of fire started an inferno that spread from Jerusalem until it consumed the whole world. That flame that settled on the apostles gave them new life, but also sealed their fate. Compelled to preach Jesus risen, compelled to challenge religious conventions, compelled to live communally and establish new communities built on radical hospitality and love, they embarked on the same road that Jesus traveled. This dangerous flame led them to suffering and death. But in spite of the price to be paid, they could not, not proclaim Jesus risen—the fire fanned by the breath of the Spirit burned too hot, too out of control.

Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church, a time for us to celebrate our life in the Spirit, a time to reflect on our Christian journey. The truth is that the Church knows that the celestial fire of the Spirit brings both new life and is dangerous. Our history proves this to be true. Sadly, much of our history is the story of a Church trying to contain the Spirit’s fire, to control it, to harness it. But time and time again the Spirit breaks loose and its fire spreads out of control.

It comes in the forms of renewal, in waves of ecumenism and inter-religious tolerance. It comes in radical communities sharing all that they have with one another and with the poor. It makes itself known through people like St. Francis, Mother Teresa, or Bishop Oscar Romero. The celestial fire of the Spirit makes itself known when voices of women and children, people of color, refugees, persons with disabilities, gays, lesbians or trans-gendered persons, the elderly and infirm, the weak, the poor, persons from religious minorities and the disenfranchised step out of the shadows and claim their place as persons of dignity created in the very image of God and say “NO MORE—we will not be silent.” This is when the celestial fire of the Spirit burns HOT speaking truth to power and challenging the structures of a world that seeks to douse the Spirit’s flame. The celestial fire of the Spirit makes itself known in life-giving radical acts of love and kindness, of hospitality extended to communities beyond our comfort zone. It is present as healing balm for those who are hurting, broken and seeking wholeness.

From the moment those apostles, filled with the spirit, left that upper room, this is how it has been—a Church in which the celestial fire of the divine continues to burn in spite of our repeated efforts to extinguish it. This is how it was then and is now as the Spirit moves as the Spirit wills—touching hearts, healing, giving comfort and strength, and challenging us to open ourselves to that fire within each of us; that fire that animates us, nurtures us, and sustains our very being with every beat of our heart or breath we take.

Fire is a dangerous thing. “Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire, and lighten with celestial fire.” Help us leave the upper rooms of our lives and step into the flame of your love that we might ignite the world around us, and go where you would send us. Amen.

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