“What do you see in the fire?”
This is the question posed by the Avett Brothers on their 2020 album, The Third Gleam. With lyrics reminiscent to a hymn, some reviewers have said their song, “The Fire,” invokes a kind of C.S. Lewis theology.
A young child sits quiet, the forest is dark
Possibilities overflow his unbroken heart
I ask him, "Well, after the brush takes the spark, what do you see in the fire?
A life-sentence inmate in orange prisoner clothes
Who's been told his whole life "That's just how it goes"
Who came out swinging from poverty row
Sits a bit close to the dangerous glow
What do ya see in the fire?
A first year preacher stands on his feet
His love for mankind is true and complete
While the frigid wind blows through the trees
I ask, as he leans away from the heat, "What do you see in the fire?”
A woman of 90, with wisdom in spades
Her mind still as sharp as her kitchen blades
I ask as her memory nonetheless fades, "What do you see in the fire?"
The first reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd, is Acts 2:1-21. Verses 1-4 says…
When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
I think the Avett Brothers are asking the right question, “what do you see in the fire?” Verse 3 in this passage from Acts fascinates me, They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. I wonder what those disciples saw in the fire. What did they see in the fire that was lit on each one of them?
It had to be passion.
Finding and kindling our passion is vital. Much like the song “The Fire,” our varied passions are a tapestry of human experience. God certainly loves diversity for this is how we were created. Isn’t it interesting that when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit they began to speak in other languages? They somehow suddenly expanded. Finding and living into what we are passionate about is to the glory of God. And friends, there is much to be passionate about.
When the disciples were lit they set the world on fire with radical hospitality, justice for the marginalized, overwhelming grace, inclusion, creativity, and unconditional love. How are we living into this passion today? What do you see in the fire?
The world needs more radical hospitality, justice for the marginalized, overwhelming grace, inclusion, creativity, and unconditional love. We need to be lit.
And I get it. In our spiritual lives, it’s certainly normal to experience an ebb and flow. Sometimes our passions can be squashed by all the challenges— the committee meetings, what we perceive to be little to no progress, the conflict. It can be easy to quickly grow complacent, jaded, cynical.
The journey certainly wasn’t easy for the disciples after they were lit. The book of Acts and all those letters to all those churches in the New Testament show us just how challenging and messy it was. However they changed the world. What do you see in the fire?
Pentecost Sunday is a reminder to the church to be lit. As Dr. Beverley Mitchel once asked my seminary classmates, “are we going to play games or are we going to be the church?” What do you see in the fire? The Avett Brothers answer the question near the end of the song and they repeat it 3 times…I see the good Lord offering mercy. I see the good Lord offering mercy. I see the good Lord offering mercy.
What are you passionate about? Why? What need do you see in the world today? What are you doing about it? How are you a part of the church? What do you see in the fire?