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by Reverend Deborah R. Fair
There hadn’t been a fire in Yellowstone in a long time. As we drove through the park on our way to Canada we could see, and smell, and feel the smoke as it hung in the air and clung to the trees. It seemed as though the forest around us was holding its breath, trying not to breath in the acrid smoke. It seemed as though it was waiting. There hadn’t been a fire in Jerusalem in a long time that spring as Jews gathered from all over the diaspora for the festival of Pentecost. They dutifully traveled from the homes where their families had been dispersed during the exile centuries before to bring the first fruits of the spring harvest. They made the trip out of habit and tradition—to fulfill the law. The only fire that burned was safely contained on the altars of the Temple as they presented their offerings to the priests. As the smoke from the Temple hung in the air and clung to the buildings the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, the risen Christ, were holding their breath—praying and waiting. I sometimes think the church has forgotten how to pray and wait. We modern followers of Jesus have forgotten how to follow—or maybe we were never taught. We’re accustomed to doing things ourselves—setting our own course of action and carefully following our strategic plans. If God tries to get in the way with new ideas, we set up task forces to study them until all of the breath and life is sucked out of them. The fire that wants to burst forth is dampened and contained by traditions that say “We’ve never done that before,” or “That’s not the way we do it here.” We simply go through the motions or completely stop
altogether. We wonder whether God could ever be doing anything new.
We’re convinced that we don’t really have anything to offer.
Our numbers dwindle as people find excitement in soccer games, and theme
parks, and in front of the big screen. We’re either bored or discouraged.
We don’t really believe that God is present among us. We especially
don’t believe that God can use us to change the world. The Jews gathered from the four winds were amazed. Hearing these ordinary people speaking languages from foreign lands, their foreign lands, frightened and amazed them. Wild fire spread through the streets and people came running to see what was going on. Some scoffed and disregarded the miracle of wind and fire and spoken word. They tried to contain it by explaining it away. “These people are drunk,” they said. Out of the crowd came Peter. You remember Peter. He’s the one who was always saying the wrong thing. He’s the one who asked the stupid questions. He’s the one who said he would always be by Jesus’ side, and then couldn’t even admit to knowing him to a serving woman in the middle of the night. Stirred up by the wild fire of the Holy Spirit, Peter suddenly speaks with authority and eloquence, quoting the prophet Joel and explaining the phenomenon, not in human terms, but in God terms. The Spirit of God, poured out with wind and fire, has swept through, stirring hearts and souls, unleashing Spirit gifts and setting them into motion. These people will never be the same again. The fire that was safely contained has been set free. God’s power and grace are alive and visible. Over the past four months we have been waiting and praying with these young people, our Confirmands, to prepare them for this day. They have been confirmed and are now full members of this congregation and The United Methodist Church with all the rights and responsibilities that entails. It has been a joy and blessing to get to know each of them and I wish that Confirmation Class could go on longer, because I feel like I’ve hardly scratched the surface in knowing who they are. During our gatherings, we’ve just scratched the surface of what it means to say, “I believe…” as we recite the Apostles’ Creed. We’ve just barely explored what it means to be gifted by the Spirit. We’ve just barely begun to see what God might be preparing to do in and through these fifteen teenagers. I, for one, am waiting in anticipation. Last night we invited their families and mentors to join us for a meal and a service of worship. During the worship service I asked each student to come up here and speak in front of the whole group. I realize what a daunting task that was for most, if not all of them. I was reminded of my own confirmation when I stood before the congregation and answered the questions that were put before me and my fellow students. I remember that the air literally shimmered around me. It seemed almost as if I had slid into another dimension. I was convinced that God had great things in store for me. I was a little disappointed that nothing happened immediately. I was also reminded of a time a few years later when I was attending Girl’s State, which is an opportunity for young people to practice government and politics as if they were actually operating a state government for a full week. I had chosen to run for the office of Attorney General and was decidedly the underdog. I was terrified of public speaking, as most people are, and the person I was running against was pretty, popular, and brilliant, none of which, incidentally I was. I had diligently prepared the speech I was to give in front of four hundred plus people, put it on 3x5 index cards and was shuffling them as I prepared to follow my opponent on the stage. When the time came for me to walk up to the podium, I realized I had the wrong speech. Nevertheless, I walked up to the microphone and began to speak. The words I spoke were not mine. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the Holy Spirit speaking for me. I don’t remember most of what I said except that it was something about the importance of us all working together and within ourselves to change the world. I received a standing ovation, the only one given during the entire week, and won the election. Our high school speech teacher happened to be our adult sponsor for Girl’s State and she immediately got a hold of me and began to shape and direct the Spirit gifts I had for speaking, teaching, and leading. When you least expect it the Holy Spirit acts and makes the impossible possible. People who cannot speak are given words and voice they didn’t know they had. The weak are given strength, the poor suddenly find themselves rich, the ones on the margins find themselves leading others. The Spirit of wind and fire breathes life and vitality even into those who are bored, despondent, or worn out and believe there is nothing exciting or meaningful that can happen in their lives. As I was thinking about Pentecost and the movement
of the Holy Spirit I began thinking about wild fires. I asked Bob Herbst
to tell me something about them, and I found out that he used to fight
forest fires. He also told me about jack pines. They are a particular
type of tree that produces pinecones that only release their seeds in
a fire. Without the renewing power of fire those seeds will not pop
out of the cones, land on the ground and grow into new trees. They will
wait for years for fire to set them free to grow into fruition. I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit is stirring here within us today. It may be we will be surprised with a wild fire, and then again, maybe it will begin with just a spark, with one of these young people, or one of you.
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