The Promise of Fire

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment . . . you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. – Psalm 104 : 1-, 3-4 (NRSV)

Human mastery of fire is a key moment in our evolution. From the moment our ancestors figured out how to make, contain, and extinguish fire, we literally moved from darkness into light. With the ability to control fire, we could stay warm, ward off predators, and maybe most importantly for this Texan, we could make barbecue! No wonder the psalmist thinks of God as being clothed in fire! What could be more appropriate!

Archaeologists have recently discovered that our mastery of fire may go back as far as 1.5 million years. Specifically, researchers were able to determine that burned bones collected in the Swartkrans region of South Africa were definitely cooked in a hearth at a higher temperature than what is possible in a brush fire. Beyond cooking, human use of fire led to great improvements in tool-making by allowing them to work metals. A copper pendant discovered in Iraq shows that our ancestors were mining and working copper as early at 8,700 b.c.e. We still classify human evolution primarily by metalworking: bronze age, iron age, and so on. It is hard to overstate the importance of fire in the development of our humanity.

Fire is wonderful, awful, dangerous, difficult, and must be treated with respect and care. In the Bible, images of fire are a sign of call: such as the burning coals that purify the lips of the prophet Isaiah. The presence of God – remember the burning bush? And the presence of fire is a source of purification: (sing with me) “For he is like a refiner’s fire”. Fire also pulls us together and creates community. We STILL sit around campfires to tell stories, cook food together, and teach our children about the do’s and don’ts of fire.

The Holy Spirit is depicted as flames of fire and Psalm 104 is traditionally read on the Day of Pentecost as an accompaniment to the story in Acts 2 of the Spirit descending upon the gathered apostles and followers of Jesus. In this psalm, the ministers of God are depicted as “fire and flame”.

Now, I’m a pretty passionate person and have on occasion been accused of being “on fire” about this or that, but I think there is a big difference between being a beacon of light and being a flamethrower. When we imagine ourselves as filled with the “fire” of the holy spirit, do we bring more light into the world? More illumination? or is someone gonna get burned by our heat?

Learning to be on fire without being fiery takes real spiritual discipline. It is especially difficult when confronted with the presence of someone or something that really stokes the fire of our anger and self-righteousness. And this of course is the nub of the problem in most theological (and political) disagreements. We bring too much heat and not enough light to our personal interactions.

My invitation to you, dear reader, is to join me in thinking about the fire within, the fire in your belly, the things that call forth your deepest passion. How do you share that fire with the world? Do you throw it out as flame, hide it under a basket, or can we all become beacons of the love of God clothed in light?

Mt. Diablo from Briones Regional Park

I am fascinated by prophets – both ancient and contemporary. The ancient ones such as Isaiah had the ability to both warn of danger and demise AND to spin beautiful visions of the world the way it “ought” to be. The writings attributed to the 8th century B.C.E. prophet Isaiah present a particularly wondrous description of a world at peace. In this world, equality and safety mark this “peaceable kingdom” that is led by a wise master. Predator lies down with prey and on this “holy mountain” all suffering and pain are erased. Too bad I’ve never seen a contemporary prophet on a street corner in San Francisco preaching this! Contemporary prophets are definitely all doom and damnation and “get ready, the end is near!”

Instead, Isaiah, in the midst of the reign of a bad king and threatening neighbors, imagines another world is possible. This is an act of amazing hope and faith given his situation and these words will carry the Hebrew people forward through many trials and tribulations over the centuries. Isaiah’s wonderful poetry still speaks to us today and helps us to imagine our way into a better future.

 This particular vision of Isaiah has also been rendered into many, many paintings, choral works, novels, and even websites filled with educational toys for children.  I believe that this enduring vision of a world at peace continues to inspire us because it is still so incredibly relevant.

 Imagination, according to Wikipedia, “is the ability to form new images and sensations that are not perceived through sight, hearing, or other senses.  Imagination helps make knowledge applicable in solving problems and is fundamental to integrating experience and the learning process.”

 Einstein knew this very well.  He often spoke of the role of imagination in his thinking.  He did not simply do equations to come to the theory of relativity. He imagined it and some believe it came to him through his dreams.  This now cornerstone idea in science was developed because Einstein was a creative and imaginative person willing to “prove out” his visions.

 This ability to imagine may also be fundamental to our humanity. New research has shown that a lack of imagination in older adults may be linked to declining memory and makes it more difficult for us to imagine the future as we age because we cannot fully recollect the past.  This is one reason that is so important to be part of a community that can “stand in the gap” when our own imaginations fail.  Churches are excellent places for this to happen – especially as we age.

Finally, if we can imagine that another world is possible, how will that vision change our current behavior? Imagining a world at peace can – and ought to – help us to be peacemakers every day in our work, in our families, neighborhoods, and communities. Such a vision holds us accountable in our actions. How are you engaged in creating a “holy mountain” in your own life – a place of safety, peace, and trust? Can you see the “holy mountain?” if only for an instant? If you can imagine it, and I can imagine it, and finally if we can all imagine it together, then it can be so.

“Our role in life is to bring the light of our own souls to the dim places around us.”

— Joan Chittister, O.S.B. in "Between the Dark and Daylight"

“God comes to us disguised as our life. Everything belongs; God uses everything. There are no dead-ends. There is no wasted energy. Everything. ”

— Paula D’Arcy plus Richard Rohr in The Universal Christ

On November 8th, we will mark the first anniversary of the 2018 Camp Fire that nearly obliterated the town of Paradise, CA, killed 85, burned over 150,000 acres and left our own Marilyn Colbert homeless. Fortunately, Marilyn has landed securely back here among us and for this, we are very grateful.

And as I write this reflection on Tuesday, October the 29th, we are still living through another devastating fire season filled with mass evacuations, power outages, and toxic smoke.

One of the hardest things about living through wildfires and hurricanes is that it is easy to fall into a “worry” loop as your anxiety increases about all the unknowns. Will the power be on tonight? Will the air be smoky tomorrow? Am I ready to evacuate? And of course, if I have to evacuate, where will I go to be safe? Add to that the trauma of watching the destruction happen with graphic video and horrifying detail. Then multiply all that worry and anxiety by each day that you go without being able to reduce the “cone of uncertainty”.

Right now, all the public safety entities are pushing out preparedness messages about “Go Bags” and “emergency kits”, but no one is inviting folks to be prepared for the worry and anxiety that goes along with these events, perhaps because these are spiritual and emotional issues and most folks would rather talk about physical concerns instead of feelings and spiritual practice.

As people of faith and practice, we have the opportunity to apply our spiritual wisdom and practice in small, daily challenges so that when the going gets tough, we’ve already got practices and tools that help us navigate difficulty. If you’re feeling lost, these questions might help you unlock the resources you already have that can help.

How do you prepare to face the unknown? When disaster is on the horizon, what helps you find courage and strength? What role does being part of a spiritual community play in your spiritual preparedness for disaster?

The Good Table Volunteers at the El Sobrante Stroll, 2019

“An ounce of practice is worth more than a ton of preaching.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

Concert pianist Arthur Rubenstein was walking down the street in Manhattan when a tourist stopped him and asked, “do you know the way to Carnegie Hall?”  And Rubenstein reportedly replied, “practice, practice, practice!”

 Do you know the way to develop a deeper relationship with the Divine?  Same answer.

Now Rubenstein was certainly thinking of the piano (or any other artistic pursuit), but what are the spiritual practices that lead us closer to God?  My crackpot theory is that absolutely anything may become a spiritual practice if done with intention.  But not all so-called spiritual practices are created equal, so let’s take a look at the spiritual practices of Jesus.

In the Biblical witness, Jesus feeds, prays, heals, loves, and forgives.  What is remarkable about all these spiritual practices as Jesus did them is that he chose to love his enemies, forgive those who were difficult to forgive, and fed and healed among the most despised outcasts of his society.  And when Jesus managed to get away from the disciples and the crowds to pray, he chose places of quiet contemplation that were a great contrast to the busy and bustling settings of his healing, feeding, forgiving ministry.

 The central miracle of the Jesus story, in my view, is that God took human form.  God took on a body like mine, like yours with all of its problems and joys and need for spiritual practice.  Bodies learn and grow through practice. Just like it takes a lot of repetition and tedious, physical practice to learn to play a Bach suite on the piano, we need to engage our full selves, our body-spirits in order to live a life in communion with the Divine.

What spiritual practices do you do regularly?  Do you pray on a regular basis?  How do you pray?  Do you get on your knees, sit on a zafu, go to a special place, listen to music, what do you do when you pray?

There are no correct or wrong answers to these questions.  But simply asking the question is not enough, as beings who live in bodies, we must practice, practice, practice.

Apriums

“Perpetual anticipation is good for the soul, but it’s bad for the heart. It’s very good for practicing self-control. It’s very good for morals, but bad for morale.”

— Stephen Sondheim, A Little Night Music

In October, it will be four years since we moved to our El Sobrante garden home from a San Francisco high-rise. In many ways, it feels like forever, but in terms of our fruit trees and garden, we are still just getting started.

This summer we had our first big harvest from our aprium tree which produces a hybrid apricot-plum that is like a bigger and juicier than usual apricot. So very delicious!

Then our nectarine tree produced significant (and delectable!) fruit, but has now finished. We’ll also have a few pears this Fall, but we still have cherry and peach trees that haven’t reached enough maturity to produce much. And so we wait for them.

It takes a goodly amount of faith and patience to be a gardener. Maybe that’s why I’m NOT one! I admit that while I’ve done a lot of spiritual practice to remain more centered in this present moment, I haven’t really developed a lot of long term patience.

What about you? Are you a naturally patient person? If patience isn’t your problem, what “virtue” would you like to be able to embody better?