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Pyromaniac – one who likes to start and play with fire. When we’re little kids, we’re always told by our parents and teachers that we shouldn’t play with fire and justifiably so. Fire is incredibly dangerous and can be incredibly destructive, especially in the hands of a child. As adults, whenever we’re dealing with fire, we should always use a certain amount of caution. Whether it is relighting the pilot light on our furnace or starting a fire in our fireplace, there is always the potential something to go horribly wrong. And then you have the pyromaniacs out there who are obsessed with fire, who love to light matches just to watch them burn, who are always sticking stuff in the campfire just to see what will happen, and who, I’ve found, often grow up to be boy scout leaders or camp counselors. J Well, as I mentioned earlier, fire is an appropriate symbol of the Holy Spirit because the two have some very similar characteristics. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way in our history, someone told us Lutherans that we shouldn’t play with fire, that it could be too dangerous and that we should stick to those safer earthly elements that are usually easier to control, like water and bread and wine. And we Lutherans took this advice to heart. One of the pastors at our weekly bible study this past week asked the question, “Do we Lutherans really believe in the Holy Spirit?” I think it’s a fair question. Blame it on our German or Scandinavian heritage all you want, but the truth remains that we Lutherans are a bit hesitant to talk about the Holy Spirit or to delve into spiritual practices or to talk about the Spirit’s work in our lives. While this deficiency is part of our heritage, my hope for us today is that we can learn that the Holy Spirit really isn’t that scary and that it is okay for us Lutherans to be “spiritual” and to regain some of our pyromania. And I want to do this by talking about some of the characteristics that fire and the Spirit share and how they can be helpful for us on our faith journeys with God. So I’d like to start with how Jesus describes the purpose of the Holy Spirit in our gospel today. Jesus says, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” If you’ve ever been back to my office, you’ll see that my shelves are covered in lots of little random knick-knacks. I keep them here at church mostly because Lynde won’t let me have them at home, but more than that I have a bunch of these little knick-knacks because they remind me of things that I’ve learned in the past. For instance, on my desk sits this little crystal cube paper weight with a cross and praying hands in the middle. This is to remind me that there is always more than one way to look at things and that God is at the center of everything, no matter which direction we’re coming from. I also have this little flag of Lebanon. This is to remind me of last summer’s experience with Yara, our exchange student from Lebanon. She opened my eyes to realize that the headlines in the paper are so much more than headlines, that every time we see that a bomb went off or there is fighting in a foreign country, that there are people like you and me who are deeply effected by it, and she taught me about remaining faithful to God even when your whole world is falling apart. These are just a couple little reminders that I like to keep around, but in a way, they are serving the same role as the Holy Spirit. They are reminding me of things that I’ve learned, re-teaching me in a way, which is one of the purposes of the Holy Spirit. One of the great things about fire is that it provides illumination, it brings light into the darkness and just as fire does this, so does the Holy Spirit. One of the Spirit’s roles in our lives is to bring us enlightenment, to teach us and to remind us. At the 1045 service (on in just a few minutes) we will be celebrating the baptism of Logan Wyse. During this ceremony, we will lay our hands on him and pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten him – to bring him understanding of how much God loves him. At each of our baptisms, this same prayer was said and the same Spirit was given to each of us to enlighten us and the Holy Spirit has been trying to remind us of God’s grace ever since. One of the most powerful and consistent ways she reminds of us this is through our liturgy. The words of our hymns and our service continually remind us and teach us of God’s presence and actions in our lives. Hopefully our worship services bring some light into your lives. But just coming to church isn’t the only way the Spirit works. I would encourage you to think about other ways that the Spirit may be reminding you of God’s love in your life throughout the week. Anytime you feel the love of God, the Holy Spirit is working in your life, and as Lutherans, I would encourage you to talk about how you feel the love of God in your life. This is a great way for us to begin to experience just a bit of the Spirit’s presence in our lives. Another shared characteristic between fire and the Holy Spirit is how both of them can be used as tools in our lives. In fact, without either of them, life would just be miserable. My favorite TV show is Survivor and in a weird kind of way, I always enjoy the first couple episodes because all of the castaways are really struggling to adjust to their surrounding and they are completely helpless until they get fire. They can’t eat, they’re cold at night, and they can’t even drink any water because they have to boil it first. Fire, in the game of Survivor, represents life and when you get voted off the island, your fire is snuffed out. In our game of life, the presence of the Holy Spirit represents life. It is the Spirit who gives us opportunities to serve. It is the Spirit who comforts us when things don’t go as planned. It is Spirit who connects us to God and makes our lives worth living. And it is the Spirit who equips us for the work that God would have us do. In our story from Acts, the Spirit whooshed in and allowed the disciples to speak in other languages. She gave them the tools that they would need to reach the rest of the world and to tell them about Jesus. It’s not too often any more a days that we see tongues of fire resting on peoples’ heads, but each one of us has been given gifts from the Holy Spirit, be it teaching, mercy, faith, praying, leadership, craftsmanship or any of the others. Anytime that you use one of these gifts, the Holy Spirit is working in your life. So another way for us Lutherans to become familiar with the Spirit’s presence and to play with fire is to use our spiritual gifts to share God’s love. And the last shared characteristic between fire and the Holy Spirit is their sheer power. Just like firemen facing a humongous forest fire, there’s not a whole lot we can really do to stop it. Not even the church can stand in the way of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is going make God’s will happen with or without us. We can either decide to help out or get out of the way, but one way or another, the Spirit is going to do what the Spirit is going to do. A good representation of this is a backdraft in a building fire. In the instance of a backdraft, a room superheats and eventually explodes in an incredible flash, spewing debris everywhere. This is extremely dangerous for anyone in the way. But at the same time, you can recognize the signs of a backdraft before it happens, just as you can learn to recognize the power and working of the Holy Spirit in your life. This takes practice and patience and even some training, just as firefighters are trained to recognize potential backdrafts. But in reality, the only training it takes to recognize the unstoppable work of the Holy Spirit is to spend time with her in prayer and reading the Scriptures. One way or another, the Holy Spirit is going to get you, so Lutherans, you might as well learn how to work with her. Today is Pentecost and it’s a reminder to all of us that we are indeed called to play with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Don’t worry about being careful. When you burn with the fire of the Holy Spirit, you won’t be consumed or destroyed. When you burn with this fire, you will however, become enlightened, you will be given tools and expected to use them, and I guess the real scary, but incredibly exciting part is that you may even get caught up in something you can’t control. My friends, embrace your inner pyromaniac and let the Spirit burn brightly in your lives. Amen
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