Why Not Become Fire?

Posted on Mon, Jan 9, 2012

Mel Williams

WHY NOT BECOME FIRE? Mark 1:4-11

A sermon by Mel Williams

Watts Street Baptist Church

January 8, 2012

Today is Epiphany Sunday. The symbol is light, and light has a major role in our spiritual journeys. We’re always looking for light, more light, for the path ahead.

You heard in the Scripture this morning that it was a fiery starlight that propelled the Wise Men to make the long journey to the stable in Bethlehem. We saw this story beautifully re-enacted in last night’s musical “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” In the Christmas story the shepherds also got a fire lit under them, and they too were compelled into action. “They went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” 

The symbol for Epiphany is Light, and that Light is a form of fire. We see this fire-light every Sunday as it is carried into this sanctuary. We might call it the Christ-light, the light that starts with Jesus. But this light started before Jesus, with the Holy One of Israel and the Hebrew prophets, and then with fiery John the Baptist who shouts to the people, “The one who come after me is mightier than I. I am not the light; I am a mere witness to the light. I point the way to the light.” What do we do once we “see the light”?

There is a story about a man long ago who perfected the art of making fire. He took his tools and went to a tribe in the far north, where it was very cold, bitterly cold. He taught the people there to make and use fire. The people were captivated. He showed them the uses to which they could put fire. They could cook, they could keep themselves warm, they could see in the dark. The people were grateful. But before they could express their gratitude to the man, he disappeared. He wasn’t concerned with getting their recognition; he was concerned about their well-being.

He then went to another tribe, where once again he showed them the art of making and using fire. People were captivated there as well. In fact, there was such interest that the popularity of the man was a threat to the local priests. That threat increased, so much so that the priests decided to do away with him. They poisoned him, or was it they crucified him? Anyway, they killed him. 

But the priests were afraid that the people would turn against them. So they did a very clever thing. They had a portrait of the man painted, and they mounted the portrait on the main altar of the temple. And the instruments for making fire were placed in front of the portrait. The people were taught to revere the portrait and the instruments of fire. They did so dutifully for centuries. The veneration went on—but there was NO fire. (from Anthony deMello, Awareness)

How can we understand this story, alongside the John the Baptist-and-Jesus story? And—what do we do with the fire, the light?

Fire both attracts us and scares us. We like the warmth, the glow; but someone will say, “Don’t get too close to that fire?” Fire is a metaphor for spiritual experience. Any authentic God experience can “burn” us. It affects us deeply—if we allow it. But too often we shun the fire; we ignore the light. Let somebody else follow that star? Let somebody else stand next to that blazing fire. Not me.

But we also speak of a person being “on fire.” When the basketball player just hit 5 three-pointers, we say, “Number 15 is on fire.” When someone is deeply passionate about their music or art or mission, we might say, “They’re on fire.” We’d like to think that this church, at our best, is “on fire.”

I’ve long liked the quote, “A church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning.”

If we in this church are on a genuine spiritual search, we might ask the question the Desert Father asked: “Why not be on fire? Why not become fire?” That question is the title of a book by Sr. Evelyn Mattern, our friend of blessed memory, who wrote about women mystics, “Why Not Become Fire?”

As I ponder my final months with you before retirement, one of my persistent wonderments is about worship. How does this service affect you and me? What happens to us in the process of worship? Are we passive observers, lulled into complacency? Or do we open ourselves to hear a significant word from God, a prompting? At times, in worship, we may experience an emotional moment, a yearning, a longing, a nudge, a call that we don’t quite know how to express. And we wonder: What does this moment mean?

When we have an experience that is a defining moment, when we “see the light,” that moment changes us; it gives us identity. It’s clear from the text for today that when he was baptized, Jesus was given his identity. He heard the words, as if they blaring from a loud speaker: “You are my Beloved. With you I am well pleased.”

Who tells you who you are? Your peers, your business associates, your friends, your family? When our young people are baptized here, I tell them that their decision to be baptized is the most important decision of their life. It informs all other decisions. How? Baptism gives you identity; it tells you who you are. You are child of God, loved by God, disciple of Jesus. This is your identity; it’s given at baptism. The same thing happened to Jesus. At his baptism, he came out of the water and heard that voice, “You are my beloved.” God says to each of us, “You are my beloved.” Who tells you who you are? God tells you.

When we brush against the fire of God, we also find that the experience compels us to act. In the Christmas story, did you notice that most people remained unaffected—passive, unmoved. “George, I heard that Mary just had a baby.” “Happens all the time, Gladys. What’s so great about a baby being born? I’m going back to sleep.” 

The birth of Jesus may have gone unnoticed by a lot of people; but two groups sprang into action. The shepherds heard the announcement from the angel Gabriel, and they took off to see the baby.

The second group that avoided neglect and apathy—the Wise Men. They followed the star and brought gifts to the Babe—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

There is a ministry in Durham, caring for the poor, offering food, clothing, and job training. A deeply committed woman leads this ministry, Carolyn Hunter. She handed me a card one day: “On Fire for God Ministry.”

The Wise Men must have been on fire for God—passionate in their search for God’s Child. When they journeyed to Bethlehem, they were inspired by a light—a fire in the sky. That fire prompted them to get moving. They got “on fire” for this new thing that God was doing.

What about us? Our faith invites us to ponder one big question: Why not become fire?

Every Sunday one of us carries the light down the aisle and out the door. We carry that light, with the hope, the prayer, the call that, by God’s grace, we may become the light. We may become the fire. Why not?

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