Fire and Spirit
Saturday night, under the glimmer stars, I started a campfire at the side of the lake. Â The moon’s glow was just peaking over the trees on the far side of the lake. Â The chilly wind blew across the waters, making the reflection of the stars twinkle even more. Â Owls were hooting and loons were calling in the dark. Â But as the pine needles, leaves, and twigs slowly smoldered and then caught fire and began to cast a flickering yellow glow all around, something shifted in my mind. Â Mesmerized by the flames, my face and front now suddenly warm, while my back bore the brunt of the cool night wind, the inner and outer space was transformed into a sacred space.
That’s what fires do to and for me – transport me into a different place. Â In the Bible the Spirit of God is often represented and experienced as fire. Â Fire is ever changing, yet ever the same. Â Fire is power that is both dangerous and a blessing, it burns as well as warms. Â The campfire creates a sacred circle of space, that when people enter it they become part of the community of the fire. Â To stand on the edge, in the shadows, and the cold, with the fire reflected in glowing eyes, somehow you are outside of that sacred space, literally and figuratively, “in the dark.”
I’ve been thinking about the connection between fire and the Spirit. Â In our church all we have are a couple of candles lit by the altar and the eternal candle hanging by the back wall. Â Only twice during the year is fire/candle light a powerfully present symbol of God’s Spirit and presence – Good Friday at the Tenebrae service and Christmas Eve at the evening candlelight service. Â Yet growing up, the most powerful and meaningful times of worship for me were at various church camps around the campfire. Â There is something about the crackling fire that focuses my mind, heart, body, and soul to God’s presence – fire and Spirit. Â It is elemental, touching something primordial in each of us, drawing us out of our profane spaces into a sacred space. Â
Can you imagine what a campfire church might look like? Â Classes and fellowship for all ages in the morning, and then come back at night for the worship around the fire. Â Hmmm… what do you think? Â What have been your experience around the fire? Â Have you had a sense of the Spirit’s presence? Â Have your conversations gone deeper? Â Have you been able to quiet your inner mind and just be still while watching the fire, in a way you find it hard to do in other settings? Â Or do you just hate the smell and getting smoke in your eyes?
Gas fireplaces outsell wood burning stoves 10 to 1. (Half of all statistics are made up).
Our old house had a Vermont Castings wood stove. It had a sandstone enamel finish with glass inserts in the doors. It was equipped with a catalytic converter. I also had a magnetic temperature gauge to tell me when I was “in the zoneâ€. It was a thing of beauty!
After about an hour of tending the fire, I would have a bed of oak coals about an inch deep. Only a couple of small logs were added to the fire to keep the flames going and I could close the door for the catalytic converter. With the chimney hot enough to maintain the draft, the air in the fire box would roll through the flame twice. Initially from the air inlet, through the flame, up to the closed door then it would turn to pass through the flame again and finally out through the chimney opening. This time the chimney opening was at the bottom of the stove. The smoke would re-ignite (double burn) in the catalytic converter. I controlled the air going in and going out plus I controlled the fuel.
Some of the lumber from the East End Feed Mill was dumped on my land in Wisconsin. I expect that my Dad thought that the wood was too good to throw away. By the time I got to cleaning it up it was starting to get rotten. I started a brush pile and leaned the lumber up “tee pee†style. I spent several Saturdays adding more wood. Then came the day to light it up!
I called the Sheriff’s office to let them know I was going to have a “controlled burnâ€. I shoved some cardboard in, added a little gas and started burning. It was being difficult at first. I’d add more card board and centered the lumber on where the flame was to coax it along. The smoke and the heat were trapped inside of all that lumber until it got to the opening in the top about 20 feet in the air.
What I’ve learned about fire is this. When heat contacts a large surface area and the temperature is increased you eventually get something called COMBUSTION!! The fire came to life right before my eyes. I had no control over it. The heat was intense as I watched the flame change to smoke, and as it rose, the heat caused the smoke to re-ignite just like in my Vermont Castings wood stove. These licks of flame must have been 40 feet high!
Now I have a gas fireplace that I turn on with a switch. Oh sure, I control it…Big Deal! It’s not at all satisfying. I put no effort into it. It will never change because the gas valve has a regulator.
Sometimes my faith seems like that gas fireplace. It lacks the direction / discipline of the Vermont Castings stove. It lacks the explosiveness of when I let the fire take on a life of its own. I want to stay up late and have a campfire under the stars. I want to feel the cold at my back as I face the warmth. Maybe…maybe this weekend…I’m just so tired.
I pictured the whole thing in my mind, woodstove, pile of old wood smoking and then bursting into flames, and then the switch for the controlled flame on the gas fire place.
It does take work, discipline, and some knowledge too to make a fire and keep it burning.
I wonder, if so many people are going with gas fireplaces, is that need for safety, control, and ease reflected in our spirituality? I see that in me a lot of the time. But I yearn and need the reality of fire and the power of the un-controllable Spirit of God burning in my heart.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and insights!
Thank you for providing the forum.
Maybe we choose the easy path in our spiritual journey because life is so demanding in every other aspect of our day-to-day lives. Use this as an example to affirm your need to go on sabbatical.
Does God speak to us in the campfire? I guess he does if we stop for awhile just to look and listen. Ask Moses!
People tell me that they see God at work in my life. I know He is, but I rarely see it myself. I think it’s easier to see it in others. I think it’s easier to pray for others. Praying for my self somehow seems selfish.
Sue saw the MS Word version of my previous post. I expect we’ll have a campfire very soon. I’ll listen for God but I’ll probably hear, “dad….Dad….DAD!!! You’re burning the MARSHMELLOWS!!!â€
Peace and you’re in my prayers.
PS. I have a pre-employment physical next Wednesday. I got a job offer to work for the state in the radio shop. I previously worked in the radio shop at NWA. Maybe I’ve come full circle. Is my 4 year sabbatical coming to an end? Is this God’s sense humor?