My church has a thing about fire.
It is not the church in which I grew up, which was more focused on fire and brimstone.
I belong to a liturgical church now. We light at least two candles every time we get together. We have special days we celebrate with a lot of candles, like Christmas and Easter. Our third great celebration of light and life and love is called Pentecost.
We may not be Pentecostal, but we have Pentecost.
Christmas celebrates the fire of being born; Easter celebrates the fire of resurrection. At Pentecost, we celebrate the fire of receiving the power of the Sacred to transform our everyday lives.
The flame of Pentecost does not only light our time together, like candles at our celebration. Pentecost rains down on us and lights our hearts on fire.
Our Pentecost is about the Sacred, the Holy, filling our lives and igniting them. The deep spiritual truths that we usually think of as somewhere out there, or up there, enter our lives in new ways. We are filled with all the gifts the Sacred has for us.
The sacred flames ignited in us are powerful. We receive power to do things and be people we could only imagine. Challenges that have held us back are burned away. New life and new ways of living are sparked in us.
We can become intimidated or afraid of the power of the Sacred. We do not want to be burned. We may not want our lives to be transformed. Part of the sacred power of Pentecost is that our desires and intentions are transformed along with the rest of us.
We watch the flames of the candles and see the Sacred burning within us.
How does the Sacred transform your everyday life?
Where will your life be transformed before next June?
[Image by Quinn Dombrowski]
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In