Pentecost sent the apostles on a mission to change people’s lives.
When the Holy Spirit arrived with wind and tongues of fire, it became a defining moment for the followers of Jesus and for the life of the Church. The arrival of the Spirit of the Lord was clear and moving for the apostles; the impact on their hearts and their courage was undeniable because they had been set ablaze with the Presence of God. Christ desires each of us to experience his presence in the same way.
Investigating how fire is used in the Bible is a great place to begin to pray about how we are called to ignite our faith for the sake of others.
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Fire as a reminder of what God has done
Moses encounters the beautiful and captivating fire of the burning bush while he is tending the flock of his father-in-law (Exodus 3). Moses is captivated by the light of the fire, which ignites the bush without consuming it. It is there, in the fire, that God reveals himself to Moses and sends him on a mission to set the Israelites free.
Even after God set his people free, Moses continues to use fire to guide them. In the desert, he provides a column of cloud during the day and a column of fire at night “to give them light” (Exodus 13:21). Each time Moses saw that fire above, he must have remembered the burning bush and been consoled in knowing that God was truly with him. In our lives today, we are invited to remind ourselves through our daily prayer that God never abandons us, either.
Fire as surrender
Fire also appears in the story of the prophet Elijah in Mt. Carmel. In order to convince the people that Baal was a false god, Elijah directs the prophets of Baal to call on their god while he prays to Yahweh to ignite their altars (1 Kings 18). After Elijah’s prayer, we are told: “The Lord’s fire came down and devoured the burnt offering” (1 Kings 18:38). In our lives, depending on God means that we rely on the fire to fall on the trouble we offer up (financial struggles, illness, worries about life, etc.) — revealing the Father’s warming care and presence.
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Fire as a sign of trust
In the Book of the Prophet Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar commissions a statue to be built and directs his subjects to worship it. Whoever does not follow this command will be thrown into a fiery furnace (Daniel 3). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are three Jewish men who refuse to worship the king’s statue — instead they submit to this punishment and trust in God to save them. They go into the fires singing.
After some time, the king asks whether or not the three men have been thrown into the fire. He is told yes, however, the king sees four men walking through the fire “unhurt, and the fourth looks like a Son of God” (Daniel 3:92). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerge from the fire completely unscathed. The witness of these three men reveal that trusting in God, even in the face of trial, is always worth it. Doing what is right (having tough conversations, standing up for the vulnerable, calling out injustice), ought to be the disposition of the follower of Jesus, because he will always be at our side in the fires of life.
Fire as a sign of forgiveness
After Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, he is taken to the Sanhedrin. While he is being held captive, Peter makes his way into the courtyard of the high priest, where a charcoal fire has been made (John 18:18). It is in the glow of this fire that Peter denies Jesus three times (John 18:25-27). Even though his faith was so bold as to claim that he would die for Jesus, he refuses to say that he even knows the man.
READ: How Pentecosts Connect Me to My Community
In the light of another fire, Jesus speaks to Peter alone and offers him forgiveness, three times (John 21:9-19). These charcoal fire moments with Peter reveal that the fire of the Father is meant to remind us that forgiveness is always offered to us if we return to him. Peter denies even knowing Jesus in the light of a fire, but Jesus forgives him in front of another fire, reminding him that shame ought to vanish after forgiveness. Jesus is not afraid of our sin; he seeks to restore us from it.
Finally, the fire of Pentecost arrives 10 days after Jesus ascended into heaven. The apostles must have been missing the Lord. In their confusion and fear about what to do next, the fire of the Holy Spirit “came to rest on each one of them” (Acts of the Apostles 2:3). The intimacy offered to these men in the upper room is meant for us as well. And yet, it is meant to not remain with us. They left the upper room and went out spreading the news of Jesus, and so must we.
As we do, let us count on the fire of his love to always lead the way and come to rest on each one of us.
