THE FIRE THAT IS GOD

THE FIRE THAT IS GOD

            You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire, gloomy darkness and a storm and trumpet blast and a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no further message be addressed to them…Indeed so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling”.  No, you have approached God, the judge of all and spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and the blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.  (Heb. 12:18-24)

            This is at the end of the Letter to the Hebrews and the writer is reminding the Hebrew Christians that God, as shown to them by Jesus, is not the voice so terrible that those who heard it prayed to never hear it again.  Instead, the author reminds them that the voice they hear now is that of Jesus.  He reminds them that the new covenant does not enslave but rather frees and the voice of Jesus sends them forth and can be trusted.   The last line of this chapter states, “Our God is a consuming fire”.

            Is God a consuming fire in us?  He certainly was for the writer and the early apostles and disciples like Paul and Timothy. He has been a consuming fire for Joan of Arc, Bishop Walsh, Dorothy Day, St. Vincent DePaul, Francis of Assisi, Fr. Cunningham and millions of others.  It seems though, that in the ordinary person the voice of God is muted, the volume turned down so that it will not get in the way of doing the things we think are important.

            The twelve, and then the seventy-two were sent out by Jesus to talk to the countryside and spread the good news.  He did not provide a prepared script.  They were expected to follow the sound of his voice and that is what they did.  What’s the difference between them and us?  They had even less to go on, we at least have the entire Gospel, plus the Acts and the Epistles to use as reference and yet we are largely silent.

            We are called.  Those are three simple words, which throw out a challenge that we must meet.  There is no such thing as God and Jesus.  They are one!  One consuming fire, one power, one life within us and yet we keep it hidden. Jesus referenced that the day he said, “you do not light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket, rather you put it on a stand where it might be seen in the dark”. (Matt.5:15)  The dark is all around us, it’s time to light the light that is the Word of God, follow the sound of his voice, and show the world the consuming fire that is God.

Blessings,

Carol Lemelin OPA