Sermon: "Fire and Pentecost"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

One of the most familiar associations of spring and early summer for me is with charcoal fires. In many neighborhoods where Annie and I have lived, cookouts signal the conclusion of winter’s hibernation. People gather outside once again, to enjoy the warmer weather and each other’s company. And the object of attention at such times is often a charcoal fire.

The Day of Pentecost – today – is associated with fire, too. This day is represented by a different kind of fire – but several things about cookouts around a charcoal fire seem similar to Pentecost. And so, today, I want us to use that familiar image of a neighborhood cookout to help us understand some things about today’s feast day.

The first thing that outdoor cooks need is something to make a fire with. Let’s use charcoal in our example today, although many of us may use gas these days. That raw material – the charcoal – is needed in order to burn it. And, of course, such raw material is basic to the whole enterprise.

Now, corresponding to the charcoal in terms of Pentecost is revelation – the revelation of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. Now, scholars have written numerous books about what actually happened on the biblical day of Pentecost … what was really revealed … what those “tongues of fire” actually were … and what speaking in various languages really meant. Indeed, it is safe to say that the various details are not entirely clear and that different eyewitnesses probably would have reported different occurrences.

However, the important thing for us and for our faith is that God was revealed at Pentecost in the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised that Holy Spirit, and on Pentecost, his promise was made true. Therefore, the revelation of God the Holy Spirit identifies the essential raw material of Pentecost – the charcoal that makes the fire burn.

Secondly, the outdoor cook knows that he or she must have a flame – some way to get the fire going. And, for the sake of this sermon, let’s specify that the cook intends to soak the charcoal with some lighter fluid and then – after a while – to light the charcoal at several points, rather than throwing a lighted match on a wet pile of charcoal. That first image works better for this sermon.

The various points at which the cook lights the fire represent empowerment on Pentecost. Power results from having received the Holy Spirit. And we receive that Spirit at times like Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, as well as other special moments in our lives when we know we are graced and empowered by God’s Spirit. This power is like a flame.

Now, the power referred to in the reading from Acts involved speaking in new languages so that all the people present – from many lands – could understand the same message. This was certainly a real gift coming to that group of people gathered at the time. Power elsewhere in the Bible likewise is associated with receiving gifts – wisdom, faith, knowledge, healing and so forth. The Holy Spirit is known in power – the power to live one’s life in Christ by exercising the gifts that come from God … Notice, please, in our service today that the power of God, personified by the Holy Spirit, becomes a focus of our attention and prayer at times of Baptism – which we renew today – and Confirmation.

The flames of Pentecost, therefore, represent power. The content and meaning of the person of the Holy Spirit is empowerment … power like flames for a fire … power to live the Christian life.

Finally, the outdoor cook knows that the little individual flames must come together to make a fire. I know from unfortunate experience that sometimes the little flames do not grow together, but rather, they just go out. And that’s when I sometimes go back to the other method of starting the fire – dousing the charcoal with fluid and throwing on a match.

More important to this sermon, though, is the observation that such “burning out” can happen to individual Christians, too. We are like little flames of power. However, we are meant to grow together in order to make a fire. Here we come to the purpose of the Holy Spirit. And that purpose – at Pentecost and always – is unity. Little individual flames do not accomplish very much. They blaze up for a while, but then they burn out. However, if the individual flames do grow together into one fire, then unity is achieved and the task at hand can be accomplished.

The message in this analogy, then, restates the message of our Pentecost readings from the Bible. The Holy Spirit’s work intends to achieve unity. This purpose manifested itself at the first Pentecost – different people, from different countries, speaking different languages, all hearing one message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Thus, in conclusion, the fire of Pentecost is something like the fire on a charcoal grill. There is raw material in each case – the charcoal of a fire and revelation at Pentecost. Also, there must be a flame – a match lighting several spots of charcoal and the power of Pentecost. And finally, the flames grow together on a grill, like the fire of Pentecost working for unity. Revelation, power, and unity – these mark the feast day of Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit of God in the world. May we live into the power of God – known at Pentecost in the person of the Holy Spirit – as we follow the Christian way in our everyday lives. Amen.

Copyright © 2003 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee