A Sermon for Jan. 13, 2013: With the Holy Spirit and Fire

A Sermon for January 13, 2013 (Epiphany 1, RCL C)

Offered by Nathan Ferrell for The Church of Saint Mary

Texts:             Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm 29; Luke 3:15-17,21-22

Primary Message:  Christ drives out our fear and fills us with courage
Call to Action:          trust in Christ and live boldly
Title:               With the Holy Spirit and Fire

My dear sisters and brothers: when we are overwhelmed by the grace of God, our fear is driven away; then courage and boldness carry us forward in hope.

Let me ask you a question. And yes, this is a true question to which I want you to answer – vocally, out loud, for all to hear.

What single message, what single idea, do you think is the most commonly repeated, the most often delivered one throughout all of the Bible? What is the single most common communication from God to human beings in the Scriptures?

(Answers from the congregation…)  

All good thoughts, worthy attempts. But the answer is found in these four words:

DO NOT BE AFRAID.

 

That’s it! And that message is found in today’s passage from Isaiah as well – twice in fact! “Do not fear, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:5).  

And although the exact words are not spoken, this theme punctuates every single sentence of this passage:

“When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

The idea of walking through fire is an ancient way of testing one’s faith.

Have you ever heard of or seen Indian gurus walking over burning hot coals?

Well, let me tell you a very old story about walking through fire and the courage of faith.  

In the year 1219, St. Francis of Assisi traveled to the city of Damietta in the north of Egypt. He went there with one simple and primary purpose: to do what Jesus and the apostles did - to preach the good news to those who have not heard it.

In this situation, however, there was one major difference in circumstance. Damietta was a city under siege. It was the height of the Fifth Crusade. The combined European forces had just suffered a painful defeat in their attempt to capture the city, and now they regrouped while maintaining a siege out in the desert surrounding Damietta.

Within the city, leading the Islamic defenses was the famous Sultan of Egypt, Malek Al-Kamil. With stunning bravery, St. Francis and one of his little brothers, a Friar Minor, approached the enemy lines with a request to speak with the Sultan.

Now, picture this in your mind! Can you imagine what those heavily-armed, battle-scarred Muslim soldiers thought when they considered this short, poor little man with the funny haircut who carried nothing with him, but who asked with such boldness and audacity for a direct audience with the Sultan?!  

We have no idea as to why exactly, but his request was granted. You must understand that Francis was perfectly ready and spiritually prepared for martyrdom. He knew perfectly well that he was risking his life by such a venture, and he was ready to lose his life in this way for the sake of the Gospel.

This meeting between Francis and the Sultan in the year 1219 is an historical fact. But the reports of what actually occurred in this meeting are a bit less certain.

It is said that a very civil and respectful dialogue ensued between Francis and his brother Friar, and the Sultan, along with the imams in his court. Both sides tried in vain to convert the other. Finally, it is reported that Francis offered to undergo a trial by fire to prove the validity of the Gospel.

Francis offered to walk through fire in order to prove that God was with him, as long as the Sultan’s imams were willing to do the same.

Now, that sounds crazy, right? But there was a method to his madness.  

Back in the days of Muhammad, when he was beginning to gather a group of followers around him in the first decades of the 7^th century, it is said that he challenged a group of Christians to a similar trial. Leaders of both groups would walk through fire; the ones who came out unscathed were the ones who had God on their side, the ones who spoke the truth about God.

If you know anything about Muhammad, then you will know that this is clearly a challenge that he would relish. But those Arabian Christians declined, saying that they did not wish to put Christ to the test in this way. And so Muhammad left feeling justified, that his message was inspired and the faith of the Christians was not REAL faith, since they were too afraid to face the test of fire.    

600 years later in Egypt, I think that St. Francis was intending to make up for the supposed failure of those timid Christians in their meeting with Muhammad.

With courage and boldness, he offered to walk through fire with his counterparts, but this time the imams refused. They did not wish to put allah to the test in this way.

With his courage, Francis won the respect of the Sultan. He and his friars were treated as honored guests, and they were given free passage to travel throughout the Sultan’s lands - including the Holy Land! – in peace.

“When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God…Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

My friends: something happens deep within the heart of a person who is overwhelmed by the grace of God. When all of your defenses are broken down, all of your pride washed away, when all of your strength is gone and you realize that there is nothing solid or dependable or trustworthy in this life except for the grace and love of God, then you can live without fear.

“Perfect love drives out fear.” So we are told in the first letter of John, and this is what I think it means when John the Baptizer preaches to the people about the coming Messiah:  “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

The Messiah immerses us in a life of trust and confidence, courage and boldness, because it is a life of intimacy with God who is pure goodness and mercy.

Now, let’s be clear: I am not suggesting in any sense at all that we actually attempt walking through fire. There are still lots of people who do this!

There was an event in San Jose, California this past July hosted by the famous motivational speaker Tony Robbins. It was a four day conference called “Unleash The Power Within”, and as part of this conference the attendees were invited to – yes, you probably guessed it by now - walk through fire! Actually, it was a 10 foot swath of burning coals around 1500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Supposedly, he has offered this type of activity for many years, but THIS time at least 21 people were taken to the hospital with severe burns! Bystanders spoke of hearing people screaming as if they were being tortured! (http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_21125630/san-jose-21-people-treated-burns-after-firewalk)

OK, this is NOT what I would suggest! It is NOT courageous to put yourself in dangerous situations. That’s just plain stupid.

The boldness and courage which the Holy Spirit and the fire of Jesus bring into our lives is much more basic, and simple, than this.  

It is the courage to speak the truth, even when it might hurt your own position or threaten your own position.

It is the courage, sometimes, just to get out of bed in the morning, to not give up, to keep on going. The will and courage to persevere.

It is the courage to turn the other cheek, to choose to love your enemies and never to seek revenge.

It is the courage to not care about your prestige, to not be attached to your possessions, to not be anxious about your income or your assets.

Above all, it is the courage to love, the courage to care, to pour yourself out for those who need you.

Will you allow yourself to be touched, and overwhelmed, by the Holy Spirit and the fire of Christ, so that your fear is driven away, so that you can walk forward into the unknown with courage and boldness? Let it be so. Amen.