Fire Power

Fire. It's often regarded as a foundation of the universe. It was so important to the Ancients, it was regarded one of the Four Elements along with earth, air and water. So monumental is fire to humanity, its discovery is often regarded as the "starting point" for civilization itself.

We live in a world dominated by electricity in the form of lights, computers, cell phones, appliances and any number of objects so common to us we hardly pay them notice. But, even in an environment where everything has to have a blinking LED, we still get lost in a flickering flame. There is something about fire that captivates us, even today; just as it captivated our first ancestors.

Fire, flames, burning and combustion are all powerful symbols used throughout history to express things like passion, transformation, purification. The Pre-socratics, who began the Four Elements tradition, regarded fire as the most fundamental of the elements. 

Of course, the Bible has plenty to say about fire as well. It is significant in both the Old and New Testaments and carries a lot of the same symbolism as it did to the Ancient Greeks and Romans. 

Some of the first mentions of fire in the Bible are in the opening chapters of Genesis: the Sun, the burnt offerings of Cain and Abel, and God's covenant with Abraham, to name a few. And I think those are good examples because they show us the various meanings of fire: light to govern the day. Giving glory to God. The presence of God. Now let's look at each of those individually. 

Father and Sun

The first instance of fire is the creation of the Sun to light up creation. Indeed, "light" is probably one of our first thoughts when we think of fire. Light, and heat. God knew this, and so the first Biblical experience we have with fire is also the most obvious: the light of the sun above us. Many ancient civilizations worshiped the Sun as a god. Like many things, we can see this as a prefiguring of what would be completed in the New Testament. First God gave us the Sun, then He gave us the Son...the "light of the world".

Glory to God

The second way we can see fire in the Bible is to give God glory. Beginning in Genesis, and continuing all the way until the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, burnt offerings were a major aspect of the Jewish faith. Every year, hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of lambs, bulls, doves, and other animals were sacrificed and burned to beg forgiveness, show thanksgiving and give glory to God. 

But why burn it? Watch a fire for a while. You will notice two things. One, it should not be touched. You should probably get some ice on that. Two, it goes up. The air distorted by heat...the smoke...the very flames are constantly reaching up towards God, much like we should. This is why we burn incense (another use of fire to give Glory to God). The smoke rises to heaven, metaphorically carrying our prayers with it. Many Native American cultures buried their sacrifices, returning it to Mother Earth. We burned it, to "raise it to God."

God Among Us

Another way we see fire in the Bible is to denote the presence of God. The classic example of this is in the Acts of the Apostles, when the Holy Spirit came "tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them" (Acts 2:3). But, we can find God's presence several times in the Old Testament as well. 

Most of us are familiar with God's covenant with Abraham, if only in general terms. God promises Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars of the sky (Genesis 15:5), and then performs the covenant ritual. In the Hebrew culture, a covenant was made by taking an offering, splitting the animals in half and each party passing between the halves as a way of saying "If I break this covenant, may I share the fate of this animal." In Genesis, Abraham cut up the animals God told him to, and "When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces," (Genesis 15:17).

Of course, perhaps a more famous Old Testament example of fire denoting God's presence is in Exodus, with the episode of the Burning Bush. "Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro...There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of the bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed," (Exodus 3:1-2). 

In all of these cases, fire is a force for good. But, as we see all too often, fire can be a source of (what we see to be) negativity. 

Another symbolism for fire is transformation or purification. Imagine the mighty phoenix bursting into flame only to rise from the ashes, or using a flame to cauterize a wound or sterilize instruments. We often look at the problems in our lives and see the Flames of God's Wrath...when, in reality, we should be seeing the caring-but-stern warmth of God's love. Still, it can be hard to see anything but the negative in bad situations. It is then that we have to remember that we are children of God. Compared to the Almighty, we are like toddlers. What father wouldn't grab a child away if he saw them sticking their hand in the oven? To the child, daddy is cruel and mean and takes away all the fun. The child was just attracted to the warmth and the alluring light. 

Lastly, we can see fire as a personification for passion. I bet you that I could walk into any bookstore with a romance section and find a book that likens passion to a fire on the cover in seconds. "But Nick," you might say if you had a horrible habit of interrupting, "What does that have anything to do with God? Isn't that too...risque for church?" 

It's important here to go back to one of my favorites, the Greek Forms of Love. Usually, when we imagine "fiery passion" we are thinking of eros (passionate love, almost lust). Instead, look at it as a burning agape.

Fire is never stationary. It is always moving. Likewise, our love must never grow stagnant. Fire is transforming - converting fuel to heat, gas and ash - just as love transforms every aspect of our lives.

The love-fire similarity is not lost on the Church. A vital part of a Catholic wedding is the Candle of Unity: The bride and groom light candles, then use them to jointly light a single candle. The flames represent their souls, united in marriage. 

Fire is active. Fire is transforming. Fire is purifying. Fire is passionate. 

We are are meant to be all of those things in God, for God and with God. 

"I have come to set the world on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!" - Luke 12:49