Fire came out from the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
God, in these stories from Leviticus is very present, very visible. The people follow clouds of smoke and pillars of fire. God consumes the offerings on the altar with fire. The people, seeing this power, fall on their faces. The accompanying reflection for today’s reading asks what it would have been like, living at a time with such visible signs from God. What signs do we have now, and how do we respond?
Several years ago, I read a book, “What Should I Do with My Life?”, by Bo Bronson. It did not offer an answer to that question, but rather retold the stories of several people who’d had unique experiences in understanding the question and their answers. One woman decided she hated wearing pantyhose, and when an opportunity fell in her lap, she bought a big tree nursery. Now she drives big equipment, spends the days mostly outside, and uses her MBA to run a successful business.
One man heard a voice that he should go follow a religious life, as I recall it was a Buddhist monastery. He did, and eventually loved it and felt he’d landed where he was supposed to be. But before he loved it, he bristled. His reflection focused on the rugged individualism of Americans. Friends had told him he should be so grateful for getting such a clear message. But instead, he felt hemmed in. He wished he had not had such a clear directive, a directive that eventually was impossible to ignore, and later still, perfect.
Perhaps we still have clouds of smoke and pillars of fire. But we’re too stubborn to acknowledge, too busy to see, too independent to acquiesce. And maybe in the urban setting I find myself, a pillar of fire would be the wrong God-sign anyway. Looking out my window, perhaps God’s signs are more like beautiful street trees and road drainage systems, or the engineers and arborists who designed and maintain them. The beautiful carved furniture from Pakistan, a legacy from my in-laws, or their son I’ve been married to, for over 30 years. Or my Kindle, or the digital version of the NRSV year walk through the Bible.
I don’t need a pillar of fire so I can keep warm and see where I’m going at night. I need central heating, and electricity. Same purpose. Just as amazing, if not more. Why do I not see it like my own pillar of fire?
We’ve grown accustomed to it, I think. We attribute lighting to electricity’s inventor, or the power company, or the store we got the lamp. All of those however are the purveyors of something miraculous, if we stop to think about it. Far more miraculous than a pillar of fire.
This morning, I’m thinking about the miracles all round me, natural and manmade. About God’s modern day cloud of smoke and pillar of fire. I want to slow down enough to acknowledge God’s hand in everything I see, taste, hear and smell.
No comments:
Post a Comment