The fire burns on

Pentecost falls upon us on this day when America is literally on fire – flames going up, dust to dust – and while these fires raged, hearts burn... not only for the situation in America yet for illness.... 

Apart of me wants to cry out, when will the break come for all, or when will create the 'break'…. First there was a sense of disconnect to the virus as numbers appeared on the screen, deaths in three figures day after day with a sense of fear in the air. Yet no faces to the numbers, no names, just COVID on repeat. 

Next, we have the cries from the earth, whispering in the air carried over seas and lands. Look at what can be healed if we all live in harmony, if you took a moment to offer respect, offer peace. 

Awareness of political talk, economic talk, numbers, followed by more numbers, numbers.

Our hearts start burning again over the devastation that goes far beyond buildings with the watching of the horror that unfolded with the death of George Floyd at the hands of a local police officer in Minneapolis. 

One wonders how far we drift from things… seriously we humans create the complete opposite to what we are created for… 

Minnesota usually brings to mind images of 10,000 lakes, subzero frozen winters and stunning autumn leaves, the expansive beauty of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, muggy summers. Vibrant theatre and arts culture with a sense of slow small-town charm alongside the bustle of urban high-rises.

Then this week this image does a 360, image of life taken, stolen and broadcast around the world. And while a building can be rebuilt, a life once lost is gone. People mourn and grieve for the end of George Floyd’s life and the lives taken before his. 

On this day… at the root of the burning in our hearts and in the world is the unresolved wounds of racism. Our hearts are burning with the fire of injustice… 

They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. 

Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit… 

Acts 2: 3-4

Living in a place when you are miniority is not easy, the history of the land you stand is in the dna and in some cases been that miniority brings forward a sense of having to fight. I believe that we are all one, one community, one body coming forward to the one table to be nourished and rejoice in whatever language and form that takes. 

On my journey to this day I write this I have seen and fully aware of the oppression, persecuted, minimized and ignored people. As I lean in and listen to people who do not share my background or come from the land I walk, what I have learnt to see and hear is that these actions are wrong. It is not how the Lord intended for His children to live. 

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 

Romans 12 : 4-5

Its not just words, it is design!! 

We were literally made to function together with each other, we have all felt the reality of this when told to stay indoors, don't' travel to see love ones, don't go out unless really have to!! We are created to be social being. When one part suffers, the rest of the body limps along. It doesn’t work properly. What happens to one happens to all – 

Right now, across the countries, people are in pain and unrest. 

We need to feel the pain of lives lost; feel the tension of how our privilege can distance us from wanting to feel the pain. As we lean into the fire and know the flame with our brothers and sisters. We need to do the hard work of listening, of learning, of loving.. we are many parts of One Body, connected in and by and for Christ. 

Our hearts are on fire, and as on Pentecost, we need to let them burn so that we may be filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him to come together as many parts of one body.