Baptism of fire

what lay at the center will always rise to the surface

This week, our eyes are focused on the west and the wildfires that have brought devastation to some parts of California. On the liturgical calendar, we have the Gospel story of the Baptism of Jesus. In both places, we find that what lies at the center of a person is bound to rise to the surface at a particular moment in time.

In Los Angeles, the fires have brought out the goodness at the heart of people, the ‘better angels’ who make sacrifices to help house, feed and serve those who have lost homes, and the first responders who are on the frontlines. But the fires have brought out other things, too, from the heart of men; odious and sneering theories online from supposed Christians as to which of the Californians’ behaviors called this ruin down upon themselves, use of the fires as a political cudgel, mocking those who have lost everything as somehow deserving of that fate.

There are moments in history which bring out the heart of who we are at our center, and without question we are living in one of those moments.

After Jesus was baptized by John, the Gospel of Luke says that,

“heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Previously, there had been some confusion as to John’s role and what Jesus was all about, but when it comes to naming just who Jesus really is at His core, you can’t get much clearer than a Voice calling down from the heavens.

In 2020, lightning sparked wildfires which burned most of the redwoods in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The devastation was astronomical. Though redwoods are naturally resistant to fire because of their thick bark, 97% of even the tallest trees and foliage in the park were decimated.

Defying expectations, the ruined trees began, within a few months, to sprout green from the charred wood. New buds which had laid dormant deep inside the bark began to grow, tapping from sugars and carbohydrates which had been stored inside the trees up to 60 years earlier. Scientists traced some of the growing buds to material from the very center of the tree, in some cases tissue which was a thousand years old.

image by Drew Peltier

What lay at the center told the unlikely story of what would ultimately grow in time, and it was the fire that brought it to the surface.

Following the railroad fire in the Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoias in 2017, ecologists noted that only in areas of high-intensity fire did they find reproduction of trees. High heat is required for pinecones to open and drop their seeds, felling of trees allows much needed sunlight to reach the forest floor, and the mineral-rich ash from the fallen trees in a grove presents a perfect environment for new trees to take root. Like fires to forests, times of stress and challenge are a fact of life for we humans. Despite our best efforts, each one of us will meet circumstances which bring out the depths of who we are and reveal the kind of seeds we’ll leave behind.

Like the trees, what lay at the center of us really matters. Things that have been planted in our spirits, even decades earlier, can and do make their way to the surface, sprouting new life for better or worse. This is why self-knowledge is so very important at all times, but especially in times of the kind of tension and anxiety that we find ourselves in today. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 15:18 that “the things which go forth out of the mouth come out of the heart,” and in Luke 8:17, “that everything hidden will be revealed.” With everything happening in our country, church, and world today, it seems like a critical time to get quiet and check in on what’s really going on at the center of us, to discern what seeds are growing and sprouting, and what sources are feeding them. As Jesus says, we (and those around us, too) will readily identify it all by our fruit.

1Corinthians 3:13 says,

“their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.”

Early 20th century Baptist preacher Jack Hales makes a sharper point, saying,

"The fire doesn't make you what you are; it reveals what you were."

In these days, fire of some kind will come to each one of our doors. When it does, what will it reveal?

Raised Catholic rewind:

Raised Catholic 174: What We Will Become - transcript with link to episode

Raised Catholic 121: What We Have in Common - transcript with link to episode

What I’m reading/listening to/recommending:

Song: Cathedrals of the Nelder Grove, by Benjamin William Hastings

Video: Who Am I? - The Story Behind the Song

IG post: poem by thedailytay

Prayer:

Good and loving God, help us in these intense times to know ourselves, not just ‘about’ ourselves and in the stillness to find You at the center of our being. For us, our dear ones, and every person affected by fire, we pray in the name of Jesus and wrapped in the mantle of our Mother Mary, amen.