Praying With Fire

Imagine what life was like for human beings before we discovered fire.

The nights would have been long and terrifying. Not being able to see, our ancestors would have huddled in caves to protect themselves from predators that might have attacked them. Every sound would petrify them with fear. With no light to guide their steps, they would have nowhere to run if danger were to strike. All they could do was hide in hopes of holding off the terrors of the night until the morning.

However, once the first human beings learned to control fire, their world changed. They no longer had to hide in their caves once the sun went down. Instead, they could gather around the fire which not only gave them light but kept predators away. Whereas before, they had to pass the evenings alone and in hiding, they could now emerge from their caves and spend time with the other members of their family and tribe. In fact, many anthropologists believe that it was around such fires that human beings began to develop language. The discovery of fire also revolutionized how our ancestors ate. Whereas before their diet was mostly limited to nuts,  berries and raw meat, they could now cook their food making them easier to digest.

With the discovery of fire, the first human beings no longer needed to pass the night in fear and isolation. They could emerge from their caves, because the light from the fire dispelled the hidden dangers of the night. Around the fire, they could nurture the friendship and love of their neighbors by sharing meals together and telling stories. Fire, with its intense light and warmth, made it possible for human beings to come together and build civilizations.

On this holy night, we celebrate another fire which brought us out of the darkness of fear and ignorance and into the light of faith and new life. Tonight, we celebrate the fire of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. As human beings have done for millennia, we gather at night around the light of a flame that is sparked not by flint but by faith. It is the light that shines forth from Jesus Christ and His victory over death.

Without faith in the Resurrection, life is like a cold, dark night full of danger. Our only hope is to hide and defend ourselves as best we can. In so doing, our days are marked by anxiety, fear and despair.

However, once we embrace faith in Jesus and His victory over death, we become new people. We begin to see clearly that we are loved by our Heavenly Father and that there is purpose to our life. Our fears are dispelled once we come to rely on the goodness of God who promises to provide for all our needs and to be by our side no matter what dangers we have to face. New hope dawns in our heart as we come to find true fulfillment and lasting happiness by following the light of God’s word. Like the first human beings who were drawn out of  their dark caves, we are drawn out of our isolation and loneliness into the warm community of the Church. We find the love that all of us are searching for by loving God and our neighbor.

If you are still living in darkness, isolated from others, imprisoned by fear and chilled to the bone by all the hurts you have suffered, today is the day to emerge from your tomb and embrace the light and warmth that come from the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. A good first step would be simply to say to God, “Lord, I have tried everything else and looked everywhere else. I am now ready to try you.” In a few minutes we will be renewing our baptismal promises. Respond with conviction and faith, saying the words from your heart. Then trust that God will do the rest and begin to work wonders in your life.

All of us have been entrusted with the light of faith and must strive to keep it burning brightly. However, that flame can never just be kept to ourselves. It is meant to be shared. Just as we light each other’s candles from the flame of the Easter candle, we are to share our faith with our neighbors. So many people we run into daily are dying inside. They are imprisoned in caves of fear and loneliness, yearning for a better way of life but not knowing where to find it. We have to witness to them the joy, hope and new life we have discovered through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Imagine how much light and warmth we could bring into the world if each of us were to share with just one other person the joy of God’s love. It would revolutionize human society more profoundly than the discovery of fire.

At the beginning of tonight’s liturgy, we lit a fire and processed with the Easter candle into this church. Little by little, the light of the candle spread from person to person until this whole building was flooded with light. That is precisely our mission as believers in Jesus and His Resurrection. We are to flood our dark world with light by sharing the good news and build a civilization of love around faith in the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death.