It may be Lent, the church’s annual exercise in melancholy,
but today I pray to the Pentecost Spirit:
FIRE ME UP!
Fire me up and get me moving!
Stir up my life, compel my heart
to respond to your cries in the world!
Blaze through the fog in my eyes and spirit
so that I can see a harvest ripe even in the winter:
heads of grain full of food for the hungry,
wells brimming with fresh water for the thirsty,
fruit falling from the trees to press for healing,
and ground to till and reseed for the next season.
FIRE ME UP!
Fire me up from my complacency!
Whip through my life with a fiery wind
to clear out the weeds that slow me down!
I hear you, suddenly, speaking like a parent
mocking my own words to my children, calling out:
“we need to have left this house five minutes ago”
“it doesn’t take this long to brush your teeth”
“how long will you sit still on that couch”
“time to go! time to go! time to go!”
(Ah yes.)
FIRE ME UP!
FIRE ME UP with holy urgency!
FIRE ME UP for your time and your work!