It Only Takes a Spark

Way, way back in the time of the “Jesus Revolution,” a song came out saying, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” And it went on to celebrate how desirable it is for everyone to gather around a warming, comforting fire. As a big fan of Smokey Bear, I also know the other side of that phrase… that it only takes a spark, and as residents of California we all know that fire can also be devastating. We need to learn this lesson because we’re told (James 3:6-8) that our tongues are a fire. In our season of political turmoil, it’s been proven again. The story goes that a woman heard about an incident and posted it online. Another woman read about it, misunderstood it, and told it in a slightly different way. Both women have come forward saying that their posts were completely misinterpreted, but this became the spark for an enormous conflagration that is consuming the little city of Springfield, Ohio. No real flames except those of hatred and terror. Businesses are shuttered, children are kept home from school, people are getting into fist fights, families are sheltering, and far-right groups are showing up in town to claim that hate is an appropriate response. James comments that we have learned how to tame all sorts of animals, but we haven’t learned how to tame the tongue. This is James who was part of the community of Elders who gathered, prayed over and agreed that the Holy Spirit was guiding them to allow non-Jewish people to join the church of Jesus. The “non-Jewish” were people that were referred to, in the Elders’ community, as dogs, aliens, unclean and outsiders. The choice was made, under God’s guidance, to welcome neighbors who were different. And we all know what the Bible tells us about how to treat neighbors. We all need to be careful that we aren’t throwing kindling or our own sparks into the mix, especially as a community that claims that from believers “will flow streams of living water.” Blessings, Geoff