On the first Pentecost, fire...
Illustration
On the first Pentecost, fire and wind came together symbolizing the coming of the Holy Spirit and bringing life to the new church. But fire and wind were a deadly mix in the tinder-dry prairies of a century ago. In the early spring and late fall, when the grass was dry, lightning or campfires from settlers or native Indians could spark a prairie fire. These fires raged across miles of open prairie, and fuelled by strong winds could jump rivers and fire-guards. The native Indians called these fires the Red Buffalo.
The pioneers tried to fight the fires by plowing fireguards around their homesteads, or by using backfires, a deliberately set fire in advance of the prairie fire. Sometimes these methods worked, sometimes not. Families came from miles around to battle the prairie fire. Still many homesteads were destroyed each year, and many lives were lost due to smoke inhalation, or people getting trapped in and burned by the fires.
Amazingly enough, these prairie fires brought new life to the prairie: the old dry grass was burned away, allowing the new shoots of grass to emerge and thrive; nutrients from the old grass were returned to the soil via the ashes of the fire; and brush and trees that invaded the prairie were destroyed allowing the prairies to thrive. Most ecologists agree that the prairie vegetation would have mostly disappeared without the periodic burning of the grasslands.
We know, too, that without the fire and wind of the Holy Spirit, there would be no church.
The pioneers tried to fight the fires by plowing fireguards around their homesteads, or by using backfires, a deliberately set fire in advance of the prairie fire. Sometimes these methods worked, sometimes not. Families came from miles around to battle the prairie fire. Still many homesteads were destroyed each year, and many lives were lost due to smoke inhalation, or people getting trapped in and burned by the fires.
Amazingly enough, these prairie fires brought new life to the prairie: the old dry grass was burned away, allowing the new shoots of grass to emerge and thrive; nutrients from the old grass were returned to the soil via the ashes of the fire; and brush and trees that invaded the prairie were destroyed allowing the prairies to thrive. Most ecologists agree that the prairie vegetation would have mostly disappeared without the periodic burning of the grasslands.
We know, too, that without the fire and wind of the Holy Spirit, there would be no church.
