In the words of a liturgical poet from a thousand years ago or more…

Now an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a blazing fire –

a fire that devours fire;

a fire that burns in things dry and moist;

a fire that glows amid snow and ice;

a fire that is like a crouching lion;

a fire that reveals itself in many forms;

a fire that is, and never expires;

a fire that shines and roars;

a fire that blazes and sparkles;

a fire that flies in a storm wind;

a fire that burns without wood;

a fire that renews itself every day;

a fire that is not fanned by fire;

a fire that billows like palm branches;

a fire whose sparks are flashes of lightning;

a fire black as a raven;

a fire, curled, like the colours of the rainbows!

-Eleazar Ben Kaller c 6th to 10th century liturgical poet translated by T Carmi The Element Book of Mystical Verse

Edge of the Enclosure Website

Moses had a mystical experience. He stood on holy ground and spoke to God.

God gave him the law.

Judaism was born.

The disciples had a mystical experience. They could speak to people of many nationalities and be understood.

God entrusted them with the Spirit.

Christianity was born.

Mystery – wind - fire - the world turned upside down, or maybe rightside up.

Do we know the mystery?

Do we welcome the wind, the fire, and all the uncontrollable forces as part of God’s communication with us?

It is God’s work in the world.

Do you see it? Can you hear it? Will you touch it?

Your sons and daughters shall prophesy.

The older, wiser ones shall dream dreams.

The younger, vibrant ones shall see visions.

When God is on the move – WATCH OUT!

Whole communities are transformed. It’s scary business.

Places will become holy. People will become holy.

The holiness surrounds us so thickly you could cut it with a knife.

Or not.

We have turned up the volume from those early days, covered ourselves up in static, rattled our brains full of useless information, and quit communicating heart to heart, flame to flame, spirit to spirit.

But we still yearn for the holiness of the divine to touch our lives.

It’s present in those moments – and yet I strive for words to describe them.

Maybe you know about them? Maybe you don’t?

Those moments when the world becomes quiet, and time stands still, and space is rendered irrelevant. Those moments – births of all kinds, deaths of all kinds, transformations of all kinds that break us free from our everyday realities.

Now an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a blazing fire –

Something appeared to them like tongues of fire…They were filled with the Holy Spirit –

Come, O Creator Spirit, Come.

Make within our hearts your home.

Give us heavenly grace.

Breathe in us. Let us live and move in you.

Amen.