Be a Firework of Faith

Thursday is July 4th, the day we traditionally celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, a document that proclaimed our intent to be free from Great Britain’s rule in 1776.  Most likely sometime this week we will watch or walk or ride in a parade filled with politicians, puppies, pamphlets, ponies, and tractors. We will over-indulge on just about anything imaginable that has been barbecued, pickled, or deep fried. We might wave long sparklers, fat sparklers, and flags. And, the potential is pretty good that we will experience a multitude of colorful, noisy, body-shocking fireworks… all in the name of freedom.

There is a reason we feel the need to celebrate. I am convinced that all human beings have an inborn desire for freedom. I think that’s why the Fourth of July is the event it is. We want to tell the rest of the world about this amazing opportunity that we are living. So we participate in the visible, unmistakable, celebratory signs of a freedom that we had no hand in causing to happen, but daily reap the benefits of.

Hmmm, a freedom that we had no hand in causing to happen, but daily reap the benefits of. It sounds a lot like the experience of God’s grace. We seem to have no difficulty in letting the fireworks fly to celebrate our freedom from an earthly rule. So what about celebrating the freedom we are given through God’s presence?

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  Let your light so shine before everyone, that they may see your good works and give glory to God.

Jesus knew that there was something remarkable in each one of us that needs to be celebrated and what it is: “Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Rumi came at it from a different direction:

I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not.
I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.
I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found there only 'anqa's habitation.
Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there even.
Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him not within his range.
I fared then to the scene of the Prophet's experience of a great divine manifestation only a "two bow-lengths' distance from him" but God was not there even in that exalted court.
Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else.

When you grasp the reality of Rumi’s and Jesus’ words and the implication for your life, the fireworks start to go off and there is no way to keep that light hidden. However, far too often we choose not to grasp the reality of God’s Presence in us. We struggle with the idea that we could possibly be of such sacred worth that God might be expressed through us.

John O’Donohue, who wrote about the wisdom of Celtic Christianity, made this observation in his work called Anam Cara:

For too long, we have believed that the divine is outside us. This belief has strained our longing disastrously. This makes us lonely, since it is human longing that makes us holy. The most beautiful thing about us is our longing; this longing is spiritual and has great depth and wisdom. If you focus your longing on a faraway divinity, you put an unfair strain on your longing. Thus it often happens that the longing reaches out toward the distant divine, but because it overstrains itself, it bends back to become cynicism, emptiness, or negativity. This can destroy your sensibility. Yet we do not need to put any strain whatever on our longing. If we believe that the body is the soul and the soul is divine ground, then the presence of the divine is completely here, close with us.

The kingdom of God is within each of us and longs to be expressed through each of us. The kingdom of God is within each of us and it is time to let it shine like a firework so that the rest of creation can see what we have to celebrate.

The thought this week was prompted by a Katy Perry song called Firework. Listen to some of the lyrics:

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
 Drifting through the wind
 Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
 Like a house of cards
 One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
 Six feet under scream
 But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
 Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
 And let it shine
 Just own the night
 Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
 Come on show 'em what you're worth

The fireworks this week are a celebration of freedom, a celebration of independence. Contrast that freedom, however, with the freedom that God offers us. To achieve that freedom we need only to recognize that God’s Kingdom is within us, a part of who we are. It is what ultimately gives us our freedom.

Created in the image of God, filled with the Presence of the Holy Spirit, full of gifts and giftedness, the repository of the very Kingdom of God… we have reason to celebrate. That is good news that needs to be shared with those who struggle to find a sense of worth in themselves. It is time to be a firework of faith. It is time to ignite the light and let it shine.

Thought to meditate on: How have you let the world experience your sacred light?