It Only Takes a Spark
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 01/25/23
As I type this, with burns on two fingers and a struggling fire in my wood stove, I just want to talk about what is wrong with this song. Let’s take a look at the lyrics, shall we? Pass it On By Kurt Kaiser It only takes a spark to get a fire going And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love, Once you’ve experienced it, You spread the love to everyone, You want to pass it on. LIES! THIS SONG IS ALL LIES! My issue is primarily with two words: “only” and “soon.” Apparently Kurt Kaiser wrote this song one evening while sitting in front of his own fireplace. Perhaps he had a lot more experience than I do in the whole fire building department - but I am fairly certain that you must have perfect conditions for “only a spark” to “soon” become a pleasant, warming fire. Meanwhile, my fires seem to require a cracked window, paper, kindling, small wood, big wood, dry wood, more paper, a bit of time and patience, and a sprinkling of fairy dust before I have a fire pleasant enough to warm the room. Kurt Kaiser wanted us to think about God’s love as something that happens quickly and that prods us on to spreading the Good News to others. Sometimes we do experience God’s love instantaneously and miraculously, but often (at least in my experience) our encounters with the God-who-is-love are much more complicated. Just like fire building takes the right conditions and the right people (I have three folks teaching me how to build a good fire), so does resting in God’s love. It might take time. It might smoke for a while and take careful tending before it actually catches, before we can actually say that we have felt and known God’s love. The author of 1 John gave us this profound description of who God is and how we create the right conditions for God’s love to warm us: Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. . . . No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us” (4:7-8, 12) That’s right - it takes all of us together, loving one another, for the God-who-is-love to be made visible to this world, visible to us. Perhaps sometimes we experience God’s love like a spark setting alight a blaze. Perhaps sometimes we experience God’s love as a slow-starting fire that must be tended by those around us. But, no matter how quick it catches, it takes each of us, we are the necessary conditions! SHOUT IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOPS! That is a line I can get behind - for this world needs to hear how we experience God’s love, no matter how fast it catches us. How have you experienced God’s love this week? To whom will you tell that story? Blessings, Pastor Amy
