Holy Smoke!
Author: Bass Mitchell
I’ll never forget that Sunday. We were receiving eight confirmands. Suddenly, one of our always alert ushers saw and/or smelled smoke, apparently coming from one of the electric outlets in the foyer. Calmly, I was told in the middle of the service about this and the recommendation was to evacuate as we did not know the source or severity of that smoke. For where there’s smoke, there’s, well, you know.
And how quietly and orderly and quickly we all found ourselves out in the church parking lot for about 30 minutes. The fire department got here and checked things out. There was no immediate danger, so we went back inside and continued with the service – getting those rookie Christians confirmed and sending them out into the world.
Later in the week I found out that we had caused quite a stir in the neighborhood. Seems that some folks living around the church, who perhaps had not taken much notice of our church for awhile, did on that Sunday. It took some smoke to get us out of our building!
I couldn’t help thinking about this when I read once again the story of the first Pentecost in Acts, as this coming Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. On that first Pentecost, someone smelled smoke – Holy Smoke! Something was on fire! In fact, we are told that tongues as of fire came to rest upon the heads of every person there. No smoky electric outlets. Just some smoldering Christians! Christians filled with a Holy Smoke from a Holy Spirit that sent them into the streets proclaiming the transforming power of God’s love to everyone, no matter their language.
Would that the same thing happened now as then! Would that the church be filled with smoke – not from faulty electric wiring – but Holy Smoke! Would that everyone one of us was set on fire by the power of the Holy Spirit! That is what I long for in my life and in our church – another Pentecost! For it is desperately needed. Maybe, just maybe, this COVID pandemic might literally get us out of our buildings and more into the world? (Isn’t it interesting that the symbol for our church is two flames uniting?)
For I sense in so many out there a great need, a loneliness, the need for them to be able to see, to smell that Holy Smoke, to hear that wondrous news – God loves you! For when I truly first heard that, when that Holy Smoke first filled my lungs, my life, it changed my life. It has made all the difference. And I want that for others. I want everyone out there in those streets of this modern Jerusalem to know, to be filled with the Holy Smoke, the holy, awesome love of God.
Yes, I am praying, I am longing for the church to be filled anew with smoke, not the kind that sends our ushers into panic mode, but a Holy Smoke! I want to see us smoking! I want to put up signs all around our churches: “Smoking Allowed!” “Smoking Encouraged!” Not tobacco but Holy Smoking! Christians so filled with the Spirit that our hearts are on fire, our words are Holy Smoke going out beyond our walls, beyond our parking lots. And I assure you, our neighbors will take another look at us. When a church, when a people are on fire, folks, whatever their language, wherever they live, can’t help but see and wonder, “Holy smoke! What’s going on over there?” Amen.
About Bass Mitchell:
Bass Mitchell is the pastor at Manor Memorial UMC in New Market, Va.
