Brother Fire

“Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom You light the night,

and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.”

The Camp Fire Session! That was always the highlight of my adolescent experience of camping on a mountain in Indonesia. With the fire in the middle, we gathered and sang the folk songs, play some games, and towards the end, just enjoyed the warmth of the fire in the middle of the cold night.

On Christmas Eve and Easter Vigil, my family was always too late to get the seats inside the church. Going 30-minutes earlier than the mass time was always too late. We would get the seats in some other building within the church compound or got the seat where we could not really see anything that is going on in the sanctuary. My childhood Christmas Eve and Easter Vigil memory is to have the candle and watch the flame dancing.

There is something fascinating about Brother Fire. The nine-year-old me could stare at a candle flame for a long time, just enjoying the marvellous colour of yellow, orange, red, white, and sometimes blue. At times, I was tempted to touch it and I did. Not sure why I felt the need to touch it, but there is something attractive about it. I guess this is why Brother Fire represents the Mystery of God to me. His beauty attracts me, even though I cannot understand it. The warmth gives comfort, but I should not try to own or control it, because I can’t. I’ll get burnt.

When it comes to my Franciscan experience, Brother Fire reminds me of community life. Brother Fire is like God, who gets everyone to keep coming back to the community. He is like the Holy Communion that unites us with God and with one another. Like those in the campfire, Brother Fire is the centre of the community that gathers everyone. Without Brother Fire, the gathering will be cold and might even be tormenting. We must be together with God in our midst. God has to be part of our relationship with one another. Otherwise, we may end up ‘burning’ each other.

For Reflection,

• What warms your heart?
• Think of your family or community(s) that you belong to. What is it that bonds you together?
• Think of a person that used to or should be very close to you, but somehow, for some reasons, your relationship has been ‘burnt’ for some time. Now, would you bring God as part of your relationship with that person?