[From the version for families with children]

“Hi!” or “Hey!”…the usual way we greet each other. Sometimes we hear, “Wazz up?!”  None of these are really invitations for us to really say what’s going on inside us.  In fact, “Hi,” and “Hey” come from the same source of sound: just a kind of gentle shout to each other to let you know that you’re in each other’s presence.  

“Hiya doin’?”  Now we’re getting a little closer to inviting someone to say how they are.  But even then, we usually give the standard answer: “OK” or “Fine.”  But when we hear someone say with lots of attention and with real interest in listening…”How are you?” that becomes something warm and inviting and we get ready to share how it is with us.

How it really is inside us—whether sad, glad, mad, or feelings of love maybe some fear—all this needs to find a way out so that the energy of peace can well up inside us because we are sharing with someone we care for and whom we trust.  That’s the way it was with John the Baptist.  Way down inside him, God was speaking to him and preparing him in turn to prepare others for Jesus’ coming.  When we read about “The voice crying in the wilderness,” doesn’t that sound like the feelings we have way down inside us—in the “desert” part of our hearts, where the sounds of deep feelings come from?  Hey! That’s the place where God speaks to you and the very feelings and sounds that we make are often one with the voice of God inside us—the Holy Spirit—who really wants to know how you are!  So tell the Spirit…that’s prayer!

Luke 3:1-6

What are “Bible Breaths”? Learn More…

Sundays are dedicated to the Gospels from the Revised Common Lectionary.
In year C, we read from the Gospel of Luke.

For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook.  You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information.