Image: What the Fire Gives
© Jan Richardson
Reading from the Book of Acts, Day of Pentecost: Acts 2:1-21
Pentecost arrives to remind us that ashes do not have the final word, and that fire does not come only to consume. It comes also to bless, to call, to inspire, to give to us what we could never begin to imagine on our own.
—Jan Richardson, from Pentecost: What the Fire Gives
The Painted Prayerbook
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On Ash Wednesday this year, as Lent began, I wrote about how I don’t want to romanticize the ashes that can come with devastation and destruction. Instead, I want to stay curious about what God can do with ashes and with dust, and to continue to discern the ways I can be part of what God might be creating anew.
I am thinking about this again as we approach the Day of Pentecost. We have traveled through many weeks since the beginning of Lent. This arc of time that began with ashes will end with fire, that vivid image and symbol of the Spirit that comes to Jesus’ followers in the wake of his physical departure. And where fire might rightly conjure images of more devastation and ashes, on this day, it comes instead with Spirit, with new life, with the miracle of speaking and understanding, and with a transforming call.
This day, and throughout the coming season, what word might this fire hold for us? What might we most need to speak, and where might we listen for a word that someone else needs to say?
As Pentecost arrives, this blessing is for you, with deep gratitude.
What the Fire Gives
A Blessing for Pentecost
You had thought that fire
only consumed,
only devoured,
only took for itself,
leaving merely ash
and memory
of something
you had believed,
if not permanent,
would be long enough,
enduring enough,
to be nearly
eternal.
So when you felt
the scorching on your lips,
the searing in your heart,
you could not
at first believe
that flame could be
so generous,
that when it came to you—
you, in your sackcloth
and sorrow—
it did not come
to consume,
to take still more
than everything.
What surprised you most
were not the syllables
that spilled from
your scalded,
astonished mouth—
though that was miracle
enough,
to have words
burn through
what had been numb,
to find your tongue
aflame with a language
you did not know
you knew—
no, what came
as greatest gift
was to be so heard
in the place
of your deepest
silence,
to be so seen
within the blazing,
to be met
with such completeness
by what the fire gives.
—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons
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Using Jan’s artwork
To use the image What the Fire Gives, please visit this page at janrichardsonimages.com.
Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use this blessing without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.
May 22, 2026 at 5:21 PM |
It is not exaggeration to say that your books have been life changing; not only for me but also for so many with whom I have shared the blessings. I am a retired UMC Deacon; served as a pastoral counselor for ages. I teach various groups throughout the year and lead seminars and retreats. Each of these are opportunities to share your inspired poetry/blessings and people are so responsive each and every time I’ve shared them. Thank you for your gifts and for stepping out to show new ways of using the creative arts to enrich lives.
May 23, 2026 at 12:50 PM |
Karen, thank you so much! Your words are a wondrous gift, and I am deeply grateful to you for your thoughtfulness and also for your ministry. Thank you for this glimpse of how the Spirit is at work in you. I send many blessings, with such gratitude for the blessing you are.
May 26, 2026 at 11:24 AM |
Thank you Jan for your artwork,wisdom,sacred sharing and beautiful poems. May you be blessed as generously as you give. Blessings of Love, Rosemarie