The Worship Quote of the Week for (05/26/1998):

Pentecost Poem Today's WORSHIP QUOTE is a short Pentecost poem by American poet T. S. Eliot- not an "easy read" but well worth every moment it will take you to get to the heart of the Holy Spirit's work. Here's a hint: look for the contrast between the fire of destruction and the fire of the Holy Spirit. THE DOVE DESCENDING BREAKS THE AIR The dove descending breaks the air With flames of incandescent terror Of which the tongues declare The one discharge from sin and error. The only hope, or else despair Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre- To be redeemed from fire by fire. Who then devised the torment? Love. Love is the unfamiliar Name Behind the hands that wove The intolerable shirt of flame Which human power cannot remove. We only live, only suspire Consumed by either fire or fire. -T. S. Eliot, from THE COMPLETE POEMS AND PLAYS, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1952, 143-44. [Lord, may we be consumed by the fire of your Spirit. Amen!] Have a great week, Chip Stam Pastor of Worship and Music Chapel Hill Bible Church Chapel Hill, North Carolina