“There the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of a bush”. —Exodus 3:2
I’ve been thinking about Mary Martin a lot this past week. It’s been six years since she died but I still feel her presence some days. She taught me so much in the over 20 years she was part of Peace Church where I pastored. Mary had been a therapist and a carpenter. She knew how to fix things, both with hammers and words. She would often say, “Loss is such a big part of life.” And so it is. I’m feeling that loss with retirement.
But there is more than just that as we move through our days. Mary knew that too and helped us see it. Mary was a big part of the creation of Peace’s memorial prairie garden. At her urging the congregation plowed under the entire hillside by our sanctuary and planted seedlings, hope, and ashes. The prairie in its summer beauty often drew me as a place to sit and reflect. I think it has been that for many people as they grieve and ponder. It reminds me of Mary Magdalene who was drawn to a garden and stayed long enough for hope to show its face and a way forward.
Mary Martin too knew there was a way forward even through death. She planned her entire memorial service. She picked the hymns like “Let There be Peace on Earth”, “ I’ve Got Peace like a River”, and “Some Glad Morning”. She wanted lots of singing. She wanted dancing. And she wanted a fire. I was fine with it all except the fire. I said, “Mary, that will be tough”, because I knew she didn’t want a little fire, she loved big fires As she wrote in a journal entry called the Silver Gate, “I have always been drawn to fire—both a relaxing fire in the fireplace and brush fires that are almost out of control. I love the excitement that comes with the latter and love that feeling when I am on to something new that pulls me into action.”
Pulled into action, just like Moses when he saw the burning bush and realized he was standing on holy ground. God tells Moses, take off your shoes, but don’t leave them off, for you have a job to do, go to Pharaoh and tell him to let my people go. Such a crucial, hope-filled action that began with fire.
There would be fire for Mary’s memorial service celebrating the something new for her. I know she had a big part in this cleansing fire. For you see, we were supposed to burn the prairie the day before her memorial service, but rain had made the ground way too wet. So following the singing and dancing, we burned away the old growth just outside the sanctuary. Mary got her blazing fire because loss is such a part of life, and without the burning away no new life can grow. She too was on to something new.
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