The Power of Breath
Rev. Lee Ann Bryce
Community Christian Church
June 19, 2011
Last week was Pentecost Sunday and you’ll remember hearing the text from Acts where the Spirit comes to the crowd gathered in Jerusalem, evidenced by the wind and tongues of fire and many different languages. That’s the story most people remember about the arrival of the Spirit.
But the gospel of John, our text for today, tells quite a different story about the coming of the spirit. In Acts, the Spirit comes fifty days after Easter, some 7 weeks after Jesus had been crucified, when everyone is gathered in Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost. The way John tells the story, Jesus’ followers didn’t have to wait 50 days. In fact, the Spirit came to them on the very night of that first resurrection morning, the morning when Mary Magdalene had gone to the tomb and seen the stone rolled away. Hear these words from John, chapter 20, verses 19-23.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week,
meaning that very first Easter day.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews,
The author is good at building suspense. He notes that the huddled group is afraid and so they’ve locked all the doors in the house so that no one can get in. Or so they think….
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
And so despite the closed and locked doors, Jesus appears before them. Like all the descriptions of Jesus’ resurrection sightings, his appearance is not really bodily. We’re not talking about the resuscitated corpse of Jesus that appears before them. Rather he’s described as being some form that can materialize in their midst despite the locked doors. And his form is such that they do not initially even recognize that it is Jesus.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Isn’t it powerful that Jesus identifies himself initially, not by saying, “Hey, it’s me!” but by showing his wounds, his body which has been broken. And it is only then that they come to recognize him.
Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As God has sent me so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Isn’t that interesting? Jesus delivered the Holy Spirit to them by breathing on the. The verb that is used here “to breathe” occurs only this one time in the New Testament and it clearly is intended to reference at least two stories from the Jewish tradition. First, it references the creation story when God formed the first mortal and “breathed the breath of life” into the mortal’s nostrils, as the creation myth goes. And second story referenced by this verb comes from Ezekiel 37, one of my favorite stories in the Hebrew scriptures where God leads Ezekiel into the desolate valley filled with dry bones. And God says, do you think these bones can live? And Ezekiel says, only God knows! And at God’s urging, Ezekiel prophesies the “Word of the Lord” and the bones start rattling, then they come together with flesh and muscle, but still no breath until Ezekiel prophesies, come from the four winds, breathe on these slain bones that they may live again. And we all know what happened because the song tells us, ‘dem bones, ‘dem bones, gonna walk around.
And so the use of this particular verb in our text today to describe Jesus’ breathing the Holy Spirit on his disciples, would have called these other stories to the minds of the original hearers of John’s gospel. They would have understood that Jesus’ very breath is something very, very special and that when he breathed on them, the result was a brand new creation. The Holy Spirit is the breath that sustains that new life.
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
And this passage concludes with Jesus telling the community that their work from now on is the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness is understood as the Spirit-empowered mission of continuing Jesus’ work in the world. In short, the community, then and now, is to continue what God sent Jesus to do.
There’s much that we could explore in this text, this memorable story of Jesus’ appearance and his gift of the spirit to his followers. Today we’re going to focus on v. 22, “When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Sure, last week’s story of the spirit coming accompanied by the excitement of wind and flames is impressive and perhaps there are times in our lives when we experience God in dramatic fashion.
But if you’re like me, we more often know God without such fanfare. How powerful it is to experience God as close as our very breath. You can go for a month without food without any major health problems. You can last for a few days without water before severe dehydration sets in. But you can only last about 10 minutes without breathing before creeping very close to death’s door.
The bodily benefits of deep breathing are well documented. Deep breathing reduces fatigue, improves circulation, eases the strain on the heart, aids in digestion, reduces congestion, even gives your skin a healthy glow. The medical benefits are quite remarkable. The power of breath is known through many world religions. Whether you call it an awareness of the spirit or deep breathing depends on your tradition.
Practitioners of yoga and Buddhist meditation will tell you that simply taking a deep breath is cleansing and restorative. I know many of us have experience with this spiritual practice of meditation and deep breathing. Deep breathing is a part of almost any spiritual reflection group we have at church, from the pre-Lenten mindful meditation morning to the sacred space gathering last week.
In this text Jesus demonstrates that mindful breathing is a powerful thing. We know God through our breath. When we encounter anxiety or stress or conflict, those things that keep us from feeling peace, deep breathing can return us to a place of calm. Think of a stressful situation you encountered recently and how you handled it. How would things have been different if you had stopped to relax your body and take a few deep breaths?
Lisa and I live on Park Ave. We love our neighborhood, but some of the neighbors are partiers and in the summer when the weather is nice, it is often noisy. And if you’re trying to sleep, it’s a problem. Lest you think I always handle stress beautifully with mindful breathing, think again. I recently found myself standing on the sidewalk outside a neighbor’s house, screaming through the open window at him to turn his music down. (Turns out, he wasn’t even home. That explains why he didn’t answer my banging on his front door.) After I gave up on getting anywhere, I went back home. His radio blared on for awhile and then at some point it went off.
But you know what? While I was standing on that sidewalk, my whole body was tense, my heart was racing, and I was ready to throttle that guy. I know for a fact that deep breathing would have helped to keep me calm and would have helped me handle myself better. Deep breathing helps us live more peacefully in the world. And isn’t that exactly what Jesus said, “Peace be with you.” And then he breathed the spirit into them.
We’re going to take a little time to practice breathing in the spirit, breathing in the very breath that Christ blows into each of us. We’ll begin by getting in a comfortable position, both feet on the floor. Close your eyes if you’re comfortable and begin to notice the pace of your breath. Relax your head, shoulders, arms, hips, legs, feet, and simply breathe.
Imagine that with every breath, Jesus is saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This is the spirit that has sustained you for your entire life journey, through the difficulties and the triumphs, the success and failures, the heartbreaks and the joys of your life. And Jesus is available to you always, nearer than you could ever know. You are never alone for the breath of the spirit sustains you. (Silence).
As we continue with deep breathing, please join in singing this simple song from the Buddhist tradition:
Breathing in, breathing out
Breathing in, breathing out
I am blooming as a flower
I am fresh as the dew
I am solid as a mountain
I am firm as the earth
I am free.
Breathing in, breathing out
Breathing in, breathing out
I am water, reflecting
What is real, what is true
And I feel there is space
Deep inside of me
I am free, I am free, I am free
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