Today is Sunday, May 24. It is the seventh and final Sunday of the Easter season. Next week is Pentecost Sunday.
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
One of the greatest theological insights I ever received came from a 12 year-old girl in the youth group at Pittsboro Christian Church in Indiana. I was the youth minister there during the time I was attending seminary in nearby Indianapolis…
We were talking about worship, when little Beth said: “Do you ever notice how everyone lets out a big sigh at the end of the time of prayer?”
The other kids in the youth group chuckled, and I admitted that I had never noticed that, but from that day forward, I couldn’t ever not notice it. Because she was absolutely right. After that long period of prayer in the worship service, there was a great, big collective sigh.
*sigh*
It was as if the entire congregation was holding its breath during the prayer; and once the prayer was over, they could breathe again, starting with a great big sigh to make up for the lack of breathing that had taken place during the prayer.
*sigh*
Breathing is not a bad thing. In fact, I encourage you right now, to take a nice, deep breath, then release it with a nice, slow sigh…
Feels good, doesn’t it?
*breathe in* - *sigh*
Don’t try too hard. You don’t need to take a great ginormous gulp of air. Just a relaxed in breath, then a relaxed sigh letting it all out.
*breathe* - *sigh*
Focusing on our breathing helps ground us. It helps us get rid of some of the tension we carry with us. It helps lower our anxiety level.
Our scripture today was written during a time of great anxiety. It is from a book that has been attributed to the apostle Peter, though some scholars doubt that it was Peter who actually wrote it.
In this passage the author talks about anxiety. The author talks about a “fiery ordeal” that the people were experiencing. They were experiencing some kind of persecution or hardship, although what exactly they were dealing with isn’t clear.
We are dealing with hardship ourselves. One could very easily describe our current situation as a “fiery ordeal.” Our situation is different than that faced by the community this scripture was written to, but like them, we are experiencing turmoil, and tension, and anxiety.
And one thing that really helps in times like these is breathing.
I remember when Ginger and I were expecting our first child, we went to these classes to help us prepare, and one of the things they taught was the importance of breathing. Focus on your breathing, they said, and that will help the mother during her labor.
You can ask Ginger if it worked or not.
But, fast forwarding twenty years later, I can tell you about a night when I found myself curled up on the floor in immense pain. I would soon find out that I had gallstones. The pain was excruciating. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t think.
But somehow, I remembered that I could breathe. And I did. I focused on my breathing. I turned all my attention to my breathing.
And it helped.
*breathe* - *sigh*
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and the Hebrew word for breath is ruach. Ruach means “breath” or “wind.”
Ruach also means “spirit.”
The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word for breath is pneuma. (It’s spelled with a silent “P”.) Pneuma means “breath” or “wind.”
Pneuma also means “spirit.”
In the Bible’s very first sentence, in Genesis chapter one, we read that the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
A wind. God’s breath. The Spirit.
One chapter later, in Genesis 2, we read that the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.
The breath of life. The Spirit.
Ruach and pneuma appear many places in scripture. I’ll share just one more, and since we’re still in the season of Easter I draw your attention to when Jesus appeared to his disciples following the resurrection. He appeared before them, and he said “Peace be with you…” and then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Breath and Spirit. Respiration and inspiration.
*breathe* - *sigh*
In our scripture reading today, the author talks about anxiety, and urges the people in his community to cast their anxiety on God.
This echoes Psalm 55:22, which says: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.” Like 1 Peter, Psalm 55 was also written during a time filled with anxiety. Earlier in the psalm, the psalmist says: “I am troubled; I am distraught; My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me.”
This goes on, until we hear: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.”
I could use some sustaining right now. We could use some sustaining right now.
And often, the Spirit itself is referred to as the Sustainer.
I wonder if, everytime we take a breath, we can remember that it is God’s breath that fills us, and God’s Spirit that sustains us…
It takes practice. The troubles, the distress, the anguish, the terrors, the anxiety will not easily relax their grip on us.
Which, I think, is why the reading from 1 Peter instructs us to discipline ourselves. And discipline means practice.
We need to practice breathing. More specifically, we need to practice noticing our breath. (Because our breath is always there. )
We need to practice noticing the Spirit’s presence.
And if we take time to notice our breath - our breath which is a great but overlooked blessing - maybe we will start to notice other overlooked blessings...
Every time I step outside my door I hear birds and I see trees - have you seen the jacarandas? Gorgeous! (I wouldn’t want one in front of my house, but they sure do look gorgeous in front of my neighbors’ houses!)
In a time when it seems that the whole world has stopped, the songs of the birds and the purple in the trees reminds me that the world has not stopped. And if the birds are singing and the trees are blooming, I’m also reminded that God is still present in the world. God’s Spirit is still active, still sustaining us, still blessing us, even in these difficult times...
Breathe in God’s Spirit. Take a moment to notice God’s blessings.
Noticing God’s blessings can lead to gratitude, and gratitude has been proven to calm fears and anxieties.
Again: it doesn’t happen overnight. It is a practice. It is a discipline.
But we can start right now. We don’t need to hold our breath any longer, like all those church folks praying in worship. We can breathe as we pray. We can breathe our prayers. Our breathing can become our prayers.
And the gratitude we show can also help us along. Because God’s blessings have not stopped flowing. Our anxiety makes it harder for us to see those blessings, but they are still there.
God still cares for you. God’s love never ceases; God’s love is new every morning, as it says in Lamentations. Nothing can ever separate you from God’s love, as it says in Romans.
This is truth.
Breathe it in.
