Out of Breath

Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit."
-John 20:22

This past Sunday at LifePath Church, I started sharing about some things God was teaching me during my week walking St. Cuthbert's Way from Scotland to England last month. I want to reflect further on one moment that I shared. 

I was walking across Northumberland National Park in northeast England on day four. The day was gorgeous, and I could hear a bird singing beautifully, but couldn't find it. Thankfully, my trusty birding app identified the call as the Eurasian Skylark. I would later learn that this is one of the world's most famous songbirds, written about by generations of English poets and naturalists. 

Some nearby day-hikers with binoculars helped me a few minutes later. They told me that the reason I couldn't find this little guy was because he was hundreds of feet up in the air, and pointed him out. In order to impress and find a mate, the male leaves the ground and spirals upward, singing louder and louder as he does. These larks can reach over 300 feet high while using up all they have in their lungs. When they reach their final height they sing their hardest. And then, they simply fall. Straight down. No flapping. They just lock their wings in a part-parachute-part-torpedo position and drop, their call getting quieter and quieter until it disappears. And then the lark does too, landing beneath the scrub, with no breath left. 

It's amazing to watch the climb, and it's amazing to watch the fall. 

You can certainly take that in a bunch of different directions, can't you??? 

The beautiful Skylark was created to function like this, but it's less beautiful when we do it. Even so, our lives often become very skylarky (new word). 

The problem here isn't about having solid work ethic, or ending our days good and tired because we've spent our hours well. That's great. The problem is when our lives are defined by a roller coaster push to be more impressive, followed by the ugly fallout when we reach our inevitable limits. We are not as graceful in our falling as skylarks. We weren't made for that. 

The need to outdo whomever we deem is "the competition," the desire to be loudest voice, and the complete expenditure of all of energy before crashing back down to earth are all marks of modern life. Even within the Christian journey, we often lack sustainable rhythms, and we crash. Sometimes emotionally. Sometimes physically. Sometimes ethically. Sometimes spiritually. We end utterly exhausted, totally out of breath and on the ground. And sometimes we hurt others as we do, too. 

Lots of people feel out of breath lately. Do you? 

There is hope. When Jesus offers his spirit to his disciples, he breathes on them. And when you learn a bit more, it really starts to come together. The direct translation for the word for spirit in both Hebrew AND Greek is literally "breath" (ruach/pneuma). The Spirit of God is given as a life-breath to disciples.

Jesus intends his breath to fill our lungs, to sustain us, and to move us beyond the constant push-stall-crash that is all too common throughout our lives. When humanity runs around yelling as loud as it can, becoming out of breath, and landing hard, Jesus offers us a deeper way. A way of sustained, deep breathing. It's a way that doesn't need to be louder than others. It's a way that doesn't lead to impress. It's a way that won't lead to personal burnout. It's a source of energy that simultaneously slows us down and renews our energy for the long haul.

When we take time to breathe in the Spirit of God, we not only find ourselves refreshed with new energy, but we start to see that there is a much more beautiful way of life that avoids a damaging red-bull-like crash, whether that is emotional, spiritual, or physical. 

This is one of the reasons that breath prayers can be so powerful. They teach us to bring to mind the promises of Jesus, allowing God to fill our lungs with them and sustain us in a fresh way for lives of discipleship. 

[Inhale] You hold all things together.
[Exhale] I can trust you. 

[Inhale] You are with me always. 
[Exhale] I find rest in you. 

[Inhale] I am weary. 
[Exhale] Your love sustains my work.

May you sing beautifully today. Yet not with the need to sing with perfection, louder or higher than anyone else. And may you pause before you are depleted, and breathe in the sustaining power of God's love, so that your work might last and bear fruit for God's kingdom. 

Jesus, breathe into my tired body and soul. 

Peace,
Keith

---