Breathe
Before you read any further, please try something:
Breathe deeply.
Inhale…two…three…four…
Exhale…two…three…four…
And hold.
Hold until you can hold no longer…
Hold until you are uncomfortable…until you are worried…until you are desperate.
Then gasp.
Allow air to rush in,
revive,
resuscitate,
restore,
replenish,
renew.
Breath. It’s all the rage these days.
It’s all the rage when it is stolen away from a human being. Before our eyes. On camera.
It’s all the rage when it is in short supply and being delivered via ventilator to a Covid-19 patient in the ICU.
Breath—at the crux of twin crises.
Breath—difficult to regulate while distraught.
Breath—critical.
Breath—sacred.
In the cycle of the church year, Pentecost is what we are observing this very weekend. A dramatic version of the story is told in Acts 2. The author, Luke, tries to capture the precise moment when there is a change in the wind, a shift in the collective understanding about how God is present in the world. There is a new and sudden recognition that God will not be contained in a building (the Temple), nor will God be contained in a body—not even the person of Jesus. God’s Spirit blows in like a gale, dances around like a flame, and unites everyone in a remarkable moment of clarity.
A different version of the story appears in John’s Gospel: The resurrected Jesus takes a deep breath and breathes into his disciples. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he says. (John 20:22)
Breath is integral to faith life as much as it is integral to life life! God’s Spirit is in us just as breath is in us. This, friends, is the literal meaning of “inspiration.”
God’s Spirit activates…
Motivates…
Instigates… for good.
As is especially noticeable these days, breath is inestimable. How do we breathe a thing so valuable back into the broken world? Do we expend precious breath singing songs of sorrow as we pass by threshold numbers—like 100,000? Do we expel priceless breath to pray for justice and work for peace? Do we release treasured breath to speak out when another can’t breathe ?
Breath. It’s nothing new. It has always and forever been a requirement of life. Our acute, shared awareness of it is what’s new. That seems to have been true on the Day of Pentecost as well. God’s Spirit—the Holy Spirit—had always and forever been present. But society seemed to have noticed her that day, and everything changed. Her wildness gave rise to the Church! As we grow in mutual awareness of breath, are we being transformed? Will we breathe together, all makes and models of humanity? All skin tones and origins, ages and accents, abilities and opportunities?
Breathe on us, Breath of God.
Oxygenated,
Pastor Chris
+++++
Sunday Opportunities
Here’s how to find our online events for Sunday, May 31.
1 0:15 a.m. Virtual Fellowship Time
Bring your own coffee, juice, and doughnuts to the screen with you and join in catching up casually with your church family! To get the chatter started, we’ll have a lighthearted mixer or question. Children are welcomed to pop in with a giggle and pop backout again, just as they might if we were physically together in Fellowship Hall. We’ll take about a half hour for all of this, allowing anyone who would like to transition to worship to do so.
If you’ll be joining via computer, tablet, or smart phone, please use the link: https://zoom.us/j/91671628972?pwd=bFcwRXJqQUhVRmJpZXJGNGdUUVpSdz09
11:00 a.m. Moravian Church Without Walls Worship
Through a joint effort of the Moravian Church in both the Northern and Southern Provinces, virtual worship has been offered weekly throughout the pandemic. Lots of College Hill folks have joined in already, but there’s always room for more! (Well, unless there’s a technical glitch. But USUALLY there’s room for more.)
If you’ll be joining via computer, table, or laptop, use this link:
Tip 1: If you are a Facebook user, many of your friends are likely to be hosting “Watch Parties.” (Pastor Chris tries to do this when she can from her page: Christine Sobania Johnson.) This is an alternative way to wander into the same MCWW worship service and does not require the Zoom link.
Tip 2: To discover even further Moravian worship opportunities, please consult the updated list at https://www.moravian.org/2020/04/online-worship-opportunities/ . Quite a few Moravian congregations offer livestreamed or pre-recorded worship opportunities.
6:30 p.m. Holy Communion in Recognition of Pentecost / Zoom Prayers
In a simple service, we’ll celebrate Holy Communion together. Please gather your own elements–bread and drink–and bring them with you to the Zoom meeting. (Note: This is the same link we use for our usual Sunday evening Zoom Prayers.)
If you’ll be joining via computer, table, or laptop, use this link:
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