Breath + Life
By Jocelyn Zulick
Breath. Have you ever really considered the dichotomy of this word? On the one hand, breathing is something we do every day. On the other, it’s also something we probably don’t really think about much. But many events in recent weeks have focused on the notion of breath, and I realize just how much power it can have. It can be life sustaining. It can be life draining.
Within our religion, breath has been the focus for us lately as we have listened to readings leading up to and celebrating Pentecost. In John 20:22, we hear about Jesus reappearing to the apostles, and when he does, he breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The deacon at the mass I recently attended recollected to us that at his ordination, the Bishop breathed on each candidate in order to pass along Jesus’ blessing from all those years ago at the first Pentecost.
In the Book of Genesis 2:7, when God was creating man, we read that God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7) God literally breathed life into us as he created us in his likeness and image.
If you Google bible passages about breath, I think you will be surprised to find out how many times it is referenced in the bible. Many of them are like the ones I just mentioned. They talk about breath as sustaining life. If we look around in our real everyday world, we can see that breath sustains life, too. Certainly, we need air to survive. We can use breath to bring another human being back from the brink of death when performing CPR. We can use breath to help get a fire going by blowing on sparks fallen on kindling. Breath can be sweet. It can be soft and intimate. It can be renewing as is the case when we blow or even the wind blows away the ashes of destruction in order to make way for new growth after a fire.
But breath can be life draining as well. The bible references breath in this vein, too. Job 4:9 says, “By the breath of God they perish. And by the blast of His anger, they come to an end.” The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought much attention to the fact that merely breathing on one another could possibly transmit the deadly virus. And, of course, when we think about the horrible incident with George Floyd, we can’t help but think how his very breath was taken from him even as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe.
Breath is so much a part of how we think about our own emotions. When we are distraught and overwhelmed by events or thoughts, isn’t it true that we often feel the need to stop and take a breath? When we disagree with another but we don’t want to hurt their feelings, don’t we usually mumble something under our breath? When someone new comes along with an idea or an attitude that we haven’t seen before, don’t we say they are a breath of fresh air? There are so many ways that we can think about breath.
Our world is facing challenging times. Some of us can feel frightened by many things that are happening. They may be breathing quicker and more shallow out of fear and trepidation. Now, more than ever, it seems there is a real need to focus on breath in the sense of using it to pass along peace. Just like Jesus did all those years ago through the Holy Spirit. It feels to me that we need to pray more intently to the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to breathe on this world. His breath is good. It is peace. It is God’s love. It can sustain us. As we see in Galatians 5:22-25, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Let us all take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and go forward in faith and prayer.
