Being the Beloved - A Monthly Blog from CFDM Northwest
By Rev. Mona Chicks, CFDM Alumni
The breath of God gives me life (Ezekiel 37:5)
In this season of slowness, of uncertainty, pain, and anxiety, God has been pressing on my heart how something so simple as breathing – something most of us don’t even have to think about – is so essential to life.
COVID-19 has taken over our lives. For the fortunate, it has slowed us down and forced us into new habits of work, recreation, and thought. For the less fortunate, it has taken away their breath – forcing them into ICU beds and nearly comatose as a machine takes over their breath. For many it has taken away their breath altogether – 100,000 and counting in the US alone.
I am grateful that I am able to work from home and have access to everything I need. But I still have moments of feeling crushed under the weight of everything happening in our world, of feeling locked in and deprived. I want to spread my wings. I want to go somewhere (I don’t even care where at this point!). But still I stay home. I wear my mask to protect those around me. I keep distance from my neighbors, whom I love dearly. My whole world has shrunk to my 2200-sq ft house, with my husband, adult son, and two cats.
But still, I breathe.
Ezekiel 37:4-14 (The Message)
He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Message of God!’”
God, the Master, told the dry bones, “Watch this: I’m bringing the breath of life to you and you’ll come to life. I’ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You’ll come alive and you’ll realize that I am God!”
I prophesied just as I’d been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them.
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!’”
So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.
Then God said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they’re saying: ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there’s nothing left of us.’
“Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says: I’ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I’ll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you’ll realize that I am God. I’ll breathe my life into you and you’ll live. Then I’ll lead you straight back to your land and you’ll realize that I am God. I’ve said it and I’ll do it. God’s Decree.’”
Breathing is an interesting process, and it has a lot to teach us about living. We inhale. Stuff happens and our brain, muscles, bones, and organs are fed essential oxygen, and expel the carbon dioxide waste from the breakdown of sugars in the cells of the body. That, in turn, is expelled from the body through exhalation. If we only inhale, our bodies will shut down due to excess carbon dioxide. If we only exhale, our bodies will shut down from lack of oxygen. We need both inhaling and exhaling in order to live. Those dry bones needed to be stitched together AND have breath in order to become fully human again.
What God has been teaching me as I stay home and stay healthy is that to be a fully healthy Christian we need both to be inhaling God and exhaling God. We need the infusion of God throughout our being in order to have the “stuff happen” that then enables us to express God into the air around us – into our families, our neighborhoods, our cities, and our world. If we only do the inner work, the inhaling, soon it will become toxic to our bodies. If we only serve others, the exhaling, we pass out from lack of the spirit we need – the ruach (Hebrew), the wind/breath/spirit.
Part of what I love about CFDM is that it offers us the tools for inhaling, but never without the understanding that our work is for the sake of others. It is a partnership with God that can only be carried out with the full Breath of God working within us.
Bethany Community Church created a wonderful list of inhaling and exhaling habits.
Inhaling: Simplicity (Ps 23:1); Solitude (Mk 1:35); Fasting (Ezra 8:23); Sabbath (Psalm 46:10); Meditation (Josh 1:8); Bible study (Ps 119:9)
Exhaling: Service (Gal 5:13); Pilgrimage (James 1:22); Generosity (2 Cor 8:7); Hospitality (1 Thess 2:8); Truth telling (Phil 4:8); Prayer for others (Ezek 22:30).
And so I breathe. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.
Personal Note:
As I write this today, the Northwest is experiencing the unrest that has erupted across the nation. I join in grieving for my marginalized friends and neighbors who have lived lives that make it hard to breathe freely. And I believe that God is grieving, too, because justice is so key to God’s character. God calls us – simply and beautifully – to love God and love our neighbors. To live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. I can’t ignore this part of our collective story. It is part of my journey of knowing God - knowing what God’s justice looks like, knowing what it means to inhale and exhale God. I don’t have answers. I have a broken heart. And it is my prayer that as I am inhaling and exhaling freely, God will direct me personally to ways I can help my brothers and sisters of color breathe freely, too.
Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God), You are my breath. Show me how You take dry bones and breathe life into them--the oppressed, the poor, the widow and orphan, the foreigner, the stranger in our midst. Guide me as I inhale You, and as I exhale You. Show me how I can partner with You in bringing Your breath – inhaling and exhaling – to my friends who can’t breathe. In Jesus’ mighty and loving name, amen.
What books, media, activities are nurturing your heart, soul, mind, strength in this season as we are loving God and our neighbor as ourselves? Post in the comments below or hop on over to our Facebook page and share with one another.