ALLOW GOD TO BREATHE INTO YOU

LISTEN TO THE PSALMS

As I reflect back on forty seven years of ordained ministry, I realize that the focus of my theological reflections has been the nature of the church. Since retirement, I have paid particular attention to the clergy as they serve both the individual congregations and the other specialized ministries, including at the judicatory level. Over the next several Wednesdays, I want to focus on the Psalms appointed to the next Sunday but from a special perspective. I want to explore those Psalms for how they can speak to us about the nature of the church and the ministry.

I am not trying to provide sermon starters but rather asking how these psalms can speak to our souls as we respond to God’s call. I hope that each Wednesday, you will pause to allow this part of Scripture to speak to you personally. Allow God to address you through the Psalms and my reflections on them. I would be delighted if you would both subscribe to my blog and give me feedback from time to time.

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

First, read the Psalm and keep the text open as you read these reflections.

 
When you take away their breath, they die and return
to their dust. When you send forth your (breath) they
are created. — Psalm 104:29b-30a

 
This entire psalm is a hymn of creation that shows many parallels
with the story in Genesis 2:4b-91. In both places, emphasis is
given to the breath of God. The same word can be interchangeably
used to refer to either breath or spirit, and it is this play on words
that is evoked in both places.

All of creation is dependent on the Spirit or breath of God. In Genesis we are told that God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7), but Adam did
not become a living being until God breathed his Spirit into him.
So the psalmist also declares, “when you take away their breath,
they die….”

At Pentecost, we hear of the essential presence of the
Spirit of God if the church is to live. In connection with this psalm,
we recognize that the church is part of the whole creation that also
depends on the Spirit of God for its existence.

The major difference is that the church is given the task of
proclaiming that essential connection to a world that often forgets
it. “These all look to you to give them their food in due season …
when you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away
their breath, they die and return to their dust” (vv. 27, 29).

In contrast to the gnostics who counted the material world as evil to be
escaped from, the church celebrates the physical world as part of
God’s good creation. At the same time, the church recognizes that
unless it stays connected with the Spirit of God, it will simply be
part of the dust of the universe.

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As you approach Pentecost, take time to breathe in. Picture what it means for your congregation to be enlivened by God’s spirit. May God’s spirit be with you as you engage in your ministry in whatever form it is taking.