Breath of God

At the Women’s Retreat last Saturday, I decided to try the exercise of “Dwelling in the Word”* on a hymn text.  While I love singing and enjoy many of the hymns we use during worship, the richness of their texts gets lost in the moment, so I wanted to take some time to study the words of the classic hymn “Breathe on me, Breath of God,” written by Edwin Hatch around 1878:

Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew,
that I may love the way you love, and do what you would do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God, until my heart is pure, 
until my will is one with yours, to do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God, till I am wholly thine,
till all this earthly part of me glows with thy fire divine.

Breathe on me, Breath of God, so shall I never die,
But live with you the perfect life for all eternity.

This seemingly simple song bears great riches. Many of us were struck by a word or phrase in a way that we had not heard before.  I particularly liked the line from the third verse “till all this earthly part of me glows with thy fire divine.”  It reminded me of blowing on coals or embers in a fire that glow bright red when blown upon.  When I allow God’s Spirit to blow in and through me, I feel “on fire.” It is an amazing feeling – one I hope we all have experienced. And if you haven’t, we have some work to do!

Many of the attendees also like the line “until my will is one with yours, to do and to endure,” recognizing that sometimes we are called to action, being Jesus’ hands and feet in the world, and other times – usually the difficult and challenging times – we have to maintain our faith by remembering that God is always with us. Being aware of God’s breath at those times is crucially important to keep our connection to God when we may feel disconnected, even abandoned. That is when we need to trust that God has not and will not leave us comfortless, because the Holy Spirit is with us always.

Since the retreat, I learned that Dr. Hatch wrote this hymn with the intention of it being used during ordination services, for which it is well suited.  However, it is important to remember that BAPTISM is the first “ordination” service.  That is when the community recognizes the presence of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives of all Christians, not just deacons, priests and bishops.  We are all beneficiaries of God’s breath, God’s Spirit flowing through our lives.  The more difficult part is being open and aware of it.

I invite all of us to make sure we are making time to breathe slowly and deeply, centering our thoughts on God's presence in an around us. Start with a minute, even up to 5, and I am sure you will notice a huge difference in how you feel and your outlook on life.  God is always breathing, but we are not always receiving, so be open to the Spirit’s movement.  We might just ignite our coals and be lit with God’s divine fire.

In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+

*What are the steps for “Dwelling in the Word”?
  •       Choose a passage.
  •       Have two people read the entire passage out loud, with a pause between the readings.
  •       Before the second reading ask people to be open to the Spirit through these questions:
    • As the text is read a second time, where do you stop?
    • Are there words, phrases, ideas which grasp you?
    • How do you think the Spirit of God might be nudging you?
  •       After the text is read again invite people to ponder the questions.
  •       Following several minutes of silence ask people to pair off with someone in the room     and answer the questions.
  •       Each gives the other 2 minutes and listens to where the other has stopped and how         they have responded to one of the questions.
  •    Invite people to share with the broader group, what they have heard their partner say.     This is difficult! Many people will default to reporting what they said instead of       reporting what their partner said. However, this is an important way in which we  practice listening.

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