Breathe the Breath of God – Br. Todd Blackham
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How many times have I heard this passage from the gospel, sighed and thought, you’re right, Jesus. I just need a nap. I just need to recharge my batteries and I’ll be set. But that recharge inevitably diminishes and I’m back to weary. What’s really needed is a power adaptor, a way to plug into the source of power directly.
A friend of mine keeps string cheese and granola bars in her purse at all times because she gets hangry. She knows that if she gets to a certain point, her energy will fail and that combination of hunger and anger will drop her into worse than a catatonic state. It can become a frantic cry for relief like a young child having a meltdown at the park.
Jesus’ invitation is not simply to cease activity but he says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” In part, Jesus is sharing our burden, yoked together with us. And he is teaching us how to bear the load because there is the work of love to be done.
The prayer for quiet confidence stirs in my spirit when I hear Jesus today:
O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and
rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be
our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray,
to your presence, where we may be still and know that you
are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the stillness of the Divine and Holy name given revealed to Moses on the mountain, I AM who I AM, we rest in all that truly is. That which is a passing vapor can fall away as we enter into the rhythm of the blessed outpouring of the Trinity. As pastor and author Rob Bell has pointed out[1], the very letters of that divine name, Yodh, He, Waw, He, have the, sound, the echo of our very breath. Yodh, He, Waw, He.
This is the rhythm built into our bodies and the rhythm back to which we are continually called. Yoked together with Christ, To breathe the very breath of God, to be rested in the wholeness of God’s being.
[1] Rob Bell, Nooma, “Breathe” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUFnNlvaIxA