I once read that an average person can survive 3 weeks without food, 3 days without water, 3 hours without shelter (in a harsh climate), but only 3 minutes without air. This seems to make sense and might explain why we have so many idioms about breathing:
“Just give me a second to catch my breath!”
“Wow! That is simply breath-taking!”
“Your enthusiasm is like a breath of fresh air!”
– along with “Take a deep breath” and “Save your breath” just to name a few more.
On the Day of Pentecost we celebrate the beginning of a new era and dimension in our relationship with God. We are told that after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, or the Breath of Life) came to dwell within us (foretold in Luke 17:21). I underlined the word “within” because it is so succinct in describing God’s relationship with us. We are no longer just the image of God (Genesis 1:27) or the servants of God (2 Corinthians 6:4); we are a part of God – a God that is both infinite and indivisible.
During the Service of Baptism, and again in this Affirmation of Baptism, we pray together:
“Stir up in your people the gift of your Holy Spirit; the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.”
What I treasure most about this special prayer is its use of the action phrase “Stir up [in us].” Like paint in a can after it sits on a shelf for a while, we may at times settle out into a cloudy gray existence until stirred back to life in vibrant swirls of color. And like breath, while the Holy Spirit can sustain us you can’t simply “hold your breath.”
Living requires breathing; a continuous cycle of inhales and exhales. The spirit within us is a part of a whole. There are times when we need to share our spirit with others, and there are times when we need to open ourselves to the spirit of others. This is what it means to be a community in Christ and to achieve “the unity of the Holy Spirit, both now and forever. Amen.”
Come, breath of God, and fill us with eternal life!
David Krueger
P.S. Here is a special choral adaptation of a traditional Puritan Prayer about the Holy Spirit by Thomas Grassi. Enjoy!