​Breath – the original gift of life from Genesis. Just as Adam received life through God’s breath (Genesis 2:7), the Apostles receive new life, peace, and power through the breath of Jesus. When I think about this moment, it reminds me of many summers playing in the neighbourhood pool. We used to play all sorts of games and have competitions that involved holding our breath underwater as long as possible. The incredible feeling of bursting out of the water for breath — lungs burning and heart pounding. I imagine that this breath of Jesus felt like that.


There are moments of life like that — when we feel like we’re holding our breath and then we feel that rush of air. Like waiting for a test result or waiting for a child to be born. In many ways, this time of social distancing feels like that sort of waiting. Our entire planet is holding its breath when so many are fighting for their lives. Everything feels on hold.


But is that our reality as Christians? Are our lives put on hold, even in times like this? Is the Great Commission just another program that can be suspended until further notice? I think essential workers — everyone from healthcare professionals to grocery store staff to delivery drivers — have a different experience. The work goes on. As Christians, we are essential workers too. Our mission field may have changed, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re called to grow as disciples and invite people into relationship with Jesus.


People have been googling prayer with greater intensity. According to a Crux article, “search intensity for ‘prayer’ doubles for every 80,000 new registered cases of COVID-19.” We are in a thin place where all the distractions of the world are falling away and we’re left with the stark realization that we are not in control. Without our day to day routine, how many people out there are wondering what more there is to life?


The breath that Jesus breathed on the Apostles — the Holy Spirit — is present and available to all of us. Now is a time to seek God out more and more so that we can serve where He calls us. We know that many people are seeking comfort and faith in these trying times. Are we going to jealously guard this treasure entrusted to us (2 Corinthians 4:7-11) or are we going to share it? Because Jesus is on not on hold. Eternal life is not on hold.




Stephanie Potter

This year, I have to admit, I’ve been having a hard time wrapping my mind around what it means to live in the promise of Easter. As Christians, we believe that death has been conquered. But what does that mean amidst so much suffering, so much pain, so much grief, so much death? 

We live in what has been called the already-but-not-yet, where Jesus has already come into the world sharing His message of hope and love for all people and risen from the dead, but all the brokenness of the world has not yet been restored to the way God intended it to be. And it’s a hard place to be. Because this was never really Plan A. God never really meant for us to live in this space where it’s not done yet, where there is still so much pain and suffering. And I think on some level we know it. The ache that is inside of us — the one that pulls us towards beauty and truth and connection — it tells us that we were never really made to live like this, apart from God and apart from one another.

When Jesus appeared to His apostles after His resurrection, I imagine that they were overjoyed. But I also imagine that joy might have quickly turned to sorrow and confusion when He explained that He couldn’t stay, that He had to leave. He then told them that though He had to go, He was never really gone because He was going to send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to be with them. And that's a promise for all of us, too. The Comforter sits with us as we grapple with the "not yet."

I’ve been following the writer Kate Bowler as she reflects on this particular Easter season. She spoke about the beautiful loop of the story. Easter is a story about the past because it is a story about a particular event, something that Jesus did in the past. But it’s also a promise for the future. One day everything will be restored to the way God intended it to be and there will be no more separation, no more pain. And it’s a story about the present because it’s pulling us towards where we are going.  

We're invited to live our lives in the light of God's love — loving those around us and speaking up for justice where we can. The hope of Easter gives us the courage to believe that God is at work in our world today and that God is still making all things new.  ​




Morgan M.