Breath of Life

A Reflection on the Gospel for May 28th, 2023:
​Pentecost Sunday

---

John 20.
19-23

It was evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

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, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the months of social distancing felt like that sort of waiting. Our entire planet was holding its breath when so many were fighting for their lives. Everything felt on hold.

But is that our reality as Christians? Are our lives put on hold, even in pandemic times? 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 — had a different experience. Their work went 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.

During the pandemic, people Googled prayer with greater intensity. According to a Crux article, “search intensity for ‘prayer’ double[d] for every 80,000 new registered cases of COVID-19.” We were in a thin place where all the distractions of the world fell away and we were left with the stark realization that we were not in control. Without our day to day routine, how many people out there wondered 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 trying times. Let us never jealously guard this treasure entrusted to us (2 Corinthians 4:7-11). Instead, let us share it. Because Jesus is never on hold. Eternal life is never on hold.




Stephanie Potter
Originally posted on May 31, 2020.

---