Happenings 19 December 2019

I’m an asthmatic. This means the importance of breathing has at times been more obvious to me than it might be to others! (especially in those moments when my lungs sounded like broken bellows and every next breath was a small victory). Fortunately, medicine has come a long way and my asthma doesn’t impact me that much now, but there is still an abiding sense of gratitude that I feel for the simple pleasure of an easy breath. Breath truly is life. And so it seems SO right to me that both the Hebrew and the Greek words for ‘spirit’ also mean ‘breath’ (or ‘wind’) … the Holy Spirit is in one sense the holy ‘breath’ of God, and just as with our physical breathing, the Holy Spirit breathes life into people and situations. With life comes growth and change, stimulation and newness. We see that in the Old Testament, where the Holy Spirit brought out words of truth and timeliness from prophets and kings to change the people and culture around them. We see it in the birth of the early church – the fuller title of the book of Acts is ‘The Acts of the Apostles; really it should be called ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit’, because the Spirit was the driving force behind the rippling expansion of the gospel into the world. And we see it in the Christmas story as well. The Holy Spirit was the midwife, ushering the life of God’s son into the world of humanity when he overshadowed a young woman called Mary. He also brought words of truth and interpretation into those who witnessed this most profound act of life-giving. The Holy Spirit, it seems, delights in bringing life and breath, growth and change. This Christmas, as we reflect on the moment when the Breath of Heaven brought Life himself into our world, remember that the Holy Spirit wants also to be your ‘breath’. Each day, open yourself like a dry sponge to the Holy Spirit, asking him to fill you again. It is as important as breathing.

In Him,
Murray