Breathe- Sermon

Intro

language is funny

the meaning of a word can be completely different from one group to another of the same thing

I was born in the late 90s and grew up in the 2000s

I call things “sick” all the time

not because I’m overly conscious of bacteria and disease but because Tony Hawk made that what we call things that are cool and/or unique

If someone in the youthgroup or youthgroup adjacent says the numbers after 5 and before 8 in sequence, it means more than just two numbers in order for us

it means they would like to help me train my jiujitsu and have temporarily forfeited their right to oxygen

we are going to talk about a single Hebrew word that is translated into English as three different words

doing so often loses the depth of meaning that we are meant to read

so strap yourselves in for this first bit

Breath in the beginning

Spirit, Wind, Breath

the difficulty of translation and grasping fuller meaning comes from words like this

the Hebrew people had one word that encompassed all of these ideas and their meaning is intertwined rather than simply derivative from context

Genesis 1:1-2

formless and void, wild and waste, empty nothingness and yet it is clearly something

I’m not certain our mortal minds are meant to be able to grasp all of that

but God is there and is able to move and form it and the language shows this

the Spirit of God- Ruakh- is hovering

flutter and tremble don’t sound like activities of the almighty

occurs three times in scripture- Jeremiah talks about his bones shaking or trembling- Moses in Deuteronomy describes how an Eagle spreads its wings to protect its young

the language seems to be that God is not just present as some ethereal ghostly thing floating above some water, but that his presence makes an impact on the presence of the waters which represent the chaos of the uncreated

all of that to say, God is there and his presence, his breathing in that space like an eagle spreading its wings starts to change what was once chaotic and worthless into good that is flourishing

he speaks and all of creation comes into form with order and reason rather than chaos

he forms man out of the dust and breathes into his nostrils and he comes alive

God’s presence, and his breath, and the wind are all tied together to create and sustain life

Breathing on Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-10

near the end of Ezekiel’s work

a man who had spent his time as a prophet in exile illustrating the failures of his people

often having to go through very awful and difficult things to make God’s point

up until this it must have been difficult for Ezekiel or anyone around him to find any semblance of hope

1-3

The Ruakh of YHWH brings him to the middle of the valley covered in dry bones

He asks a question that Ezekiel gives a wise answer to

4-10

God tells him to prophesy over the bones and his choice of words is important

they can be completely put together bodies but they need God’s breath, his Spirit, his wind

Breathing the Divine name

Exodus 3:13-15

the revelation of the divine name and its meaning in the midst of Moses asking questions to try to get out of being a leader

I AM and the one who is

in context the point is that God is about to show himself as far more real than any of the things the Egyptians worship

that he is and they in so many words are not

but deeper than that, the divine name and its description in Hebrew mimic a breath and that’s on purpose

as if when you encounter God, when you approach him, when you call on him for help, you ought to be forced to stop and take a breath

you are meant to be reminded of God’s sustaining, life giving, force that he gives freely

for us, having not only heard the prophecy of Ezekiel but understood what it means and how it came to fruition

that when this mortal body breathes its last, he can breathe life into us again

Application

Psalm 150:6

God has breathed life into you and continues to sustain you with every breath you take

if we let this be more than knowledge but what shapes our worldview and our actions, it will make an impact on the lives around us

because hope and peace and calm despite circumstances that should lead you to anything else are infectious

people will want to know how you can find gratitude moment to moment despite kids and deadlines and full schedules

if even every breath is a gift from God, then every breath is an opportunity

If I’m still breathing, then there must still be good for me to do