Guest Post from Dr. Dennis Ortman: One Big Breath

 



The following guest post was buried in the Christmas mail, but it is still worth reading:

ONE BIG BREATH

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

--Luke 1: 35

 

I just started participating in yoga classes. I wanted to breathe a little more life into my old, slow, stiff body. The instructor from India invites us to assume many seemingly unnatural positions with our bodies, which I think of as “pretzel poses.” We stretch like rubber bands, hoping not to snap. She asks us to hold those poses for several minutes and breathe slowly and deeply. She instructs us to be aware of our bodies and breathe into the physical sensations we experience. I experience mostly pain, which she tells me is “just discomfort.” She says, “Just follow your breath. It is your life energy,” which she assures us will bring relief. Each session ends with one big breath and the exchange of a solemn greeting, “Namaste” (Bow to you.).

The classes have changed my perspective on life and religion. Now I think of both as “one big breath.” Let me explain.

TWIN PEAK FEASTS

I was born and raised Catholic. After a brief period of wandering and searching, I am again committed to the Catholic Church as my preferred path to God. In the Christian tradition, there are two central feasts: Christmas and Easter. In both, God’s breath, which is another name for Spirit, is creating new life. Just as human life begins with the first breath and ends with the last, the whole universe lives and dies by God’s breath. The energizing Spirit fills the whole universe. It moves in two directions: inward as inspiration, and outward as expiration. It is an ongoing process of receiving and sending out, a continuous interchange. These movements work together to create wholeness. During the liturgical year, we follow closely God’s breath.

At Christmas, we celebrate that the Word became flesh in the birth of Jesus Christ. God exhaled and sent his Spirit into the world through the womb of Mary. His Spirit moved inward, creating new life within us that is both Divine and human. Spirit and matter were inseparably joined. A precious gift was given. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Luke 1: 35)

We celebrate Christmas not only as a past event, but in every moment of our lives. We believe God exhales and inspires us, fills us with His life and love. The Holy Spirit has come upon us, and the Most High overshadows us. The wonder of it all can take our breath away. Christ is born in us daily. We share the gift of the new life given us.

At Easter, we celebrate the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus that has brought us new life. During these events, the Spirit moved outward. Jesus expired on the cross. With his last breath, he said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23: 26) The crucified one, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, surrendered it for the benefit of us all. He told his disciples the night before he died, “Yet I tell you the sober truth: It is much better for you that I go. If I fail to go, the Paraclete will never come to you, whereas if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16: 7) Jesus further explained, “When he comes, however, being the Spirit of truth, he will guide you in all truth.” (John 16: 13)

Jesus did not abandon his disciples, as they did him. His promise was fulfilled on Pentecost. The disciples were huddled together, hiding for fear of the Jews. They feared suffering Jesus’ fate. The Acts of the Apostles recounts the event: “Suddenly from up in the sky there came a noise like a strong, driving wind which was heard all through the house where they were seated. Tongues as of fire appeared, which parted and came to rest on them. All were filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1: 2-3) God’s breath was experienced as a windstorm that gave them courage. This timid group was inspired to go forth and preach boldly the Gospel.

His followers also experienced the presence of the risen Lord. Jesus surrendered his Spirit on the cross, and it entered the whole world. Not only were his disciples inspired, but the whole community was filled with his Spirit. The community became the Body of Christ where his Spirit lives on in the world. St. Paul wrote: “It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body. All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit….You, then, are the body of Christ.” (I Corinthians 12: 13, 27)

We all live in the shadow of death. One day we will take our last breath. That can be terrifying. However, the resurrection of Jesus gives us hope. When we expire, our Spirit does not die. St. Paul writes: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is void of content and your faith is empty too….Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will come to life again, but each on in proper order.” (I Corinthians 15: 14, 23-24) When the breath leaves us, our body decays and returns to the earth. However, when, like Jesus, we surrender our Spirit, we are enlarged. Our spiritual selves live on as part of the universal Body of Christ.

SPIRITED UNIVERSE

Scientists tell us our universe happened about fourteen billion years ago. Our human history of only two hundred thousand years is a mere blip on the horizon of time. Scientists also recognize that our world is composed of measurable elements, perceived by the senses, called matter, and other immeasurables. Some invisible energy force keeps everything in motion. Also, a mysterious intelligence orders it all.

Our Judeo-Christian tradition calls that mysterious force and intelligence “Spirit.” God did not hold His breath until Christ’s birth. He spoke long ago, and the universe appeared. It began with God’s one big breath, his exhalation. The Book of Genesis recounts: “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light.’ God saw how good light was.” (Genesis 1: 1-4) Successively, God’s word created the sky, earth, vegetation, stars, and all living creatures. His Spirit enlivened matter. That energizing Spirit is the Life Force that creates and sustains our world. Divine Wisdom orders it. The word universe means “one turning.” The Spirit is the Center around which the universe revolves, even though many of us do not recognize it.

The creation of humanity is related in two accounts. In the first, God created man as His final act: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’….God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them saying: ‘Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.’” (Genesis 1: 26-28) In a second account, God breathed life into a piece of earth: “The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.” (Genesis 2: 7) Humanity, the late arrival on the scene, was then given dominion over all creation. We were given a powerful God-like Spirit to continue His creative work in the world.

Human history moves in a straight line and follows a divine plan in the Judeo-Christian accounts. This differs from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions in which the universe moves in circles, in eternal repetitions. The Hebrew Scriptures relate God’s guidance of His chosen people: “The Lord, the God of our fathers, brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.” (Deuteronomy 26: 8-9) God’s Spirit led them to the Promised Land.

The Christian Scriptures prophesy the final fulfillment of God’s plan in Jesus Christ: “God has given us the wisdom to understand fully the mystery, the plan he was pleased to decree in Christ, to be carried out in the fullness of time: namely, to bring all things in heaven and on earth into one under Christ’s leadership.” (Ephesians 2: 9-10) Our destiny is for all people, of every race and nation, to be united in the heavenly Jerusalem. No one is excluded. God’s Spirit creates unity, which is our calling. The work towards that goal is our ongoing mission.

Our world is an enchanted place. It is filled with Divine whispers. St. Paul wrote: “I consider the sufferings of the present to be nothing compared to the glory to be revealed in us. Indeed, the whole created world eagerly awaits the revelations of the sons of God….Yes, we know that all creation groans and is in agony even until now.” (Romans 8: 18-20, 22) We can listen to the groaning in our world and in our hearts with hope. The Divine Spirit empowers us to work toward making all things new, according to God’s plan. God breathes new life into our world through us. If we follow our breath, the Spirit’s urgings, we will create something new and unimaginable. The world awaits breathlessly our hope-filled response.

Because God’s one big breath sustains all, every moment is sacred. No time or place is profane. We can realize God’s presence in any time or life circumstance. Paying close attention and following our breath, we can sense the subtle movements of the Spirit. We hear the angels of our better nature speaking. Living fully in the present moment, we are inspired to move forward. Grateful for the grace, we exhale and share the Spirit of love, courage, and peace.

For more posts about and by Dennis Ortman and his books, click HERE.


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