“Experiencing Resurrection” – A Sermon on Breathing and Mercy for the 2nd Sunday of Easter

Have you ever noticed that when you are worried about something that your breathing becomes shallow?  

On Tuesday as much of the world waited to see whether or not the President would follow through on his unconscionable threat to destroy Iran’s whole civilization, one friend called me and said, “I’m so worried.  I’m holding my breath.”  I felt the same way.  Perhaps you did, too. 

When a cease fire was announced, my friend and I had a text exchange. We both said, “I feel like I can breathe again.”  Can you imagine what the people of Iran felt like?

Then on Friday, as ABC’s Will Reeve was reporting on  the return of Artemis II to earth, what did he say after the splashdown? “We can breathe.” (If you haven’t watched the splashdown or heard the interview with the astronauts that followed, I highly encourage you to do so – especially the interview.  Listen and watch their behavior.)

Fear interrupts our breathing.  It interrupts our peace of mind. Fear interrupts the flow of life in us. 

So, it is intriguing that when the Resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples, who are behind locked doors out of fear that the authorities might come after them, his first words are “Peace be with you.”  Then after showing them his wounds, he repeats his message, “Peace be with you” and he repeats their mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Then, he breathes on them.  The word in Greek for “breathed” can be translated in two ways – breathed on or breathed in. Both have deep spiritual implications.

If you heard my Easter sermon, you may remember that the purpose of Jesus’ resurrection isn’t to be a mere supernatural phenomenon which either we believe or we don’t. The purpose of Jesus’ resurrection is to unleash God’s resurrecting spirit in his first disciples and in us.  As Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

As long as the disciples are frozen in fear behind locked doors, Jesus’ resurrection is in vain.  As long as we are frozen in fear behind locked doors, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, Jesus’ resurrection is in vain. The resurrection has meaning for the disciples and for us, when we don’t let fear grip, paralyze and isolate us, but instead when we gather in community to continue the mission of Jesus.

In today’s Gospel reading,  the Risen Christ doesn’t judge or condemn the disciples for failing to be there for him through his suffering and death.  He doesn’t judge or condemn them for falling short of his hopes and their own hopes for how they would stick together and support each other through his suffering and death.

Instead, the Resurrected Christ shows up. He meets the disciples where they are. He does the most radical thing possible: he approaches them with understanding and compassion.  He doesn’t give up on them. He sees their hurt and fear and shows them his wounds. And rather than saying, “I’m so disappointed in you. You have failed me,” he says, “Peace be with you.”

Friends, it is the most natural thing in the world to be angry and judgmental towards people who disappoint us.  Who abandon us. Who have betrayed us.  But, that’s not what Jesus does.  He recognizes that his disciples are in distress, breathing uneasily—and he revives them with his mercy and breath.  Because they experience the mercy and peace of the Risen Christ, they can now extend mercy and peace to themselves, to each other, and to those they are called to serve. 

This is what wise parents who may have good reason to be upset with a child, but take a deep breath, know.  One spring afternoon, 12 year old Joey, asks his mom, Erin, if he could go outside and play soccer with his friends.  “Have you finished putting away your laundry?” she asks.  “Yes, Mom!”  And off Joey goes to join his friends.

But, when Erin goes into Joey’s room, she sees the laundry crumpled and stuffed into his soccer bag.  She is not happy.  So, she takes a deep breath and remembers how her mother handled a similar situation when she was Joey’s age. 

Erin decides to walk to the soccer field.  She calls Joey over, then places her arm around his shoulders and gently asks  him if he had any idea why she is there asking him to come home.

Joey’s shoulders sag and a tear rolls down his cheek. 

They walk into the house and upstairs to his room. Together they fold the clothes and  talk about the importance of honesty.  Erin offers a short prayer.  Joey tells his mother that he is sorry.  Erin forgives him. 

A few hours later Joey approached Erin, “Hey, Mom, I just … um … want to say thank you for helping me today. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Joey.”

Can you imagine how our relationships could grow if – like the Risen Lord, like Erin, we took a breath when we felt disappointed in someone and gave them mercy instead of judgement? 

There is also an echo to the way the Resurrected Jesus relates to his disciples from the Creation story in the second chapter of Genesis. Theologian Dr. David Maxwell writes, “This is not the first time that God breathed on human beings. By breathing on his disciples and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” Jesus is in effect re-enacting Genesis 2:7, where “the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Through forgiveness, Jesus is inviting his disciples into a renewed relationship with our life-giving Creator. No matter what we have done in the past, forgiveness is God’s way of showing us that nothing can separate us from God’s love.  Not betrayal.  Not abandonment. Not fear.  Not disunity. God’s love is greater than all these human tendencies and weaknesses. 

Being stuck in fear is a terrible experience. Not only does our breathing  become shallow, but we often feel paralyzed.  Our minds can become so distracted over what we fear, that we lose the mental capacity to think creatively.  Instead, we can perseverate over our distress.  As we do so, we become more and more fearful.  More and more stuck.  Often, more and more critical of ourselves, others, and the situation we are facing. 

What are you worried about?  Right now?  Are you worried about your health or the health of a loved one?  Or both? Are you concerned about the state of our country or the world?  Or both? Are you worried about the health of the planet?   Are you worried about all of these things? Let’s face it, we are living through a deeply fearful time.

Is there an area in your life where you feel locked behind closed doors, paralyzed to act?

The experience of the Resurrected Christ is not limited by time and space.  What the Gospels offer is a way for us to encounter God’s living spirit through the words and stories that are conveyed through them.  The living God uses the words of scripture to raise new life in us.  This is one way we can begin to experience the resurrection. 

Earlier in the sermon I mentioned that the word “breathed” could be translated in two ways – breathed on and breathed in. What might it mean that Christ not only breathes on his disciples, but he breathes in them?  In us?  

Could it be that by returning to the breath, inviting God’s spirit to breathe in us, we can unloosen those places within our own hearts and minds that are stuck in fear? That we can experience forgiveness and inner freedom? That we can move from feeling paralyzed or angry to becoming renewed for the mission of serving others with love? (Yogic and Buddhist practices deeply recognize the importance of the breath.)

Since the early days of the pandemic, over six years ago, a group has been meeting each Thursday night to contemplate sacred poetry and pray together.  We always begin with a breath prayer (adapted from Christine Sine) as a way of inviting God’s spirit to move in us and through us.  It is profound.  

Thursday after Thursday, God’s resurrecting spirit moves through this group.

This morning, I’d like to give you a focused experience of breath prayer.  

First, bring to mind something that makes you feel fearful or disappointed, something that paralyzes you. It could be personal, national, or global… and now let’s take a deep breath together. We invite Christ’s spirit to breathe in us. Begin to breathe slowly and easily, watching the breath as it rises and it falls. As you breathe, draw your attention into your heart… allow it to open to receive God’s presence and peace.

With open hands and hearts:

Breathe in the breath of God… Breathe out your concerns and fears

Breathe in the love of God… Breathe out your doubt and distress

Breathe in the life of God… Breathe out your despair and hopelessness

Breathe in the breath of God… Breathe out your turmoil and trials

Breathe in the love of God… Breathe out your pain and sorrow

Breathe in the life of God.. Breathe out your troubles and burdens

In the peace of this moment, we receive the breath of God flowing in us, releasing fear, carrying forgiveness and new life, leading us to peace, calling us to show mercy to ourselves and to others in love.  Amen.

Minute of silence

***

BENEDICTION (Steve Garnaas-Holmes, amended)

Jesus breathes himself into you,

his deep peace even in the face of evil,

the power of love, the courage and energy

that sends you out into a hurting world

like wind nothing can stop,

to fearlessly embody the resurrection…

You are embraced.  You are transformed.

You are inhabited. You are sent.

Now every breath you take is his. Amen.

(Image credit: Hannah Verghese)