Living In The Rhythms of Resurrection

There is a rhythm to the world that feels like breathing in and breathing out... like dying and resurrection.   

I heard once that in the ancient Hebrew, the name for God became YHWH (Yaweh) because it sounded a bit like breathing in and out to say it.  So the thought was that every time you took a breath and let it go, you said the name of God. 

We breathe in and breathe out, and each one of them is like a little death, and then a resurrection.  And all around us things are dying, and in that dying, new life is springing up, new things, new growth... a new world. 

This is the rhythm that Jesus referred to when he said:

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

And then he added... 

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

It's the last bit that stymies us.  Despite all of the evidence of the rhythm of life, death and resurrection all around us... Even though our very breath tells the story of God's design... 

We struggle to let go over our false selves to become the people God dreams for us to be. We fight to hold on to what is fading away, and filled with impermanence.  

But if we are brave, and if we open your hearts up enough to trust God to do what God does, we find something incredible.  Henri Nouwen described it like this:  

Each time we surrender, each time we trust the dying, we are led to a deeper level.  We are grounded for a while, like an electric wire, so there is less resistance and more available energy to trust it the next time.  Yet it is still invariably a leap of faith, a walk through some degree of darkness. 

As you walk around today, take deep breaths and be reminded of the presence of God in your very breath.  Pay attention to the rhythms of resurrection around you, and be filled with hope. 

And then step forward in faith even though the way might not be clear.  Know that whatever you leave behind will create space in your life for the new-ness God desires to show you. 

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.