Cathy Harris sang this song, “Breath of Heaven,” today – the first Sunday after Easter. Generally, this song is sung at Christmas time because it is about Mary and her feelings as she found out she was to become the mother of the Son of God.
It reflects her wonderings and questions and her turning to the breath of heaven for strength, for faith, and for understanding. Cathy explained before she sang the song that Carrie Copenhaver had suggested that Mary’s searching would have been intensified again as she stood at the foot of the cross and then witnessed the resurrection. Mary did not waiver, but she did not understand the whole picture either. She could only turn to God – the breath of heaven – and leave her life in His hands. There is evidence that she did that throughout the time she was Mother to the earthly Jesus and the rest of her life.
This song was an inspiration to all of us and led us right into the sermon. The sermon title for the day was: “Jesus, Teach Me to See You More Clearly,” and the scripture reading was from the second half of John 20 – the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples on Easter evening. Jesus said to them: “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21-22) The disciples had been hiding in fear of the authorities who killed Jesus and perhaps hiding in fear of Jesus himself once they heard he had been raised from the dead. They had deserted Jesus, they said they never knew him, and they ran from the whole situation. They did this because they did not understand the arrest and the crucifixion. They did not remember what Jesus had said to them earlier. Jesus, however, came to them gently and in peace. He commissioned them to carry on his work – “just as the Father sent me, I am sending you.” He sealed that commission by breathing on them so they could receive the Holy Spirit. Just as God had breathed the breath of life into Adam in Genesis 2:7, Jesus breathed his power of the Holy Spirit into his followers’ lives.
We are much like Mary, the disciples, and many others in scripture. Many times we are confused about what God wants, what he is doing, and how we can be strong enough to get through our circumstances. God invites us to turn to his breath, his presence, and his power to find hope and joy. This commission is for us today – God sent Jesus and Jesus sends us. He does not ask us to walk this path alone, however, he offers his very own breath to give us new life and new hope each day.
David Brock
David loves being with people and greatly enjoys serving as co-pastor of Spiceland Friends Church. He and his wife, Linda, enjoy spending time with their three grown children and their grandchildren. David is also a full-time attorney. David likes to say that his job description is simple - it is like a pizza delivery person - deliver a hot, fresh sermon each week in LESS THAN 20 MINUTES! Actually, he does a few more things at the church, but his focus on the pastoral team is preparing a Sunday morning message that makes the scripture relevant and applicable to our lives.