Did you realize that the word "conspire" means . . .
Did you
realize that the word “conspire” literally means “to breathe together"? Take a deep breath. Now let it out again. There you go.
You just launched a conspiracy!
We don’t think
very often about the air we breathe—except, perhaps, when the smog levels or
pollen count are particularly high.
However, contained within this planet’s atmosphere is the same air that
humankind has been breathing since the dawn of time. Chances are that, at some point in your life,
you have breathed a few of the very same molecules of air that Abraham
breathed, and Moses, and Ruth, and King David, and Isaiah, and even Jesus
himself!
In Hebrew
the word for “breath” is the same word for “spirit.” Hence, when God forms us by taking a lump of
clay and breathing into it, the idea is that we receive God’s Spirit. God doesn’t do this with any of the other
animals; just with us. And in a sense,
the same thing happens on Pentecost. God
breathes the Holy Spirit into a group of anxious, uncertain disciples and gives
life to the church.
Of the three
Persons of the Trinity, it’s probably the Holy Spirit that we have the hardest
time defining. Most of us, for example,
can at least begin to describe the other two.
First Person: God the Father, creator of heaven and earth, who makes the
sun shine and the rain fall, who knows our prayers before we even speak them,
who has a running tally of every hair on our heads, and who accompanies us even
into the valley of the shadow of death.
Second
Person: God the Son, who was human just like us—our savior, teacher, helper,
and friend—who reached out with compassion to the sick and included the
outcasts, who encouraged us to love even those we don’t particularly like, and
who died on a cross after three agonizing hours, so that on Easter we could be
given a second chance at life!
But how
would you describe the Third Person—God the Holy Spirit? Even Jesus seemed to have a difficult time
with that one. “The Spirit blows
wherever it chooses,” he told Nicodemus.
“You can hear the sound of it, but you have no idea where it comes from
or where it is going.”
Still, while
it may be hard to describe, it isn’t hard to determine when you are
experiencing the Holy Spirit. It’s like
a breath of fresh air suddenly blowing into your life. For example, if you have ever found yourself
speaking with an eloquence that you did not believe you possessed … or taking
risks that you did not think you had the courage to attempt … or reaching out
to someone you had fully intended to walk away from—then you can be pretty sure
that the Holy Spirit is breathing upon you.
Take a deep
breath. Now let it out again. This is God’s moment-by-moment gift to
us. You can call it ordinary air, if you
like. But since none of us can live long
without it, I prefer to think of it as the Holy Spirit—the very breath of God!
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