Sunday, May 19, 2024  

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Today's Hymn
“Breathe on Me, Breath of God”

Breathe on me, Breath of God;
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
until my heart is pure,
until with thee I will one will,
to do and to endure.

Breathe on me, Breath of God,
till I am wholly thine,
until this earthly part of me
glows with thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
so shall I never die,
but live with thee the perfect life
of thine eternity.

by Edwin Hatch
Hymn 286, Glory to God

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Reflection

The hymn for this day of Pentecost is “Breathe on Me, Breath of God.” It being Pentecost, our minds recall the story of Acts 2, when God’s Spirit comes over the disciples with the sound of wind and tongues of fire. But the Spirit of God manifests in a variety of ways —and honestly, I have never had an experience like the one described in Acts 2. This hymn echoes the moment when the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples and, John 20:22 says, Jesus “breathed on them and said to them ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” In both Hebrew and Greek the word for spirit can also be translated as “wind” or “breath.” The double meaning is clearly intended.

If I understand this moment in Jesus’ ministry, we are witnessing a commissioning of the church to live like Jesus. Jesus gifts his spirit to his followers. It is a gift. It is a calling. It is a responsibility. New Testament scholar Willie James Jennings of Yale Divinity School says that sometimes the church “repeats Jesus.” When the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, it urges us to “love what thou dost love, and do what thou wouldst do.”

Let this hymn be your prayer this Pentecost day, that the breath of God would fill you with life anew.

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Prayer
Breathe on me, breath of God; fill me with life anew, that I may love what thou dost love, and do what thou wouldst do. Amen.

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Reflection written by Tom Are Jr., Interim Pastor

Reflection © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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