Reflections for Youth - Breathing
Just Breathe.
That's what I've been telling myself this week.
Hearing the word "pandemic" is still so unreal to me. There's a lot of feelings happening all at once and maybe you are feeling some of these things, too: Scared for those getting sick, worried about friends and family getting sick, frustrated with the government's response, bored, tired, sad about all the things that have been canceled or put on hold, worried about those who are struggling because they are missing work, and the list can go on and on.
So, I've been taking some extra time when I am feeling overwhelmed to just sit and breathe. The Old Testament scripture for this week has been such a help in reminding me that God is with us during this weird time. This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I know it seems like I say that a lot - but I truly love this story. It's creepy and weird and yet reassures me God's Holy Spirit is within us.
Read Ezekiel 37: 1-14.
So, the story is about Ezekiel who is a priest and a prophet. He has a vision or a dream about being in a desert filled with dry, creepy bones. God asks Ezekiel if the bones can live - and asks him to speak to the bones. So, he does as the Lord asks and the bones rattle and come together and are covered in skin - but they have no life. So God tells him to give it another go. God tells Ezekiel to tell the bones that the breath comes from God and God is breathing new life into them. And it works.
I love this version of the story from The Message Bible. Give it a read:
Ezekiel in The Message
Here's some background: Starting around 597 BCE, the Jewish people in the southern kingdom of Judah were invaded by the army of the Babylon Empire. Many of the leaders were taken into captivity, including Ezekiel who was a priest. They were far from their homeland and from the center of their faith in Jerusalem. They felt cut off and far from God. Kinda like we feel right now, only it's a virus and not a Babylonian army that's keeping us to "distancing." So think about Simba in the scary place with all the animal bones in "The Lion King." That's what Ezekiel seeks in his vision.
Like the dry bones, we are all feeling hopeless and cut off from our friends and family and doing the things that we enjoy.
The bones come together and are covered with skin after Ezekiel speaks to them. But they are still lifeless. It's the breath - the spirit of God that makes them truly alive. It was breathed into the first humans in the garden in Genesis. The same breath was breathed into Lazarus and the Holy Spirit was breathed into Jesus at his baptism and when he was crucified. The Holy Spirit was present to the disciples at Pentecost.
The breath of God, the Holy Spirit, moves through the world giving us new life and hope when the odds are against us. This story of Ezekiel's vision in the valley of the dry bones is exactly what I need to hear this week as we are all stuck inside. When we find our struggling and needing some air - God breathes into us new life. This story from the Bible offers us a symbol of hope. We can rely on God's spirit to comfort us when we feel lifeless and renew us when we feel hopeless.
Have you ever practiced a breath prayer? A breath prayer is a two-phrase prayer that you recite while you are breathing in and out. "Holy Spirit/fill my life" or "Be still/and know God" are examples that I often use. Give it a try?
I hope this story will help remind you that if God can make dry bones live again - then God can make something good out of the hard things we are going through now.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+37%3A1-14&version=MSG
That's what I've been telling myself this week.
Hearing the word "pandemic" is still so unreal to me. There's a lot of feelings happening all at once and maybe you are feeling some of these things, too: Scared for those getting sick, worried about friends and family getting sick, frustrated with the government's response, bored, tired, sad about all the things that have been canceled or put on hold, worried about those who are struggling because they are missing work, and the list can go on and on.
So, I've been taking some extra time when I am feeling overwhelmed to just sit and breathe. The Old Testament scripture for this week has been such a help in reminding me that God is with us during this weird time. This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I know it seems like I say that a lot - but I truly love this story. It's creepy and weird and yet reassures me God's Holy Spirit is within us.
Read Ezekiel 37: 1-14.
So, the story is about Ezekiel who is a priest and a prophet. He has a vision or a dream about being in a desert filled with dry, creepy bones. God asks Ezekiel if the bones can live - and asks him to speak to the bones. So, he does as the Lord asks and the bones rattle and come together and are covered in skin - but they have no life. So God tells him to give it another go. God tells Ezekiel to tell the bones that the breath comes from God and God is breathing new life into them. And it works.
I love this version of the story from The Message Bible. Give it a read:
Ezekiel in The Message
Here's some background: Starting around 597 BCE, the Jewish people in the southern kingdom of Judah were invaded by the army of the Babylon Empire. Many of the leaders were taken into captivity, including Ezekiel who was a priest. They were far from their homeland and from the center of their faith in Jerusalem. They felt cut off and far from God. Kinda like we feel right now, only it's a virus and not a Babylonian army that's keeping us to "distancing." So think about Simba in the scary place with all the animal bones in "The Lion King." That's what Ezekiel seeks in his vision.
Like the dry bones, we are all feeling hopeless and cut off from our friends and family and doing the things that we enjoy.
The bones come together and are covered with skin after Ezekiel speaks to them. But they are still lifeless. It's the breath - the spirit of God that makes them truly alive. It was breathed into the first humans in the garden in Genesis. The same breath was breathed into Lazarus and the Holy Spirit was breathed into Jesus at his baptism and when he was crucified. The Holy Spirit was present to the disciples at Pentecost.
The breath of God, the Holy Spirit, moves through the world giving us new life and hope when the odds are against us. This story of Ezekiel's vision in the valley of the dry bones is exactly what I need to hear this week as we are all stuck inside. When we find our struggling and needing some air - God breathes into us new life. This story from the Bible offers us a symbol of hope. We can rely on God's spirit to comfort us when we feel lifeless and renew us when we feel hopeless.
Have you ever practiced a breath prayer? A breath prayer is a two-phrase prayer that you recite while you are breathing in and out. "Holy Spirit/fill my life" or "Be still/and know God" are examples that I often use. Give it a try?
I hope this story will help remind you that if God can make dry bones live again - then God can make something good out of the hard things we are going through now.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+37%3A1-14&version=MSG
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