Pentecost | God’s holy breath

The breath poured into the early disciples fills the earth even now. (Listen.)

Take a deep breath. The thing is this: The atmosphere which blankets our beloved wounded blue-green planet is a closed system. Nothing goes in; nothing goes out. For millions of years, the exhalations of swamp gas and the inhalations of dinosaurs and the exhalations of leafy plants and the inhalations of Neanderthals and the exhalations of soft mosses and the inhalations of swallowtails have been going around and around and around. Continue reading “Pentecost | God’s holy breath” →

June 5, 2022

#33: Wind of the spirit

The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.(John 3:8). Note: The word translated as ‘spirit’ means ‘air-in-movement’ and is translated as ‘spirit’, ‘breath’ or ‘wind’ depending on the context. John 3:8 reads: “The pneuma blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the pneuma.” Play around with different translations and see how it sounds. Does this change how you understand other wind-spirit-breath passages in the Bible? Continue reading “#33: Wind of the spirit” →

April 3, 2020 0

Just pause: Centering prayer

On Sunday when I said, ‘There is space here,’ the sense of relief in the room was almost palpable. In the midst of all the Christmas chaos, it seems we need to be reminded to pause. This week, then, I’d like to introduce you to one of the simplest and yet most challenging forms of prayer: centering prayer. Continue reading “Just pause: Centering prayer” →

December 11, 2019 0

The gift of nothing(ness)

When I went to write this week, I just couldn’t think of anything to say. I simply had no thoughts or ponderings to share. It wasn’t an overwhelmed mind-blank, it was a pleasing peaceful break. Breathing space. This paradoxically got me thinking actual thoughts about nothing and I ended up writing the below prayer of thanks for nothingness. I share this with you now in the hope that you too, can feel some breathing space throughout this busy run to the end of the year. Continue reading “The gift of nothing(ness)” →

December 5, 2019 0

Blow through me, Breath of God

Did you know that, in both Greek and Hebrew, the word we translate as ‘spirit’ means ‘air-in-movement’? In Hebrew, it’s the feminine ruah, or breath, which hovers over the waters of chaos in Genesis. In Greek, it’s the gender neutral pneuma which descends from heaven and fills Jesus’ disciples. You get a sense of the Greek word from the English words ‘pneumatic’ (containing air), and my ten-year-old’s favourite word: ‘pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis’, a condition seriously restricting air flow caused by the inhalation of silicate, possibly from a volcano. Phew! Continue reading “Blow through me, Breath of God” →

June 12, 2019 0