I don’t know whether the training has changed in the 47 years since I
started working on my Emergency Medical Technician certification –
but I sincerely believe that HALF of my 120 class hours were spent
practicing CPR – Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation. Regardless of what
else might have happened to the patient – we were to take care of the
ABCs before anything else: Airway – Breathing – and Circulation.
Looking back, it makes sense. A patient will usually die sooner from
lack of oxygen than from loss of blood or other injuries – so clearing an
obstructed airway comes first, then if the patient doesn’t start breathing
on his or her own, breath must be blown into the lungs. Only then can
we think about doing chest compressions. Keeping the heart pumping
without oxygen to enter the bloodstream is wasted effort.
Human beings take 17-thousand to 30-thousand breaths a day –
depending upon their levels of activity – and they usually don’t give
them a thought. I hope you appreciate those breaths just a little bit
more now.
In God’s Word, breath is never simply biological or medical –
it is also theological. No surprise there, huh?
The Greek word for breath is Pneuma. It can also mean wind and
spirit – like its Hebrew equivalent, Ruach. In Genesis 1, the Ruach of
God was hovering over the chaotic and formless waters. And then
God started speaking order into existence – and the Ruach was
there – along with the Son of God – as the Creation was taking place.
Then God created the first man, Adam, from the dust of the ground
and what did God do next? God breathed the Ruach of life into him –
and he became “a living soul” as Genesis 2 tells us.
When God breathes His Ruach – His Pneuma – into His people, things
happen. Diverse individuals become a community. Fear gives way to
courage. Competition morphs into cooperation. And blessings move
beyond the local faith community into the whole world.
In our Hebrew Bible reading from Numbers 11, Moses is weighed down
by the burden of leading the perpetually grumpy Israelites on their way
to the Promised Land. They are complaining bitterly about the Manna
that God so faithfully provides every day.
Keith Green recorded a song back in the 1980s called “So You Wanna
to Back to Egypt” – in which he imagines their grumbling:
And in the morning it's manna hotcakes
We snack on manna all day
And we sure had a winner last night for dinner
Flaming manna souffle
Oh, Moses, put down your pen …
What? Manna again?
Manna waffles
Manna burgers
Manna bagels?
Fillet of manna
Mannacotti?
Bamanna bread!
Well, we once complained for something new to munch
The ground opened up and had some of us for lunch
Ooh, such fire and smoke – Can't God even take a joke?
All that complaining is making Moses grumpy, too – so he complains to
God. He tells God the burden is too heavy to bear alone – so God
takes some of the Spirit (Ruach) that was on Moses and places it on
the seventy elders he has chosen – and they begin to prophesy.
Two other elders – who would have made six dozen elders in total –
stayed in the camp instead of coming to the tent, yet the Spirit came
upon Eldad and Medad as well, and they also prophesied.
Joshua starts feeling uneasy and asks Moses to shut them up.
“We don’t need competing prophetic voices! They’ll just confuse the
people.” But Moses – who is better in tune with God’s heart – replies:
"I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would
put His Spirit on them!"
That was a big slice of humble pie for Joshua – and for those of us
who have been called to and equipped by God for ministry and
leadership. The Pneuma of God sometimes breaks down our human
boundaries and overturns our bureaucratic structures to empower
people where they are – even if they are "in the camp."
Let’s fast-forward thousands of years to the upper room on the night
after Jesus rose from the dead. They have locked the doors because
they are afraid the Jewish leaders will come for them next. They may
even have locked the doors out of fear of Jesus – whom every one of
them deserted in His hour of need. They – like the Israelites – are in a
wilderness of their own. A spiritual wilderness.
Suddenly – Jesus is standing among them, even though the doors
were locked. Jesus does not chastise the disciples for their lack of
faith; rather, He reassures them: "Peace be with you."
Then, He breathed on them – (There’s that word again!) – and tells
them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” Which – if you like Greek words –
is Pneuma Hagion. As was the case in Genesis 2 – God is breathing
new life into those terrified disciples – lifting them out of their despair –
filling them with hope – and equipping them for a new ministry:
one they will carry out without Jesus’s physical presence.
But they will go with Jesus’s Commission: As the Father has sent me,
I am sending you. Moses’s wish in Numbers 11 is finally fulfilled.
The Spirit is no longer just for the seventy elders; it is for every follower
of Jesus Christ.
Do you think you are too old – or too tired – or have too little
theological education – or too imperfect in your walk with Jesus –
to be His disciples in this world? Please think again.
You have a Father who loves you – a Savior who died for you –
and the Holy Spirit who has unlimited power to breath into you.
Amen.