Spiritus Sabbath

While I believe that every day – every moment – is an opportunity to experience something new, there are times which lend themselves more readily to “newness,”  like when you move to a new church in a new town in a new state.  Each and every day is filled with new discoveries for Belinda and me.  A new route, a new grocery store, a new place to eat, a new sight … newness abounds!

All of us have experienced this sense of new, but we also recognize the transition from new and exciting to common and mundane.  Slowly we define our preferred routes, stores, restaurants, friends, place to sit in worship … we surrender the sense of newness simply because it is all so familiar.  We begin to take for granted much of what is truly remarkable and life-giving.

The word “spirit” has its origins in the Latin spiritus (breath), which itself comes from spirare meaning to blow or breath.  It is foundational to our very faith, as scripture reminds us that God blew the breath (spiritus) of life into humanity.  We all know the invigoration which comes from taking a deep, cleansing breath and the energy courses through your body; at the same time we have all known moments when “the wind has been knocked out of us”.

The simple truth is that without breath we cannot live, and each breath is new – it is merely our awareness of it that changes.  We become mechanized and forgetful that each breath provides the opportunity for us to be renewed and invigorated – to experience being inspired or “in the spirit” – if we only seize the moment.  Sadly, Sunday worship often follows a similar path to blandness.

This Sunday is “Spirit Sunday” at Bellevue First; it is a chance to remember that each Sabbath is a new breath filled with the remarkable creative possibility that comes from gathering in community.  It is a chance to remember that even – perhaps especially – the familiar can become new if we simply allow ourselves to inhale deeply the breath of life.  So come on out and see old friends become new, and experience your own personal transformation.

See you in Church!

kevin