Dear Kaleid Ladies,
Good morning and Happy Easter to you! It’s such a gift to know that the Church makes space for 50 days of feasting during Easter, in celebration of the life of God that abundantly covers the death and darkness and reckoning with brokenness that has been the 40 days of Lent.
So, welcome to Eastertide!
Today is our final “Statio” email. We are excited for our Statio Kaleid retreat tomorrow and Friday and are so looking forward to being with the 20 of you who are joining us! If you’re not able to be there, would you be so generous as to pray for us? We begin tomorrow at 5 pm and conclude Friday at 1. We are praying for the Holy Spirit to do a work of life and love and healing in our hearts.
Today’s pause is a pause of life, a chance to consider the miracle of breath.
Upon entering the world as a (barely) autonomous being, humans take a breath. A heart has been beating and blood has been flowing and a brain has been processing, but until breath happens, human life is not sustainable. From our first breath, we continue to breathe, consciously or unconsciously cooperating with life, until we pass into the mystery of whatever process God has ordained to sustain our eternal life.
Breathing, as the only life-sustaining physical activity that we have some control over, is our way of cooperating with God’s sustaining activity that is so much more permanent, reliable, and deep than we can comprehend. Breath can be understood both as one of God’s most gracious gifts as well as one of our most basic ways to say “yes” to life.
Jesus stopped breathing. And then he breathed again. What must that have been like? None of us can remember our first breath, but was Jesus aware of the breath that re-filled his dead lungs and brought the world to life a second time? In that moment, did he recall the original breath that he breathed into the carefully-crafted dirt, when humanity was born? Did he recall telling Moses that his name, YHWH, makes the sound of the inhale and exhale of a breath? Did he recall breathing inspiration into the hearts and pens of those who recorded the Scriptures?
Today, take the time to pause to consider that each breath you take points to creation and re-creation, to the potential for death and the promise of resurrection. To the faithfulness of God, who became man and breathed a first breath, a last breath, and a holy and mysterious breath of eternal life–the breath that will continue in you as well, past the veil of this life.
Stop: Look at the clock. Mark the time and the day. Notice where you are. Perhaps close your eyes for ten or fifteen seconds to come to a complete stop.
Breathe: Inhale deeply. Exhale fully. Twice. Become aware that your breath is a reminder of the life of God in you which is both relentlessly faithful and inviting you to willing cooperation.
Recollect: Collect yourself. How is your breathing today? Is it shallow, deep, settled, or hesitant? Remember God. Imagine Jesus breathing again in the resurrection. How does his resurrection breath speak hope to you today?
Pray: Tell Jesus thank you for the breath in your lungs. Ask him for the life you need today to fill your body and your being.
Listen to this song by All Sons and Daughters, “Great Are You Lord,” as you consider the miracle of the breath in your lungs.
We love you. See (some of you) tomorrow.
Gratefully,
The Kaleid Team
P.S. There is still time to join Kaleid’s Art in Order to See Circle, meeting on 4/30 in the afternoon at the Carlos Center and 5/4 in the evening via Zoom!