Introduction: Take a Breath
In the time it will take you to read this sentence, along with the next one, you can easily take a couple of breaths. In fact—right now—take a few slower-than-usual, deeper-than-usual breaths. This simple act of focusing on one’s breathing has a remarkable calming effect. It’s no surprise that religious traditions of all kinds find a path to centering of soul and greater peace through breathing.
We all take different kinds of breaths. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe in. Breathe out. There is the mother’s deep sigh of contentment (exhale) when looking into the eyes of her beloved newborn. There is the gasp for air (inhale) when a diver ascends from deep water to the surface. There is the deep breath (inhale) one takes before walking on stage to give a speech. The photographer and the archer know to slowly exhale and then hold steady before clicking the shutter or releasing the arrow.
To breathe is to live. To live is to breathe.
First Breath: Anno Domini Day One
Whenever and wherever Jesus was born, he drew a first breath. Because he was a human being like the rest of us, we can conclude that his first breath, observed under Mary and Joseph’s anxious eyes, was majestically ordinary.
More prosaically, Jesus initial gasp for oxygen—triggered by the temperature change and new sensory inputs of delivery—generated pressure sufficient to push lung fluid into surrounding tissues. Air began to fill his tiny lungs, allowing oxygen to diffuse into the surrounding blood vessels for the first time. His breathing activated neurons in his brainstem, releasing neurotransmitters that stabilized his breathing into a consistent rhythm, reassuring his parents that everything was going to be OK.
For now.
Last Breath: Ano Domini33
The cruelties of flogging, mocking, and crucifixion having come near their hideous conclusion, breathing was tortuously painful even as each breath bought the criminalized Messiah a few more seconds of life. But now the time had come.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Perhaps you have been by the side of a loved one or a patient who, dying away slowly on their bed, struggles to the very end to draw breath. The breathing becomes shallower, and shallower, perhaps punctuated by an occasional gasp, until it fades, perhaps imperceptibly, to one final breath.
First Breath: Resurrectio Domini Day One
I try to imagine what it was like for Jesus, wrapped in a shroud, alone in a dark tomb, to draw his first breath of resurrection. Was it a startled gasp, a flash of recognition, a validation of his last breath? Or was it a calm, slow breath, followed by another, until full consciousness unfolded, along with a smile.
Was his first thought after his first breath one of amazement at what had happened? That it had all really played out just as he had hoped in the midst of dread and pain? Was there any surprise for the human Jesus, or was it a divine formality that a first new breath had to be taken to awaken the Resurrected One.
Last Breath: AD?
Every person ever born draws one final breath. Perhaps labored, perhaps tranquil, perhaps a gasp, perhaps a quiet respiration. But the fact remains: everyone who has drawn a first breath will draw a last breath.
I say this not to frighten, but simply to state a fact so obvious that it can elude us. In between first and final breath come the millions of others.
The ancient biblical languages use the same word for breath as for spirit: ruach (ר֣וּחַ) in Hebrew, pneuma (πνεῦμα) in Greek. So also are they the words for wind in their respective languages. You can see a connection among these meanings—the animating, life-giving nature of God, our spirit within us, the Holy Spirit who enlightens our minds and comforts our souls, and the wind that gives life to the planet.
So as you think about your last breath, know that it will be a gift from the Creator who made you, the Father who loves you. We cannot control the timing and nature of our last breath, but we can be assured of the Breath-Giver’s tender presence when it comes.
So now, take another deeper-than-usual breath, slower-than-usual breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Receive this quiet grace, the gift of the One who will be with you until your final breath.
Granolativity 