A Meditation on Breathing

In our turquoise hymnal there is a song called the Meditation on Breathing:

It begins: Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.
And then it continues, When I breathe in, I breathe in peace. When I breathe out, I breathe out love.

Breathe in, breathe out.

We think about the simple act of breathing a great deal these days. A deadly virus spreads around the world, which all too often robs people of the ability to breathe. Lungs fill with fluid, fill with clots. The victims cannot breathe. Over 100,000 Americans now, were unable to breathe. We wear face masks for protection, which also make it harder to breath sometimes. We are more aware of our breath, the effort to breathe.

The world chokes on pollution. Asthma rates and other respiratory illnesses increase, especially in low income areas. People struggle to breathe.

A black man is pinned to the ground by police in Minneapolis, and a policeman’s knee is planted on his neck as he struggles to breathe. The breath, and the life, are forced out of him. And we say his name today, George Floyd. George Floyd could not breathe, just as six years ago Eric Garner could not breathe. We say their names so we will not forget.

The ancient story tells us that at Pentecost a mighty wind, the Spirit, filled the disciples with inspiration, and enabled them to speak. From where will come our inspiration?

We have so many words that are rooted in breathing. Inspire – to breathe in. To foster life and creativity. Aspire – to breathe, to strive upward. Expire – to breathe out. To die.

Perhaps America has been holding its breath. Waiting, our breath caught in our throat, for the virus to pass over us. Waiting, holding our breath, for justice to prevail. Perhaps too many Americans have been held in a chokehold, their breath and their voices muffled.

We see this week that the time for waiting for justice, for holding our breath, is over. And so what we have seen this week, as once again rage boils over and people fill the streets, is that America has taken a deep breath in. Without a deep breath, a sharp inhale, there can be no breath to raise our voices against oppression, to shout in anger. We must inspire, and be inspired. We must aspire. And it begins with this inhalation, this filling of the lungs while we can, this aspiration for justice for all.

We pray for the breath, for the inspiration to fight for justice. We pray for the families of George Floyd, for Ahmaud Arbery, for Breonna Taylor, that they might know peace and healing. We pray for all those who feel the weight of a knee on their necks, who struggle to aspire.

We pray for the courage to side with love, today and every day, and to fill our lungs and shout our anger and our grief.

Amen.