THE BREATH OF GOD

 

We are in the Fifth Sunday of the holy season of Lent. The readings of today are about resurrection and the life. In the beginning, when God created man and woman, He Breathed into them (the breath of God sent into them) to give life. Hence, the breath of God is the source of human life. The breath of God is eternal. There is no beginning or end. If humans have received the breath of God then there shouldn’t be any barriers such as death for human beings. But today we humans are dying. There is an end to our mortal life. What has happened to the breath of God that is in us? Today, we humans have the breath of God to live but do not have the essence of the breath of God. The essence of the breath of God is eternity. This essence is lost with the sin of pride by our first parents. Thus, we die today.

In the first reading, God is speaking to the exiles in the Babylon through prophet Ezekiel. God is assuring the restoration of Israel. God says that he would rise the dead from the tombs by sending His spirit into them. Here the tomb is referred to the Babylon. As exiles, Israelites are in the tomb of Babylon. They are like dead beings without the spirit of God. Just as God sent His spirit (breath) into man to cause/create human beings in the book of Genesis, now God would send that same spirit into the exiles to release them from the captivity. In the second reading St. Paul speaks about our life in the Spirit of God. He says that if we are led by the inclinations of our body, then we do not have the Spirit of God. In today’s world most of us are distracted by our bodily inclinations. Humans commit many bodily sins (sexual sins) due to bodily inclinations. Our bodies are good. God created us body and soul. When we use that body for mere pleasure we are reducing the capacity of the body to be an object. Our bodies are made to be holy. Our souls could involve in holiness only with the help of the body. But our bodies often lead us to temptation. To overcome the bodily temptations, we need to receive the Spirit of God again and again. Whenever we go and confess our bodily sins in the sacrament of reconciliation, we receive the grace to conquer that sin. The more we go for confession, the greater we receive the strength to fight the sexual temptations. Our every fall in the area of chastity shows that we still need the Spirit of God. If we have the Spirit of God in us we will see our bodies and the body of others not with lust, but with holiness. Pornography demonizes the eyes of the person. Confession purifies the eyes of the person. To overcome the addictions of pornography we need to get addicted to the sacrament of confession. Just as one porn sites/movies/….leads one to another, our first step to confess our bodily sins would lead the person from grace to grace (from confession to confession).

In the Gospel, Jesus gives life to Lazarus. Before raising Lazarus to life, Jesus says that I Am the resurrection and the life (Jn 11:25). The raising of Lazarus and the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Mk 5:21-24, 35-43) are not resurrection but resuscitation (bring them back to life). They are restored to how they were – mortal beings. Both of them died later. Whereas, the raising of Jesus from the tomb is not restoration to previous life but a resurrection to new life – eternal life. Those who are restored to life are dead but those who are raised by resurrection are led to eternal life. Hence, when Jesus says, He is the resurrection and the life, He means that in this life and in the life to come, He is the focal point. We need Jesus to lead this present life and we need His grace to gain eternal life. We need the breath of God to lead a sinless life and to gain heaven. Jesus gives the breath of God from the cross as he dies. We receive that breath from the sacrament of confession and through the reception of the Holy Eucharist. Let this season of lent help us to receive the spirit of God into us. Let our lives be animated by the breath of God. May this Easter bring us to eternal life. Amen.