“This is what God the LORD says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it…”
Isaiah 42:5
And the 40 days of Lent press on…
This past week I was holding my two-year-old grandson prepping us both for a well-deserved nap. He was resistant at first, but I’ve learned that I am far too patient, and I have too many words and songs to gently gift his ear drums thwarting any chance of him winning the battle of who can stay awake the longest. I have found this to be true with my two-year-old granddaughters as well… both of them… their struggle is real… but I always win… and … and… it is such a joy to feel them calm down into relax mode and experience their giving in to the strong, loving arms of a grandfather such as myself. And it’s in that moment of calming down I remembered something ancient and holy…
Do you recall what happened to Moses when he was on the hillside minding his own business… tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro… when God showed up in the form of a burning bush in order to give Moses a task that changed his life and the history of the world forever? Good. I do, too. It’s one of the most profound stories of anyone called upon to deliver a message… and when one delivers a message it’s always good that the messenger knows the giver’s name. And since Moses didn’t know God’s name, he asked. And since Moses asked, God told him.
And… God’s name? YHWH… pronounced …’yaw-whay’… a name so profound and so important that is does not require vowels… YHWH… the name which means… “I am who I am” or even better… “I will be whom I will be”. Try to put THAT God in a box…
So, this name… YHWH is about the one who gives breath to all people… from the very beginning… breathing sounds… as in YH (breathe IN) … and WH (breathe OUT) … try it! And this is what I experienced as my grandson began to drift off… a confident rhythm …very deliberate and very profound… YH (a short breath IN) an WH (a short breath OUT) … over and over and over…
Isn’t God good? We should all take hope in this… that God is with us… with every breath we take… as the name of God goes rolling over our lips…
This whole idea… and trust me… I didn’t make this up… caused me to think back of so many moments in my life… you know moments like when you raced the next door neighbor down the street and whether you won or not you both found yourselves winded… hands on your hips with a big breath in… and then a big breath out… over and over… YH-WH… YH-WH… YH-WH until you catch your breath again and just breathe YHWH normally… or that time when you bring your first child home from the hospital and within the first 24 hours you find yourself leaning over the crib and placing your finger under the baby’s nose and you can feel YHWH… YHWH… YHWH and you walk away feeling secure in the love and care of God… along with those moments filled with tears… or in deep belly laughter… in our sleep and as we wake… breath after breath… YHWH… YHWH… YHWH … and that time I sat with the family at the bedside of their dying grandmother… who slowly and with some pain breathed in and out… YHWH… YHWH… YHWH… until there was no more breath at all… trusting the notion what belongs to God from the beginning… given in love… remains God’s for all time and eternity… So… breathe in… breathe out… YHWH… YHWH… God is always near!
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at https://briangigee.wordpress.com/. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
