LENT THROUGH OUR BREATH
Lent Week 1
The invitation
Come all you who are weary
Receive and find rest
Matthew 11:28 ”Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
Week 1 -Lent Through Our Breath
The word Lent translates to mean “springtime.” It is a time we are reminded of the suffering Jesus endured in the wilderness as he was refined for His fulfilling ministry of miracles and healing that was to come. A harsh season of winter can be a tangible wilderness of sorts as we look around and all we see are barren tress and the cold, hard ground. Last week we looked inward at the wilderness of our hearts. Where do we need God to bring life again?
This week we are focusing on God’s restorative work in our mind, body, and spirit as we look at the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28. Throughout the long winter months, while the ground is at rest, restorative work occurs deep beneath the surface. Our physical bodies echo the design of creation, requiring restful seasons but also daily rest, allowing the body and mind to reset each day. We must be attentive to the rest we need or we will eventually breakdown which can manifest itself in many forms. Matthew 11:28 reveals that there’s an exchange between Jesus and us that must occur. When we respond to his invitation to actively come to him and lay our burdens down then we will fully receive the rest he promises. This requires a slowing down, a surrendering of our agenda to pause, take some deep breaths, and just be still.
Take a moment to do that now.
Our breath itself is an exchange. When we inhale, the body receives the good oxygen it needs for life and when we exhale, the body expels toxins it doesn’t need. The body heals with it’s breath. There are actual physical changes that occur in the body when we breathe deeply.
Research shows that the average person does not breathe deeply on a regular basis which can lead to anxiety, stress, depression, and even high blood pressure. Shallow breathing rarely engages the entire diaphragm. By breathing deeply, you can engage this muscle and increase airflow which ignites the body’s parasympathetic nervous system. This system acts to reverse the stress response by slowing the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and calming the mind.
I’m not a therapist but I have learned how some somatic breath techniques are used to help with mental health struggles. One I learned from psychiatrist, Dr. Curt Thompson, to help calm someone having an anxiety attack. You ask them to place their own hand on their chest as you copy them and place a hand on your chest. You tell them to match the rise and fall of your breath as you inhale and exhale deeply for them to see. It’s the exchange of breath that calms an anxious heart.
We see in scripture that it was God’s breath, breathed into Adam, that gave him life. Then we see this very act echoed by Jesus when he breathes on the disciples and they receive the Holy Spirit in the book of John.
Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
John 20:22 “Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
This week, respond to Jesus’ invitation to “come” and receive his rest even through your very breath. Discover what he has for you when you lay your burdens at his feet and rest.
Embodied Practice: sit comfortably, feel your feet placed on the floor, place one hand on your chest and feel the rise and fall of your breath. Say this breath prayer with 3 deep inhale and exhales, repeating the prayer on each.
Inhale Lord give me your peace
Exhale I give you my anxious thoughts
Inhale Lord give me your peace
Exhale I give you my anxious body
Inhale Lord give me your peace
Exhale I give you my anxious heart
Scripture Meditation: Matthew 11:28
”Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
Journal Prompts:
What have I been anxious about?
What burdens do I need to lay down in order to receive Jesus’ promise of His rest ?
Recommended Music: Salt of the Sound “Lent Vol. 3” https://album.link/lent-vol-3
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Haiku by Libby Johnson
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