The Power of God's Breath

“God has shown you, O Mortal, what is good.

           And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly…” Micah 6:8

The fires burning around our nation in protest over the death of George Floyd are a stark reminder that the work of God’s people is never done. ‘America has witnessed a murder’ by a rogue white police officer who ignored warnings and cries for help by as he was suffocating a black man, Mr. Floyd, under the guise of an arrest.

How can we as a nation not be outraged? Our nation must rise up in a unison chorus of condemnation of this abuse of apparent authority. The acts of these officers do not represent the vast majority of our law enforcement personnel. The condemnation of those who killed Mr. Floyd and the calls for reform are directed at those who do not represent who we want to be as a society.  

The sad irony of this story unfolding on Pentecost weekend is that tomorrow, Sunday, we will be talking about life-giving breath, about tongues of fire.  The Church of Jesus Christ was born with the tongues of the Spirit’s holy fire, with the expiration of life-giving, mission-empowering breath, the breath of Christ’s Spirit. 

The Church has ever since that Pentecost Sunday carried the weight of every soul’s glory, as C.S. Lewis famously wrote.  It falls to the Church of God to rise up with passion and compassion, using its platforms to speak for those silenced, for those whose dying words are ‘I cannot breath.’  We pray for God’s healing breath to be spread over all races to the corners of the earth.

Justice is more than words. Justice is an action which God requires of us. Did you see that word, requires? 

The Church does not condone violence.  The accused are entitled to a fair trial. But those truths are not an excuse for a lack of action.

‘Rise up, O Church of God, be done with lesser things.’ The Church still carries the cleansing fire and the life-giving breath of the Spirit. It’s collective voice must now demand justice and reforms.

Let us commit to using the power of God’s breath to cleanse this land of hateful racial discrimination.