Breathing In God

Please note: This script cannot exactly reflect the transmission, as it was prepared before the service was broadcast. It may include editorial notes prepared by the producer, and minor spelling and other errors that were corrected before the radio broadcast.
It may contain gaps to be filled in at the time so that prayers may reflect the needs of the world, and changes may also be made at the last minute for timing reasons, or to reflect current events

BBC RADIO 4. And now it’s time for Sunday Worship which comes this week from Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff where Beverley Humphreys reflects on the consequences of breathing in the living energy of God. The service begins with a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke.

ITEM 1 POEM BEVERLEY
Breath, you invisible poem From “A Year with Rilke” - Daily Readings from Rainer Maria Rilke.
Translators: Anita Barrows & Joanna Macy.
Music: Debussy ‘Syrinx’ played by Matthew Featherstone, Principal Flautist,
BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

ITEM 2 INTRO BEVERLEY / PETER
Good morning and welcome to Hoddinott Hall, part of the iconic Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. A few steps away from the Senedd - the seat of the Welsh Assembly - this hall is the home of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

The Revd Peter Noble spent 5 years as Chaplain to the Bay and knows all too well that the onshore breezes are constant companions on this Waterfront.

PETER
You can’t help but breathe in that sea air. The breezes play over the natural textures of the multi coloured slate from quarries in North Wales, native hardwoods from Mid Wales and copper coloured steel made in the south.

The designer of this concert hall drew on the characteristics of a traditional Welsh Chapel and every day this space resonates with the glorious sound of orchestral music, often combined in harmony with the BBC National Chorus of Wales which is singing for us this morning, along with accompaniment and readings from past and present members of the orchestra’s Christian fellowship.

BEVERLEY
Over the years I’ve had the great privilege of working with the orchestra and chorus at home and abroad, and it’s a pleasure to share the orchestra’s 90th birthday celebrations this week. On this third Sunday of Easter we continue to rejoice in the good news of God’s love.

ITEM 3 MUSIC 1 CHORUS
This Joyful Eastertide

ITEM 4 PRAYER PETER
Gracious and eternal God - Love is your essence, your being, and your purpose and we praise you for the infinite capacity of that love.
Forgive us when we turn away from the embrace of that love - forgive us when we’re too tired to listen, too busy to spend time with those who need us, too self-absorbed to care.
Rekindle our love, revive our strength, renew our hope, so that we may live a life that reflects to everyone we meet your unconditional love.
This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen

ITEM 5 TALK 1 BEVERLEY
The Easter story can evoke many different responses - for the six weeks of Lent, we travelled day by day towards the mind blowing events of Christ’s death and resurrection. Even in its familiarity it can cause amazement, a euphoric joy when we’re reminded that life overcomes death, that love is stronger than hate, that hope transcends despair. There’s talk of forgiveness and grace and a new Kingdom - we’re carried along on the crest of a wave.
But then in the days and weeks after Easter Sunday, life for most of us goes back to normal – we become consumed again with everyday stresses and strains, aches and pains, worries about world news or personal disappointments. We often feel “weary, worn and sad” and long for some kind of rejuvenation, as reflected in this hymn by Horatius Bonar.

ITEM 6 MUSIC 2 CHORUS / ORGAN/ QUARTET
I heard the voice of Jesus say. Tune: Kingsfold.

ITEM 7 TALK 2 BEVERLEY
In that hymn the writer talks of coming to Jesus to find rest, to drink the living water and find light in the darkness - but how do we genuinely hold on to the joy of the empty tomb and feel the reality of God being with us - not just at Eastertide but in every part of our life, at every moment? In this reading from John’s Gospel Chapter 20 we discover the way in which Jesus, after his resurrection, reassured his friends in the simplest and yet most surprising way.

ITEM 8 READING
John 20 v 19-23, v 30-31 NIV
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
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. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

ITEM 9 TALK 3 BEVERLEY
It’s such a simple statement, “Jesus breathed on them” and yet it holds a huge significance. Throughout the scriptures there are so many references to breathing or breath - ruach in Hebrew, Pneuma in Greek- likening breath to the wind, or spirit or air in motion.
From the very first book - Genesis chapter 7 - we read ‘And 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 soul.’
In the story of Adam and Eve – our shared foundation story – we’re told that the breath of God brings life and the possibility of love. It’s a thread that runs throughout the Bible, from Ezekiel’s great vision of God’s breath, transforming a valley of dry bones into a parade of living people, right through to the Book of Revelation, in which God’s breath once again revives a lost people.
From a physical point of view, of course, it’s obvious that breathing is vital. Try holding your breath - the hunger for oxygen becomes apparent very quickly. From moment to moment we need to breathe - experts tell us that we take about 26,000 breaths a day and that we should derive 99% of our energy from our breath - it’s our physical “life force”.
In medical emergencies, there’s sometimes need for mouth to mouth resuscitation, breathing air into someone else’s lungs - we call it “the kiss of life”.
To be close enough to breathe on someone there has to be intimacy in that relationship - a willingness - a trust. Through his incarnation and humanity, through his life and death, Jesus had already brought the promise of a new personal relationship with God. So when Jesus breathed on his disciples, it was more than a mix of nitrogen and oxygen - it was the energy of love, the life-giving presence of God. And we need that as much as the air we breathe.

ITEM 10 MUSIC 3 CHORUS/ORGAN/QUARTET
Breathe on me, Breath of God Tune: Trentham.

ITEM 11 LINK PETER
In that hymn, Edwin Hatch writes of “glowing with a divine fire”. In her book about the journey of Abraham, Old Testament theologian Meg Warner asks the question “How does God “show up” in your life?” She muses that some fortunate people have a sense of God’s presence being with them all the time, while others say that they are almost never aware of God being present with them - and yet, I believe, God is there.

ITEM 12 TALK 4 BEVERLEY
For most of us, breathing is an automatic reflex - we do it without thinking and yet it’s constant. At times of stress we breathe more quickly - before physical exertion or facing a challenge we “take a deep breath.”
Scientists like Ralph Keeling tell us that the air we breathe is the same air that was inhaled by Jesus, Shakespeare, Mozart- that same air has circulated throughout the centuries and so, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu says, none of us lives in isolation - we are literally all connected to God and each other and to the planet itself by our breath.
Every day - through an encounter with nature or another human being - we have the opportunity to reconnect with the God who “breathed us into life”. In Rilke’s poem he talks of “innermost of oceans, infinitude of space” - but it can be as simple as a stunning sunrise, the song of a bird, the scent of a rose, the hug of a friend. We don’t need a theological education to experience this renewal and reconnection with God. It simply depends on our willingness to inhale God’s love that breathes though the entire cosmos.

ITEM 13 MUSIC 4 CHORUS / ORGAN
For the Beauty of the Earth Rutter.

ITEM 14 TALK 5 BEVERLEY
John Rutter’s “joyful hymn of praise” inspired by the beauty of the earth. One of the definitions of the word “inspire” is to inhale or breathe in. Over the centuries scientists have been “inspired” to research, experiment, discover - artists have been “inspired” to compose and paint and write as they’ve breathed in every aspect of the physical and metaphysical world.
In the case of music, in order to be heard and experienced, the written score has to be brought to life, made audible. And it’s the power of the consciously controlled breath of the singers and players that provides the energy to transform the notes on the page and give life to the music.

ITEM 15 MUSIC 5 CHORUS
Holy Holy Holy. Hoddinott.

ITEM 16 TALK 6 BEVERLEY 
Holy Holy Holy by the great Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott – after whom this hall is named.
In John’s Gospel we learned how Jesus gave his friends the gift of resurrection peace, breathed on them, and said “receive the Holy Spirit”. This was to equip them for their global mission of peace and nonviolence. Their task was to spread the good news that no person is beyond redemption, no situation beyond hope, no community God-forsaken - that love, forgiveness and grace are God’s gifts to all of God’s children.
Having breathed in Christ’s life-giving energy, how do we breathe it out - how do we transform it and then be “inspired” to walk in Christ’s footsteps, to bring in his Kingdom? Well, perhaps the words of this hymn by John Bell provides food for thought.
“Inspired by love and anger, disturbed by endless pain, aware of God’s own bias, We ask him once again --
Where are the fruits of justice, where are the signs of peace
When is the day when prisoners and dreams find their release?”

ITEM 17 MUSIC 6 CHORUS/ORGAN/QUARTET
Inspired by Love and Anger Tune: Irish Melody Salley Gardens.

ITEM 18 PRAYERS PETER/VOICE 1/VOICE 2
PETER
Let us pray
Gracious God, When we run here and there in our busy lives, searching for satisfaction, yearning for meaning - help us to be still and know that you are the source of our strength and our joy and as close as a prayer, as close as our breath.
You call upon us, your children, to show and share your extravagant love in our thoughts and words and actions and so to you we bring the needs of our beautiful yet broken world.

Voice 1
Creator God - you kissed the universe with love, with hope, with life that bursts with infinite possibilities.
Help us to treat your creation with love.
Where desire for power has brought violence and war, breathe your peace;
Where greed has led to the destruction of your world, breathe your restoration and renewal;
Where overconsumption has led to desolation and famine, breathe your abundance of blessing.

Voice 2
Healing God,
When we feel tired and discouraged- fill us with the breath of your strength and hope.
When we see pain and suffering, may we breathe out your compassion and healing;
When we sense grief and loneliness, may we be comfort and company;
Help us to see your face in that of the stranger, the prisoner, the refugee.
Where people are excluded and mistreated because of gender or ethnicity, sexuality or status, with open minds and open arms, may we be the breath of justice and forgiveness and inclusion.

PETER
Glory to you, breath of life!
Help your church to be transfigured in your love.
Where we are cold or complacent, may there be challenge and passion;
Where we are despairing or insular may there be wild hope and a radical welcome.
You kindled in us the spark of love - may your breath fan the flame so that we live out the good news of joy for all people.

This we ask in the name of our brother and saviour, Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, ‘Our Father

CHORUS:
who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

ITEM 19 LINK BEVERLEY
And so moment by moment let us breathe in the living, loving energy of God - both ineffable creator and intimate friend - and breathe out his love --- as Michael Garvey, Director of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, reads Psalm 150. Followed by Vaughan Williams’ setting of George Herbert’s song of praise, to be sung by all creation.

ITEM 20 MICHAEL GARVEY
Psalm 150

ITEM 21 MUSIC 7 CHORUS/ORGAN
Let All the World (Vaughan Williams)

ITEM 22 BLESSING BEVERLEY
As we face the challenges of our lives and of our world
Affirming God, enfold, embrace and connect us with your love. Fill us with the breath of your living energy
Give us the wisdom to search for your truth,
The strength to work for justice and for peace,
And the joy of being close to you and to each other.
Amen. Amen.

ITEM 23 ORGAN VOLUNTARY JAMES ANDERSON-BESANT
Bach – Prelude and Fugue in G Major (BWV 541).

CLOSING ANNO from R4
Prelude and Fugue in G Major composed by Bach and played by James Anderson-Besant bringing this morning’s Sunday Worship to a close. The service was led by Beverley Humphreys with the Rev’d Peter Noble. The BBC National Chorus of Wales under the baton of its Artistic Director Adrian Partington was joined by past and present members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales: Dominic Jewel, Paul Mann, David Haime, Ania Leadbeater and Matthew Featherstone. The producer was Karen Walker.
The scriptural story starts in the garden and ends in the city.

In next week’s Sunday Worship the Bishop of Edmonton, The Rt Revd Rob Wickham, explores stories of resurrection hope in churches across inner city London.

Radio 2 is searching for its Young Choristers of the Year 2018. Two winners, a boy and a girl, will have the opportunity to record with the BBC Philharmonic orchestra. A link to information about the competition can be found on the Sunday Worship website.