Psalm Reflection: The Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

“The Lord is near to all who call upon him.” - Psalm 145

99.99% of our bodies are made of empty space. On the atomic and subatomic level, there is an astronomical amount of open space between electrons and the protons and neutrons that make up our cells. There is so much space between our cells and the parts of our cells that without a certain protein or two in our bodies they would not be able to hold together and we would fall apart.

God is present both in and all around us at all times. That means God is closer to you than you are to yourself. He fills those empty spaces and is constantly near to us in them. “Looking for God” is like a fish in the ocean looking for water, or a person looking for oxygen. It is in us and all around us.

After God revealed His name, Yahweh, in Exodus 3, the Jews never spoke it aloud except on very rare and solemn occasions. This was because of the reverence they had for God’s name, but also because the letters that make up His name (Yod, He, Vav, He) are all breathy, vowel-like letters in Hebrew. The name of God is not a pronounceable word in Hebrew, like breathing out and pronouncing “aeiou” as a word in English. It is as if every time we breathe, we are saying His name and being reminded that He is being, essence, and breathe itself.

This is how close God is to us. He is the what animates us, gives us life and being. We begin our lives by taking a breathe, by saying His name, and our lives end when we are no longer able to do so. He is closer to us than we are to ourselves, but, as the Psalmist says, to experience how near He is we must call upon Him. We cannot take advantage of the oxygen around us if we refuse to take a breathe. We must call upon God, taking a spiritual breathe of openness, to realize how near He is and has always been.

This week, every time you pray, focus on your breathe. Know that with every inhale and exhale, the God of the universe is loving you into existence. Spend five minutes a day, quietly focusing on your breathe and simply being with the Lord.

We are praying for you this week.

See you in the Eucharist.

Matt