Without Breath

As someone that has traveled to Central America many times, I understand the term “gringo”. I have been called this numerous times, and I am sure by my dumb actions and naivety of culture, I deserved it each time. This past Sunday, I heard a short story about the early visitors to Hawaii. They were given the name haole (pronounced HOW-lee). The word haol means "without breath, wind or spirit; a colorless, paste-white absence of spirit and feeling, an inability to appreciate the land and the dignity of its people.”

According to Hawaiian traditions, a person would sit outside the temple and breathe deeply blocking out the troubles of the world and focusing their mind on entering into the presence of their god. When they entered the temple, they would sit silently & still for an extended period of time “breathing in the spirit of their god.” Only after they felt they had made a connection did they offer up prayers. Then they would exit the temple and sit on its steps continuing to meditate on their “encounter”.

When the early Christian missionaries came to the islands, the Hawaiians were shocked by the lack of reverence & connection the foreigners had with their God. They would rush into their churches, sing loudly, offer up petitions and exit just as quickly. The Hawaiians did not understand this lack of respect & bond, thus the name “those without breath” was given to them.

Here is a quote from an article I read today as I researched Hawaiian culture and the importance of BREATH: “The Spirit of God broods over the waters of East and West, breathing new life in both directions. Known in Hebrew as ruach, in Greek as pneuma, in Latin as anima, in Sanskrit and Chinese as prima and ch’ i, or in Polynesian as mana, the sacred wind of God’s breath cannot be limited to the categories of thought most familiar to Western theology.”
http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=810

This has challenged me to examine my own time spent with God. Am I a haole? Is my life so self-focused & rushed that I miss experiencing a new life-breathing connectedness with a Holy God?

I am reminded of one of the stories of Elijah. Elijah needed to hear a word from the Lord, so the Lord told him to go out and stand on the mountain and wait for the presence of the Lord to pass by. A powerful wind tore the mountains apart, rocks fell, there were earthquakes & fire, but none of those powerful movements contained the presence of the Lord. The Lord came to Elijah by a gentle whisper….a breath.

I am afraid that in my busyness I often lack breath. I have a short sighted view of my need for connection/relationship with a Holy God. It is my prayer today that I begin to take time to breath life into my time spent seeking God, worshiping Him and communicating with Him. In the near future, as I enter a new culture (although it will not be Hawaiian!), may it not be said of my relationship with God that I am a haole – one without breath!

AT