"With my body I thee worship..." These words used to be included in marriage vows--what a groom would promise to his bride.* What powerful words. I remember being perplexed by this phrase as a child, because I was taught that you were never to worship ANYTHING but God. But my little brain reasoned, if the Church had sanctioned these words (and the Church was all about worshiping God), the words must have meant something different that what I thought they meant. But I had no clue as to what that was.
Well, the last several years I have done some research, conversed with friends, experienced massage/bodywork, etc. and have come to think that in the above context, "worship" actually means "to serve/honor." Wow. What would that mean? What does it mean to serve and honor the body of another?
I think it means to honor the sacredness of each body....instead of the body being an object to be used. How are bodies viewed in our culture? As an object. Bodies are the objects (vs. subject) of other forces...objects of lust, retail sales, marketing campaigns, surgeon's scalpels, punishing regimens. The body is viewed as not being sacred in its own right--but that it needs to be enhanced, changed, punished, used for someone else's gratification.
But now, the words of Christ "This is my body, given for you / broken for you..." in the institution of the Eucharist/Communion become so powerful. Instead of him demanding the body of another--He gives his own body sacrificially for the wholeness and healing of the other.
As a massage therapist/bodyworker, I have the opportunity to honor and serve the body of the person with whom I work, with my own hands, with my own body--with my own person. Touch has the ability to be the somatic expression of serving another with my own body--not to have my needs met but to bless and honor them. I am grateful to have this new means to honor and serve others. To echo the words of Christ, I pray, "This is my body, given for you...."
*(I wonder if the words said by the bride to her groom "I will honor, cherish and obey" were removed at the same time?)
