The Body, Advent, and Incarnation

Of course, I had to write another Advent reflection, because I came across something really cool in Agnes Sanford's*  The Healing Light last week. She writes this (in 1947 no less!):
   
   "Most people are ashamed today to offer themselves to God, both soul and body. They feel he has no use for their bodies, forgetting the infinite pains that He took to incarnate himself within the veil of flesh so that he might from that time forth enter into all of humanity. Many people of today are unwilling to recognize the operation of a spiritual power through the being (body) of man...." p.82

I don't think we have a full understanding of what it means for our whole person, BODY, soul, and spirit--to be filled with the power of God. I think if we did, it might literally blow our circuits--or at least our socks off! But in this short excerpt, Agnes is suggesting that indeed we can know what it is like to experience God's presence in our body--not just our mind and spirit. This whole experience of God is what the mystics talk about--experiencing God--not just knowing him with our mind/beliefs/creeds, but actually have God's Spirit so fill us, that it registers in our body. We FEEL his presence--and in fact, when God' power flows through us, it often results in healing--the body being restored to wholeness. This is part of the redemption of our body, brought about by the fact of Christ Jesus coming in the flesh--the Incarnation.

A Blessed Advent Indeed.

*For those of you who have never heard of Agnes, she was a fascinating woman who had the gift of healing. She was born in China, the daughter of missionary parents, who later in life came to the United States, and married an Anglican priest.

The Spirit and the Feminine

 Advent helps us focus on the Incarnation--"O Come, O Come,  Emmanuel." Emmanuel--God with Us. But how God is present in our actual daily life is the place of the Spirit. As many of you know, I have been reflecting quite a bit on the role of the Holy Spirit this past year--given that the Spirit is what gives life to the body. No Spirit--dead body. Lots of Spirit--enlivened body--in fact in the Bible at times, things that are dead come back to life! Pretty simple. So, it is quite an understatement to say that my Pentecostal world was rocked when I came across this passage this summer when reading the Wisdom of Solomon, in which Wisdom (The Holy Spirit) is described in the most beautiful portrait I have ever read:
"For in wisdom there is a spirit intelligent and holy,
      unique in its kind yet made up of many parts,
subtle, free moving, lucid, spotless, clear,
      invulnerable, loving what is good,
eager, unhindered, beneficent, kindly toward men,
      steadfast, unerring, untouched by care,
all-powerful, all-surveying, and permeating
       all intelligent, pure and delicate spirits.
For wisdom moves more easily than motion itself,
      she pervades and permeates all things because she is so pure.
Like a fine mist she rises from the power of God,
      a pure effluence from the glory of the Almighty;
so nothing defiled can enter into her by stealth.
      She is the brightness that streams from everlasting light,
the flawless mirror of the active power of God
      and the image of his goodness.
She is but one, yet can do everything;
       herself unchanging, she makes all things new;
age after age she enters into holy souls,
       and makes them God's friends and prophets,
for nothing is acceptable to God
       but the man who makes his home with wisdom.
She is more radiant than the sun,
        and surpasses every constallation;
compared with the light of day, she is found to excell;
       for day gives place to night, but against wisdom no evil can prevail.
She spans the world in power from end to end,
      and orders all things benignly."   Wisdom of Solomon 7:22-30.

Wow. Beautiful. Kind of makes you want to have the Spirit around--doesn't it? And to be honest, what also rocked my socks was the fact that this Spirit was referred to in feminine terms! That there is something feminine in God is something often given lip-service to...but I think we are missing something if it is only lip-service or a cognitive acknowledgement. There is something much more profound being expounded in this passage--that will personally be my focus of my own reflection and prayer during Advent. "Come, O Come Emmanuel....and O Come, Holy Spirit!"  A Blessed Advent, Indeed!!!

The Body as Gift

One of the main goals of therapeutic bodywork  is to facilitate the experience of "the body as gift." This is in contrast to our culture's view of "the body as object." An object (like a rock) does not have feelings. But Bodies have feelings. Bodies FEEL. We feel. If we don't feel, it may be that we are actually "cut off" from our body's ability to perceive and process. The body learns, the body remembers. As one of my friends is very fond of saying, "The body does not lie."

It is not healthy to view our Self as separate from our Body. This is the wonder of being human. We are embodied spiritual beings, which differentiates us from angels (spirits). In the movie, City of Angels (1998) there is an interesting conversation about how angels are puzzled and intrigued by the human experience of being embodied. Because we have bodies, we can feel what it is like to run a marathon, hug a friend, feel the sun on your face, let a snowflake melt on your tongue, taste strawberry pie, smell a rose, enjoy sexual intimacy. You have to have a body to experience these things.

So, therapeutic bodywork helps people experience their body as Gift, i.e., as Good. This translates into themselves being a gift, and good. This may be quite a revolution/revelation. Some people may have experienced terrible things in their body (trauma)--or have experienced nothing at all (neglect/deprivation). Both experiences tend to cause the body to be forgotten, or in some instances, even punished as if it had done something wrong.And then people begin to believe that they themselves are wrong/bad.

Sensitive and caring bodywork can facilitate a "coming home" to one's body--where we can truly embrace our body as our friend, our Home. The Christian faith is one of the few faith systems where the body is not left behind--but is itself restored and redeemed. Our body is the dwelling our own spirit....and of God's Spirit. When the Bible talks about our body being the temple of the Holy Spirit....this is what it means. God can and does LIVE IN US. That should blow our socks off! Our body, our Gift, our Home.

Why the Incarnation?

There are of course many important reasons that Christ came in the flesh, theologically known as The Incarnation. But from a bodywork perspective, the Incarnation holds unique importance. It is a common maxim in bodywork that "People hold their issues in their tissues." What this means in its basic sense is that we are not just creatures of our minds, but are truly embodied. Most people identify with the fact that they hold "stress" in various places in their bodies. But the fact is, we hold all of our emotions in our bodies. Sometimes we may hold anxiety in our gut, anger in our throat,grief in our heart, or confusion in our heads. The list could go on. But one of the aims of bodywork is to help people release the issues in their tissues--to release the emotions and pain that have been stored there and have been preventing them from living an abundant life.

By coming in the flesh, the Incarnation, Christ Jesus redeemed our bodies. He desires to free us from the brokenness in our bodies...and is why in the great Eucharistic Prayer, He says, "This is my Body, Broken for You."

"With my body, I thee worship..." Part I

"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?)

Body Theology

What does it mean for women to be "made in the image of God"? This question was first raised in my mind about 2 years ago when the pastor of my church did a sermon series on "The Theology of the Body" gleaned from Pope John Paul IIs works by the same name. I don't agree with all the points made (I rarely do any more--grad school ruined me from ever agreeing with anything in toto) but it got the wheels in my brain turning. (Always a dangerous thing). Do our bodies actually reflect Truth...and if they do...what Truth do women's bodies tell?

It  boils down to this...The Bible clearly teaches that man and woman were both created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Having grown up in Evangelical Christian circles--I have heard quite a bit about God--God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. By default--not on purpose, these teachings have been primarily about God as masculine given the pronouns we use (Father, Son....Spirit...not sure what category to place that one.) How do we know pronouns make a difference? Just start calling God "Mother" and see what happens in an evangelical group! :)  I don't have a problem with understanding the "masculine" aspects of God....except that it doesn't help me understand myself and how I as a woman am also created in the image of God. What does THAT mean?

It was about 2 months ago that I was thinking about the above, and I realized that the "fruits of the Spirit" (i.e. the results of being transformed by the presence of God working within a person) mentioned in Galations 5:22-23 are primarily feminine characteristics: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." WHAT? How come I never heard a sermon on THAT? And speaking of the Spirit of God....isn't the Spirit also refered to as the Helper, Comforter, Advocate....need I go on? Where do children go to for comfort, help and advocacy when they are young...their MOTHER! Hmmmmmm. To be continued......