"Not like that....!"

     Lately, I have been sitting with the fact of how often people (often the religious leaders of the time) didn't like how Jesus did things. In other words, they would basically tell him...."Not like that...!" which really took a lot of nerve given that He is God and all.

    What has particularly spurred on my reflection is a passage from the lectionary from several weeks ago--the story about a crippled woman who was healed by Jesus on the Sabbath (see Luke 15:10-17). Jesus was teaching in the local synagogue--and he noticed a woman in the audience who was "bent over and could not straighten up at all." She had been like that for 18 years. From a somatic perspective, can you imagine, in early Palestine, what being bent over for 18 years would do to your psyche as a woman? I think the woman should be given credit for even showing up for synagogue! She must have been very devout. (I know I have stayed in bed on a given sabbath for lesser reasons. I digress). She was there. Maybe even to see Jesus...we don't know. But we do know, that even though she did not draw attention to herself by crying out to him for healing--HE SAW HER...and called her forward and said, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then he put his hands on her (gotta love it--that was another "no-no" in that culture!) and it says she "immediately straightened up and praised God."

     Isn't that beautiful? Can you imagine being a witness to this healing? It says earlier in the passage that she had been "crippled by a spirit"--so that she had experienced not only limitations on herself physically--but perhaps spiritually she had been bound as well. And as soon as she was healed--her response? TO PRAISE GOD!

     Now, the very next verse sets up quite a contrast...the synagogue ruler got all bent out of shape (hmmm, wonder where the crippling spirit had come from...) and told the people in essence, "Come get healed on the other six days--not the sabbath." In the vernacular, he was protesting, 'The Kingdom of God is "Not like that!"...it should look like THIS (insert our beliefs and rules about how God 'should' work)...

JESUS WAS FURIOUS! And called the leader out--saying, very politely (-not-):
     "YOU HYPOCRITES!!! You are willing to untie your animals on the sabbath to lead them to water--why in heaven's name would you not let me "untie" this woman who has been bound for 18 years?????"
    Jesus was really steamed. These people had their "spiritual priorities" all wrong! He brings wholeness to a woman who had been suffering for 18 YEARS--and they are all upset how He did it. Yeah. If we want God to do a "new thing" by definition it can't be done in the old way.

      In this passage, Jesus also calls this woman "a daughter of Abraham"...such a tender phrase, really. She is recognized as being included in the covenant when women had so few "places" in that day and age. One of the regular prayers prayed by devout Jewish men of the day in essence, thanked God that they had not been created as women. In another passage (John 8) Jesus has a discussion with the leaders about who are the true children of Abraham...those who live by faith, and do the will of the Father. Back to the synagogue, it says that "His opponents (religious leaders) were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing." I don't think it takes a degree in theology to recognize which response brought joy to God's heart.

So--in what areas of your life is God moving in unconventional ways? It may ruffle some feathers--oh well. What would we rather have? The commendation of God or the praise of other people? We know what they did to Jesus--they persecuted him and crucified him. But that is not the end of the story--He triumphantly rose up from the dead--He invites us to do the same with Him by the power of the Spirit. Thanks be to God.

September 17, 2013 --Feast Day of Hildegard von Bingen  (12 century German Christian mystic).

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.

Being a Bodyworker (Part 1)

What is it like to be a Bodyworker? To be honest, it is a lot like being a psychotherapist. I am amazed how much they parallel each other! But I will focus on bodywork in this post: the two words that come to my mind are sacred and sublime.

Sacred  because the desire for healing and wholeness--whether it be body, soul, or spirit--is a sacred enterprise. Whenever people come to me (whether for therapeutic bodywork or counseling) there is a sense of being on sacred ground. One walks with reverence and respect for those who come, for they are willing to bring their vulnerability, hurt, injury and need to the presence of another.. Vulnerability in others has always drawn out my own desire to tend and care--to be present and utilize all the skills I possess to serve and help. So whether the injury or pain is from neglect, accident, trauma, illness, or even self-injury, being present to help in a broken place has always been my passion and calling.

In our culture, people are often embarrassed or ashamed of their bodies, or certain parts of their body. This is maximized by the media--to make people constantly dissatisfied with their own body...in order to sell various products. I like to be a part of righting this wrong. To me, being a bodyworker is a lot like being an artist--who paints or sculpts the human form in order to highlight its sacredness. Christianity teaches that we are created in the image of God. To me, this means that there is an intrinsic beauty that the body possesses--and as a massage therapist, I have the opportunity to bless and bring out the best of a person's being through my work with the body.

The word sublime comes to mind, because a healing space is not something you "drum up" or can in any way "make happen." Preparing a place for others to receive healing is a humbling experience. The most important part is as a practitioner, you must  make room....which usually means being fully present but getting out of the way of what God wants to do! Your own Ego has to be checked at the door when you enter sacred space, for you are there to serve--not be served. Being a bodyworker is sublime because it is an honor to serve others in this way, and a privilege to be allowed to witness the healing that takes place.

Here is a friend's description of my work: Body & Being

Styles of Healing?

It was early in my MT training program that I took a brief test to see what my learning style was (one would hope it would be auditory since I am a therapist and listen to people for large blocks of time...). But ALAS!!! Was not the case. My primary modality for learning and processing information is Visual, then Kinesthetic, then Auditory. Oh boy. That explains a few things.....Like why grad school, which is mostly lecture, was such a challenge--why I dislike listening to teaching CDs/podcasts, and why I will find myself reading books anytime I sit down for more than 15minutes at a time--among other things.

But the thought that caught my attention this morning (and was related to a conversation I had with a classmate last night--thanks Veronica!) was regarding how personal healing/growth might occur within the various modalities--how a person might be open to receive healing and be a channel of healing for others given their own preferred modality. It would be my guess that we can give and receive through each of the modalities--but we may have a "preferred modality." 

For example: perhaps an individual who is more auditory, would find healing occurring as they listen to teachings, repeat prayers, or speak out loud positive affirmations. Likewise, others might receive healing from them when these individuals speak/are heard or focus their intention in a phrase in their mind.  Maybe people who process kinestheticly may find their actions to be prayer--finding that their "doing for others" is a channel of healing. Similarly, if my own preferred method of processing is primarily visual....then most likely I would most easily receive healing, and be a channel of healing to others through......Visualization!!! (some may prefer the term imagination).

For some reason, up until now, I have experienced a general fear of visualization--especially in the area of faith (which is also where my understanding of healing comes from). This would be rather ironic, and put great constraints on me given that visualizing is my natural way of processing the world. So. Where does this leave me and bodywork? Not quite sure, except that I have some exploring to do. :)