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.

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."