"... the human body is the preeminent arena for God’s revelation in the world, the medium through which God’s Holy Spirit is most clearly expressed." ~ Luke Timothy Johnson, "The Revelatory Body: Theology as Inductive Art"
"I believe there is no path to God. A path to God implies that God resides somewhere and that getting there takes time as you move from where you are to where God is...For me, the key isn’t to walk a path toward God but to 'be still and know' that God is already here: in you, with you, and as you." ~ Rabbi Rami Shapiro
"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." ~ Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 12:27
There is an old chestnut of a prayer that goes like this:
Prayer - "God, why don't I ever win the lottery?"
God - "Help me out a little and buy a ticket!"
The Christian doctrine of Incarnation has been traditionally confined to Jesus as The Christ (Messiah). However a close (and sometimes obvious) reading of the wider biblical text presents a much more universal understanding of Divine Presence throughout all of creation and especially in humanity. The God of the Bible continuously described by a string of prepositions indicating incarnation - with, in, around, above, below, through, beside..." In short - everywhere!
The great challenge of current religious endeavors is not to believe in disembodied doctrine, but rather to live embodied values that recognize and respect true Incarnation.
One way the community of faith where I serve is being incarnate is through something we call "Sermons of Service." When a month has five Sundays (four times a year) we forgo our regular Sunday morning worship, have a brief worship of 10-15 minutes, then engage in prearranged service projects like assembling hygiene kits for homeless ministries, picking up trash in neighborhoods, cleaning apartments for transitional housing organizations, and providing meals for shelters.
The unofficial motto of our "Sermons of Service" is the quote often attributed to St. Francis, "Proclaim the Gospel, and if necessary use words."
This is not bad advice, considering we actually are the embodied Gospel!
Occasionally, I have been known (when my wife is out of town), to take my sons to the Air and Space Museum instead of church. As you are well aware, it's only 1 mile down the road from the sanctuary. I think of it as a break in the routine, a chance to expand my kids minds in a slightly different way, but in the same space of time. I must admit, as great as a Sunday morning on the mall with hardly a tourist in sight might be, I think this is an even better idea!
ReplyDeleteJoe, the Air and Space Museum is an all together different kind of sermon, but a good one just the same :)
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