Image item
 
Day 26 NOURISHMENT
Joy {Practice}

 
"For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."
 
Zephaniah 3:17
 
The way I (Brian) see it, of the wonders of Christmas and Epiphany, there is no more clear statement of God’s loving intention for the world than Jesus Christ’s incarnation—his taking on human flesh to become one of us. God’s embodiment as a human is a great demonstration of solidarity with us and love for us. It is also a strong statement about the value God places on human bodies.
 
Thomas Merton, Trappist monk and American mystic, wrote often about God’s strong message of the dignity of humanity, realized in Christ-enfleshed. In New Seeds of Contemplation Merton says that if  “we believe in the Incarnation of the Son of God, there should be no one earth in whom we are not prepared to see, in mystery, the presence of Christ.” In essence, not only is Jesus Christ’s taking on flesh an act of solidarity between God and humanity, it is a call for all of humanity to be united under the banner of the love of God in Christ. What greater statement of human solidarity can there be?
 
Everybody—every human body—is an image bearer, an icon of God’s love. But this mysterious reality has so frequently in our history been overlooked, ignored, or forgotten. Headlines and history books attest to the human tendency to not see the presence of Christ in our sisters and brothers, Black and Brown sisters, homeless brothers, Immigrant parents, Refugee children.
 
But humanity’s selective solidarity does not negate God’s intention. Throughout the gospels, Jesus clearly puts himself, as the Christ of God, on the side of those who are not recognized as icons of God’s love. Samaritans and Gentiles, demon-possessed and prostitute, tax collector and thief—they all fall under the loving gaze of the Jesus’ love. Their bodies—their lives—matter to God. And that is a great cause for joy!
 
The outpouring of a soul who has discovered that God sees them in the light of love, as an image-bearer of Godself is cause for great celebration. That the workings of the human body—its sight, hearing, sense of taste and touch—are all brought under the canopy of God’s delight.
 
And what better way to celebrate the love of God than in a body? To hear children singing, to smell a bonfire and be warmed by its radiance, to dance freely, to be held in the embrace of a spouse or friend, to eat and drink of a meal prepared in love—these are the joys of life for which all humans were made.
 
Our first parents, and all of humanity, were given bodies so that we could celebrate the good gifts that our bodies possess. When we press into the mystery of God’s embodiment and the dignity of our own, we may be surprised to discover that we do not find joy in aspects of our own bodies. When contemplating the gift of our body, we may hear whispers of condemnation that linger from the past. While sitting in stillness and taking inventory of our own bodies, we may gain insight into messages we have held about the beliefs or desires to one day be freed from our bodily existence.
 
And in our embodied silence, we may also hear the words echoing from ancient scripture that our bodies are very good. “You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, The Message).
 
Meditate + Reflect
  • Opinions and ideas about our own bodies and those of others abound. What body judgments do you hold for yourself or place on others?
 
  • Have you pondered the goodness of your body? Take some time to journal about favorite sounds, sights, tastes, sensations, smells. Consider the connection you have with those favorite sense-experiences and the emotion of joy or gladness. Think about favorite movements (dancing, yoga, running, swimming, etc.) and how these experiences make you feel or how they enrich your life. Why do you think you experience those activities as you do?
 
  • Take 5 minutes to sit in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor and hands resting on your upper thighs. While slowly inhaling and exhaling, take a mental inventory of your body from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. Take inventory of as many body parts as you like. Ask yourself what you sense there. Thank God for them all: your hair, your chin, your belly, your knees. They may not be perfect, but they are very good. 
 
 

 
Formed well to love well
 
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter