The Sacred Body
The texts for Sunday, July 15,2012 (Lectionary 15): Amos 7:7–15; Psalm 85:8–13; Ephesians 1:3–14; and Mark 6:14–29
… I think that sometimes we spend too much time in our heads.
We forget that faith
that hope
that new life
is embodied:
is felt
is experienced in our bodies
in movement, in smells, in sights, in sounds, in temperatures and textures and touch, in taste.
We forget that we are bodies—blessed, complex, diverse, holy bodies.
And I think that sometimes we forget that because we are taught that bodies are to be used and abused. We are taught by the world around us that bodies are objects
Objects that are infinitely malleable to every whim that we or that others may have. In other words, our bodies are viewed as objects that we shape to look like anything that we really want—rather than what they, what we, are.
For proof of this, one need only look down the “health and beauty” isle to see a stunning array of means to change your hair, your skin, your body shape—so that you can be younger, blonder, lighter skinned in an appropriately tanned kind of way, and, of course, thinner, more muscular, sexier. And, if those products don’t work, there are more drastic measures available…
In addition to this—and certainly more devastating than this—we are also taught that our bodies are objects to be used by others and that others’ bodies are to be used by us.
—”resources” … “labor force” … “sex objects” … “collateral damage”
Today’s gospel—the story of the beheading of John the Baptist gives real flesh to the way that bodies of people are used and primarily abused by others…
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* I encourage you to click on the picture to see the full sized image and be awed at the beauty of the human body in all it’s forms and ages.
** I tend not to post the whole text of my Sunday sermons online; instead, I post an audio file for you to listen to—so, if you click on the play button below the text references, you can listen to me preach the sermon (make sure your browser and plugins are up to date—sometimes the little player doesn’t load if you aren’t up to date). If, by chance, you would like a copy of the full transcript, please feel free to email me (pebblefaith at gmail dot com) and I will be happy to send it to you! Many, many blessings!
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Jabbok Dawn 