When Jonathan Linman helps theology students seek the true
meaning of Christmas this year, he does not caution them against the perils
of materialism.
On the contrary, he urges them to heighten their awareness
of their primary material possession – their bodies.
“Were trying to recover respect for the body,”
said Linman, a Lutheran pastor and director of the Center for Christian Spirituality
at General Theological Seminary in New York City.
When Jonathan Linman helps theology students seek the true
meaning of Christmas this year, he does not caution them against the perils
of materialism.
On the contrary, he urges them to heighten their awareness
of their primary material possession – their bodies.
“Were trying to recover respect for the body,”
said Linman, a Lutheran pastor and director of the Center for Christian Spirituality
at General Theological Seminary in New York City.
“After centuries of mortifying the flesh, its very
important to do that. And the Word-made-flesh is all about that.”
Linman seeks to accomplish his goal in a variety of ways. For
instance, he leads students in breathing exercises prior to prayer, emphasizing
to them that the physical body is a valued instrument in ones search for
God.
Linman is not alone in forging a fresh connection between the
story of Jesus birth and the importance of caring for the physical body.
New books this year have made the link as well, under such titles as “Honoring
the Body” by Stephanie Paulsell and “Divine Becoming: Rethinking Jesus
and Incarnation” by Charlene Burns.
However, for church leaders concerned to reverse a body-hating
tendency in Christianity, the place to start lies buried beneath fruitcake and
eggnog at Christmas.
Christian doctrine teaches that God joined the human race when
Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem. This “incarnation” causes
Muslims and Jews to bristle at the notion of almighty God reduced to human form.
However, for Christians who see Jesus as mysteriously human
and divine at once, the incarnation reveals much about their creator.
Some scholars say a key part of what is revealed is the human
bodys inherent preciousness in Gods eyes.
“If God took on a body, then the body must be something
God cares about,” explains Charlene Burns, professor of religious studies
at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
“And if the body is a seedbed of the divine, then how
can we abuse it?”
Nevertheless, for all their uncompromising logic, those keen
to celebrate the body face an uphill battle.
Christians are known to neglect their bodily needs in December
– not to mention throughout the year – as exercise, adequate rest
and good diets become casualties of the holiday frenzy. And church-based efforts
to identify the seasons “true” meaning usually focus on the
spirit of giving or compassion for the poor – not on treasuring ones
physical body as a temple.
What is more, through the centuries, Christians frequently
have disdained the body as a seat of suffering, a prison for the soul, as well
as a nexus of temptation and sin. Scriptural citations such as Romans 8:13 –
“If you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit,
you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” – inspired
the faithful during the Middle Ages who wore hair shirts and used wooden pillows.
Today, many Christians still approach their bodies with wariness,
lest too much physical comfort or enjoyment lead to lust, gluttony or other
sins.
But there is another perspective that should be emphasized,
some scholars say.
“Human bodies are vehicles of Gods grace,”
emphasized Fredrica Harris Thompsett, who is both an author and professor of
historical theology at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.
“The Incarnation says whose we are. We are Gods.
God came to live among us.”
Writers on the incarnation say the doctrine led early Christians
to cherish their bodies as gifts of God. For the infirm and healthy alike, they
say that Gods giving of bodies speaks volumes about the manner in which
human beings ought to live.
“The story of Jesus birth is a story of intense
vulnerability – the manger, the cold night, the unmarried woman,”
said Stephanie Paulsell, author of the “Honoring the Body” book released
this year.
“Somehow this baby gets into the world and invites us
to embrace our bodily vulnerability. … The body is both weak and strong. Its
through those (bodily) needs that God invites us more deeply into each others
care.”
When asked how Christians might live a more embodied spirituality
in the Christmas season, David Stayner cited a Saturday he spent with his 5-year-old
son, Matthew. His son was with him, doing laundry and other chores. Then, at
the end of the day, Matthew cried, saying the two had not been together at all
because they did not play.
An incarnated life “is knowing how to get down beside
a boy whos desperately sad, rather than stand above him and say, get
with the program,” said Stayner, director of the Annand Program for
Spiritual Formation at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in New Haven, Conn.
Of course, overcoming what Thompsett refers to as the “un-Christian”
separation of body and soul might require a dismantling of ingrained habits
on the part of many modern believers, scholars acknowledge.
But the effort certainly is worth it, they add.
“I think theres a real hunger among Christians to
be able to make sense of Gods coming in the flesh,” Burns said.
“If God comes into this world, then being here in body must be a good
thing.” (RNS)