There is a neglected part of our humanity when we talk about faith. The overlooked element is our body. Weekly in worship the word body appears in the Apostle’s Creed. It is also used in the distribution of bread during the reception of Holy Communion. Regarding faith we seem to much more frequently talk about our hearts, our minds, or our spirits, too often ignoring the vessel within which these operate.
We humans have various feelings concerning our bodies. Some look upon them with pride and do everything they can to make their body appear well. Some may be less concerned about appearance and more concerned about performance and work hard with diet and exercise to care for their body. Others may feel inferior regarding appearance or are frustrated by health issues with their body or some part of their body.
We are fully aware Jesus had a physical body like ours. We know the stories of death on a cross and a display of wounds following the resurrection. We are aware Jesus was tired and slept in the stern of a boat or had to get away from the crowds. We know, of course, Jesus ate and drank.
Yes, Jesus had a body. Paul contends not only had but continues to have a body. Paul calls the church “The Body of Christ”. Like human bodies it is visible. One can see it, one can touch it, and one can be touched by it. When one member of the body ails, the entire body can be affected. It is a very human body that lives and breathes, rejoices and suffers.
Preaching at the dedication of a new sanctuary of a church I was serving, the bishop challenged the members to do two things in this new worship space: 1. Sit in different places each week, 2. Attend everyone’s funerals/memorial services. The bishop never once used the word body but both challenges were incumbent upon behaving as a body. Get to know the body, its strengths and its weaknesses and be willing to struggle a bit with the body when one part of it ails.
It has always struck me when a congregation leaves a denomination that there is little if any recognition of the church as a body. Typically, there is some disagreement with a position on an issue, often an issue Jesus never addressed. Those leaving fail to realize they are leaving all the people in their denomination, all the congregations in their faith. What have they done to those who have left? Can’t the body struggle along with some disagreement? I have seen similar attitudes with those in congregations who leave as well. What has the entire community done to them? In both cases, where is the sense of being part of something much larger than oneself? Where is the understanding of being part of a body knowing sometimes part of that body does not function well? Do they understand they are rejecting more than an issue, but an entire community is being rejected?
In the season of Easter, we proclaim loudly and joyously “Jesus is risen!” The body of that risen Jesus lives on in the church, all the church. When Roman priests or TV evangelists are involved in scandal, or Lutheran pastors cross moral and/or legal boundaries, all the church is affected. It is a mark against the entire church, the entire body. Like the body of the risen Christ, the church today and all times carries wounds. These wounds have never stopped God from doing redemptive work. We might even say it is due to such wounds God does God’s redemptive work. I do believe in the resurrection of the body. I have seen it and lived within it.