Category Archives: Body Mind Spirit

Body Mind Spirit

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As I continue my return to running, my mind has been reflecting on my body.  Twice in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul states that our human bodies are the temple of God’s Spirit.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?  I Corinthians 3:16.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God and that you are not your own?  For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. I Corinthians 6:19-20

Paul writes a rhetorical question, as if they already know the answer but have forgotten it.   Have we forgotten as well?  I fear that our American culture has compartmentalized everything, so that we do not see the connections between the body, mind and spirit.   We have gyms and pools to exercise the body, classes and books to educate the mind, and worship and prayer to nurture the spirit, but we rarely work to integrate these three components together.  Can exercise and prayer, meditation and study work together?

Post-Run Stretch

I recently read an article by John N. Sheveland in the Christian Century titled “Is Yoga Religious?”  The article touched on how most Americans see yoga simply as a physical exercise consisting of poses that has no spiritual content.  The Hindu American Foundation is working to change this misconception by reasserting the Hindu roots of yoga as a religious practice.   In turn, the push to reestablish yoga as a Hindu practice has caused some Christians to reject yoga as anti-Christian and harmful. Sheveland seeks a middle way. 

Might asanas (postural yoga) influence a Christian’s understanding of herself as a physical body created in the image and likeness of God and thus an object of unutterable dignity, held in being and redeemed by God?  Might postural yoga, with its well-documented physical and mental benefits, help me to better understand my stewardship responsibilities to my own body—which Paul says is not my own—and to other bodies in creation? So too, the effect of asanas on the mind can demonstrate to Christians what they already know to be true, namely, that body and spirit are one.

Can other physical activity beside yoga have spiritual and mental benefit?  How do we help integrate these benefits into our daily lives?

Lord Jesus, teach me to be a good steward of my body, mind and spirit.

 

Try A Little Kindness

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I am guessing that many think kindness is a great virtue. It is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22. Stories about stopping to help a stranded motorist or ailing neighbor pull at our heart-strings. Frequently when we read about a natural disaster hitting a community, we also read how members of the community reach out in kindness to one another, providing meals, shelter, and cleanup activities. Kindness is something we value, but we often neglect. Why?

I think there are at least two things that stop me from being kind. One is my busyness. To express an act of kindness to an individual in need means that I need to suspend my agenda for a time and focus on the concerns of someone else. Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 is a prime example. The traveling Samaritan gave up his agenda to help the person wounded and bleeding at the side of the road.

The second thing that holds me back is that I am unsure what to do. In a natural disaster, there are clearly identifiable needs, but with my co-worker who is having a bad day I’m not sure what kindness looks like. Perhaps it is just a listening ear, a kind word of encouragement, a cup of cold water? Perhaps the simplest way to act is to do unto others as I would like them to treat me.

Kindness is not so very hard, yet I struggle with it every day. I pray that God will make my heart and my schedule open to acts of kindness for others. For in acts of kindness we see the heart of God. “Whoever gives even a cup of cold water (or lemonade) to one of my children will not lose their reward.” Matthew 10:42.

When has an act of kindness touched your life deeply?

Lord Jesus, help me to perform at least one act of kindness this week-end.

Name That Commandment IIb

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Yesterday I made simplistic remarks about our capitalist economic system, especially the principle of supply and demand.  Fortunately a reader, a professor of economics, gave me a gracious critique of my explanation. She wrote,

I’m not sure if it is society today or human nature which creates the demand for more.    Hobbes contended people operate based on self interest while Locke didn’t believe this was always true.  . . .  The law of demand and supply are not causal models as much as they are descriptive models or this is simply what we observe in the world.  It is true that suppliers only supply what people want but it isn’t true that they have unlimited powers to make this happen as the many failed products and services can attest.

My critique is not on capitalism per se. God made us with wants and desires that are not evil in themselves.  I appreciate how the market allows us to enjoy an amazing amount of products: from Guatemalan mangos to Korean cell phones. I appreciate how the market can reward hard work.

My critique is on the pervasive nature of marketing and advertising.   I am not against all advertising.  My father worked as a newspaper advertising salesperson most of his life.    I like to know when a new product can enhance my life or where I can find a favorite product at a cheaper price.   What I struggle with is the constant barrage of messages that seem to tell me that my life story is incomplete or empty unless I have this product.   Coca Cola has been doing this in its television commercials for years.

In the novel, The Gospel According to Larry, 17 year-old Josh Swenson starts a website that attacks the consumer waste that he sees.  Josh decides to have only 75 possessions, counting all clothes, school supplies, recreational equipment, and software. He has an exact list of how many possessions he has. If he wants a new CD or book he has to sell an old one or trade for it. This means every purchase is a major decision and he takes it seriously.  The novel helped me reflect on the wants and needs of my life.

You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11

Do you think our culture overemphasizes consumption?

Lord Jesus, teach me to be a good steward of my material blessings.

Name That Commandment

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Our confirmation students had a written test in which they wrote about the commandment that was most challenging to them.  Two commandments were frequently cited:  the second and tenth commandments.  Both are worthy of further reflection.   I will start with the second commandment and post on the tenth tomorrow.

The second commandment, “you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” reflects the power of words.  What we say matters.   God has given us a tremendous gift in being able to call out to him in prayer, praise and thanksgiving at anytime and in any situation.  God is like a mother who walks through a crowded noisy mall, hears a child’s cry and knows the child is her daughter or son.  God knows and responds to the cry of our hearts when we sing with joy or shout in terror.  What a privilege to be able to call upon the creator of the universe!

With this privilege in mind, we see how disrespectful it is to use God’s name to curse others, to inflict harm upon others.  Yes, we are creatures with powerful emotions like anger and rage.  Yes, we can be provoked by the actions of others to say things we wish we hadn’t. Yes, cursing has become more pervasive, even acceptable in our culture. Still we are not ruled by our emotions nor by cultural norms, but have the capacity to choose how to respond to our emotional stirrings.  Jesus calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).  We need to pray for God’s help to keep his name holy.

One confirmation student did have a valid observation.  He observed people being very cavalier, or bored, in worship as they mumbled God’s praise.  Can our worship become so casual that we begin to take God’s name in vain?  Can we be disrespecting God because we are daydreaming instead of truly praising his Holy name?  I appreciate how confirmation student can sometimes help me see the God’s truth in a new light.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of your name.  Help me to cherish it always.

Miami Heat and Pentecost

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Wade, Bosh and James of the Heat

I have been watching the NBA Finals this week: Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks.  The Heat made news last summer when they brought together superstars LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.  With such individual firepower the Heat was expected to walk away with the championship.  But individual superstars do not make a team so right now Dallas is ahead in the series three games to two.  Even though Miami has more talent, they are not playing together well, especially in the fourth quarter. 

The Finals have me thinking about the TEAM of Pentecost.  One of the amazing things about Pentecost is that the Holy Spirit came mightily to the assembled disciples as a team.  The Spirit did not just “zap” Peter and have him preach.  The tongues of fire were on the whole group, anointing them to be the Body of Christ together. In the Old Testament God’s Spirit anointed individuals like Moses or Elijah.  Now the whole church has the power.

 I think as Americans we struggle with the significance of community.  My college history professor contrasted the colonies in New England with those of Virginia.  The New England colonies were community-based with people living in town together. The Virginia colonists were scattered on large plantation where the individual made his way in the new land.  After contrasting the two models my professor emphasized that the Virginia model became our American ideal of the rugged individualist who makes it through the world by him or herself.

Even in matters of faith we often disparage community. As Americans, we tend to focus on our individual faith and commitment, how our personal faith is a private matter of the heart.  Organized religion is suspect for being “organized.”

Yet we all live in community and our faith is rarely a total individual experience.  We learn from others: parents, teachers, pastors, and spiritual leaders.  We read books written by others, sing songs written by others, and reflect upon questions asked by others.  Our faith can be deeply personal, but needs a community to thrive and live.  The Holy Spirit does not leave us isolated but calls us to trust, live and serve together as the Christ’s body in the world.

How are you living your faith in community with others?

Lord Jesus, keep the Holy Spirit active in us so we can be the Body of Christ together.  

Organizational Care

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Seth Godin, wrote an intriguing post recently about caring and organizations:

No organization cares about you. Organizations aren’t capable of this.

Your bank, certainly, doesn’t care. Neither does your HMO or even your car dealer. It’s amazing to me that people are surprised to discover this fact.

People, on the other hand, are perfectly capable of caring. It’s part of being a human. It’s only when organizational demands and regulations get in the way that the caring fades.

If you want to build a caring organization, you need to fill it with caring people and then get out of their way. When your organization punishes people for caring, don’t be surprised when people stop caring.

I began to wonder if that is true of a congregation.  Certainly one of the confessed values of a Christian congregation is to care, to love, to be like Jesus. But what does care look like?  Here leadership is essential. Leadership within the congregation can promote a culture of care, can model what caring looks like, and how collectively and individually we care.

Pentecost by artist Jean Sader

This Sunday is Pentecost, the church holiday in which we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to ignite the birth of the church. Fifty days after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the first disciples remained huddled in a room in Jerusalem.  As described in Acts 2, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was dramatic: a mighty rush of wind, tongues of fire on people’s heads, and multiple languages suddenly heard.  A huge crowd gathered outside the room, amazed, perplexed, confused.  What was this?

Here is where caring leadership stepped up.

 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd. Act 2:14

Peter took the leadership role and modeled how this new community would express itself.  He cared for the assembled crowd by telling them the story of Jesus Christ and how his life, death and resurrection had changed the world.  His words were tough at time, reminding the people of their participation in Jesus’ crucifixion.  Yet Peter, with the support of the eleven, did the most loving thing possible: he called people to trust in Jesus.  At Resurrection, we would say Peter “called all people to a vibrant life of faith in Christ.”

How does the church promote or restrict caring?

Lord Jesus, teach me to care as you cared for others.

Habitat Day

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Yesterday, five of us from Resurrection worked at a Habitat for Humanity house in St. Paul. In spite of the heat and humidity we hung sheet rock in the upstairs bedrooms. The challenge was learning how to put up ceiling sheet rock, especially above the stair case. Fortunately our crew had an excellent crew chief, Roger Henry, who showed us the right techniques and special tricks to get the job done.

Roger Henry

I have known Roger for over a decade. He has been a long-time volunteer and champion of Habitat for Humanity. He brings his own tools to the work site and gladly teaches novices like myself how to use them. He knows that most Habitat volunteers are not skilled construction workers and that he could probably do the job more easily by himself. Yet teaching others is one of his passions and joys. I like working with Roger (but please don’t tell him that!).

I also have an abiding passion for Habitat for Humanity. I believe in its mission to build safe, affordable housing for people in need. They do NOT give away homes, but they invest in people. Any potential home owner needs to put over 500 hour of sweat equity into the organization, he or she needs to attend classes about home ownership responsibilities, and the family will have a mortgage when they move into the home. As Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat, once said, “Habitat is not a handout, but a hand-up.” The modest house we worked on yesterday is only 1400 square feet and will probably house a family of five or more. Twin Cities Habitat has built more than 850 since its inception in 1985. Learn more at their website.

Hard Work and Good Food

And whenever I have worked at a Habitat site, I have enjoyed a great lunch!

As I reflect on the day, I am extremely thankful for organizations like Habitat for Humanity and for individuals like Roger Henry. They are expressions of hope and joy and make me smile. In a world that often seems dark and foreboding, they shine with the light of Christ.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matt. 5:16

What people or organizations give you hope in today’s world?

Lord Jesus, may we together shine with your light of hope.

Ups and Downs with Voyage of the DT

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Eustace from Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This week-end I watched the movie The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which is adapted from the third book in C. S. Lewis’ Chronicle of Narnia series. I was disappointed, even though I think the producers and screenwriters were faithful to the story. Since Lewis’ story is episodic, a string of small encounters, the movie tries to tie the episodes all together by introducing an “evil mist” that must be destroyed.

I struggled with the “evil mist” because for C. S. Lewis, evil was not some nameless vague mist, but actual angelic powers and individuals. Satan and his minions are accountable to God. There was no central person/being/intelligence in the movie’s mist to be held responsible. It was some vague power invading Narnian space, like an environmental contagion.

My real disappointment was the transformation of Eustace Scrubb. In the book this is a pivotal moment when Aslan the Lion encountered Eustace as the dragon. First Eustace tried to cut away the dragon skin and failed after several attempts. Only after the failure did Aslan release him out with one lash of his claw. Finally the restored Eustace is cleansed in the pool of water. The whole scene is a powerful description of baptism. The movie’s version did not fulfill my expectations for the scene and my baptismal perspective. Plus it came so late in the movie, we are unable to witness any transformation in the Eustace’s human character.

Still I enjoyed how the movie captured much of the joy, wonder and strangeness of Narnia. The character development in Edmund, Lucy, Caspian and Eustice was worth seeing as were the majestic sea scenes. It made me want to get my father’s tiny sail boat out and brave the waves of the Puget Sound. But that is a different post.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3-4

How has a movie or story helped you understand a Christian concept or doctrine?

Lord Jesus, thank you for being my savior and rescuing me from sin and death.

Marketer for the Ages

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Seth Godin is a marketing author whose blog I read regularly.  Today he wrote regarding worldviews:

In All Marketers Tell Stories, I argue that most organizations shouldn’t try to change the worldview of the audience they’re marketing to.

Worldview is a term popularized by George Lakoff. It’s the set of expectations and biases that color the way each of us see the world (before the marketer ever arrives on the scene). The worldview of a 45 year old wine-loving investment banker is very different from that of a fraternity brother. One might see a $100 bottle of burgundy as both a bargain and a must-have, while the other might see the very same bottle of wine as an insane waste of money.

It’s extremely expensive, time consuming and difficult to change someone’s worldview. The guys at Opus One shouldn’t spend a lot of time marketing expensive wine to fraternities because it’s not efficient. Sell nuts to squirrels, don’t try to persuade dolphins that nuts are delicious.

There’s an exception to this rule, and that’s the necessity of changing worldviews if you want to become a giant brand, a world changer, a marketer for the ages. Starbucks changed the way a significant part of the world thought about spending $4 for a cup of coffee.

Another exception is Jesus Christ.  He came to transform the way we look at and live in the world.  Sometimes our problem is that we want to fit Jesus into some niche in our lives, “Jesus, just fix this problem I have and then leave me alone.”  We want Jesus to rescue us from a difficult circumstance and then quietly step back from the foreground, but he comes to the Lord and Master of our house.   Jesus truly came to  be the “marketer for the ages” that changes the story by which we live. 

 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. ( Hebrews 12:2 The Message)

How have you tried to adapt Jesus to your life rather than allowing him to rule?

Lord Jesus, be LORD today in my life.

Running Club Passion and Pain

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One of my passions is consistent aerobic exercise. However my passion has been inconsistent, waxing and waning through the years. Through most of my adult life, I have had spurts of consistent running, only to be sidelined by the “urgency” of my daily life. This was especially true when my children were little.

The Running Club in a non-running moment

Then in the winter of 1999 Tim Torgerson approached me about starting a church-based marathon training group. He was looking towards October’s Twin City Marathon. I was gullible and naïve and so said yes. The training group started in March, running together on Saturday mornings. Each week we were accountable to each other. I had a training schedule to keep and people checking on me.

However a dreaded “running injury” struck and I had to take a month out in June for physical therapy. Still I felt this need/desire to be back with the group as quickly as possible. Finally on October 3, 1999, I finished TCM with seven others from the group. After our suceess “the training group” became a year-round running club.

Over the next ten years the St. Andrew’s Running Club gave me the support and encouragement to finish ten marathons. Last summer when I finished Grandma’s, I knew I needed a break to recover from some nagging injuries. Later I said good-bye to St. Andrew’s Running Club as I followed God’s call to Resurrection Lutheran. After a long winter of physical therapy, I am now finally ready to start running. Last week I was able to do three runs of 2-3 miles.

I have also discovered a new joy with cycling. Last Wednesday Dave Johnson from Resurrection showed me some of the great bike routes nearby. Yesterday I biked with Tim and Dan and needed their support as I experienced my first three flats.

Through these experiences, I have discovered that I benefit from a group to help me stay consistent in running or cycling. Which leads me to a question: Is anyone interested in a running or cycling club based here at Resurrection? Let me know.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, Proverbs 27:17

Lord Jesus, lead us into the fellowship groups you want us to have so that we might live the vibrant life.