God is here
When will Christians learn to stop separating the spiritual from the sensual and the physical, and calling one good and condemning the other?
I recently heard an excellent sermon (bear in mind I don't like sermons) on John 12. Inspired by someone not brought up in the Christian faith it was pointed out to us that the passage was very sensual. She reflected on the passage to affirm that each of our physical senses, which would have been filled in this 'hot and heavy' evening described in the passage, were created by God for our enjoyment, for us to experience life and pleasure, for us to experience and meet Him.
I don't follow the hard Hellenistic line that all physical things are bad, totally separate, and get in the way of all things spiritual. I do find however that there are some experiences in which I feel it is 'ok' to reflect and meet God, others which are neutral, and yet more which are ‘bad’, ‘sinful’ and would be taboo in a conversation with God. I was challenged to look for God in every experience, to theologically reflect with all of my senses at all times, not to hide some of them from him and my spiritual reflection because of shame.
I wanted to reflect on this all with my partner, but was hesitant, as she is not 'churched' and I was aware that a lot of what I was feeling would come across as religious nonsense. So I tried to explain myself, how all senses are good and reflected God, and she was like 'yeah, I know'. I then found myself explaining why traditional Christian upbringing which separates the spiritual and the physical with a hard black line made this a big deal for me and so hard to get my head around.
Sometimes I think that those who have not been brought up 'churched', brought up with all the baggage that comes with it, baggage that's come from the early Greeks so many centuries ago, have a better chance of meeting and experiencing God in a rich and holistic way than those of us who have been brought up on church and religion.
I recently heard an excellent sermon (bear in mind I don't like sermons) on John 12. Inspired by someone not brought up in the Christian faith it was pointed out to us that the passage was very sensual. She reflected on the passage to affirm that each of our physical senses, which would have been filled in this 'hot and heavy' evening described in the passage, were created by God for our enjoyment, for us to experience life and pleasure, for us to experience and meet Him.
I don't follow the hard Hellenistic line that all physical things are bad, totally separate, and get in the way of all things spiritual. I do find however that there are some experiences in which I feel it is 'ok' to reflect and meet God, others which are neutral, and yet more which are ‘bad’, ‘sinful’ and would be taboo in a conversation with God. I was challenged to look for God in every experience, to theologically reflect with all of my senses at all times, not to hide some of them from him and my spiritual reflection because of shame.
I wanted to reflect on this all with my partner, but was hesitant, as she is not 'churched' and I was aware that a lot of what I was feeling would come across as religious nonsense. So I tried to explain myself, how all senses are good and reflected God, and she was like 'yeah, I know'. I then found myself explaining why traditional Christian upbringing which separates the spiritual and the physical with a hard black line made this a big deal for me and so hard to get my head around.
Sometimes I think that those who have not been brought up 'churched', brought up with all the baggage that comes with it, baggage that's come from the early Greeks so many centuries ago, have a better chance of meeting and experiencing God in a rich and holistic way than those of us who have been brought up on church and religion.
posted by Nikki @ 12:51 pm
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