Body perfect

       Jesus was embodied, incarnate. Bodies must be important. This is a selection from my Lenten devotional series. It is not a passage from scripture but it is a jumping off point I chose, as the author chose a selection from Jeremiah about us needing rest 

( Jer. 6:16 ).

       I have long held a personal belief that God is totally available and revealed in the world. This belief may have come from the fact that I grew up in a religious tradition that excelled at philosophy, intricate thought processes and treatises which I often call 'circular logic'. That 'faith' goes to enormous lengths to justify, rationalize and concretize their positions about God. It would seem that only the intellectuals can truly understand God. God is revealed in the religious intellectual elite. Not so!

       I believe that the entirety of creation screams out as a witness to God. I believe that you do not in fact need a formal education to see God, She is revealed in for every single aspect of creation to see.  From the rising of the sun, to the magnificence of a flower, to the wind that comes and goes, ALL are a witness to God. Everything reveals a facet of God's created world. No treatises required.

        It is with this thought in mind that I think of our terminal human bodies. Terminal yes, like a leaf or a flower but a witness to creation none the less. What do our bodies say to us?  They need sustenance and rest. Very important points. Our sexuality is an intricate part of our bodies as well. That too is very important, it is very telling about God and it needs to be expressed. Our bodies reveal so much about God, all good, all should be explored, expressed and revelled in. In case you see the writing on the wall here, revelled in, cherished, expressed but NOT abused or disrespected.

         When I contemplate the need for our body to rest, I am not far from the realization that our body's sexual needs are normal, beautiful and should also be expressed. It reveals so much about God.  How many of us grew up though with complicated and guilty thoughts about our sexuality? Mine certainly played a role in why it took me 50 years to come to the realization that I am a gay man.  I really tried to be such a good Roman Catholic boy! In the simplicity and joy of our sexuality, we need not get caught in the mire of religiously created stigma and overly 'thoughtful' rationalizations for what our bodies are for or not for. Overt and covert religious involvement of our own personal temples actually disrespects God and is more about an agenda that allows and promotes male dominance and control over everyone else's genitals.

          This Lent, as we try to come to a more full understanding of our humanity, we should not dismiss a crucial part of our humanity which is our body. Our bodies are intricate mechanisms that need to be discovered, cherished and respected. They are a gift from God and reveal so much about the nature of God herself.

             Vive notre sexualite!