Opening Prayer:
God of power, love, and creativity, thank you for taking the stuff of dust and dirt and breathing life into them so that we can live! Your creativity is boundless and beautiful! In all of the tasks and busyness of living, help us see the gifts in the present moment so that we may enjoy them and give you praise! In the name of Jesus, amen.
John 1: 1-18
Comments:
John is all about the big picture and Jesus, the cosmic impact of the enfleshment of God! Jesus is the Word, the organizing principle and power and source of all living things. He is the life and light of all that grows and breathes. When Jesus becomes flesh the divine and human are joined, the spiritual and physical are sown back together after having been torn by sin, and all that is good and right and beautiful about the physical world is given the possibility and power to be restored by the gracious loving sacrifice of God. So what does that have to do with us today?
Many people don't see that faith in Jesus Christ has any impact on their physical lives. Over the centuries some bad teachings have led people to believe that the physical world must be destroyed and left behind in order to become more spiritual. Some have taught that the pleasures of physical life like sex, eating, and the enjoyment of beautiful things like art and music should be avoided at all costs in order to please God. And historically, when the world has been a painful place to live, people have resorted to an "escapist" faith, looking so forward to the blissful heavenly life after death that they forget God's interest in the physical well being of his creatures in the present.
When "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," Jesus came to restore the connection between the spiritual and physical. God is not just interested in whether you go to heaven or hell when you die. God is interested in the life-giving order of his Kingdom being restored "on earth as it is in heaven!" God is not just interested in whether we say the words "I trust Jesus as my Lord and Savior." God is also interested in whether our bodies act like the Body of Jesus we have joined by faith. God is interested in whether we love like Jesus with our hands, with how we spend our time, with how we work every day , with how we treat our spouses and children, with how we vote on issues, with what we do in our sex lives, with what we eat, with how we spend our money, and with how we treat our bodies and the bodies of others. In short, God is very interested in our bodies!
Life Questions:
1. How do you use your body in ways that honor God and promote love and good living in others?
2. In what ways do you use your body that are destructive?
Prayer:
Merciful God, thank you for caring for our bodies! Forgive us when we have used our bodies as weapons, when our words have injured others, when our actions have broken relationships and the bodies of others. Thank you for the good that our bodies can do! Restore our minds, hearts, bodies and souls through the life-giving cross and resurrection of Jesus so that we may live for you joyfully today and in each moment you give. Amen!
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