Faith for Mind, Body, and Soul

First Presbyterian, Fort Scott, KS

Psalm 8:3-9

Matthew 22:34-40

Before I get any further I want to acknowledge the outpouring of kindness and hospitality we’ve received.  I loved the excitement and energy in the room last Sunday when Linda Jackson had to quiet you down.  I loved the fabulous lunch.

And thank you for the many kind and encouraging words you’ve spoken to us.  Thank you for your prayers, which I hope will continue.  And thank you for the food you’ve brought us.

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Susan McFeatters is one of our good friends in New York.  She grew up in Pittsburg, PA, went to Northwestern in Chicago, moved to NYC for her first job and has been there now for over 30 years.

She worked in advertising for most of her life.  And now she works for the outdoor clothing store Patagonia.  Patagonia is the perfect fit for her.  She has worn Patagonia clothing for years.  She cares very much about environmental issues and about the ways companies treat their employees.

And the Patagonia Store on the Upper West Side is just around the corner from her apartment on 81^st Street.  So her commute to her dream job is a one-minute walk.

The Patagonia store attracted employees who were a lot like Susan – interesting, outdoorsy, and passionate about the environment.  But she was delighted to learn that some of her co-workers shared her interest in spirituality.

A few in the group were Christian, a few were Jewish, and a few Muslim.  And one woman suggested that they devote a weekend to a spiritual journey, visiting a number of different churches, synagogues, and mosques, so they could continue to learn from one another.

As Susan was telling me about their journey around the city, she was most excited about a new synagogue they visited on Friday evening.  In fact, she said, it turned out to be everyone’s favorite – the Christians and Muslims as well as the Jews. The congregation was warm and welcoming.  They sang with gusto.  And the service was lively, engaging, thoughtful, and inspiring. 

And the synagogue’s motto was simple: Judaism for Mind, Body, and Soul.

And so today, we’re going to steal that synagogue’s motto.  Well, not completely.  We’ll change it a little bit.  It might be confusing if we told friends that our motto is “Judaism for Mind, Body, and Soul.”  But what would it be like if here at First Presbyterian we adopted a tagline like, “Christian faith for Mind, Body, and Soul”?

I told you last week that I was going to make two proposals for how we can begin to move forward as a church.

And last week I laid out the first proposal, and I called it “wrestling our way forward.” 

My second proposal as we move forward is that we adopt this motto for now: Christian faith for mind, body, and soul.

Now don’t worry.  This isn’t going to be sandblasted into the building.  It’s not going to be printed on stationery.  It’s nothing official.  I just want to put it out there as a way of framing what we’re about and where we’re headed.

When I read the gospels, I see Jesus engaging with people like us on every level. 

He engages our minds and invites us to use our imaginations when he tells stories about what God’s kingdom is like.

He touches people’s bodies, healing their useless legs, their unseeing eyes, their diseases and sickness.

And he engages our souls when he confronts us about our misdirected loyalties and our attachments to things that harm us.

So Jesus helps us experience God’s love in our minds, our bodies, and our souls.  But too often churches can feel like places where only part of you is welcome.  Do you know what I mean?  In some churches, it feels like you’re mind isn’t really welcome.  You’re not supposed to ask hard or “irreverent” questions.  In others it seems like talking about our bodies, or moving our bodies in certain ways, is taboo. 

But I think that if we can become a place where faith always engages all of who we are – mind, body, and soul – God will begin to renew and re-energize us.  The motto doesn’t matter, of course.  What matters is whether we’re bringing all of ourselves before the living God.

So let me try to paint a picture for you of what it could feel like if we lived out this slogan: Faith for Mind, Body, and Soul.

First, It Will Mean Loving God With Our Minds:

During High School, I didn’t pay a lot of attention during my science classes.  But that’s a shame, because ever since High school I’ve been reading all the science I can get my hands on.  During college I found the essays of the Harvard biologist Steven Jay Gould on the amazing world of evolutionary biology.  Later I found the books written by Brian Greene about physics and cosmology.  One of the best books I’ve ever read is by the journalist Bill Bryson.  It’s called, “A Short History of Nearly Everything.”

So I nearly jumped out of my seat this week when I came across an article that announced, “Physicists Discover Elusive Particle See as Key to Universe.”  The particle in question is a weird little subatomic particle called the Higgs Boson.  I read the article.  Twice.  Finished it.  Then started over and read it again.  Because I didn’t understand what on earth this Higgs Boson is or what it does.  But apparently it’s the key to everything in the universe!

So then I clicked on a related article, entitled, “What IS a Higgs boson?” thinking this would surely clarify things.  There I was told that the Higgs Boson is kind of like the Molasses of the universe.  Another scientist said it’s like paparazzi clustering around a celebrity at a party.  I still wasn’t getting it.

Then I came across a piece in the Atlantic Magazine by Robert Wright, entitled, “What this Higgs Boson Thing Really Means.”  It begins like this:

“Let me explain to you what the Higgs boson is.  Just kidding! Nobody can explain to you what the Higgs boson is.”

At that point I laughed at myself for assuming that I could understand things that the world’s greatest physicists struggle to understand.  So I took a journey that began with curiosity, then exploration, then perplexity, then confusion and embarrassment, and finally, laughter at myself and my own ignorance.

Loving God with all our minds is like that.

The Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner puts it this way: Each of us has to decide which we love more: our own little island of so-called knowledge, OR the infinite Sea of Mystery around us. 

I like Rahner’s picture.  Each of us lives on a little island.  And you know your island.  If that’s all you were after, you’d have a right to be proud of yourself.  But the minute you look up from your tiny little island to the infinite Sea of Mystery stretching out in all directions, you have no choice but to laugh at yourself.

In Psalm 8 the Psalmist is loving God with his mind.  He is asking hard, unanswerable questions.

What are we mere mortals, Lord, that you would be mindful of us, that you would even notice or care for us?  It’s a question that confesses how small and insignificant we human beings are.  We are little specks who live for the slightest little sliver of time and then pass away.  Why does God bother with us? 

But then a turn in a new direction when the Psalmist confesses, “Well, I guess we are pretty amazing creatures.  We’re just a notch below the glorious angels after all.  And we’re crowned with honor too.

We are part of a long tradition of people who have used their minds to glorify God.  We see it in the questions asked by the Psalmist’s curiosity.  We see it in the way Jesus teaches, always asking us to imagine new things.

We see it in the Apostle Paul, who says we are to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

So what does this mean for us?

Every single one of us wants to be a part of a congregation that’s intellectually alive.  We want to be a part of a church family that’s continually questioning, learning, growing, expanding, and exploring.

So not only do you have PERMISSION to bring your curiosity, your creativity, and your critical thinking into our shared life.  I’m begging you to do so.

So IF you’re here today and, for one reason or another, you’ve stopped learning, stopped growing, stopped asking the large questions at the center of your heart.  I want to ask you to start again.  I want to invite you back into the life of loving God with your mind. 

Second, Living Out This Motto Means Loving God With Our Bodies:

I ran into a friend yesterday, and when I asked how he was doing, he smiled and told me that in the past year he has lost 75 pounds, and that he’s got another 50 to go.  And his face was beaming, because he was proud.

I talked last week about wrestling.  I talked about the difficult work all of us are doing to become better than we are.  And this is certainly true when it comes to our bodies.  Some of us are wrestling with health issues as we age.  Some with sickness.  Some with cancer.  Some with our weight.  Some with our energy levels.  Some with stress.

What if our attempts to care for our bodies – with how we look and feel – became part of our spiritual lives?  I think two things would happen.  We would have healthier bodies, and our spiritual lives would bristle with energy.

You probably know people who are a little obsessive about their bodies and the way they dress.  Maybe you’re one of those people! 

Some people won’t leave the house unless they’re perfectly groomed, make-up applied, hair just right.  Some people expend enormous amounts of energy shopping for just the right kind of clothes, then trying on outfit after outfit in the mirror before they go anywhere.  Some people are slaves to their exercise regimens because they fear gaining a single pound. 

Something tragic happened to our 12 year old Henry at LaGuardia airport last week.  The security personnel confiscated his Axe Body Spray. 

Henry is at the age when grooming becomes important.  Can you remember middle school?  All of a sudden, what you wear, how you look, your hairstyle – it all takes on gargantuan importance.  When I was in Middle School, we used a spray deodorant called Right Guard.  It didn’t really work.  It just made your body odor smell slightly sweeter.  Henry has never heard of Right Guard.  He uses Axe Body Spray, and uses it liberally.  When he walks out of the bathroom in the morning there’s a cloud about him.

Now it’s very normal for young people to begin to care for their growing, changing bodies.  And even in adults who we might consider “vain” about the way they look and dress, I think we can find something good.  To care for yourself, for your appearance, for your health – this is a good thing.

Jesus teaches us that the greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  So, you might want to protest here – see, Jared, you’re not being very biblical.  Jesus doesn’t even mention our bodies.

Well, the second commandment is this: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

So let me ask you – how are you going to love yourself if you don’t honor and care for your own body?  And how are you going to love your neighbors if you do not attend to their bodies – their need for food, shelter, clothing, protection from harm, and so forth?

Psalm 8 sings of the great dignity God has conferred on us human creatures.  Our lives are aflame with splendor, like the angels.  But unlike the angels, we have bodies and are expected to thank God for them and care for them.

And the Apostle Paul says it this way:

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is true worship”

- Romans 12:1

When I was younger, I can remember eating nearly a whole package of Oreos in one sitting.  Or half a bag of those powdered donuts (those aren’t even good, why was I eating them?)  I can remember heating up a couple of burritos in the microwave at one in the morning.

My point is, I developed patterns of eating that couldn’t be sustained.  My metabolism was higher then, and I was physically active in all kinds of sports, so I got by with it for awhile. 

But ignoring the health of my own body has caught up to me.  I hate to admit this, but I’ve gained a little over a pound a year since I graduated from High School.  Now I’m no math whiz, but I don’t need a spreadsheet and algorithm to know that this isn’t good. 

And it’s frustrating to me how hard it is to keep from gaining weight. I want the kind of body that doesn’t require much attention.  And yet I’m finding that I will have to work very hard, and be very conscientious, if I want to stay healthy and be emotionally available to my family and to others. 

And so, I’m working to change the way I eat and live, so that I can take better care of my body.  And you know what I’m finding?  I’m finding that my mental and emotional health, and even my spiritual health, is very much tied to the health of my body.

This shouldn’t be surprising.  The New Testament word “salvation” is a word that means healing and health.

I’m finding that my migraine headaches are connected to the way my blood pressure goes up when I’m stressed.  I’m finding that my lower back and neck pain is connected to the way I carry stress and anxiety.  I’m finding that I have a hard time sleeping if I’m not exercising.  And I’m finding that my general emotional outlook, my ability to be positive about my own life, about my marriage, my work, and raising our children, is tied to healthy patterns of eating, exercising, playing, and sleeping.

I’m not talking about the health of our bodies in order to guilt trip anyone.  I just think that God created and loves our bodies, and expects us to pay attention to the health of our bodies.  And that it would be a good thing if we could talk about all practices of caring for our bodies as SPIRITUAL practices, as part of the way we live together.

Of course there are all kinds of ways for us to love and honor God – we worship and sing together, we pray, we read Scripture, and serve and care for one another.

But I want us to recognize that practices of caring for our bodies are every bit as sacred: Practices of Eating, Bathing, Grooming, Dressing, Exercising, Playing, and Sleeping.

These are spiritual practices too.  They are part of the way we love God with our bodies.  So go ahead, Henry, drench yourself in Axe Body Spray.  God loves our bodies.

Finally, living out this motto means Loving God with all Our Souls:

If you try to think about your “soul” as some weird part of you, you get stuck.  But if you think about music that has “soul.”  Or if you think about “soul food,” then we’re getting somewhere.  Because what is music with “soul”?  It’s music that resonates with you, music that reaches you, moves you.  Same with “soul food.”  It’s food that creates a response because it connects with us deeply.

When Jesus addresses our souls, and invites us to love God will all our souls, he is teaching us that there is depth to our lives.  There is mystery and sacredness to you.  God created you to live a life of meaning and significance, to have a life with “soul.”

To live with “soul” means that there’s a lot to you down underneath the surface of your life.  There’s more to you than meets the eye.

Peter Scazerro suggests we think of our lives like an iceberg.  There’s a little bit that visible above the surface, but there’s a lot more to you down where most people can’t see it.  There is a lot of depth to you, to all of us.  There is a lot going on in your heart.

So what’s going on down there in your depths?  In your soul?  Just in case you haven’t looked down beneath the surface lately, let me remind you what’s there.

There is desire.  And desire’s question is, “What do you want?”

There is a rich emotional life.  And that question is, “What do you feel?”

And there are dreams.  And that question is, “What’s going on in your unconscious?”

These are soul questions.  These are the things happening in your soul.  But most of us are pretty good at ignoring them.

We can ignore these questions by staying busy.  Being busy is one of the best ways to avoid living soulfully.  If you pile enough work into a day, enough errands, enough daily tasks, you’ll lose your soul.

We can also ignore these questions when we’re pre-occupied.  Here I mean what you give your attention to.  And we can give our attention to all kinds of petty and trivial things that help us avoid our souls: Television, Internet, Magazines, gossip, golfing, shopping, etc.

So there’s something all of us can pray about this week.  Ask yourself this question before God, and then just sit with it in silence.  AM I STAYING BUSY OR GIVING MY ATTENTION TO SMALL THINGS SO THAT I CAN AVOID LIVING WITH SOUL, LIVING IN THE DEPTHS OF WHO I AM.

And on the other hand, if you find something that helps you live soulfully – sell everything you have and buy that buried treasure.  Maybe it’s conversation with friends, or poetry, or music, or driving your motorcycle, or taking walks, or reading, or taking naps, or painting, or origami or whatever. 

Jesus calls us to Love the Lord our God with heart, mind, and soul.  This is an invitation to gather up all the pieces of our lives and offer them to God.

It is not easy to offer to God all the pieces of your life.  It takes great faith.  But only God can put us together.

We once made a salad for a dinner party.  It wasn’t just your ordinary salad.  It was a fancy, complicated, labor intensive salad.  We put a lot of work into it.  And yet when we tasted it, it was good, but not really worth the effort.  And then one of our friends said, “This needs a little sea salt.”  And we all sprinkled salt on the salad, and that changed everything.  It all came together.

Sometimes spiritual renewal is like sprinkling a little sea salt on a dish that needed it. 

That’s my prayer for all of us.  That God would use this time of transition to stir up some interesting things in us.  So that there will be a kind of energy that begins to wash over all of us.  It will feel like waking up to what’s in you and around you.  It will feel like we’re bringing all of ourselves before the living God – mind, body, and soul.