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September 15, 2013 6:34 pm

A new temple

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by    in Identity

Our bodies are temples. I’ve heard that many times, more often than not to tell me off for eating unhealthy food, or self-righteously from people abstaining from caffeine, alcohol or other substances; or even for those encouraging me to exercise more. Let me be clear here: healthy food is good. Exercise (in moderation) is good. Abstention from caffeine is only good when the beverage concerned is coffee. But not because our bodies are temples and should therefore receive due reverence.

After all, it is not what comes into man that defiles him, but what comes out of it. In a time where the self-righteous were those following the letter of the Mosaic Law, this means pork does not defile you! In a time where the self-righteous are those who have healthy habits, this means that unhealthy food does not defile us. Not even the new temple that our bodies are.

temple

Photo: Ian Scott, reused under CC license

So what does it mean that our bodies are new temples?

  • They are a meeting place with God. The body is not our enemy. Samuel heard the call from God inside the temple; it can be much the same with our bodies. It isn’t the exclusive place to meet with God, though: Elijah heard God in a mountain.
  • They are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Let me stress that: our bodies – not our spirits, our souls, our minds, or whatever other airy thing we could come up with – our bodies are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. The presence here is physical, tangible and all-encompassing. It is an awesome thing that the Holy Spirit is worldily present – not just someone we can pray through and who dwells in heaven, disconnected from us.
  • They should be listened to. Tiredness is not unnatural. When our bodies fail, or are in disrepair, resources should be allocated to mend them. Rest. It is quite puzzling how a principle established at the very start of the Bible leads us to feel so much guilt sometimes; but resting is good.
  • It is cause for celebration! There’s no need to go to the temple to pray or to meet with God, it can happen right here. Our bodies cannot be taken away from us; much less the Spirit. Wherever we are, we can be constantly renewed, directed and sanctified by this presence.
  • Much like the temple was destroyed and its riches taken away to Babylon, we can do the same with our physical selves: waste away our gifts chasing some idol or other. We can use all our strength chasing some job, some situation. Yes, our talents will be employed in such cases, and yes, they will adorn what we do – but this is not what they were meant for. And just like it was for the temple in Jerusalem, those riches can be brought back.
  • Our bodies are dedicated to God. Not just our mind, not just our finance – our entire body. Their function is to serve, through our every move, God. It is part of their very nature.
  • They were designed according to specific plans. We, in our bodily form, are designed to reflect God’s glory.
  • They are what makes us holy! Ascetism might be what some of us are called to, but denying the body because it, somehow, is the source of all evil, is denying a large part of our own calling and blessed nature. In doing so, we fail to take hold of our role as a royal priesthood: without a temple, there can be no priesthood.

I’m not sure that’s the point the Apostle was trying to make. The context is one of sexual immorality and makes it very clear that it is only sexual immorality that can defile the new temple. So it is also clear that it is not about what we eat or how much we exercise. But taking hold of the idea that our bodies are temples, the dwelling places of the Holy Spirit – something which the Apostle seemed to be taking as read – leads to all that I said above.

So celebrate your body, regardless of over-, under- or just-the-right-weight, regardless of its current ailments. If you see it as the temple for the Holy Spirit, there is simply no way not to!

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September 8, 2013 4:34 pm

The guilt of the secular worker

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by    in Calling,Identity

I’ve heard this many times: being a Christian is an all-encompassing calling which takes precedence over everything. I’ve preached this message, too. The message sometimes becomes a slogan:

  • Church is not just for Sunday.
  • You should join a small group.
  • Too busy to pray? Too busy NOT to pray, more likely.
  • Preach the gospel in your workplace.
  • Jesus wants your everything – not just when you have time for it.

guilt

The list could go on. And all of these things are true: if your Christian identity is restricted to attending a church service on a Sunday, then maybe you’re missing the point. But let’s take that very notion further: being Christian is not simply about attending church. It’s not simply about attending church activities throughout the week either. Of course, small groups are helpful. Prayer meetings are helpful. Evangelism in the workplace is helpful. Yes, a thousand times yes. But church and church activities are not the only way in which this can happen. Explicit, intentional action is not the only way in which evangelism can happen.

And I know that the people who express the all-encompassing nature of the calling to be a Christian in the ways I described above mean well, but we often fail to consider how it can be perceived:

  • You’re not a proper Christian if you only go to church stuff on a Sunday
  • You’re not in a small group? Clearly you have no desire to grow your faith.
  • Too busy to come to our weekly prayer meeting? Sort out your priorities!
  • Actively evangelise at every single opportunity. If what you’re saying is not linked to the Gospel, it must be that you are ashamed of your faith.
  • So you don’t have time to take on admin for church/prepare intercession/lead the worship this week? Come on, surely church is more important than whatever else you’ve got to do!

Of course we don’t mean this – or at least I hope we don’t! But the problem is: we generally say these things in a church context, and so all the expressions of our Christian identity get linked with church activities. Thereby, the secular worker may feel their job is worth less than anything they may contribute to the church.

But callings are not just callings to the ministry. People get called to secular jobs! Or to build a family! And there is a reason for that; if your job or your family needs your attention, neglecting either of those in favour of church activities would be denying your own calling! If you are choosing church activities – even outside of Sunday – over your calling, you are paying lip service to the lie that Christianity only happens in church or intentionally!

So feel free to say no to extra church stuff without guilt. Because in saying no to church stuff, you might well be saying yes to what God has called you to; and that is submission to His will. That is an expression of Christian identity. And that identity will pervade in many, many different ways – your own form of prayer. Your own evangelism – perhaps through simple acts of service. Your own leadership. All of them held together by love.

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August 25, 2013 6:00 pm

Relying on God: 5 useful facts

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by    in Identity

The past few weeks have been incredibly stressful. I’m in the last straight line of my PhD, but there is still a fair amount to do. I’m moving to the Parisian region, where I have a job (and I’m thankful for that), but nowhere to live yet. I  had plenty of bits and bobs to sort out over these few days, including packing up everything I had accumulated over the past 4 years I’ve lived in Coventry; and trying to shed enough useless stuff so it would all fit in a few suitcases that I can carry on the train. I had to see a fair few faces to say goodbye to them (although hopefully not for the last time).

Not the best of times by a long stretch. I’ve felt very, very panicky at times, when I was contemplating how September would pan out. So I tried to remember what I preached; about finding God’s peace before moving into action. I really tried.

panic

Photo: star5112, reused under CC license

But my brain would go into overdrive, and it took every effort to not give in to the panic. I even got physically sick one morning. Thankfully, those moments never last very long, because I immediately try to find God and His peace, and to stop being afraid.

The problem is that whenever the situation looks up – say, for instance, if I find the perfect accommodation offer, which is much much better than all I had seen so far -I use it to justify all the times that plans fizzled out before. Surely that accommodation was God’s plan all along! And when that fails too, well, I’m left with God failing.

I’m sure you can see how that sort of feeling might be an issue.

Still, there are some facts that make it all okay after all – some facts which allow me to fully rely on God:

1. God is sovereign. That means that He is in control of my circumstances – and that may be hard to see when everything goes to pot; but He also knows better than anything I can ever plan. So He is more trustworthy than anything I come up with.

2. He cares about me – as an individual. Which means He isn’t trying to get me to fail; and I’m sure that my temporary homelessness will serve another purpose than simply to get me to stress. And even if that’s the only purpose it serves, well, I’m sure that the stress itself will lead to growth and a whole new set of skills. (Although it is not helpful to read Job to affirm this  point…)

3. It’s not about what I do or did. It’s very easy to default to a karma mindset when things go wrong. Maybe I’m being punished for not reading my Bible as diligently as I should have. Maybe I’ve indulged in procrastination too much. The thought behind that mindset is that if I fix those problems, it will all get better. A karma mindset is a way for me to have a weird form of control over what is happening; and that leads to feelings of guilt and, ultimately, increases stress because it denies God’s sovereignty.

4. Being stressed is natural. It doesn’t feel nice, and I’d rather avoid it altogether; but there should be no guilt in fear of the future. Gideon was afraid; but God still reached out to him in his fear. Don’t be ashamed of your fear, and offer it up to God as well as what’s causing it.

5. Being fully reliant on God does not mean I shouldn’t search for flats through the secular means. It simply means that I should trust Him for the outcome of this search. On that note, if you know anyone renting out a place/looking for a flatmate in Saint-Denis,let me know I have now found a great place!

What does relying on God look like for you?

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July 28, 2013 4:37 pm

Come as you are: the issue of church garb

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by    in Identity

The church is known to be a liminal experience. Whether we like it or not, there is an “inside” and an “outside” of the church. Now this is something I think should be combated, for two reasons. Firstly, because it means that for some people, what happens in the church stays in the church. Secondly, because it means that some people will just not feel like they can come into church.

On top of the literal threshold of the church, there are many elements which can contribute to this liminal aspect. One of these is what to wear to church. The phrase “Sunday best” has come into standard vocabulary: some people dress up for church. Thankfully, people have also realised that this dressing up often is a barrier to others, and dress code in modern churches has been relaxed. The “Come as you are“, unconditional acceptance of others when they come in, has been taken in by many; and you will now see in many churches people wearing a T-Shirt and shorts, sometimes even with inappropriate flip-flops.

bart

Photo: Francis Bijl, reused under CC license

Casually dressed people are less and less likely to feel out of place in churches: that’s good. Some people are making a conscious effort to dress down and be more welcoming to newcomers and to allow them to come as they are. That’s very good. Some people are starting to internally rebuke those who are still putting on their Sunday best for not understanding the Gospel of free, unconditional grace: that’s less good. Far less good.

Acceptance of others wherever they are does not automatically mean going for whichever attire requires the least effort. It does not mean deliberately going for the most visibly permissive choice, whether it is in terms of worship style, church garb, or even issues of behaviour.

It is usually the case that such an attitude is positive: churches, historically, have been bastions of proper, decent behaviour; and the perspective associated with that adds to the liminal experience of people going to church. But we must be careful that in doing so, we do not increase the liminal experience for those who are used to what might once have been termed decent behaviour.

People who like wearing a tie (or, if they’re cool, a bow tie) may feel out of place in a church where such efforts have been made that everyone wears shorts and T-Shirts. People who are ill at ease with homosexuality may feel out of place in a church where a liberal discourse has dominated all the discussions. In short, the informal crew does not have a monopoly on finding there is a threshold to cross to come into church, and the more traditional people must not be forgotten in our efforts to make the church a place where people are welcome to come as they are.

Of course, this must not come in the way of truth. If people feel that showing up in posh attire makes them better than the informal people, or that it is somehow effective to their salvation; they must be gently reminded of the Gospel of grace. But that can only happen if they can show up in church in that posh attire, or with this mindset, in the first place. Otherwise, they’re just going to discard whatever is told them or go somewhere else.

So, look around you in church. See how much of a mix it is. If you find nobody is wearing formal attire, do it for a while – not for the sake of being different; but for the sake of allowing others to bring themselves more fully into church. If you find nobody is wearing casual clothes, do it for a while. For the same reasons.

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June 9, 2013 3:57 pm

Simply being

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by    in Identity

Catholics and Protestants differ on a variety of points; and on the relative importance of these points. To a Catholic, the sacrament of the Eucharist is primordial, but a Protestant can easily have communion once a month, if that. To a Protestant, there is a wealth of Catholic doctrines that sound heretical; but I suspect that stuff like the Immaculate Conception is about as abhorrent to most Protestants as an Arminian point of view is to Calvinists: in short, there are disagreements, but not to the point of considering the other non-Christian.

simplybeing

Photo: Andrea Schaffer, re-used under CC license

There is, however, one particular difference around which passions are unleashed. Protestants tend to be adamant about sola fide, salvation through faith alone, at the exclusion of works before and after conversion; whereas Catholics would tend to argue that works after conversion are a way unto salvation (1). And yet Protestants and Catholics alike agree on the good nature of works, and on their necessity after conversion: after all, faith without works is dead.

Works are an expression of an identity

I see works after faith as an expression of a new identity: one of a people redeemed and unconditionally loved, with a drive to serve God and neighbour. If it is the expression of an identity, then, it is not a karma-like tally of good versus bad deeds, where grace might be so diminished to prevent salvation or increased to the point of making the cross unnecessary.

Seeing works as the expression of my identity as Christians has a few implications:

1. Firstly, an identity is a pervasive element. It is permanently active, and these works do not happen at pre-determined times. Being a Christian is not a Sunday-only thing; but far more than that, it’s not a Sunday and midweek church/Christian Union-only thing. It is rather unsurprising, then, that we are told to pray at all times.

2. Secondly, an identity has an arguably predominant interactive element. The way in which it is displayed depends on who is around us. It doesn’t mean being two-faced about what we say depending on our entourage, but it does mean that we should adapt our action to those around us. Not just in style (although that is important too) but also in nature. See, that’s a major part of the Incarnation: that Jesus’s heart goes out to people, not simply to situations.

Being a Christian means being available

I think that if we start seeing works in that way, we will also start to try to be Christians rather than to do Christian stuff. Part of that means we should avoid being busy. That’s not to say that we should be idle. Quite the contrary! But we should be interruptible and available. We should be able to consider our works as who we are when we are not doing anything.

Otherwise, our identity will become what we do, and pride will be just around the corner from that.

—

(1) For a more detailed, yet probably more headache-inducing account of the commonalities and differences of Catholic/Protestant beliefs, read Hooker

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