Being in the Body

By Taryn Deaton (click here for original post)

My three-year-old niece refers to being naked as “being in the body” (as in, “Aunt Taryn, why is he (shirtless man) in the body?”). Everyone in our family thinks this is hilarious and no one knows where she learned it. Secretly, we all hope she never learns the word “naked”!
 
As a Christian, the phrase “being in the body” (not necessarily my niece’s meaning) resonates with me for several reasons. First, because Jesus is Emmanuel or “God is with us.” God’s son came to Earth and lived among us in a human body. Jesus’ suffering and death involved physical and emotional pain. Through Jesus’ bodily rising, our bodies too are redeemed.

This phrase also resonates with me because God sees us “in the body.” I don’t mean that God sees us naked (which God probably can). What I mean is: God sees us for who we really are, warts and everything. We can hide nothing from God.

Additionally, “being in the body” is what we are truly called to be. We are called to be present, to be in the moment, to be alert and aware of what is happening around us. It is only when we are fully present that we can be attentive to the needs of those around us and be ready to hear God’s voice as to how we should respond.

Lastly, this phrase has meaning because we are all “in the body” of Christ. We are members of a community called to carry out God’s mission in the world, each created with unique gifts to be used for God’s purposes. We are diverse, but we are one body.

As ashes are imposed on Ash Wednesday, we are reminded to “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Ash Wednesday causes us to confront the reality that we are “in the body” for a finite period of time and pushes us to consider what we are doing with that time.

God made us and put us on Earth for a reason: To be co-creators in bringing about God’s Kingdom. In Psalm 25 we read, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.”

Like the Psalmist, we cry out to God for guidance as to how we should live. Thankfully, God responds with a baby boy, born in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago through whose life and death we learn to “be in the body.”

Taryn Deaton is the director of development at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C. Taryn and her husband live in Alexandria, VA, and attend Ravensworth Baptist Church.