Flesh And Spirit

Genesis 1: 1-5 & Revelation 21: 1-5a

Roger Lynn

January 13, 2019

(click here for the audio for this sermon)
(click here for the video for this sermon)

Creation! Something new is brought forth out of the void. Form takes shape out of formlessness. Order emerges out of chaos. From the very beginning, creation is what God does! We see it in the opening chapters of Genesis – “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). We see it in the closing chapters of Revelation – “And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:5). We see it in various ways and various places throughout scripture. And we see it evidenced in our lives. The creation story in Genesis informs us that human beings bear the mark of the creator. We have been created “in God’s image.” So it should not be surprising to find that creativity is one of the traits which we have inherited. From artists to builders to chefs to parents, we share in the creative process. It is, I believe, a collaborative process, in which God’s Spirit works with our spirits through the flesh and blood reality of our lives, bringing the ongoing power of creation to bear on the world.

But we do not always see it that way. One of the things which we seem to have inherited from our Greek ancestors (which I often wish they would have kept to themselves), is a view of life which tries to separate flesh and spirit. Sometimes more extreme than at other times, this view takes on a variety of shapes and forms. But one of the ways in which it often plays out is to place positive value on things related to the spirit and negative value on things related to the flesh. It becomes not so much a contrast between the two as it is a contest. In the Church, this has sometimes resulted in the belief that spirituality is incompatible with anything physical. In order to become more “spiritual,” (which usually means more in touch with and in harmony with the spiritual dimensions of life), the physical aspects of life must be denied, avoided, minimized, or banished.

I am convinced, at least for myself, that such a view is, at the very least, unfortunate. I tend to believe that in most cases balance is a healthier approach than extremes. Thus, in approaching the issue of physical and spiritual dimensions of life, focusing exclusively on the spiritual misses the mark just as much as focusing exclusively on the physical. Either extreme by itself lacks the wholeness which comes when both ends of the spectrum are embraced. 

If we are to take seriously such scriptures as were read this morning, then it becomes clear that not only is the physical world a product of God’s creativity, but also that the Spirit of God freely and fully participates in and through the physical. In one translation of the story from Genesis we find, “And the Spirit of God brooded over the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) Very intimate language, with no embarrassment over God becoming so entangled in the messy details of the physical world. Indeed, at every stage in the process, including the creation of human beings, the whole business was declared to be not just tolerable but good. The physical aspect of life is not just an accident which temporarily gets in the way of our spiritual experience or a nuisance to be endured for a time. Both experiences are a part of life. Flesh and spirit are who we were created to be. It is who we are. It is how we relate to God and it is how God relates to us. 

Matthew Fox is a theologian who writes extensively about what he calls “Creation Spirituality.” Included in this view of life is an understanding of the important connection between sensuality and spirituality – that is between things of the senses and things of the spirit. For Fox, we experience God most completely in the very midst of our living in this world.  He writes, “Thus, a sensual spirituality is not one that merely tolerates the experiences of the senses; much less is it one that tries to “put to death” the senses. A sensual spirituality praises the gift of one’s senses – fingers and eyes, ears and olfactory nerves, tongue and imagination, nerves and brain waves, and the Gift-giver. And it praises the Gift-giver neither abstractly by pious words or recited formulas nor a-sensually but in a decidedly sensual manner. That is, one celebrates the gift of these gifts by using them. Therein, as within any adult gift, lies the ultimate thank you or Eucharist or prayer: in enjoying and using and developing and sharing the rich potential of the senses.” (from “WHEE! We, wee All the Way Home...A Guide to a Sensual, Prophetic Spirituality” by Matthew Fox)

So may we recognize that we live in a world filled with the wonders of God’s ongoing creative activity. And may we also recognize that we live in a world filled with the active and living presence of the Spirit of God. Those are not separate experiences. We are not divided beings. We encounter God, interact with God, and worship God within the context of a very physical and very spiritual world. We need not apologize for that reality, nor do we need to avoid it. Indeed, I would invite you to embrace it. We are sensual spiritual creations of God – flesh and spirit both. May we enjoy the life which comes with that reality.