{"id":1323,"date":"2012-11-13T16:16:18","date_gmt":"2012-11-13T16:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=794"},"modified":"2012-11-13T16:16:18","modified_gmt":"2012-11-13T16:16:18","slug":"mud-and-holy-water-sermon-by-marilyn-zehr-november-11-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/?p=1323","title":{"rendered":"Mud and Holy Wind – Sermon by Marilyn Zehr – November 11, 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mud and Holy Wind\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Sermon by Marilyn Zehr<\/h3>\n

November 11, 2012\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Texts: 1 Corinthians 3:10-17, Psalm 65<\/font>\u00a0<\/p>\n

This morning\u2019s sermon is my last sermon on our theme, Looking in the mirror and paying attention to our bodies, individually and corporately. Today I will address us one more time – locally.<\/p>\n

Next week Tim will preach a sermon about the Body of Christ globally to conclude our series.<\/p>\n

Do you recall in your early years of Christian education or formation ever being taught that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit and it matters how you treat it? \u00a0Most of us in the Preaching team circle could remember such an injunction \u2013 usually related to sexual ethics, but smoking and drinking and any other perceived sin against the body would have been included.<\/p>\n

\t<\/span>Though the sins of our youth may have included some temptations towards things like smoking, drinking, dancing, and sexual exploration and I\u2019m not going to ask that we move into a time of confessional here,\u00a0<\/p>\n

as we age we become more sophisticated in the ways we mistreat our bodies \u2013 like not paying attention to our bodies\u2019 signals that we are under too much stress, over-eating, under-eating, too much screen time, over-working, too much alcohol and\/or caffeine or any other form of self-medication – frankly – over-indulging in anything.<\/p>\n

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As I list these things I feel like your health segment on CP24, Doctor Phil, Oprah, or 680 news. \u00a0These shows or segments often list ways we mistreat our bodies and usually in their wisdom offer ways to fix or improve our health. \u00a0It\u2019s all very simple really – diagnose the problem \u2013 then fix it with whatever latest scientific evidence gives us the solution (even though the solution changes every few years). \u00a0 However all of these messages \u2013 that diagnose the problem and outline a straight-forward fix – presume that our body is an object to be tweaked, tuned up and cleansed. \u00a0It\u2019s like getting the oil changed in your car, making sure the tires are properly inflated, running it regularly, making sure we don\u2019t put the wrong kind of fuel in the gas tank, making sure we don\u2019t run out of fuel in the gas tank etc. \u00a0With this paradigm, our bodies are treated like machines that can serve us well if we take care of them and that won\u2019t serve us well if we don\u2019t. \u00a0While there is some truth to all of this, I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s very biblical, nor does it always work very well \u2013 as we move in and out of times when we are somewhat successful at body care and times when we aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Okay \u2013 I\u2019ll speak for myself \u2013 sometimes I exercise regularly and sometimes I don\u2019t. \u00a0Sometimes I eat properly and sometimes I don\u2019t. \u00a0Sometimes I over-indulge in things that aren\u2019t good for me like too much screen time and I start to experience \u201cnature deficit disorder\u201d a new phrase I heard recently that can only be remedied by a walk in the sun or the wind or the rain or along the lakeshore or through a garden or park.<\/p>\n

And so we might ask, \u201cIs there a way to get off this \u2018sometimes I do sometimes I don\u2019t\u2019 treadmill?\u201d \u00a0On the one hand, I think the answer is quite frankly \u201cno.\u201d \u00a0On the other hand there is a way to view ourselves biblically that has the potential to change everything, even how we view the treadmill. What if we stop viewing our bodies as objects or machines? \u00a0God didn\u2019t create machines. \u00a0God created human beings, breathed into them the breath of life and called them very good.<\/p>\n

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Created in the image of God from mud and the breath of God we are animated by \u201cthe wild holiness of wind.\u201d \u00a0 This is what separates us from cars and laptops. \u00a0If we take this wild holiness out of the equation we are left with mechanized objects. \u00a0<\/div>\n
What does it mean to take this combination of mud and wild holiness seriously?<\/div>\n
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\t<\/span> I will let our passage in Corinthians be our guide, \u00a0\u201cAren\u2019t you aware that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? \u00a0If you destroy God\u2019s temple, God will destroy you \u2013 for the temple of God is holy and you are that temple.\u201d 1 Corinthians 3:16.<\/div>\n
First an important correction to the way this passage is sometimes viewed and used; both this one and another one like it in 1st Corinthians chapter 6:19,20. In Greek, the word \u201cyou\u201d in both cases is plural. \u00a0These statements by Paul are directed at the entire community and not at individuals or at least not primarily at individuals within the community. \u201cYou must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is within you \u2013 the Spirit you have received from God. \u00a0You are not your own. \u00a0You have been bought with a price. \u00a0So glorify God in your body.\u201d This is a really important distinction. \u00a0We hear it very differently when we hear \u2018you\u2019 as plural. \u00a0 \u201cAren\u2019t you, all of you, aware that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in your gathering?\u201d \u00a0The Spirit is also inextricably linked to the whole gathering and named the temple of God.<\/div>\n
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This metaphor of the church as temple had huge significance for the Corinthian church. \u00a0Paul wrote these words when the 2nd Temple still existed, and so saying that the early church was that temple within which the Spirit of God dwelt rather than the temple at Jerusalem was profoundly radical in a way that we have trouble appreciating today.<\/div>\n
But what else does this passage say? \u00a0If you destroy God\u2019s temple, God will destroy you, for the temple of God is holy and you are that temple. \u00a0Keeping in mind the premise that mud and holy wind are inextricably linked, and that the Spirit of God dwells in our midst; keeping in mind that the church is Christ\u2019s body. \u00a0What does this imagery of destruction of this temple really mean? \u00a0<\/div>\n
Could it mean that God\u2019s destruction of the body is also God\u2019s destruction of God\u2019s self-expression on earth? \u00a0And if so is destruction the last word or simply a necessary step towards life? I think that there is something to this. \u00a0It appropriately brings to mind Christ \u2013 crucified and raised. \u00a0There is death before life, there is destruction before new life and God is intimately involved in both the dying and the rising.<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>In the verses before the \u201cyou are the God\u2019s temple\u201d verse, Paul warns that all builders who build on the foundation of Christ who died and rose – should be careful with how they build \u2013 whether with gold, silver or precious stones on the one hand or wood, grass or straw on the other. \u00a0The Day will come when the quality of the work will be tested with fire. \u00a0We know in this image that the wood and grass and straw will be burned away. \u00a0The verses continue \u2013 \u201cif your building survives, you will receive your reward. \u00a0If it burns down, you will be the loser. \u00a0You will survive, but only as one who goes through fire. \u00a0Destruction of what is superfluous or unable to stand the heat of the flames is core to this message \u2013 not to be glossed over or ignored.<\/div>\n
The Corinthians knew what Paul was talking about when he talked of the destructive effects of fire. \u00a0In 146 BCE, their town had been sacked and burned by the Romans. \u00a0In Paul\u2019s time they had newly rebuilt their city and were well known throughout the empire for their artistic work in bronze. \u00a0Because of these things they knew about both the de
\nstructive and purifying effects of fire. \u00a0Paul was drawing on a powerful metaphor that they would understand intimately. \u00a0<\/div>\n
But now he wanted them to realize that the immoral behaviour among them and the divisions in their young church caused by jealousy and wrangling about leadership (are they of Paul or Cephas or Apollos?) also needed to be burned away in order to reveal the precious stones of the gifts of the Spirit they had also received. \u00a0They would ultimately survive, Paul says, in verse 15, but only as those who had gone through fire. \u00a0And God through Christ as their foundation and the Spirit that dwells within them goes through that fire with them.<\/div>\n
Here at TUMC, what does all this mean for our gathered body and our bodies? \u00a0First, the body corporately and our bodies individually are this mysterious inextricable mixture of mud and Holy wind; clay bricks and Holy Spirit if you will.<\/div>\n
Over the decades TUMC corporately has had certain self-understandings that have evolved. \u00a0Walter Friesen has put together an excellent historical slideshow that he showed recently in the Adult Ed Newcomers class that delineates some of the different phases in this congregation\u2019s life. \u00a0There were the initial formative stages, early searches for leadership, a mission board that had oversight for this fledgling group that openly admitted that they didn\u2019t know what to do sometimes with this independently minded sometimes-troublesome group of people that were in the process of forming the Toronto United Mennonite Church. \u00a0After its initial founding and eventually a more stable period of leadership the church went through a building stage, the church also sponsored a lot of refugees over the years, helped found the St. Clair O\u2019Connor Community, went through another re-building stage and then a challenging theological struggle about a decade ago. \u00a0Each stage in the life of this congregation had its growing pains, trials by fire so to speak, and as one self-understanding gave way to another, not without pain and hurt at times, TUMC has survived and precious stones remain. \u00a0Our Dying and Rising Christ has accompanied the church all the way and will continue to do so today.<\/div>\n
As for our individual bodies and how we treat and understand them; as I said earlier in this sermon we are not machines, we are living and breathing, dying and rising bodies, like the Christ Jesus we follow. \u00a0Each time we get close to burning out, or the stress that so permeates our lives pushes us close to depression or into depression, so that we forget how to or are unable to apply self-care techniques (that we learn so well from a \u201cfix it model\u201d) maybe if we remember that we are mud and Holy wind we will allow what is superfluous in our lives to be burned up, so that with Christ we can then rise again. \u00a0This is not about being fixed. \u00a0This is about being healed, or being made whole or ultimately about being saved. \u00a0In this cycle of dying and rising we are being healed or being saved rather than being fixed. \u00a0And the Christ to whom we belong dies and rises with us in order to effect that healing and that salvation and in the process destroying that within us which does not bring life.<\/div>\n
This type of cycle is not a treadmill cycle of successes and failures though it may seem that way at times. \u00a0This is a life that in all its reality and fullness draws us closer and closer to the abundant life that we are promised in Christ and that abundant life will include a final earthly death and the resurrection towards which we all move.<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>In the meantime let us as a church and as individuals in these mud and Holy Wind bodies practice this resurrection life.<\/div>\n
A poem from Wendell Barrie comes to mind. \u00a0The title of the poem is Manifesto, the Mad Farmer Liberation Front. \u00a0And these are some of my favourite lines from his poem.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
So, friends, every day do something<\/div>\n
\u2028\t<\/span>that won\u2019t compute. Love the Lord.<\/div>\n
\u2028Love the world. Work for nothing.\u2028<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Take all that you have and be poor.\u2028<\/div>\n
Love someone who does not deserve it.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Give your approval to all you cannot\u2028<\/div>\n
understand.\u00a0<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Praise ignorance, for what man\u2028<\/div>\n
has not encountered he has not destroyed.<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Put your faith in the two inches of humus\u2028<\/div>\n
that will build under the trees\u2028<\/div>\n
every thousand years.\u2028<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Listen to carrion \u2013 put your ear\u2028<\/div>\n
close, and hear the faint chattering\u2028<\/div>\n
of the songs that are to come.\u2028<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Expect the end of the world. Laugh.\u2028<\/div>\n
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful<\/div>\n
\u2028though you have considered all the facts.<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>So long as women do not go cheap \u2028for power,<\/div>\n
please women more than men.<\/div>\n
\u2028\t<\/span>Ask yourself: Will this satisfy<\/div>\n
\u2028a woman satisfied to bear a child?\u2028<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Will this disturb the sleep\u2028<\/div>\n
of a woman near to giving birth?<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Go with your love to the fields.\u2028<\/div>\n
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head<\/div>\n
\u2028in her lap. Swear allegiance<\/div>\n
\u2028to what is nighest your thoughts.<\/div>\n
\u2028\t<\/span>As soon as the generals and the politicos\u2028<\/div>\n
can predict the motions of your mind,\u2028<\/div>\n
lose it. Leave it as a sign<\/div>\n
\u2028to mark the false trail, the way<\/div>\n
\u2028you didn\u2019t go.<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Be like the fox\u2028<\/div>\n
who makes more tracks than necessary,\u2028<\/div>\n
some in the wrong direction.\u2028<\/div>\n
\t<\/span>Practice resurrection.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
This poem is not about fixing our lives or our bodies, but rather it gives us glimpses of how to live in our body the church, and in our bodies individually that respect the processes of healing and salvation made possible by living with a Christ who dies and rises again. Amen<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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View Archived Sermons Listen to this Sermon Mud and Holy Wind\u00a0 Sermon by Marilyn Zehr November 11, 2012\u00a0 Texts: 1 Corinthians 3:10-17, Psalm 65\u00a0 This morning\u2019s sermon is my last sermon on our theme, Looking in the mirror and paying attention to our bodies, individually and corporately. Today I will address us one more time – locally. Next week Tim will preach a sermon about the Body of Christ globally to conclude our series. Do you recall in your early…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons-a-worship-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1323\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tumc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}