Sense and Sensuality

Many people say that in the end, MCC's great gift to the world will be our reconciliation of and celebration of Christianity and sexuality. I agree. But I also think we will return an equally important gift to the church--the gift of sensuality. Now, many people will say they are the same, and certainly, that's a defensible position. But it's a little like saying Ghirardelli and Keebler are the same....Let me explain.

My sermon for this week is "Sense and Sensuality," and I promised you a full-bodied experience. That you shall have! But it might not be exactly what you think, especially after you read the scripture passage from the Song of Songs. You see, over time, we have lost the "full-bodied" nature of sensuality and reduced what actually pertains to the whole body, and all five senses, to a single set of sensations and very limited body parts. Even the dictionaries participate in the conspiracy. As soon as you get beyond the first definition, or sometimes in the first definition itself, you find these narrow definitions of sensuality: suggesting sexuality; voluptuous; physical rather than spiritual or intellectual; lacking in moral or spiritual interests; worldly.

Oh, my. There is so much about sensuality that is not sexual, not limited to the physical rather than the spiritual or intellectual realms, and not lacking in morality. I can offer you my personal experience here. I've often had my senses ignited by someone or something smart and challenging--no need to separate sensuality from the intellectual, for sure. For most of my teenage years, the feel and smell of a leather Wilson basketball, the saltiness of sweat, and the exhaustion of effort were the heights of my sensual experience--no immorality there. And even now, the intimacy of communion, the re-membering of Jesus' body broken for me, the sharing of food and drink and whispered blessings offer me a tangible sensual experience that is nothing other than spiritual.

My days are made more beautiful by unexpected sensual pleasures--the pleasure of touch when a nineteen year old daughter plops down in my lap while we're watching TV, or an eight-year-old who is "too big" forgets and slips his hand in mine when we cross the street, or the connection made when fingers momentarily touch in an action as simple as the passing of a spoon. Smells can take me back to my grandmother's kitchen, warm and safe as a womb, or to my grandfather's garage, full of tools and fishing poles and wood-shavings and every kind of potential adventure. The gift of loving words spoken and heard or written and read can offer not only pleasure, but hope and comfort and even renewal and healing.

As you go through the rest of your week, I invite you to turn your sense receptors up to high. Allow your whole life to be a full-bodied experience! When you eat, taste! When you touch, feel! When you breathe, smell! Then this weekend, come and worship the One who has created and continues to re-create us as sensual, spiritual, sexual, intellectual, physical, emotional, beloved beings.

Love and Blessings,

Hi-lites vs. Highlights

For those of you who weren't able to worship with us last weekend, I want to share with you some highlights and hi-lites from the sermon, and offer encouragement as you consider how you can incorporate the highlights rather than the hi-lites into your spiritual journey.

First, some clarification on hi-lites vs. highlights. Last weekend I shared this invitation from the Lite Church:

Welcome to the Lite Church

We ask for 24% fewer commitments

Home of the 7.5% tithe

10 minute sermons

35 minute worship services

We only follow 8 commandments--your choice

We teach 3 of the 4 Gospels

We're everything you've ever wanted in a church ... and less!

That's a hi-lite, and oh, it sure can be tempting to look for just such a church!

Now here is a highlight from Thomas Bandy, author of Moving Off the Map, the primary resource that guided Team Vision as they led us through discerning our core values, bedrock beliefs, mission, and vision statements:

"Congregations ... fail to make intentional connections between faith sharing and beneficial action. They believe that 'actions will speak louder than words.' Yet in [our] world in which do-gooders are regarded with remarkable suspicion, congregations have to share the motivation that lies behind the action. Beneficial action, without intentional spiritual growth, never achieves long-term societal solutions."

I expanded on this quote by saying that beneficial action without intentional spiritual growth will never achieve long-term personal transformation, either. Faith without works is dead. And works without faith is dead, or if not dead, certainly not life giving or life transforming.

My desire is that our faith community will take seriously our commitment to individual spiritual growth. Through spiritual practices of prayer, study, meditation, service, silence, song, worship, and so many more, we continue to draw close to God, to abide in God's presence, and to renew our spirits.

This week we are adding two new spiritual growth opportunities to the over 25 that are ongoing here at MCC Austin. Tonight we begin a new season of the Word on Wednesday. This season's theme is Talk the Walk: How To Talk about Your Faith and Your Church. On Sunday evening at 5:30, we will hold our first ever Sunday evening prayer service at Faith Presbyterian, 1314 E. Oltorf. I hope you will consider making one of these experiences a part of your weekly walk. If neither fits your schedule or piques your interest, give Alycia a call at 512-291-8601 and visit with her about the many, many other opportunities available.

Finally, I leave you with this story. Two friends were talking together. One said, "I'm thinking about leaving my church." The other asked, "Why's that?" The first replied, "Oh, my church just doesn't feed me anymore." With genuine concern, her friend asked, "When's the last time you picked up a spoon?"

Come and be fed; the tables are ready.

Always in Hope,