Introduction

This post contains the handout entitled Word and Fire: the Theology of the Body given out at the Truro Rector's Forum, Nov. 27, 2011.  The purpose of this Forum was to provide some overview of the Theology of the Body in preparation for the January 2012 conference by Christopher West on the topic and for the explorations to follow.  Here is the handout in its original form:

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,

the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Psalm 8:3-4, King James Version

The Theology of the Body specifically refers to a set of teachings given by Pope John Paul II between 1979 and 1984 over of series of 129 general audiences at the Vatican.  These teachings are centered on Scripture and the words of Christ, and were intended to be for all Christians, not just for Catholics.  

The Theology of the Body addresses what it means to be an human person, integrated in body, soul, and spirit, redeemed by Christ.   It addresses the meaning and purpose of life, our deep longing for love, and the meaning of our sexuality, the significance of being created male and female, in the image of God: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

The Theology of the Body gives a very positive and Christ-centered articulation of the gift of our embodied sexuality, intended for us by God as a source of joy instead of an agent of sin.  The teaching is for all, children, teens, young adults, singles, married people, or those approaching marriage.   It addresses how we can live holy and pure lives, pleasing to God, no matter what our circumstances are.

The Theology of the Body frames our situation now within the whole Scriptural story of our origin (embodied creation), our history (fallen state needing redemption by the Word made flesh), and our destiny (new creation with resurrection bodies).  There is deep within each of us a passion to know love, because our Creator God is love.  Within God is an eternal exchange of love between Persons, the Persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God is intrinsically relational and made human beings to be relational, to share in that exchange of love.  This is true whether we are married or single.  Yet, our being created as male and female is especially significant, and the one flesh union of a man and a woman, as expressed within faithful lifelong monogamous marriage, is a sign of God’s character of faithful love. “A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”  (Eph. 5:31-32)

To study the human body, not as biology but as theology—is the study of God.  It is at the very heart of the logic (logos) of Christianity: The Word made flesh; God’s mystery revealed in human flesh: 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  … No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. John 1:14,18

Paul states his mission  “to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Col. 1:25-27

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Cor. 6:19-20

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2

John Paul II says: “The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible, the spiritual and the divine.  It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it.” “Through the fact that the Word of God became flesh, the body entered theology … through the main door.”

As I have begun learning about the Theology of the Body, two words keep coming up: Word and Fire.  One is about teaching and the other is about empowerment.  The Theology of the Body is centered in the Word, the written word of Scripture and Christ the incarnate Word.  The context is our loves--love of God and love of one another in all of its forms, holy and pure yet embodied, full of fire.  We are inherently embodied creatures--male and female imaging God--and are meant to be that way.   Our sexuality is a part of God's good creation, yet we are fallen creatures who do not live as we were made to and we need redemption.  Yet words are not enough.   They have to catch fire, come alive, motivate and empower us.  Our bodies are made to be temples of the Holy Spirit.  Our spirits have to be made alive by the Holy Spirit, be fired with love of God and others.  The Theology of the Body is directed towards teaching our minds the words our hearts long to hear, to give us the fire in the mind to embody proper loving relationships with God and among the manifold human relationships we live within, and especially to guide us in proper sexual relationships, such a confused and overhyped topic in our culture.  Nothing is more important to practical daily living than to have our relationships right--with God, with spouse, with children, with our family members, with friends.  Marriage is much deeper and richer than a mere social convention among individuals.  Christians today are especially challenged to live in a countercultural way with respect to marriage and sexual ethics, and the Theology of the Body helps in teaching and motivating us how to do it, with a special emphasis on situating sexual ethics within the whole Scriptural story of our embodied creation, redemption by the Word made flesh, and new creation with resurrection bodies at the hand of our faithful and gracious Trinitarian God of love--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 


Written by Paul J.