Embodied

Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Lent

Confounded be all who worship carved images

and delight in false gods.

Psalm 97:7

The disconnect is to be expected as my body tells me one thing and the clock another in this first week of daylight saving time. This morning, the impulse to go with my body’s rhythm rather than exert the effort to be “on time” wins. I tell myself it is the wisdom of age.

This body, even as it grows older and its aches and pains increase their persistence, is a gift from God. What else can it teach me? What would I discover if I followed the path my body inclined toward? What treasures are to be discovered along that way?

Even God became a body. Slept, woke, hungered, ached, stretched, aged. Not a carved image. Not a vain hope. Following the way of the cross is following that precious body, sacred and human.

Walking the way of love is embodied. Placing one foot in front of the other, however young or old, strong or gnarled or tired those feet may be. Or when feet are broken, our bodies might find different ways to move, or be carried along the way by others on the journey. Nevertheless, it is our whole selves, our souls and bodies, that are called.