Lord of the Streets Episcopal Church
March 26, 2023
5th Sunday In Lent
Romans 8:6-11
John 11:1-45
Sacred Bodies & Spiritual Healing
“To set the mind on the flesh is death,” Paul wrote, “but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” Paul wrote these words to a church divided between Jewish followers of Jesus and Gentile followers of Jesus, both groups claiming superiority to the other. Paul was writing that neither group was superior to the other. Their healing and wholeness came from Jesus. As God had become human in Jesus, God had united all of humanity to Godself, and nothing could separate any of them or any of us from God.
So, Paul was writing to the Christians in Rome, do not set your mind on the flesh, which is death, but set your mind on the Spirit, which is life and peace. Do not argue over which way you practice your faith is better. That’s setting your mind on the flesh. Realize instead that you all have Christ dwelling inside of you. Draw your strength, Christ dwelling inside you. Draw your hope from Christ dwelling inside you. Draw your healing from Christ dwelling inside you. Draw your belonging and connection to one another from Christ dwelling inside you. That is life and peace.
So, at the end of today’s passage, Paul is not making conditional statements of, “you better hope God’s spirit dwells in you, because if not, these things won’t happen.” Rather, Paul is writing, “But if Christ is in you (and he is), though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of God dwells in you (and it does), God will give life to your mortal bodies also.”
Paul was reminding the Christians in Rome that God’s Spirit does dwell within them, and therefore they need not constantly work to be God’s children. They are God’s children, and God’s Spirit does dwell within them, and even though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Paul is pointing out that in their walk with God, in their striving to live according to God’s will and God’s ways, they will continue to mess up because their bodies are hurt and broken by sin, sin done to them and sin they have done.
That’s a given. Our bodies are hurt and broken by sin. We know this; it’s no surprise. Paul was reminding them, that God’s work, God’s Spirit, God’s will and God’s ways can heal their hurt and broken bodies and give them new life in the Spirit.
They needn’t therefore set their minds on the flesh, on whose ways of religion are superior to the other in bringing healing. They needn’t set their minds on sin, assuming they are forever damaged goods.
They can instead set their minds on the Spirit. They can set their minds on forgiveness and grace. They can set their minds on making amends to those they’ve harmed. They can set their minds on receiving grace as well as giving grace. They can set their minds on being reconciled to one another, just as God has reconciled Godself to them. Living in that way, with their minds set on the Spirit, they have life and peace.
The Spirit of God will give life to their mortal bodies through God’s Spirit that dwells within them.
Now, at the same time, the body is still important. If our bodies weren’t important, God wouldn’t have become human, living life with us in a human body. Anyone who says the body isn’t important needs to try living off spiritual cheeseburgers for a while rather than actual food and see how important the body is.
Our bodies are important. God made our bodies and they are sacred. Our bodies need physical healing as well as spiritual healing. Our bodies need actual cheeseburgers, not spiritual cheeseburgers when we are hungry. Our bodies need to be cared for and cherished. Each other’s bodies need to be cared for and cherished. These bodies aren’t just housings for our spirit. These bodies are part and parcel to our spirit. When our bodies die, our spirit lives on with Christ in God, but in this life, our bodies and are spirits are one.
So, when our bodies are damaged, our spirits are damaged too. Our bodies hold the memory and record of every harm done to us. These harms are recorded and written in our scars, our bones, our flesh. These harms are wired into our neural pathways, changing and rewriting how our brains work. All of that harm to our bodies affects how our spirits live and dwell in this world.
As we heal our bodies, we heal our spirits.
As we heal our spirits then also, we heal our bodies.
As our spirits are healed, trusting in Jesus, the trauma of the past can be healed as well. As our spirits are healed, walking in Jesus’ ways, our neural pathways are rewritten, and our bodies become healed from the wounds of the past. As our spirits are healed through God’s spirit dwelling within us, our sin is healed, both the sin inflicted upon us and the sin we therefore inflict on others.
Our bodies need physical healing and spiritual healing. What does this healing look like? Trusting in God. Staying safe and away from those who mean us harm. Forgiving rather than holding on to hurt and resentment. Showing kindness and compassion to others. We are healed as we help heal others.
To set the mind on the flesh is to look at oneself only, to be in competition with others, assuming that if I’m going to have what I need, someone else can’t have what they need. That’s what was going on in the church in Rome. Two groups of Christians in competition with each other for God’s love an acceptance. God had enough love and acceptance for all of them. God has enough love and acceptance for all of us and indeed for all of humanity. We aren’t in competition with one another. We are meant to be for each other, trusting and sharing in God’s love and Spirit dwelling within each of us.
That’s what makes us fully human, trusting in God’s Spirit with us all, being companions and helpers for each other. That’s setting our mind on the Spirit, of life and peace.
