Theology of the Body — 2011/07/27

Continuing my series of excerpts from Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body in Simple Language, published by Philokalia Books, an adaptation of the Pope's talks by Sam Torode:

"Christ's saving work is cosmic, rescuing the entire universe from sin; but it begins with man and the redemption of the body.

"A redeemed life is possible through the power of the Spirit. It begins in the heart, them bears fruit in outward actions. …

"The 'flesh' is not limited to the sexual or physical realm. The 'acts of the flesh' [mentioned by St. Paul] are closely aligned with those things Christ describes as coming from an impure heart — 'evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander' (Mt. 15:19). … All sin comes from the flesh; all purity from the Spirit.

"… When Paul talks [in Romans 8:12-13] of putting to death the body's misdeeds, he echoes Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount. … Self-control is essential for living by the Spirit.
…
"Living by the flesh means bondage to sin and decay. But living by the Spirit brings true freedom …

"Again and again, Paul stresses that salvation does not come from following the prescriptions of the Old Testament law, 'You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rater serve one another in love' (Gal. 5:13).

"Christ sets us free — not so that we might fall under the control of sin again, but that we might learn purity of heart."

Theology of the Body — 2011/07/21

"Throughout his letters, Paul examines [the] conflict between good and evil in the human heart. … For [the Manichaeans], it was a struggle between matter and spirit — the spiritual part of man is good, but the body is evil. For Paul, however, it is not that simple.

"When Paul uses the terms 'flesh' and 'Spirit," he does not mean body and soul. Instead, his use of 'flesh' is synonymous with John's description of lust in its three forms. Flesh … is the part of [man's] heart dominated by sin. A person who lives 'by the flesh' is driven by desire for that which is 'of the world.' The man described by Jesus, who looks upon a woman lustfully, is a clear example.

"The Spirit of God — who lives in the heart of every Christian — desires something entirely different. God wants us to … develop a disposition to purity. This strength is not our own — it is the power of Christ operating with us through the Holy Spirit.
…
"… Life in the flesh began when sin entered the world. Before that time, Adam and Eve lived entirely by the Spirit. With sin came death and decay. But Paul [anticipates] the final victory over sin and death. The first sign of this is Christ's resurrection.  'If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you' (Rom. 8:11).

"Our only hope for victory is justification in Christ. This justification is not just a promise of something that will happen in the future. It is a real power operation within the heart and expressed through our actions. …
…
"The acts of the flesh [listed in Galatians 5:19-22] spring from a heart given over to lust. The fruits of the Spirit flow from a heart given over to Christ — that is the way of redemption.

"The fruits of the Spirit aren't acquired without effort. Behind each of these virtues — love, joy, peace, and so on — there are moral choices, acts of the will. But it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that a person can overcome the flesh and choose goodness. Spirit-driven acts are not human 'works' — they are gifts of God."

In this section, the Pope quotes the passage in Galatians which I cited. Earlier, he also quotes Romans 5:5 and 8:5-11. If you read those passages, it may make this section of the book even clearer. I did not include the passages in order to keep the post from getting too long.

Trying to Come Out

Today I had lunch with a college (uni, to you non-Americans) classmate, one of the Bananas. I hadn't seen him for about three years.

He asked about what I've been doing, so I eventually mentioned spending time on the internet. Giving additional info, I explained that several years ago I followed a series of links and found myself among a group of mostly young, mostly Asian-American, mostly southern Californian gay guys, and I started commenting on their blogs. Eventually I decided to start my own blog where I could present my ideas in a more systematic way. Owing to my procrastination, the presentation has been sporadic at best. And at that point he moved on to another topic.

I suppose I can metaphorically see the figurative glass as half full. I broached the subject of gay guys, and he didn't react with disgust, along the lines of "Why would you want to be in contact with them?!!!" But I was hoping that he would have followed up a little bit and allowed the conversation to get to the point where I'd have been able to confirm what I think he must have suspected. Why must he have suspected? There was a time when we were in college when a bunch of us were going somewhere in a car, and he reached over and stroked my cheek up and down with the back of his fingers while remarking how smooth my skin was. I didn't move because I was pleased at the contact. He then suggested that I might be gay since I let him do that without protest. I said that I was too surprised to react and pointed out that he was the one who did something. End of conversation. But I wondered if he had suspected and had been testing me. Now I also wonder why he would have done it. Did he have conscious or unconscious feelings for me and this was a clumsy way of "testing the water?" Well, nothing ever came of it, but I also find it interesting that he only married his girlfriend of many years when they were in their fifties. So it turns out it's more than just that I'd like to be out to him, but I also want it to be safe for him to come out to me if he's also homosexual.

I might add that, as those who have been around for a while know, things are always changing in the blogosphere. Some of that original group that I found are still blogging and some have stopped. But meanwhile I've met a lot of other bloggers from all over, and I'm glad to know most of them. The underlying purpose of the blog has stayed the same, but the tone may have changed as I also use it as a way of keeping in contact with some very nice people and of trying to encourage some people who are going through rough patches.

Theology of the Body — 2011/07/18

"Near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' (Mt. 5:8).
…
"The Old Testament tradition placed great importance on bathing — for example, washing one's hands before eating, or one's body after sexual relations. …

"This is not to say that the entire Old Testament ignores the interior demands of purity. The prophets continually called their people back to faithfulness of both heart and action. And King David prayed, 'Create in me a clean heart, O God' (Ps. 51:10. This is the true spirit of the Law, which finds fulfillment in Christ.

"Jesus completely overturns the external, ritual system of purity. Nothing from outside can make a man pure or impure, he says — only what is in the heart. The bodily aspects of our sexuality do not make a person 'dirty.' … According to Jesus, purity is a matter of the heart. All that is morally good is pure; all that is morally evil is impure.

"The human heart is the battleground between purity and impurity — or, as the Apostle John put it, between that which is of the Father and that which is of the world. In the writings of St. Paul, the struggle is put in terms of 'flesh' and 'Spirit' …. Once again, the heart is at stake:

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other. (Gal. 5:16-17)

"At this point in our reflections, let us redirect our focus from the Sermon on the Mount to the letters of St. Paul, seeking to learn how purity of heart is found in 'living by the Spirit.'"

Pleasant Evening

The friend I've hung out with on several recent occasions informed me a few days ago that he'll be leaving the area soon, probably next week, and he suggested we get together again for lunch or dinner. He had told me he was planning to move this summer, but he hadn't known precisely when it would happen. After some calendar checking, we decided that Wednesday evening would work best for our get together, and we agreed on a restaurant in a waterfront city I'm not familiar with.

Unfortunately, from the time I left home until I arrived, there were several downpours and other intervals of rain, and at one point, I decided that if I was to avoid being late I'd have to shift from the secondary road to the superhighway. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure how to get from the superhighway to the city's waterfront, and I ended up getting lost and being 1/2 hour late, instead of the five or ten minutes I had feared.

The food was not bad, but I had had very high expectations, and it just wasn't quite up to them. It's ironic: if I hadn't seen the place's website and menu in advance — if I had just wandered in — I probably would have been pleasantly surprised. But as it was, I was slightly disappointed. It didn't help that my main course arrived when I was only halfway through my appetizer. I had the remainder of the appetizer wrapped to take home. My "companion's" (as they say in the restaurant reviews) sandwich was more than he could eat, so he also took half of it home.

But the "ambience" was nice, and the waitress was pleasant, and the purpose of the evening was for me and my friend to get together again before he moves away. We enjoyed each other's company. Conversation was largely about his immediate plans, finishing up where he is, moving out, moving to his next location, maybe stopping along the way and being a bit of a tourist before he settles in at the new location and begins job-hunting. After dinner, it was not yet sunset, and the city has a very pleasant section around the restaurant, going back at least to the 18th century, with 3 story brick buildings, a brick-paved pedestrian area, a lovely waterfront park, and historic markers here and there. So we had a very pleasant stroll in an evening in which the air was cooler and drier after the rain (but not quite chilly). He lives closer than I do, so he was able to point out some other restaurants he has been to, while I enjoyed the beauty of the area. We also spoke of what we would do if we won a lot of money in the lottery. It's highly unlikely, but fun to think about.

As it was beginning to get dark, we had to part, which we did with a hug (our first, I think). His landlady will be giving him a small farewell party on Saturday, and I may be able to get to that. Although he'll be moving some distance away, out of state, he hopes to be able to come back and visit once in a while, so I'm looking forward to being able to see him again. Meanwhile I expect we'll keep in touch via the internet.

Earlier today, in a comment on Lunario's blog, I wrote

As I've said before — maybe not here — I've come to realize I like the smaller cities like Rothenburg, Trier, Fulda, Dubrovnik, Monaghan, Fredericton, Charlottetown, and Québec better than larger ones like München, Frankfurt, London, Dublin, Tokyo, New York, or Boston. Of course the big cities have things that are worth seeing, but the good things are surrounded by other stuff that isn't so pleasant; the nice bits get overwhelmed.

There are several small cities along the New England coast which are charming, like the one I was in yesterday evening. The best thing about having met my friend is of course, knowing him and being a friend. But a very real bonus is becoming familiar with some towns, one of which I had known only slightly and the others, not at all.

Retreat — March 2011 —No. 5: Praying and Other Activity

     The material which the retreat house provides suggests that retreatants should have several sessions of prayer each day, each one lasting up to 45 minutes. There should also be time for relaxation, in addition to meals.

     Early on, I told my director that in my experience, after about 10 minutes my mind would begin to wander. He indicated that I should not try to force myself to do more than I realistically could. But reflecting prayerfully on the scripture passages he had suggested and using the format he had supplied for "bringing feelings to prayer," I actually found myself in prayer for up to 40 minutes at a time without major distractions.

     For relaxation, I had brought a book of sudoku puzzles and one of ken-ken. I'd spend maybe a half-hour on those several times a day. I also had a couple of more serious books, unPlanned, by Abby Johnson (which I finished while I was there), and The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which at first I thought might be too discouraging. But after finishing the other book, I decided to give it a try. I had already begun it. Even so, I was surprised to find that it was actually encouraging, not in the sense of suggesting that everything was fine with me, but in saying that what I was trying to do was worth the effort.

     The weather was fairly chilly, so I didn't take a lot of walks, but I did a few. It felt good to get back indoors. One day I took a walk through the surrounding neighborhood. It is an area with large houses on large lots. Many of the houses look like the sort of thing that was built before World War II, and the area is reminiscent of the area where I grew up. When I was walking in this neighborhood in December 2009, on my first retreat, I was suddenly filled with a feeling of horror, or dread, as if it were an evil place. But this year, no such feeling came to me as I walked down the same street. I'm still at a loss to explain the earlier reaction. The only thought I have is that when I was a boy, I felt somehow excluded or unwelcome in much of my neighborhood. Of course, when you don't know the people who live in a house, it's only natural not to feel invited in, but maybe that had particular overtones in my childish mind.

     I usually spent an hour or so in the Fireplace Room in the evening. By the time I got there, the fire was usually going well, and as it died down, people would drift away. I enjoyed moving the logs around to make it flame up again. I'd usuall be able to revive it two or three times before it was reduced to glowing embers, and I was always the last to leave, I think. sometime around 10:00 p.m.

     As the end of the retreat approached, I felt that it had been quite worthwhile, and I expected to be able to apply my newfound aptitude to prayer to my everyday life.

Etymology, n.

etymology n. — the study of individuals who consume an entire packet of food (generally snacks such as crackers, cookies, potato chips, popcorn, candies) without offering any to their companions.

Pleasant Day

Yesterday (Thursday, June 30, local time), I spent much of the day with my friend from blogging whom I've hung out with several times. I gave him a "magnetic bookmark" showing the painting of a sleeping dog from the exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum which I recently visited. (You can see the painting in the link in EcceHomo's comment to my post.) We hung out for several hours, including lunch and visiting a couple of historic houses. One house featured an exhibition of late 19th Century paintings by an artist from that town. Most were family members or scenes from his travels. But one of the largest was titled "The Bathers," and it showed two nude boys, probably in their early teens, on a grassy lawn, with water in the foreground and trees in the background. The nearer boy is seated on the grass, facing to the viewer's right, with his leg and arms in positions that hide his genitals. The other boy is standing, facing away from the viewer and holding a towel that hides part of his upper back. It was certainly an interesting painting, but not sexually arousing. I think it meets the criteria of Pope John Paul II for legitimate depictions of nudity.

Speaking of nudity, at one point my friend remarked that it would be nice if it were acceptable for people to walk around naked, because the day was ideal for it. I agreed completely: a perfect day to be naked outdoors. If I hadn't been with him, I probably would have been clothes-free at home most of the day.

At one point he suggested that we get together again in the evening for dinner. Fortunately, I was free that evening. So when the daytime visit was over, I went home, took a nap, checked the internet, and then met him for dinner at a restaurant a few miles from where we had spent the day. We enjoyed steaks, drinks, desserts, and, most importantly, pleasant conversation which continued as we strolled for a while after dinner in the moments shortly before sunset on the beautiful summer evening. As always, neither of us wanted the time together to end, but we managed to say good night and go our separate ways home.