In Defense of Flesh, Blood, Fat, and Dust
by Carol Howard Merritt
Epistle Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
For Sunday, February 13, 2011: Year A - Epiphany 6
I grew up in Florida, in a little beach town. I loved most things about being there—the brilliant beauty of the rising sunrise, the endless hunt for delicate shells, and the peace-inducing sound of the rolling waves. I long for these things when I’m caught in the anxiety-ridden culture of D.C.
So Exposed
But I do have some residual effects that I don’t appreciate when I think about growing up near that beach. Though I loved spending time on that shore more than any other place, I learned to hate my body there. People don’t wear many clothes in Florida. Perhaps it was the heat, perhaps it was just being a teenager, or perhaps it was because I felt so exposed all the time, but when I looked in the mirror I loathed what I saw. I despised the curves that developed and any ounce of fat. I deeply detested my flesh.
When I think back at all my friends who had eating disorders, I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t alone. The images of beauty in our country are often emaciated, and the fact that I didn’t match up to this gaunt perfection became clearer each time I donned my bathing suit. I knew that something was wrong as I watched as the smart, gifted girls around me struggle to stave off starvation and self-mutilation (usually cutting).
Toxic Dichotomy
As I think back to those fragile years, I know my faith added some poison to the toxic stew in which I was raised. My church was not helpful when they lifted up passages like this one. They set up a dichotomy, encouraging us to be people of the spirit and not of the flesh. The flesh tempts us to jealousy and bickering, but the spirit moves us to a greater maturity. We were encouraged to think of eternal things and disregard the temporal. They taught me to hate my flesh.
The problem exacerbated if the polarizing effects did not stop in our own bodies. The earth itself was seen as material, finite, and so we did not fight to protect the planet.
Of course, there are other places in the Scripture that uphold the dignity of our bodies and the earth. The divine affirmation of creation, the incarnation, and the resurrection all point to the reality that flesh, blood, fat, and dust are good.
The Hardest Question
Can our polarizing ideas of the flesh and spirit be damaging? Is there a way to think about our lives in a more holistic manner? In the face of difficult cultural realities, how can we begin to heal the trauma that can come with spirit/flesh dichotomies?
Carol Howard Merritt is a pastor at Western Presbyterian Church, an intergenerational congregation in Washington, D.C. Western's deep commitment to serving the poor in the city has helped to initiate programs like Miriam's Kitchen, a social service program for the homeless which provides a hot, nutritious breakfast and dinner for over 200 men and women each weekday. Carol is the author of Reframing Hope (Alban, 2010) and Tribal Church, (Alban, 2007). Carol is the co-host of God Complex Radio with Landon Whitsitt. And she blogs for the Huffington Post. Carol is a frequent conference speaker. Her blog is at TribalChurch.org.
