Oct. 25, 2015

There are two grave errors we are likely to make about our human nature. On the one hand, we are likely to forget that our body has a soul. On the other, we are just as likely to forget that our soul has a body. To realize our full God-given potential, it is important that we learn to keep both body and soul in a balanced perspective.

This is hardly a new develop-ment in human understanding. Throughout history we can trace religious and philosophical movements that emphasized one of these to the detriment of the other.

Some religions have been solely physical in their perspective, focusing upon the physical needs of the human body and the material manifestation of the world. There have been others that have scorned the body and focused on efforts whereby the spirit could be freed of the body’s "base influence."

Some of these views have made their mark upon Christianity at times, and there have been eras when Christians have adopted ascetic ideals that revel in both the scorn and abuse of the human body.

In Ephrata, Pa., you can visit The Cloisters, the historic restoration of an 18th century Protestant monastic community where monks slept on wooden planks and used wooden blocks as pillows in order to "subdue" the body. To deprive one’s self of bodily comfort was thought to enhance spiritual growth.

In our society today there is still a tendency for Christians to major in one department to the exclusion of the other.

We may be sorted and catalogued as being identified with either the body or the soul, but rarely both. Thus, some Christians never get beyond ministering to the physical needs of people, while others become so focused on the soul, they seem to forget that there is a body attached to it. Some assume there is something basically incompatible between the physical and spiritual. Not only do they assume we must choose to focus on one or the other, but they also believe the two must constantly be at war with each other. That is why the ministry of Jesus is so instructive for us: It is a ministry of wholeness, of body and soul, to the exclusion or diminishment of neither.

Examining the ministry of Jesus, we find it manifests a considerable concern for the physical well-being of people. When in the synagogue at Nazareth Jesus read the scroll of Isaiah he focused on material needs: "… good news to the poor … release to the captives … recovery of sight to the blind … to set at liberty those who are oppressed …" (Luke 4:18).

And when John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus asking if he really was the longed-for Messiah, Jesus answered by pointing to his ministry to the spiritual and physical needs of people. Actually, it was his concern for people’s bodies that made the good news so "good."

In Luke 5:16,17 we find Jesus needing to withdraw for a time from the crowds into a lonely wilderness place, so that his spirit may be renewed in prayer and his body rested. But when he leaves the wilderness, he immediately plunges once again into his ministry to bodies and souls.

Later, in Luke 5:8-26 we find the same connection between the spiritual and the physical as a paralytic is lowered through the roof by his friends. Looking at the man and his paralyzed body, Jesus says: "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

Fortunately, no one observing this incident rushed to say, "Sorry, Jesus, you misunderstood: It is not for his sins that this man was brought to you, but his paralysis!" To Jesus they were simply two sides of the same coin.

Jesus turned to his critics and asked: "Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk?’" The physical malady and the spiritual ‘dis-ease’ went hand in hand.

A physician, Dr. John A.P. Millet, has written: "Modern medical practice at the best level takes full cognizance of the fact that the human being must be considered as a total entity, not just someone who has a bad pair of tonsils, a grumbling appendix or a low basal metabolism …

"The significance of the illness to the patient, the pressures under which he has lived, the attitudes of those nearest him, his economic and social situation and the outstanding traits in his personality – all these, and perhaps other special factors, must be evaluated and their contribution to the total picture of disability must be correctly estimated." (John A.P. Millet, M.D., "Body, Mind and Spirit" in Religion and Health, Ed. by Simon Doniger, New York: Association Press, 1958.)

In short, it’s not so much what bug has the fellow, as what fellow has the bug. Jesus knew the resolution of the matter was not in debate, but demonstration. So he commanded him to stand up and walk. And he did. God has given us one of each; so, it is either body and soul, or it may be neither.

•Do you tend to think of yourself as a whole being or essentially as either a body or a soul? To which do you give your greatest amount of attention?

•In the churches you experience, do you find a focus on both the physical and the spiritual, or do you see a concern for one at the expense of the other?

•In both the healings in Luke 5:12-56 we see not only the healing power and intention of Jesus, but also the initiative and receptivity of those coming for healing of themselves or someone else. In the second story, the friends of the paralytic actually broke into the roof of the house where Jesus was healing. He was impressed the paralytic’s friends would go to that much trouble for him. When did you last go to considerable trouble to help someone?

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.