Happy PRIDE Weekend!
I know. It is a different weekend in every city and community to the extent that the whole summer feels pride-ful, but this weekend on the north shore and in Vancouver, it is PRIDE!
And this weekend in the second week of our Sabbath series we celebrate being in our bodies. If God created us in our bodies, and called it not just good but “very good,” then maybe, just maybe, being fully in our bodies, connecting to the good creation that is the flesh we are in is part of connecting with God. Maybe practicing being deliberately in our bodies is a sabbath practice.
Our culture does not love all bodies. There are whole industries designed to promote some bodies and demote others, dedicated to helping us change the shape or the look of our bodies so that they conform to some industry standard of the perfect body. And if for some reason your body does not match the standard, shame is a tool of industry, and shame is a powerful tool.
This weekend, all kinds of bodies take to the streets to celebrate PRIDE. Love who you love. Love who you are. Show up in the dazzling array of colour, size, shape that God creates and do it with pride. There’s something divine about that message. The Word (wisdom, logic, thought) of the Creator shows up in the flesh, in bodies, in glorious diversity.
So this weekend, if you forsake church to celebrate PRIDE on the street, God bless you. And if you come to church, show up in whatever PRIDE colours and shapes feel right to you. Let the dazzling Word of God become flesh again.
Blessings, Will