A Word from Pastor Lisa: Letting Go of Negative Body Talk

Body Image: the subjective concept of one’s physical appearance based on self-observation and the reactions of others.

God created humanity in God’s own image,

in the divine image God created them,

male and female God created them.

– Genesis 1:27

Our Lenten theme is “Cultivating and Letting Go.” Throughout this season, we’re looking at aspects of our spiritual lives that we need to cultivate or prune in order to grow in holiness and love for God, neighbor, and ourselves.

As a teenager, one of my friends who struggled with body image decided to give up fried foods for Lent. He claimed he was deepening his prayer life. As the rest of us passed around a box of donuts, I wondered if his real motivation was weight loss masking as spiritual piety. While I can’t determine if rejecting Krispy Kreme strengthened his prayer life, it broke my heart that the church encouraged and reinforced this choice. What if the Body of Christ had reminded my friend that he was made in the image of God, beautiful and beloved just as he was?

Last week was National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and the NEDA reported that their national helpline has received a 107% influx in phone calls since the pandemic began. The NEDA also says that while 30 million Americans will struggle with eating disorders in their lifetimes, the most likely time period to develop them is in their college years. That means as a university church, we need to be especially mindful of how we speak of fasting in seasons like Lent. Fasting is not:

• Trying the latest diet or workout regime

• Promoting disordered eating

• A healthy choice for everyone

• A way to make God love you more because you gave up chocolate

Fasting is:

• A spiritual discipline of renunciation to help us grow closer to God

• A choice that may or may not include food (And if you struggle with disordered eating, please do not attempt food.)

• A practice that leads to prayer, service, and social action

This Lenten season, Rev. Heidi C. Heath challenges us to cultivate a better understanding of fasting as a church. Genesis reminds us that we are created in God’s image. Our bodies are a reflection of the divine. Jesus is the incarnation of God, the Word-made-flesh. That means God cares deeply about our bodies with all of their wrinkles, folds, and scars, as well as their beauty, strength, and gifts. What if for the next 40 days, we committed to fasting from negative body talk? Let’s end all comments about how someone looks. Let’s stop comparing our bodies to others. Let’s put a moratorium on comments about calories at the pancake supper. Let’s find a healthy relationship to eating and exercise and renounce diet culture. Let’s create a space where we talk about our own bodies with love, grace, and generous compassion while we refuse to judge or comment on anyone else’s.

As we fast from negative body talk, let’s think about taking on healthy spiritual and physical practices instead, such as:

• Engaging 5 to 10 minutes a day in contemplative prayer, which has health benefits

• Learning kinesthetic prayer

• Walking the labyrinth in the Columbarium

• Finding one new practice to do that you’ve been putting off doing because you believe your body has to be a certain way to do it

I hope you’ll join me on this Lenten journey of loving our bodies, made in the image of God, with all of their imperfect gifts.