2021.05.30 | Children of God
“Children of God”
Rev. Pepper Swanson
Eden United Church of Christ
Hayward, CA
Trinity Sunday
May 30, 2021
Romans 8:12-17
Late last year, Pixar released a new animated movie called Soul, which proved to be wildly popular and award-winning for its storytelling, animation, and music.
Soul tells the story of a middle-aged jazz pianist and music teacher named Joe who dies unexpectedly and finds himself on the way to the Great Beyond, where people go after they die.
Joe, who was just hours away from achieving his life-long dream of having a regular jazz club gig, resists going to the Great Beyond, and lands himself in the Great Before, where child-like souls live before being dispatched to earth.
In the Great Before, Joe gets connected with a pre-body soul named 22 who isn’t keen to go to earth in a body and who has resisted going for a long, long time.
After a series of mishaps, Joe and 22 go to earth where they quite accidentally and riotously embody a cat and Joe’s body. Joe ends up in the cat, which leads to another set of mishaps as he struggles to get his body with 22’s inexperienced soul to his jazz club gig.
I won’t spoil the ending for those who haven’t seen the movie but I will say that in the process both Joe and 22 learn that there is something intrinsically wonderful about life in a body, something that is not one’s purpose or passion but is related to how one experiences and appreciates both the world and other people.
Today’s Bible passage from Romans, in its own curious way, touches on some of the same issues that the movie Soul explores.
In the passage, the apostle Paul talks about God in a triadic fashion (1), which is why the passage is often read on today’s special holiday, Trinity Sunday. In this short passage, Paul talks about God the Father, the Son of God, and the Spirit of God or Christ.
Although formalizing God as a Trinity or three-in-one godhead is still hundreds of years away as Paul writes, this passage shows us that even before the Gospels were recorded, Paul and other early Christians considered Jesus and the Holy Spirit to be part of God the Father.
Before we delve into Paul’s understanding of Jesus and the Spirit, however, we need to unpack some of his references to flesh, particularly since he draws such a sharp antithesis between flesh and spirit. In Paul’s terminology, flesh is not skin and bone nor body alone. Flesh, instead, refers to all that is worldly, earthly, or what we might call the natural tendencies and ways of humankind, most of which we have come to understand are rooted in our minds and behaviors, not our bodies per se.
Paul’s flesh refers to all we do that is self-serving and hostile to God and God’s call. In Paul’s preaching context to new Christian converts, his message is not that the body is bad or to be diminished, but that the convert should leave the old life behind in order to follow the Spirit who beckons him or her into a wonderful, spirit-filled new life.
And what a new life comes to those who follow the Spirit! Paul likens this new life to adoption by God, an adoption that makes the believer not only a child of God but also joint heirs with Christ, who was the son of God.
In other words, Paul believes that through Resurrection, God has unleashed a spiritual power that enables believers to achieve a relationship to God and Christ that is not only familial but is as intimate, connected, and grounding as the most loving relationship between parent and child.
Reflecting on both the scripture reading and the movie Soul, I think they share three theological ideas that are fundamental to Christianity and what it means to be children of God:
First, in both, bodies are good and should be highly valued. In Soul, bodies and their senses, which allow us to see, to hear, to taste, to dance, also provide the spark of life that is the precondition to becoming and being a happy and fulfilled human. In Romans, the body is not bad, but humans can and do get themselves in trouble when they follow paths that neglect God and forget that the body is good and to be respected
Second, in both, life, especially life with others, is good. In Soul, the unborn romp and play with joy, but finding their spark is a sign that they are ready for the really big adventure, which is life, life that is made immeasurably better when one knows and loves others. In Romans, the new life that comes from following the Spirit is categorically better than any life the old beliefs provided. Imagine what adoption by God would mean to those who had lived without any faith or believing gods were inconsistent providers and harsh judges.
Third, both film and Bible touch on this advice: do not be afraid! In Soul, Joe’s semi-constant fear that his life will never meet his own or his mother’s expectations plays out in the Great Before where he imposes his fear on the process of preparing new souls for earth, believing that they need to find their life’s purpose before entering the five-sensory world. By the end, Joe learns that having a purpose, achieving one’s goals, is not the same as having a spark or appreciation for life. Likewise in Romans, Paul’s message boils down to: we have a choice: to live in fear, striving after human rewards, or to live without fear, knowing we are the valuable children of God and have the power of the Spirit to guide and protect us.
Soul and the Bible share one more trait. When it comes to their message about bodies, souls, and life, both are much easier for adults to understand than for children. Despite that and the complexity of their message, children are watching Soul and hearing about the Bible all the time.
In the past year, I’ve had the joy of meeting with our Church school children each week and the challenge of picking, teaching, and explaining Bible stories. I try to remember that young children grow into the metaphorical language we use as adults but I also try to always push the envelope of their understanding a little. There are times, particularly if the lesson is about kindness toward others or love of family and friends or prayer or the importance of giving, I hear in their answers that they not only understand but that they practice these traditions. There are other times, particularly if the lesson is explicitly about God or Jesus or the Spirit, when I can hear they don’t understand, as often indicated by one of them saying the first time I take a breath, “Can we have “show & tell” now?”
When it comes to teaching, the kids may be onto something, with a slight tweak of order. The best way to answer our children’s questions about bodies, souls, and life may be “tell & show.”
In other words, tell them, again and again, that bodies are good,that life is good, and not to be afraid of life because they are children of God. You can use films like Soul, story Bibles, & picture books but don’t forget to tell them your own stories and the stories your parents told you. And then - simply show them by living your life as if all you tell is true for you as well. Show them that bodies are good and that life is good too. There will be questions; they are always questions with kids — just answer as honestly as you can about what you have found helpful in navigating your own life.
My friends, you and your children are God’s children — adopted, body and soul. You are blessed with God who, like a parent, loves and hears you, with Christ who is your brother in all suffering, and with the Holy Spirit who gives you the power to live life boldly and fearlessly. May your life give glory to all three. Amen.
(1) Craddock, Fred B. John H. Hayes, Carl R. Holladay, and Gene M. Tucker, Preaching Through the Christian Year, B, Harrisburg, PA, Trinity Press International, 1993, p289-90.