For many years, I took my anthropology from Plato and Descartes more than from Jesus.  This is a fancy way of saying that I thought the mind was more important than the body. In a Gnostic sort of way, I thought the body was inferior and the mind, the spirit, and the psyche were where it was at.  It seemed noble, almost courageous, to champion the mind.  The indomitable spirit.  It sounds so American.  Sticks and stones may break my bones, but, Ah-ha! words will never hurt me.  My body may wither away, but the real me, the one hidden inside this shell of flesh, presses on.

When I was younger, I was always fascinated with the stories of people who endured great bodily harm and yet kept their wits about them so as to survive.  John McCain is famous for his years of enduring torture in the "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War.  He and his buddies weathered horrific conditions and managed to survive even when pushed to the breaking point.  Senator McCain wrote in an article after his release that the key to their survival was remaining in contact with one another even though they were in solitary confinement.  Oftentimes this involved tapping on the walls of their cells in Morse code.  Their captors new that if they could isolate their prisoners completely then they would succumb to the torture.  Maintaining contact with each other--essentially holding together as a community--served as a lifeline that kept the men going.

My faith in the incorporeal aspects of my person is actually an indication of my faith in myself.  It does seem that some people have faith in their bodies, taking pride in their physiques and spending hours pumping them up with weights and filling them up with GNC supplements.  But I think we most often fall into the trap of thinking that, deep inside no matter what the circumstances, we are strong.

Indeed, the body exhibits its frailties.  But so does the mind and the psyche.  We are frail, both in mind and body.  I see it in my foul mood after a poor night's sleep.  We have all seen how cancer drains the spirit of those who suffer from it.  Our entire person is in need of a good drink of Living Water (John 4:10. 

Still, I guess what it comes down to is that I have too much confidence in my self.  The resurrection means much to us because it signifies new life in our spirits and also, one day, in our bodies.  However, we must not forget the crucifixion where our selfish selves are crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20).  "It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me."