Sensuality

I mentioned to my pastor that I think Jesus must have been the sexiest man ever. He responded that yeah surely He was, but the term he might have used is "sensuous." He is right.

Among other things what grips women (and for that matter, what grips all of us) is someone who acts entirely against the grain of society, and who is kind to those the rest of us would rather ignore. When we give to one another, particularly to those we don't even know, without expectation then that giving exposes a capacity for Love that is so amazingly tender and deep that women recognize immediately that there is something other-worldly about the act.

That's partly why, I suspect, Jesus had women who would have died to be a part of Him. Because He died to be a part of them. Sexy doesn't even begin to capture this character in Him.

And physically attractive? Who knows about His appearance but he touched people. Literally. He reached out His hands and touched people for healing, empathy, and who knows what else. We talk about "laying on of hands" these days as if it is a technique we can use to convey God's power to those we are trying to help. For Jesus, though, touching was just a matter of the course of His life. He didn't worry about social more's of being found alone with a woman at a remote location, nor of a woman actually caressing his feet and legs with her hands, her hair. He communicated with His body the intimate nature of our relationship with God. God in flesh. Sensuality.

Connecting with people really isn't all that tough when you think about it. It's all a matter of being there entirely with the person we are near. A hand on a hand, a kind word, an unexpected gift that meets a need. A gift that takes us out of our rational accumulation mindset--a sacrifice of something we hold dear...these are the things that are the substance of true and abiding relationship. Relationship with God, at least, whether we see those people we were a part of again or not.

I wanted to go to a conference when I was in college. But I didn't have the money. Some dude walked up to me one day and handed me $400, the price of my conference and airfare (yeah, back in the old days). I said, "I don't know how to thank you, nor do I understand, but I will pay you back." He said, "it's not a loan: a loan establishes a relationship that can lead to disappointment if either of us fails to live up to expectations. This is a gift. If you give it back, that's ok. But if you never do, that's fine too."

Good stuff. I don't give loans either, now. Giving is just an expression of Love, and strings attached gut the act of meaning. Be gentle, touch, give without reservation.