Spending the last week and a half out of the office on vacation has been a blessing to my body, soul and spirit. Though a few more days would really be ideal, there is more work stacking up than I care to tackle when I return. So tomorrow brings back the routine of daily life.
As with any "in town" vacation, I try to always maximize the local "culture." This week, my daughter's and I (my wife's vacation days don't correspond with mine this year) caught a couple amazing cultural exhibits. Yesterday brought us the largest single collection of VanGogh's work in over 40 years. "Sheaves of Wheat" was an amazing experience [more here]. Such incredible work from a master who's own internal pain and mental anguish was channeled into amazing beauty. His appreciation for the human spirit, back-breaking work and the beauty of both in the natural landscape is striking and memorable. Paint-to-canvas-to-eye-to-heart is an amazing transference for the attendee of this exhibition. I will carry the images in my heart and mind's eye for many years to come.
Today, we experienced an entirely different form of beauty, the likes of which we rarely, if ever, see with the human eye. Gunther Von Hagens' "Body World" [more here]is currently running at the Dallas Museum of Natural Science. Real "formerly living" human bodies are displayed in varying states of being through a process known as "plastination." While a little bit "creepy" it is entirely fascinating and full of wonder. To physically observe the actual inner workings of a human body is altogether amazing and astonishing. Within minutes the viewer must confess we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps. 139).
The exhibition has generated its fair share of criticism and has endured certain levels of suspicion in the press and among some in the religious community. After attending, the remaining effect for me is to revere the body "beautiful" and to stand in amazement at how intensely complex we are. And yet, as Von Hagens intends to project through the process of plastination, we must "close the distance between life and death." After viewing the exhibition, I'm further convicted that this distance between living and dying is not far at all. We are but a "mist" (James 4:14) that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (unless we donate our bodies for plastination, I suppose). But this causes me to further consider what part of me vanishes and what part of me remains.
One of the strongest impressions left with me today was that so little of my existence is physical. Ironically, we as human beings invest countless dollars in making our physical being "all it can be." We feed it, pamper it, indulge it, work it, spa it, massage it, lift it, nip it, tuck it, reduce it, tan it... and it is still only a relatively small portion of who we actually are. Seeing all these "formerly living" bodies in various states of display (some quite graphic and explicitly anatomically revealed, I might add) reminds me that though amazing in its creation, the human body still is merely "dust" and will return to dust eventually. The real essence of who we are as human beings can never be reduced to "plastination" and remains long beyond the body regardless of what preservation methods are used. (Incidentally, how different is viewing a Von Hagens' plastinated body than viewing a mummified body from ancient Egypt? The difference may only be in the quality of preservation).
It is interesting how often humans try the same techniques with their spiritual being that they do with their physical bodies. We, in effect, attempt to "plastinate" by not allowing people to see the real "inner" us. We wear spiritual facades and reply in what almost sound like pre-recorded sound bytes to avoid true spiritual detection. Perhaps there is room for an exhibition entitled "Spirit Worlds" wherein observers paying a premium price (Body Worlds ain't cheap) could see the real "insides" of who we are -- our motives, our inner thoughts, our lusty tendencies and our spiritual greatness. Now, you want to talk about "creepy?" Would you attend such an exhibition or would it simply be too much?
Displayed in "Body Worlds" are the "vessels" of people who cared well for their bodies and those who obviously abused them (one display clearly shows that the damage of smoking remains long after the spirit has "left the house"). To be welcomed into these volunteer's physical "temples" (1 Cor. 6:19) and to see what was/is on the inside of them is an amazing experience. But would it be as glorious could we get on the inside of who they really were/are spiritually? This question has followed me since the moment I left the exhibition hall.
Glory to the Creator and blessed be the Name of the One who has secured eternity in the lives of those who believe in Him (John 3:16). For He has made us acceptable in the presence of the One who made it all and makes it bearable to spiritually step into tomorrow.
1 comment:
We saw "Body Worlds" this past summer while on vacation in Galveston. We drove into Houston one day where the exhibit was displayed. It was amazing!! You look at all the intricate parts of the workings of our bodies and wonder how can anyone ever question whether God is real or not. Only God could make something so complex work. We are truly wonderfully made!
I don't think I would want to see the true insides of one's spirit. It would remind me too much of what the insides of my own spiritually look like. Thanks for thoughts though, it does give me reason to examine my own spiritual insides and to make sure they are something I wouldn't mind being on display.
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