Intention

Text: Philippians 1:1-11

While driving my teenage boy, Peace to school, I give him a question that can’t be replied with a one-word answer, like ‘fine’, ‘good’ or ‘okay’. I usually ask him, ‘how’s your soul?’ or ‘how’s your body feeling?’ Peace tries to come up with some answers only to discover how challenging those questions are to him. He either responds with ‘I don’t know’ or ‘stop asking me a weird question’ or challenges me by asking ‘how would you answer?’ I have learned, don’t ask anybody a question unless you are ready to answer to the same question. So, I share my answer first and then I invite him again to share. Most of the time we arrive at his school before digging deeper, and that’s okay. The point is to invite one another to pay attention to the present moment – to notice what’s really going on within us.   

If I were driving you somewhere, would you be open to some sharing? How’s your soul? Can you provide some space for your soul to express itself? How do you feel your soul trying to communicate with you from deep within? If you could name what your soul is crying out for, what would that be? Does it have colour, shape, a smell, or a texture? What does it sound like? 

How’s your body feeling right now? Are these questions making you feel tense? Or relieved that someone is asking? Take a moment now in silence to listen to your body. Is there a particular area in your body that requires an extra attention from you? What does it say to you? Our bodies carry a lot of emotional baggage these days. Many of us are tired of a sense of isolation or loneliness. Worrying about our uncertain future prevents us from living fully in the present moment. Our bodies absorb all of those feelings, while carrying out all the responsibilities to care for ourselves and others. Why don’t we give our attention and even praise to our bodies that they deserve for all the hard work they have been doing?

The other day, I went to get a massage. I wanted to give my body a nice treat, and my body thanked me for doing that. My massage therapist uses a technic called myofascial release. It’s a gentle way of releasing any tension the body might have accumulated over a long period of time. Because I am interested in how the human energy field works in and through our body, I usually ask some questions to those who work in the human energy field. I asked my therapist, “Can you notice different energy levels of your clients by giving them massages?” “Oh, yes! Definitely. Not only that, I can also notice just by seeing how they come in.” I became even more curious, so I asked, “How do you mean?” And she clarified, “When I see how their shoulder looks heavy, how they walk, or where their eyes look into, I have a sense of where their energy level is.” 

I was struck by what she said. We can sense how other people are doing just by looking at how their bodies appear. For the body can’t lie even if the mind tries to tell otherwise. Listening between the lines, we can have a better understanding of how people are actually doing. 

Studies show words alone can convey 7% of meaning while the tone of voice does 38% and body language 55%. The non-verbal elements are particularly important for communicating feelings and attitude. In other words, it’s not what we actually say but how we look when we say it that is more impactful. People don’t necessarily remember what we said, but they do remember how we made them feel. It’s our intention that matters. 

In this time of physical distancing, I found myself focusing more on how to be than what to do. Like many of you, I experience a limit in terms of physical activity or interaction with others. My daily task has come down to the most basic things such as feeding my family, going for a walk, communicating through emails or phone calls, and preparing for Sunday worship. I can’t really change the list of doing things. But I can still change how I do those things. I can do it as though this is the most honorable thing to do in the world with such kindness and respect. Or I can do it as though I don’t have a choice, mindlessly repeating the same things over and over. The difference is huge like day and night. How we do anything is how we do everything. It’s our intention that can travel far grater than we can ever reach in person. 

Paul while in prison wrote a letter to his beloved community in Philippi. Despite the limited medium of communication – no tone of voice or body language can be found in the written words – Paul was able to convey his intention throughout the letter. He states his intention right at the beginning, “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.” In other words, his whole life is meant to serve the living Christ. Every word he speaks and everything he does, therefore, also a reflection of the Christ. We can see a parallel between the Christ Paul believes in and how he imitates the Christ by embodying the same principle: emptying oneself as described in the same letter. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in the human likeness.” With that intention in mind, we can understand how Paul could maintain the joyful tone throughout the letter despite the challenges facing himself – the confinement to the prison and the threat of suffering. Hear again a few lines of the most hopeful letter in the Bible in a different translation, the Message.

“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish…… All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. God knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does! So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well.” 

This is my prayer for all of you. May this be your prayer as well. Our intention will carry us through. For how we do anything is how we do everything.