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Our bodies on the journey

Lynne Baab • Tuesday December 16 2025

Our bodies on the journey

Who do I want to bring to the manger? Who might otherwise be excluded?

Those provocative questions came from Christine Sine, whose Godspace website  provides wonderful resources for Christian spirituality. Christine posed those questions for Advent 11 years ago.

At that time, I was writing regularly for the Godspace blog. As I thought about answering Christine’s questions, so many options passed through my mind. Who might be excluded from access to God in our violent and unjust world? I thought about children, people all over the world without homes or enough food, and those with chronic illness and mental illness.

The more I pondered Christine's question about who I wanted to bring to the manger, the more I realized that I wanted to bring my body to the manger — an odd answer, for sure. Yes, my body has been excluded in the past. By me. No one else.

Of course, my body isn’t actually separate from myself, but sometimes it feels like it is. Part of that comes from the Christian emphasis on spiritual things. Our redemption in Christ often seems to be more focused on our souls and spirits rather than on our bodies. Another part of my sense of separation from my body comes from my struggles with weight my whole adult life, which have often contributed to a view of my body as a bit of an enemy rather than as a beloved part of myself.

An unexpected physical journey gave me a new (and unexpected) conviction that Advent and Christmas are a good time to focus on the significance of our physical bodies on our spiritual journey. That physical journey was a move to the Southern Hemisphere, where my husband Dave and I got to experience Christmas in summer for more than a decade.

Here in Seattle, Advent evenings are pitch dark before 5 p.m. In December in Dunedin, New Zealand, my home for over a decade, there is still light in the sky at 10 p.m. In New Zealand, the red and green colors of Christmas take new forms: strawberries, local zucchini and red peppers cooked together, and lettuce from our garden paired with bright red tomatoes. These summer foods make my body feel healthy and light.

Favorite activities of New Zealanders during Advent and Christmas include walking on beaches and hiking in the mountains, sailing and surfing, gardening and strolling among the roses. In New Zealand, bodies seem alive and real this time of year, nurtured by fruits, vegetables, and lots of physical activity. Here in Seattle, our bodies are smothered in heavy sweaters and raincoats during Advent and Christmas. Traditional December foods are rich and delicious. They make me want to cuddle on the couch with a novel.  

For the first two or three years in New Zealand, a Christmas season full of long, sunny days and advertisements for picnic supplies seemed very weird and uncomfortable. I know people in Florida experience sunshine at Christmas, but I seldom had. I missed the candles in the dark evenings, and that evocative imagery of Jesus as the light shining in the darkness. I missed that sense of hunkering down inside with delicious smells of cooking in the background and green and red decorations in the house. With each passing year in New Zealand, though, I became more grateful for this new Advent pattern that included so much light, such a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and so many outdoor activities.

That new pattern was a gift, part of my growth in bringing my whole self, including my body, to Christ in worship and submission. When we think of the incarnation, we remember that Jesus journeyed to earth and took on flesh in order to redeem us. He didn’t want to redeem just our souls and spirits. Our bodies are an integral part of our selves, and therefore an integral part of our redemption. I celebrated that reality much more profoundly during Advent in the Southern Hemisphere than I ever did up north.

As I walked among the December roses, I remembered that God made those gorgeous blooms, just like God made my body, soul and spirit. As I rode my bike in shorts and a teeshirt, I remembered why the incarnation was necessary — to redeem all things, including my body. Truly, my whole self — body, soul, and spirit — is broken and needs redemption in Jesus.

I rejoice that in our journey with Jesus, we are always learning new things. I rejoice in my growth in honoring the body God gave me, growth that was unexpectedly nurtured by 11 summer Christmases. Yes, this year I want to bring my body to the manger, along with every other part of me, to bow in worship and surrender, giving my whole self to Jesus.

Beloved Jesus, I bring to you my body, heart, soul, mind, strength, and spirit. I am yours. 

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Illustration by Dave Baab: Christmas carols in Otago Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand. See the short sleeves and the green leaves outside the window?

Some of my previous posts about Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere:

If you want to read more about my journey of learning to honor my body, check out my recent book, Almost Peaceful: My Journey of Healing from Binge Eating.

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