So I was reading in the Journal of Biblical Literature the other day and came across an interesting article entitled “The Gospel of John and the Five Senses” I naturally was excited about this as the Gospel of John is by far my favorite Gospel and the idea of seeing how he employed the five sense to bring more people to Christ was very interesting to me.
Be not afraid I do not plan to go through the article in any real depth here, a short summary will suffice and anyone that wants the link to the article let me know and I will send it to you.
In short what the article was saying is that John used the 5 senses to bring people to Johannian Faith which in short is the faith unto salvation that is talked about in the 4th gospel. He engaged the sense of sight by comparing Jesus to the Light of the world and with lines such as “No one has seen the Father except he who is from God, he has seen the Father.” It also talks about how John used the second main sense of hearing to draw people in by showing that those that hear Jesus are saved and it is first by hearing that Mary Magdalene finds the Lord on Easter morning. Taste is employed by use of lines like the bitter cup, sour wine. Physical touch is used through descriptive phrases such as the laying on of hand, the use of the mud on the eyes, and the descriptive scene of washings and anointings just before the last supper. And the sense of smell comes into play with the use of frankincense and other anointing ointments that are put to use through out the gospel. Concluding that because of this fully engaged way of writing that the 4th gospel is getting across the message subtly that to have faith unto salvation you must be fully engaged in the life and work of Christ.
I did not do that article justice by any means and so I would recommend reading it as well, but in any case, this is sufficient for my purposes today. It is with in the conclusion that the idea I want to speak on rests. Are we fully engaged in the Life and Work of Christ? Are we so engaged that one could compare it to using our 5 senses? Are we so engaged that it could be said we are all-in with all our hearts, might, minds, and strength?
A bit of a daunting question, no? But never the less this idea of fully engaged, kool-aid drank, ticket bought, all-in life is exactly what the scriptures tell us we are to have. “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16
So, what are we to do about it? Can we just flick a switch and all of a sudden be 100% in? I am inclined to think no, but by small and simple means are great things brought to pass. And truly, small and simple means are things are things we can do. Following the pattern of the article I will stick with the 5 senses to show some small and simple things that will bring us closer to this fully engaged pattern of Christ like life, and here is to hoping these small and simple thing will not confound the wise among you haha.
Taste
Easily the hardest one so clearly where we will start today. I’ve thought about this one quite often these last few days. How can we engage our sense of taste with the gospel to help achieve that all-in-full-engagement life? After much deliberation and pondering the thought occurred to me that I do not need to come up with some new idea for this. No need to reinvent the wheel per say. The Lord has worked with people for many a millennium, He crafted us Himself, He knows how we are. Therefore, one such as I can assume He has considered this idea of getting taste engaged to get man fully engaged.
“And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted”
“Called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey”
“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth”
“They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he tasted thereof, he would not drink”
“And with Bitter Herbs shall they eat it”
“And would that I might not drink the bitter cup”
“For if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet”
Welp that was a clear message, the Lord understands how taste can engage His creations. During the Passover taste is a huge part of it, and during the Lord’s supper which has replaced that ancient ordinance we partake of the emblems of His body and it is by taste we remember Him.
So having humbled my self and seeing that the Lord has established that He uses our sense of taste, I, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, will rely on this established means of engagement the Lord has previously put to profound use.
When you taste something sweet, give thanks, when something bitter remember what was done for you, when savory remember you are the salt of the earth, when sour remember the cross and its vinegar, when spicy think of the burning you have felt in your heart in the presence of the Lord and His spirit.
Smell
Another hard one, but as I looked through the scriptures to get ideas for the small and simple thing, I found that the Lord has been using this one as well. The most prominent examples of this sense are the use of ointments and spices in the bible. You will find it all over the place:
These sweet spices with pure frankincense”
“and he shall pour oil upon it and put frankincense thereon”
“There came unto him a woman unto him having an alabaster box of ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.”
“the took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus”
“And there came also Nicodemus… and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pounds by weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury”
There are many other verses as well but this serves the point well enough. Thematically scripture shows a use of olfaction for engagement in this all-in way we have been talking, how can we use it?
It seems to me there is a few ways: first deals with how olfaction is connected to memory. In the world we live in it is very easy to get olfactory stimulants, despite the name I disagree with these oils are treated as some what essential in our society. This makes it pretty easy to attach certain smells to locations and feelings. An example would be Christmas and the smell of pine tree oils. Most people think of Christmas when they smell this oil. They are instantly transported back to a time and a place with all the feelings of joy that are associated with it. All of this because of the simple smell of pine tree oil. Interestingly enough you can do this on purpose as well. If, for example, every time you study the scriptures you have a defuser pumping frankincense out, over time these will be linked and you will be drawn into the feelings you have during your study anytime you smell frankincense.
The second option would be a little more passive and function exactly the same ay the tasting small and simple option would work. In that when you smell a fragrance you like take a moment to give that to He who created it.
Touch
To be physically engaged with the gospel is actually surprisingly easy, from the feel of the scriptures in your hands to the touch of the pew at the church, we are very much so hardwired to be able to have tactile engagement with the world around us. So much so that when in a panic attack people are instructed to reach out to their surroundings to ground themselves.
That last bit there is what I would focus on for this section. Ground yourself in the gospel via touch.
In the scriptures we see two major points where touch is a focus of what is going on. The first is with Thomas called the doubter, which seems a bit unfair as Peter seemed to doubt most every minute but then again… this is starting to feel like a cast the first stone situation and I have digressed. Anyway, Thomas is out of town the first time that Jesus shows up to the 12 (really the 10, as they are sans Thomas and Judas) and says that he will not believe unless he “put [his] finger where the nails were, and put [his] hand into his side”
Then Jesus appeared and said to Thomas to do exactly what he has said and to “stop doubting and believe. [and then] Thomas said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Doubting, taction, grounded, believing.
The next example is when Jesus appeared to the Nephites (and Lamanites) in 3 Nephi 11
Jesus Appears to the “more righteous part” and said “Arise and come froth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world” and then the multitude went forth and felt Him one by one, in the end shouting “Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God!”
Once again, Taction, grounded, believing.
Jesus has a special place in His heart for taction as shown in the above examples and many other scenes in scripture. My advice for the small and simple act to get that fully engaged all-in life would be to not minimize that taction. In the digital age we live in it is very easy to separate ourselves off from physical contact of any kind. Screens for scriptures, emails for handshakes, zoom for sacraments. Do not get me wrong there is a time and a place for these things, but do not cut yourself off from the Gospel taction if you can avoid it. Use paper scriptures, go in person to services, be physically there. Be grounded, reach out and touch and be touched by others and the spirit.
Hearing
This one seems pretty straight forward as well. Glad I started with the harder ones. Hearing is pretty easy. Hear the Word of God. Is there anymore that one could say for this one? I don’t think there is, but because I don’t want to just skip this one, lets see if there is something small and simple, we can do here.
Hear the word of God, given. Hear the Word though the speakers in General Conference and Church meetings, seems a given as well. Hear the whisperings of the spirit? Also given. What ever should I write on here?
“Willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; … willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as a witness of God”
“A new commandment I [Jesus] give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”
“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality”
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”
A less scriptural one here but never the less good “You want food for the hungry, love for the lonely, justice and mercy for those treated poorly, tears for the lost and wounds from the cross, this is the worship you seek, a real life offering”
As these verses and song show, a way to engage in the all-in Christian life is to make sure to hear those around you. Do not get me wrong the other engagements audition (which is the right word you can look it up as I did haha) are truly important to this all-in life we have been talking about but I am assuming you know this already.
The small and simple thing I would recommend would be to listen with your ears and hearts to find those as Christ would have and help them in the ways to can.
There are very few healed by Jesus who did not first call out to Him. He heard them, you can too.
Seeing
Thus, we have come to the last of the 5 senses. Sight, this one is the key stone of man’s experience. It is so crucial to our ability to understand the world that we have formed our language around it, in fact every one of the 5 sense are subservient to it.
When we hear something, we turn to see it.
If something is not pleasing to the eye it does not matter so much how it feels (ugly chairs and comfort clothing is no exception here. Have you ever said “Yeah I know the couch is ugly but it is comfortable” even this seeks an exception to a given rule. Your comfort clothing you ask about? Would you wear it to a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant?)
An ugly flower that smells good is not kept around and yet fake flower that have no sent are.
How often has a meal been pushed away because it looks awful regardless of the taste?
Sight is the single most important of the senses and the whole world conforms to this notion regardless of it being aware of it or not.
The Lord is in no way slacking in His understanding or use of this either:
“the Spirit said unto me Look! And I Looked”
“And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live”
“And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light”
“the light of the body is the eye, if therefore thine eye be single to the glory of God, thy whole body shall be full of light”
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else”
“Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal Life”
“Look unto me in every thought: doubt not, fear not”
My advice for this one is simple: Look unto the Lord in all that you do. Set him at the center of your world view, build the lens you view everything with on him. Look for His hand in your Life, Look for him in all things. As Alma says “all things denote there is a God” strive to see Him in all things.
So what are we to conclude with this? In short, we are to have a fully engaged all-in Christ like life, but it is not as impossible to start as it seems. There are many small and simple things you can do to bring about a great change in your life. I hope these have been helpful. Draw nearer to Him and He will draw nearer to you.
In Jesus name Amen.
As always, I’m praying for thee; please pray for me.