A thought on Affirmation 11
Posted by theologyontapomaha on July 3, 2009
This weekend we begin looking at Affirmation 11 of the Phoenix Affirmations, which asserts that “Christian love of self includes caring for our bodies and insisting on taking time to enjoy the benefits of prayer, reflection, worship, and recreation in addition to work.” Essentially, Affirmation 11 is about sabbath-keeping – a concept not limited only to taking a day off per week, but to a whole lifestyle that moves beyond a utilitarian so-called “Protestant work ethic” into a creative engagement with spaciousness in life, enabling us to set our lives against and within a larger picture.
One of the comments that David Whyte made on our first morning together as a group in northern England engages Affirmation 11 well. He observed that “most people are a good 4-5 years the curve of their own transformation.” They haven’t paid enough attention to the conversation they’re subconsciously having with life (“Faith” he says, “is measured by the depth to which one pays attention.”). Consequently, people tend to be unaware of the dominant questions and themes they themselves are posing and responding to. David encouraged each of us to “allow for a good bit of silence to find out who it is who is sitting here.”
Affirmation 11 is about being more intentional about engaging our life’s conversation playfully and seriously.
Who is sitting before your computer screen right now?
