Monday 8 October 2007

This week we will be looking at material from "The Enneagram" by Richard Rohr.

"They look without seeing, they listen without hearing or understanding, so I must teach them in a parabolic way. (Matthew 13"13)
All the Christian churches are being forced to an inevitable, honest, and somewhat humiliating conclusion. The vast majority of Christian ministry has been concerned with "churching" people into symbolic, restful, and usually ethnic belonging systems rather than any real spiritual transformation into the mystery of God. ...I am convinced that most of our ministries have legitimated the autonomous self and even fortified it with all kinds of religious armour. Religious people are even harder to transform because they don't think they need it.

One description of the Enneagram notes that it is an ancient personality-type system. Many have thought it has Sufi roots but other take not that it goes back to the "desert fathers" of early Christianity. Having said that as a brief word of introduction, once again I am finding that the Enneagram doesn't let us escape an in-depth look at who we are. After sharing material from Tuomo Mannermaa's study of Luther's theology - especially the material that speaks of a full participation in Christ and how we are in union with Christ I started reading Rohr's book and saw that he finds in the Enneagram a way of helping people enter into the fullness of this union with Christ. But...as we will see...we must take a journey through the "dark side" of our humanity and the "gifted side" - both of which are very close together and can also be mistaken for one another. It is through facing our personality type that we are able to begin taking down and removing some of the "religious armour" that we have used to keep ourselves hidden from ourselves and from others.

Connection: It is vital for all of us to come to some understanding as to how and why we do (or do not do) the things we do as we move through each day. This is not so much based on what we know...but what we are able to see. When we can see a broader perspective of our self, we begin to understand how we each have a depth of life that we are not facing and therefore not able to take part in any real life transformation that is more than moving the furniture of our lives around.

Gracious God, you have given us lives of great worth and depth. Too often all we see is the surface or we let ourselves play only with a portion of the life we have been handed by you. Grant us the peace and patience and the courage to take another look at ourselves and our world so that we can begin an ongoing adventure within the realm of your loving Reign. Amen.