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jn_en_2012_07_05

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Deutsche Version | Wiki Start | Topics Collection iv

Play, play, play ...

Thursday, July 5, 2012. Who is man? We are the playing species. We love to play! We can be fully focussed when we play. Games and play are crucial to us to stay healthy, they are part of our nature!

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Play, Sports, Games …

We love football, basket ball, tennis and many other games using balls. We love to do sports of various kinds. We love to compete. We love to feel our body, to run, to jump, to focus. We love to play in groups, to use strategy, to help each other, to fight each other, to test who has more strength, who is faster, who can jump higher … Play is a game, but it is serious as well!

We love card games. We play skat, we play poker, bridge, canasta and many more. Card games are more on the social level than sports, where our body plays a crucial role. They are more playing with chance, but also with strategy and interaction, with speed and the power of the mind.

We also love to play around with roles and social interaction. Kids love to play family, or to play pirates, or to play adventure trip. They are exploring the dangers and chances of social life, but also the dangers and chances of different parts of this world. Play seems to be their world - and in part this remains when we grow up. Art is taking up this elementary wish to play, to explore our relationships, to be in interaction and test the unknown ground.

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Jesus Heavy and Light …

What role does play have in the biblical books? When you look into the stories around king David, play is of crucial importance. He is playing the harp in front of king Saul. Later in his life he collected and wrote many songs, today known as the Book of Psalms. Where ever people of Jewish or Christian faith are meeting, music and play is a central part of the services.

Parts of the New Testament give the impression that this is heavy stuff. And indeed, the challenges here are deep and heavy. Jesus died at the cross - that is heavy news. To grasp the meaning of the resurrection, to learn that it is reality indeed, is not easy for our heart and our mind. But there is the other track. Jesus is asking his disciples to let go. His commands say: come to me and take up what I give you to bear. Let the other things stay there. Here is a new life, a life which is filled with grace and joy - coming from the Lord. “My burden is light!”

The joy which the New Testament promises to us is a joy which is coming to us in the presence of the holy Lord, when his spirit fills us. It is a joy which lets us discover play in a new way. First of all, this can be the play of music, playing old songs and new songs. But it can also be everything else what play has to offer us. In his grace, when everything is done and cared for, there is time to play. Yes. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts

jn_en_2012_07_05.txt · Last modified: 2017/06/18 16:48 by 127.0.0.1