“Because they can no longer
consider themselves wise, Christians will also have a modest opinion of their
own plans and intentions. They will know that it is good for their own will be
to broken in their encounter with their neighbor. They will be ready to
consider their neighbor’s will more important and urgent than their own. What
does it matter if our own plans are thwarted? Is it not better to serve our
neighbor than to get our own way?” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Fortress Press, 2015 (Reader’s Edition), page 73.
There would be far fewer
church splits if we lived according to the above; far fewer broken
relationships in the Kingdom of God. What is it that drives us to want our own
way? Pride? Ego? Self-justification? If others will submit to my agenda then
they are acknowledging me, they are affirming me, they are justifying my
thoughts and words and actions. When others acquiesce to my desires the
spotlight is on me and I receive validation and honor and glory. There are few
arenas that can match the religious arena for the building up of ego and pride –
perhaps the political and entertainment arenas are on the same level.
In the political arena we
receive glory via votes. In the world of entertainment we receive glory through
appearances, applause, and money. The business world and academia have their
glories, as do sports, the arts, and virtually all other vocational pursuits.
Whenever two or three are gathered there is the temptation to seek one’s own
glory, there is the temptation for self-justification.
However, in no arena is the
temptation to self-glory as strong or as dangerous as the ideological arena – in
this arena the stakes are the highest for they involve the entire subjugation
of others – not just the actions of others but the thoughts and beliefs of
others. Religion is included in the ideological realm, and self-justification
in religion can be found in small house churches to mega churches to traditional
denominations, churches, and movements. Whenever two or three are gathered
there is the temptation to justify ourselves.
Can the Eucharist be properly
celebrated apart from the washing of feet? I don’t think so. I don’t mean that
we need to physically wash one another’s feet as we gather around the Lord’s
Table (though we ought to do so periodically), but I do mean that we cannot partake of the bread and wine without partaking
of both our Lord Jesus Christ and of one another in Him; and to partake of one
another means receiving one another – I cannot receive my brother and exalt
myself above my brother at the same time – the two actions are antithetical.
Paul teaches us that we are to
use our liberty to serve one another in love. Our freedom in Christ is an
invitation to serve others – since we are free…how many ways can we find to
serve others? How creative can we be in discovering new dimensions and avenues
of service? Will we learn to surrender our desires for the benefit and building
up of others?
John the Baptist spoke
regarding Jesus, “He must increase but I must decrease.” Can we say this of our
brothers and sisters?
I cannot count the times I
should have preferred my brother above myself but insisted on my own way. I am
not talking about matters of sound doctrine; I am speaking of ways of doing
things, of preferences, of red sauce and white sauce. How many times have I
confused matters of preference with matters of eternal consequence? How many
times have I cloaked matters of preference in the guise of doctrine of eternal
consequence in order to justify myself? This is why religion can be so
dangerous, we can take the mundane and elevate it to the status of the dogmatic
when it has no business being there; then we take the dogmatic and use it to
justify ourselves.
Dogma is important; there is
beauty in the dogma of the Gospel – doctrine matters for doctrine shapes the
soul; it leads us to Christ and it then forms us in Christ. But my will should
never be dogma, and my agenda should never be doctrine, and I should never
clothe my desires with religious garb lest I confuse my will with our Father’s,
and lest I forget that I am to be the servant of all and wash the feet of all.
We are safe when we know and
confess that our justification is in Jesus Christ alone. Our souls are safe and
can live in peace, and others around us are safe from us and with us. When we
are justified in Christ alone we are free to be broken bread and poured out
wine for others – we, the people of God, are called to be “the safest place on
earth”.
If I meet someone today who is
looking for a safe place, may I give them your name?
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