Bonhoeffer's Discipleship Part II - Reflections (9)

 

 

“It is we who are crucified with him and who die with him…Jesus thus brings humanity not only into death with him, but also into the resurrection” (page 196).

 

“How then do we come to participate in this body of Christ who did all this for us? For this much is certain: there is no community with Jesus Christ other than the community with his body!” (page 196).

 

Bonhoeffer then writes that we share in the koinonia of the Body of Christ through the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and makes the statement that, “Sacraments exist only because there is a Body of Christ” (page 197). Baptism brings us into the Body and the communion table keeps us in relationship with the Body.

 

I want to again caution us to be patient with Bonhoeffer, for until we have traversed the ground on which he is taking us, we are not likely to begin to understand what he is saying, his vision is farther and deeper and broader than most of us have experienced. If we have a nonsacramental view of baptism and communion, it is just possible that we have much to learn. If we have a sacramental view of communion and baptism, it is also possible that we have much to learn. In both instances our cut and dried positions may be our prisons. I think I can say with assurance that if we think we see the entire picture regarding baptism and communion that we have a lot to learn; I doubt that it is possible to see the entire picture of either one, for to see the entire picture is to see the entire Christ. We can swim in this ocean, but we cannot comprehend this ocean.

 

If we will read the Bible passages that Bonhoeffer quotes and references, if we will read all of the passages in context that reference and allude to baptism and the Lord’s Table (and I think we have the opportunity to continually discover these texts on this pilgrimage), then I think we will see…if we are honest…that there is indeed great mystery in Christ in these sacraments, paradigms, dimensions of koinonia. For sure this honesty will create heartburn in those who insist on neat and tidy propositional and doctrinal statements that are limiting rather than liberating (and doctrine should be liberating!), but we can trust Christ and His Spriit to care for us on this pilgrimage. Yes? I think so.

 

Bonhoeffer wants us to understand that as we “receive the community of the body of Christ” (page 197) that the terms “with Christ,” “in Christ,” and “Christ in us,” will have clear meaning for us. I would add that these terms and the reality within them become our Way of Life in Christ Jesus and with one another.

 

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are seen as events which “involve all human beings (Rom. 5:18ff; 1 Cor. 15:22; 2 Cor. 5:14)” (page 197).

 

Here is a list of passages that Bonhoeffer quotes and lists on the bottom of page 197 and the top of 198:

 

Rom. 6:8; Col. 2:20; Rom. 6:6; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:5; Rom. 6:8; Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:12 (again); 2 Tim. 2:11; 2 Cor. 7:3; Rom. 2:12; 3:19; 7:5; 8:3, 8, 9; 2 Cor. 10:3; 1 Cor. 15:22.

 

He writes of those who know Christ, “With their entire existence and throughout all expressions of their life they are henceforth “in Christ”” (page 198).

 

I hope we see that Bonhoeffer is grounding his message in the Bible. As foreign as what he writes may be to us, he is not saying anything that isn’t grounded in the Word of God. Note that he is viewing Scripture as a whole, he is not basing his message on a verse here or there, but rather on an integrated vision of Jesus Christ and His Body as seen through many facets of the Bible.

 

Bonhoeffer shows us the forest first, and then the trees. He shows us how the patterns of trees and groups of trees make up the forest. Let us not be so foolish as to think our patches of woodland are all there is; the Body is expansive, transcendent, and ever growing up into Him.

 

“Everything we have said thus far may be summed up in the phrase: Christ is “for us” (page 198). This is what Bonhoeffer wants us to know, that Jesus Christ came for us, lived for us, died for us – bearing not only our sins, but ourselves, bearing us as individuals and us as humanity – that he died for us, was buried for us, and that He rose and ascended for us – and that we were with Him in all of this.

 

Is this not what Paul writes in Romans 8:31? “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

 

“Paul can describe the miracle of Christ’s incarnation in an almost infinite variety of perspectives” (page 198).

 

As I read this statement, I want to emblazon it in the mind of every Christian, print it in every small group booklet, and paste it on every pulpit. One difference between an infant in Christ and an adult is that an adult realizes the truth of Bonhoeffer’s statement, while an infant or adolescent is convinced that its parochial perspective is all there is to know, and most certainly all there is to believe, teach, and preach.

 

Not only is there an almost infinite variety of Biblical perspectives on the incarnation, but when we understand the comprehensiveness of the Incarnation, the same is true of the Cross, the Atonement, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the Church of Jesus Christ. Now for sure, all of these perspectives radiate from Jesus Christ, display Jesus Christ, and glorify Jesus Christ; they are all from, through, and to Jesus Christ.

 

If Jesus Christ is God, which He is, and if God is infinite, then knowing Him and growing in Him, as individuals and as His People, is never-ending. The nature of the Bible is divinely infinite. The Bible displays Jesus Christ in unending dimensions, showing forth His beauty, drawing us deeper into Him – as individuals and as His People – if we will look for Him, seek Him, and allow Him.

 

Jesus says that what the Father has is His, and that the Holy Spirit will disclose to us what the Father has given Him. What the Father has belongs to Jesus, what Jesus has belongs to us (John 16:12 – 15), we are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17, 32). Surely this is a never-ending experience.

 

Bonhoeffer is illustrating, with his many Biblical references, what he means when he writes of Paul’s “almost infinite variety of perspectives.” This can be uncomfortable for those of us who are accustomed to narrow views and rote statements on the Incarnation and Atonement.

 

I would love to ask a small group, “Please share some facets of the Incarnation. Please share some dimensions of the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. How do you participate in the Incarnation on a daily basis? How do you participate in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a way of life?” (You might want to mediate on Galatians 2:20 and 6:14).

 

If our people can’t respond to these questions, what does that say?

 

What is my answer to these questions?

 

What is your answer?

 

How would our congregations respond to these questions?

 

Editorial Note: If you are carefully reading Bonhoeffer, I will mention that there are some things I do not quite see as Bonhoeffer does, however I very much agree with his central thrust, vision, and message. I would love to chat with him about a statement or two to better understand what he means, but alas he isn’t available. Any quotes are statements I endorse, unless I make qualifying comments. I have chosen not to draw attention, as a rule, to the occasional point on which we may differ in order not to distract from the beauty of Bonhoeffer’s message of Christ and the Body, the Church, the Bride, the Temple. After all, the material is dense enough without me adding tangents.