“All who belong
to the body of Christ have been freed from and called out of the world. They
must become visible to the world not only through the communal bond evident in
the church-community’s order and worship, but also through the new communal
life among brothers and sisters in Christ” (page 219).
Bonhoeffer then
writes that when members of the Body are despised, that we will serve them; if
they are the objects of violence, we will help them; if they are subjected to insult
that we will sacrifice our honor for them. We will renounce gain for the sake
of others, we will protect from exploitation, we will show compassion, we will
speak the truth and not lie, we will raise our voice for those who cannot speak for
themselves.
“For the sake of
brothers and sisters…Christians will renounce all community with the world, for
they serve the community of the body of Jesus Christ…They have been called out
of the world and follow Christ” (page 219).
What do we make
of Bonhoeffer’s approach, which is grounded in Scripture?
How do we, as
individuals, families, churches, and institutions measure up?
Do we forget
that the very term “church,” means those who are “called out”? Do we ignore the
statements of Jesus concerning us that, “They are not of the world, even as I
am not of the world” (John 17:13 – 16; see also John 15:18 – 16:4)?
Are we living as
those who have been called out of the world to live in community with one
another in Jesus Christ? Do our bonds in Christ define us, rather than our
economic, political, national, racial, ethnic, and social identities? Do we see
one another in Christ, and only in Christ?
Since I live in
the United States, I will address those of us who live in my earthly country,
but its application is worldwide. We, the professing church, have a shameful
history of failing to renounce the world and failing to live in Christian community;
to ignore that history is to likely ignore our present shame. In fact, we have
often gone beyond shame and employed the disgusting practice of using the Bible
to justify our ungodly actions.
Right now, I am thinking
of the Bible school I briefly attended in the 1960s that used the Bible to
justify segregation – thank God the school expelled me. I am also thinking of theologians
and pastors who employ their gifts to justify economic hedonism, foreign policies
that result in the wholesale destruction of life, the terrible treatment of
strangers seeking refuge which clearly is a violation of Biblical commands and standards,
and the continued marginalization of those who cannot speak for themselves.
Yes, for sure
there is a minority of faithful brothers and sisters that live counter to our
American Christian self-centered culture, but we marginalize them and dare not
give them a voice, lest our entire way of life change and we exchange the “good
life” for the Cross of Jesus Christ. In essence, we live with blinders on,
sealing ourselves off from those who need us, stopping our ears, covering our
eyes, hardening our hearts.
Consider the
monolithic character of most of our churches. Congregations tend to be the same
economically, racially, politically, socially, and culturally. There is little,
if anything, supernatural about the nature of our local congregations.
While this may be understandable in rural areas due to the lack of local
diversity, it is inexcusable in areas with a varied population. Yes, again
there are exceptions, but they are few. Jesus Christ does not attract us to one
another, our worldly sameness attracts us, it provides us with the apparent
safety of the world’s status quo, it seals us off from one another, and it
allows us to practice our self-centered, non-sacrificial, American brand of syncretistic
religion.
Let’s remind
ourselves that Bonhoeffer writes from a position of privilege. He was raised in
an environment of economic security, academic and professional accomplishment,
and high culture. The Bonhoeffer family moved in the upper echelons of German society.
Yet, Bonhoeffer saw that something was wrong, and as German Nationalism consumed
the hearts and souls of German society and the professing church in Germany,
Bonhoeffer stood virtually alone and spoke the truth in Christ. The drama of
the truth is greater than any fiction, few stood with Bonhoeffer, very few. Bonhoeffer
saw that there must be a Biblical break with the world in order to live in
church-community in Christ.
It is disgusting
that some American Christians distort Bonhoeffer’s life and teaching to justify
American nationalism, the ill treatment of others, and violence against others –
native born and the stranger.
Yes, yes, this
is a hard subject to think about, and it comes with a price, for the Cross is
an offense, obedience to Jesus Christ offends people, including religious
people. We want nothing to impinge on our “right” to get what we can and keep
what we can and to ignore the suffering and needs of those around us.
But I think that
if we could only see the glory of Jesus Christ in His Body, His People, our
neighbors in Christ, that we would gladly surrender what we have and who we are
to Jesus and open our hearts to others. O friends, this life will soon be over
and what fools we are to live as if it won’t, what fools not to realize that we
have a calling and opportunity to live for Jesus and others, to live in the
Kingdom and not in the world-system.
If we would only
attempt to know others the scales would fall from our eyes and, I think, we
would behold Jesus as never before; behold Him in our brothers and sisters.
Well, we can’t
control what others do, but we can each decide to follow Jesus and lay down our
lives for Him and others. If our families go with us – wonderful! If our
congregations go with us – let us be encouraged! If we have one or two friends
who we can walk with – let us rejoice! And if…if it must be that we walk alone,
let us be comforted, for in Jesus Christ we are never alone, for He will never
leave us or forsake us – and we know that He awaits us, at the right hand of
the Father, to say, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of
your Lord!”
“To the extent
that you did it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me”
(Matthew 25:40).
“No one, after
putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God”
(Luke 9:62).
No comments:
Post a Comment