the first few are from the 'memoir' section giving a short sketch of bonhoeffer's life.
when war seemed inevitable his friends abroad
wanted him to leave germany to save his life,
for he was unalterably opposed to serving in the army
in an aggressive war.
..the reasoning which brought him to the decision to return to germany
he writes to reinhold niebuhr as follows,
'i shall have no right to participate in the reconstruction of christian life
in germany after the war
if i do not share the trials of this time with my people..
christians in germany will face the terrible alternative of
either willing the defeat of their nation
in order that christina civilization may survive,
or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying our civilization.
i know which of these alternatives i must choose;
but i cannot make this choice in security.
bon never regretted this decision, not even in prison,
where he wrote in later years:
'i am sure of God's hand and guidance...
you must never doubt
that i am thankful and glad to go the way which i am being led.
my past life is abundantly full of god's mercy,
and, above all sin, stands the forgiving love of the crucified.
..his own concern in prison was to get permission to minister
to the sick and to his fellow prisoners,
and his ability to comfort the anxious and depressed was amazing...
we know what bon's practical aid meant in prison (tegel)
during political trials to those men of whom ten or twenty
were sentenced to death by military court every week in
1943-4.
some of these (among them a british soldier),
charged with sabotage,
were saved by him (and his father and solicitor)
from certain death...
during the very heavy bombings of berlin, when the explosions
were accompanied by the howling of his fellow prisoners,
how beat with their fists against the locked doors of their cells
clamouring to be transferred to the safe bunkers,
bon stood, we have been told, like a giant before men.
but this is only the one side of the picture...
one day he gave expression to this conflict in the following...
WHO AM I?
who am I? they often tell me
i stepped from my cell's confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
like a squire from his country house.
who am I ? they often tell me
i used to speak to my warders
freely and friendly and clearly
as though it were mine to command.
who am I? they also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.
am I then really that which other men tell of?
or am I only what I myself know of myself?
restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were
compressing my throat,
yearning for colours, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighbourliness.
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint, and ready to say farewell to it all.
who am I?
This or the Other?
am I one person today and tomorrow another?
am I both at once? a hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?
or is something within me still like a beaten army
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
who am I? they mock me, thee lonely questions of mine.
whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine!
....the idea that God Himself has been suffering through Christ
in this world and from its remoteness from Him,
had occupied bon's mind again and again.
bon frequently felt strongly that God Himself shared his suffering.
in the second verse of the poem 'christian and unbeliever',
composed by bon a few months before his death,
this feeling is expressed as follows:
men go to God when He is sore bested;
find Him poor and scorned, without shelter and bread,
whelmed under weight of the wicked, the weak, the dead.
christians stand by God in His hour of grieving.
bon's standing with God in His hour of grieving explains ultimately
why he did not take his own suffering seriously
and why his courage was so great and uncompromising.
this steadfastness of mind and preparedness
to sacrifice everything
has been proved on many occasions.
for instance, when in the summer of 1940 despair had seized
most of those who were actively hostile
to the nazi regime
and when the proposal was made
that further action should be postponed
so as to avoid giving hitler the air of a martyr,
bon unswervingly and successfully opposed this suggestion:
'if we claim to be christians,, there is not room for expediency.
thus the group led by him went on with its activities
at a time when the world inside and outside germany
widely believed in a nazi victory.
or when the question arose as to who was
prepared to inform the british goverment,
through the bishop of chichester,
of the exact details of the german resistance movement,
it was again bon who, as early as may 31, 1942,
at the risk of his life,
undertook this task at the instigation of his brother in law
hans von dohnanyi in the hope of a sympathetic understanding
on the part of the british government.
...in the earlier stages of his career bon accepted the
traditional lutheran view that there was a sharp distinction
between politics and religion.
gradually, however, he revised his opinion,
not because he was a politician
or because he refused to give caesar his due,
but because he came to recognize
that the political authority in germany
had become entirely corrupt and immoral
and that a false faith is capable of
terrible and monstrous things.
for bon hitler was the antichrist, the arch destroyer of the world \
and its basic values,
the antichrist who enjoys destruction, slavery, death
and extinction for their own sake,
the Antichrist who wants to pose
the negative as positive and as creative.
bon was firmly and rightly convinced that it is not only a
christian right but a christian duty toward God to oppose tyranny,
that is, a government which is no longer based on
natural law and the law of God.
for bon this followed from the fact that
the church as a living force in this world
entirely depends on her this-sidedness.
of course, bon understood this term neither in the sense of
modern liberal theology nor
in the sense of the national socialist creed.
both modern liberal theology and secular totalitarianism hold
pretty much in common that the message of the bible
has to be adapted, more or less,
to the requirements of a secular world.
no wonder, therefore, that the process of debasing
christianity as inaugurated by liberal theology led,
in the long run, to a complete perversion and falsification
of the essence of christian teaching by national socialism.
bon was firmly convinced that 'this side' must be fully related to,
and permeated by,
christian love,
and that the christian must be prepared, if necessary, to offer
his life for this.
thus all kinds of secular totalitarianism which force man
to cast aside his religious and moral obligations to "god
and subordinate the laws of justice and morality to the state
are incompatible with his conception of life.
this explains why bon did not take the pacifist line,
although his aristocratic noble mindedness and charming gentleness
made him, at the bottom of his heart, a pacifist.
but to refrain from taking any part in the attempt
to overcome the national socialist regime
conflicted too deeply with his view
that christian principles must in some way be translated
into human life
and that it is in the sphere of the material,
in state and society,
that responsible love has to be manifested.
again, it was typical of bon that he did not commit the church
by his actions.
the responsibility was his and not that of the church...
he once said:
'he who severs himself from the confessional church
severs himself from the grace of God...
a few months before his death,
when coming events cast their shadows before,
he wrote in prison:
'it all depends on whether or not the fragment of our life
reveals the plan and material of the whole.
there are fragments which are only good
to be thrown away
and others which are important for centuries to come
because their fulfilment can only be a divine work.
they are fragments of necessity.
it our life, however remotely,
reflects such a fragment...
we shall not have to bewail our fragmentary life,
but, on the contrary, rejoice in it.
the following is taken from CHAPTER ONE 'COSTLY GRACE'
cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church.
we are fighting today for costly grace.
cheap grace means grace sold on the market like
cheapjacks' (a peddler, especially of inferior articles) wares
the sacraments, the forgiveness of sin,
and the consolations of religion
are thrown away at cut prices.
grace is represented as the church's inexhaustible treasury,
form which she showers blessings with generous hands,
without asking questions or fixing limits.
grace without price;
grace without cost!
the essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account
has been paid in advance;
and, because it has been paid,
everything can be had for noting.
since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of
using and spending it are infinite.
what would grace be if it were not cheap?
cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system.
it means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth,
the love of God taught as the christian 'conception' of God.
an intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself
sufficient to secure remission of sins.
the church which holds the correct doctrine of grace has,
it is supposed, ipso facto a part in that grace.
in such a church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins;
no contrition is required,
still less any real desire to be delivered from sin.
cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial
of the living word of God,
in fact, a denial of the incarnation of the word of God.
cheap grace means the justification of sin
without the justification of the sinner.
grace alone does everything, they say,
and so everything can remain as it was before.
'all for sin could not atone'.
the world goes on in the same old way,
and we are still sinners 'even in the best life' as luther said.
well, then, let the christian live like the rest of the wold,
let him model himself on the world's standards
in every sphere of life,
and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life
under grace from his old life under sin.
that was the heresy of the enthusiasts, the anabaptists
and their kind.
let the christian beware of rebelling against
the free and boundless grace of God and desecrating it.
let him not attempt to erect a new religion of the letter
by endeavouring to live a life of obedience
to the commandments of Jesus Christ!
the world has been justified by grace.
the christian knows that,
and takes it seriously.
he knows he must not strive against this indispensable grace.
therefore-let him live like the rest of the world!
of course he would like to go and do something extraordinary,
and it does demand a good deal of self restraint to refrain
from the attempt and content himself with living as the world lives.
yet it is imperative for the christian to achieve renunciation,
to practise self effacement,
to distinguish his life from the life of the world.
he must let grace be grace indeed,
otherwise he will destroy the world's faith in the free gift of grace.
let the christian rest content with his worldliness
and with this renunciation of any height standard than the world.
he is doing it for the sake of the world
rather than for the sake of grace.
let him be comforted and rest assured in his possession of grace-
for grace alone does everything.
instead of following Christ, let the Christian enjoy the
consolations of his grace!
that is what we mean by cheap grace,
the grace which amounts to the justification of sin
without the justification of the repentant sinner
who departs from sin and from whom sin departs.
cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us
from the toils of sin.
cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.
cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance,
baptism without church discipline,
communion with confession,
absolution without personal confession.
cheap grace is grace without discipleship,
grace without the cross,
grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
....costly grace is the sanctuary of God;
it has to be protected from the world,
and not thrown to the dogs.
it is therefore the living word, the word of God,
which He speaks as it pleases Him.
costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus,
it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit
and the contrite heart.
grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ
and follow Him;
it is grace because Jesus says:
'My yoke is easy and my burden is light....
this grace was certainly not self bestowed.
it was the grace of Christ Himself,
now prevailing upon the disciple to leave all and follow Him,
now working in Him that confession which to the world
must sound like the ultimate blasphemy,
now inviting peter to the supreme fellowship of martyrdom
for the Lord he had denied,
and thereby forgiving him all his sins.
in the life of peter grace and discipleship are inseparable.
he had received the grace which costs.
as christianity spread and the church became more secularized,
this realization of the costliness of grace gradually faded.
the world was christianized and grace became its common property.
it was to be had a low cost.
yet the church of rome did not altogether lose the earlier vision.
it is highly significant that the church was astute enough to find room
for the monastic movement,
and to prevent it from lapsing into schism.
here on the outer fringe of the church was a place
where the older vision was kept alive.
here men still remembered that grace costs,
that grace means following Christ.
here they left all they had for Christ's sake,
and endeavoured daily to practise His rigorous commands
thus monasticism became a living protest
against the secularization of christianity
and the cheapening of grace.
but the church was wise enough to tolerate this protest,
and to prevent it from developing to its logical conclusion.
it thus succeeded in relativizing it,
even using it in order to justify the secularization of its own life.
monasticism was represented as an individual achievement
which the mass of the laity could not be expected to emulate.
by thus limiting the application of the commandments of Jesus
to a restricted group of specialists,
the church evolved the fatal conception of the double standard-
a maximum and a minimum standard of christian obedience.
whenever the church was accused of being too secularized,
it could always point to monasticism,
whose mission was to preserve in the church of rome
the primitive christian realization of the costliness of grace,
afforded conclusive justification for the secularization of the church.
by and large, the fatal error of monasticism lay not so much in its rigorism
(though even here there was a good deal of misunderstanding
of the precise content of the will of Jesus.)
as in the extent to which it departed from genuine christianity
by setting up itself as the individual achievement of a select few,
and so claiming a special merit of its own.
when the reformation came, the providence of God raised
martin luther to restore the gospel of pure, costly grace.
luther passed through the cloister;
he was a monk, and all this was part of the divine plan.
luther had left all to follow Christ on the path of absolute obedience.
he had renounced the world in order to live the christian life.
he had learnt obedience to Christ and to His church,
because only he who is obedient can believe.
the call to the cloister demanded of luther the complete surrender of his life.
but God shattered all his hopes.
he showed him through the scriptures that the following of Christ
is not the achievement or merit of a select few,
but the divine command to all christians without distinction.
monasticism had transformed the humble work of discipleship
into the meritorious activity of the saints,
and the self renunciation of discipleship into the flagrant spiritual
self assertion of the 'religious'.
the world had crept into the very heart of the monastic life,
and was once more making havoc.
the monk's attempt to flee from the world
turned out to be a subtle form of love for the world.
the bottom having thus been knocked out of the religious life,
luther laid hold upon grace.
just as the whole world of monasticism was crashing about him in ruins,
he saw God in Christ stretching forth His hand to save.
he grasped that hand in faith,
believing that 'after all, nothing we can do
is of any avail, however good a life we live'.
the grace which gave itself to him was a costly grace,
and it shattered his whole existence.
once more he must leave his nets and follow.
the first time was when he entered the monastery,
when he had left everything behind except his pious self.
this time even that was taken from him.
he obeyed the call, not through any merit of his own,
but simply through the grace of God.
luther did not hear the word:
'of course you have sinned,
but now everything is forgiven,
so you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness'.
no, luther had to leave the cloister and go back to the world,
not because the world in itself was good and holy,
but because even the cloister was only a part of the world.
luther's return from the cloister to the world was
the worst blow the world had suffered since the days of early christianity.
the renunciation he made when he became a monk was child's play
compared with that which he had to make when he returned to the world.
now came the frontal assault.
the only way to follow Jesus was by living in the world.
hitherto the christian life had been the achievement
of a few choice spirits under the exceptionally favourable
conditions of monasticism;
now it is a duty laid on every christian living in the world.
the commandment of Jesus must be accorded
perfect obedience in one's daily vocation of life.
the conflict between the life of the christian and the life of the world
was thus thrown into the sharpest possible relief.
it was a hand to hand conflict between the christian and the world.
it is a fatal misunderstanding of luther's action
to suppose that his rediscovery of the gospel of pure grace offered
a general dispensation from obedience to the command of Jesus,
or that it was the great discovery of the reformation
the God's forgiving grace automatically conferred
upon the world both righteousness and holiness.
on the contrary, for luther the christian's worldly calling
is sanctified only in so far as that calling registers the final,
radical protest against the world.
only in so far as the christian's secular calling is exercised
in the following of Jesus does it receive
form the gospel new sanction and justification.
it was not the justification of sin,
but the justification of the sinner
that drove luther from the cloister back into the world.
the grace he had received was costly grace.
it was grace, for it was like water on parched ground,
comfort in tribulation,
freedom from the bondage of a self chosen way
and forgiveness of all his sins.
and it was costly, for so far from dispensing him from good works,
it meant that he must take the call to discipleship more
seriously than ever before.
it was grace because it cost so mush,
and it cost so much because it was grace.
that was the secret of the gospel of the reformation-
the justification of the sinner.
yet the outcome of the reformation was the victory,
not of luther's perception of grace in all its purity and costliness,
but of the vigilant relgious instinct of man
for the place where grace is to be obtained at the cheapest price.
all that was needed was a subtle and almost imperceptible
change of emphasis and the damage was done.
luther had taught that man cannot stand before God,
however religious his works and ways may be,
because at bottom hi is always seeking his own interests.
in the depth of his misery, luther had grasped by faith
the free and unconditional forgiveness of all his sins.
that experience taught him that this grace had cost him
his very life,
and must continue to cost him
the same price
day by day.
so far from dispensing him from discipleship,
this grace only made him a more earnest disciple.
when he spoke of grace,
luther always implied as a corollary
that it cost him his own life,
the life which was now for the first time subjected
to the absolute obedience of Christ.
only so could he speak of grace.
luther had said that grace alone can save;
his followers took his doctrine and repeated it word for word.
but they left out its invariable corollary,
the obligation of discipleship.
there was no need for luther always to mention that corollary
explicitly
for he always spoke as one who had been led by grace
to the strictest following of Christ.
judged by the standard of luther's doctrine,
that of his followers was unassailable
and yet their orthodoxy spelt the end and destruction of the reformation
as the revelation on earth of the costly grace of God.
the justification of the sinner in the world degenerated
into the justification of sin and the world.
costly grace was turned into cheap grace without discipleship.
luther had said that all we can do is of no avail,
however good a life we live.
he had said that nothing can avail us in the sight of God
but 'the grace and favour which confers the forgiveness of sin'.
but he spoke as one who knew that at the very moment of his crisis
he was called to leave all tha he had a second time and follow Jesus.
the recognition of grace was his final, radical breach with his besetting sin,
but it was never the justification of that sin.
by laying hold of God's forgiveness,
he made the final, radical renunciation of a self willed life
and this breach was such that it led inevitably
to a serious following of Christ.
he always looked upon it as the answer to a sum,
but an answer which had been arrived at by God, not by man.
but then his followers changed the 'answer' into the data for
a calculation of their own.
that was the root of the trouble.
if grace is God's answer, the gift of christian life,
then we cannot for a moment dispense with following Christ.
but if grace is the data for my christian life, it means that
i set out to live the christian life in the world with all my sins justified beforehand.
i can go and sin
as much as i like,
and rely on this grace to forgive me,
for after all the world is justified in principle by grace.
i can therefore cling to my bourgeois secular existence,
and remain as i was before,
but with the added assurance that the grace of God will cover me.
it is under the influence of this kind of 'grace'
that the world has been made 'christian',
but at the cost of secularizing the christian religion as never before.
the antithesis between the christian life
and the life of bourgeois respectability is at an end.
the christian life comes to mean nothing more than
living in the world
and as the world,
in being no different from the world,
in fact, in being prohibited from being different from the world
for the sake of grace.
the upshot of it all is that my only duty as a christian
is to leave the world
for an hour or so on a sunday morning
and go to church
to be assured that my sins are all forgiven.
i need no longer try to follow Christ,
for cheap grace,
the bitterest foe of discipleship,
which true discipleship must loathe and detest,
has freed me from that.
grace as the data for our calculations
means grace at the cheapest price,
but grace as the answer to the sum means costly grace.
it is terrifying to realize what use can be made of a genuine
evangelical doctrine.
in both cases we have the identical formula-
'justification by faith alone'.
yet the misuse of the formula leads to the completed destruction of its very essence.
at the end of a life spent in the pursuit of knowledge
faust has to confess:
'i now do see that we can nothing know'.
that is the answer to a sum,
it is the outcome of a long experience.
but as kierkegaard observed,
it is quite a different thing when a freshman comes up to the university
and uses the same sentiment to justify his indolence.
as the answer to a sum it is perfectly true,
but as the initial data it is a piece of self deception
for acquired knowledge cannot be divorced from
the existence in which it is acquired.
the only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone
is that man who has left all to follow Christ.
such a man knows that the call to discipleship
is a gift of grace,
and that the call is inseparable from the grace.
but those who try to use this grace as
a dispensation from following Christ
are simply deceiving themselves.
but, we may ask, did not luther himself
come perilously neqar tothis perversion in the understanding of grace?
what about his pecca fortiter, sed fortius fide et gauden in 'Christo'
(sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ more boldly still)
you are a sinner, anyway, and there is nothing you can do about it.
whether you are a monk or a man of the world,
a religious man or a bad one,
you can never escape the toils of the world or from sin.
so put a bold face on it, and all the more
because you can rely on the opus operatum of grace.
is this the proclamation of cheap grace, naked and unashamed,
the carte blanche for sin, the end of all discipleship?
is this a blasphemous encouragement to sin boldly
and rely on grace?
is there a more diabolical abuse of grace than to sin
and rely on the grace which God has given?
is not the roman catechism quite right in denouncing this
as the sin against the Holy Ghost?
if we are to understand this saying of luther's
everything depends on applying the distinction between the data
and the answer to the sum.
if we make luther's formula a premiss for our doctrine of grace,
we are conjuring up the spectre of chap grace.
but luther's formula is meant to be taken,
not as the premiss, but as the conclusion,
the answer to the sum,
the coping stone,
his very last word on the subject.
taken as the premiss, pecca fortiter
acquires the character of an ethical principle,
a principle of grace to which
the principle of pecca fortiter must correspond.
that means the justification of sin,
and it turns luther's formula into its very opposite.
for luther 'sin boldly' could only be his very last refuge,
the consolation for one whose attempts to follow Christ
had taught him that he can never become sinless,
who in his fear of sin despairs of the grace of God.
as luther saw it, 'sin boldly' did not happen to be a
fundamental acknowledgement of his disobedient life;
it was the gospel of the grace of God
before which we are always and in every circumstance sinners.
yet that grace seeks us and justifies us, sinners though we are.
take courage and confess your sin, says luther,
do not try to run away from it,
but believe more boldly still.
you are a sinner, so be a sinner,and
don't try to become what you are not.
yes and become a sinner again and again every day,
and be bold about it.
but to whom can such words be addressed,
except to those who from the bottom of their hearts
make a daily renunciation of sin
and of every barrier which hinders them from following Christ,
but who nevertheless are troubled by their daily faithlessness and sin?
who can hear these words without endangering his faith
but he who hears their consolation as a renewed summons to follow Christ?
interpreted in this way,
these words of luther become a testimony to the costliness of grace,
the only genuine kind of grace there is.
grace interpreted as a principle, pecca fortiter as a principle,
grace at a low cost,
is in the last resort simply a new law,
which brings neither help nor freedom.
grace as a living word,
pecca fortiter as our comfort in tribulation
and as a summons to discipleship,
costly grace is the only pure grace,
which really forgives sins and gives freedom to the sinner.
we lutherans have gathered like
we lutherans have gathered like eagles round the carcase of cheap grace,
and there we have drunk of the poison
which has killed the life of following Christ.
it is true, of course, that we have paid the doctrine of pure grace
divined honours unparalleled in christendom,
in fact we have exalted that doctrine to the position of God Himself.
everywhere luther's formula has been repeated,
but its truth perverted into self deception.
so long as our church holds the correct
doctrine of justification,
there is no doubt whatever that she is a justified church!
so they said, thinking that we must vindicate our lutheran heritage
by making this grace available on the cheapest and easiest terms.
to be 'lutheran' must mean that we leave the following of Christ
to legalists, calvinists and enthusiasts
-and all this for the sake of grace.
we justified the world, and
condemned as heretics those who tried to follow Christ.
the result was that a nation became
christian and lutheran,
but at the cost of true discipleship.
the price it was called upon to pay was all too cheap.
cheap grace had won the day...
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
3.27.2013 LIFE TOGETHER: READING THE SCRIPTURES
not only the young christian but also the adult christian
will complain that the scripture reading is often too long
for him and that much therein he does not understand.
to this it must be said that for the mature christian
every scripture reading will be 'too long', even the shortest one.
what does this mean?
the scripture is a whole and every word, every sentence
possesses such multiple relationships with the whole
that it is impossible always to keep the whole in view
when listening to details.
it becomes apparent, therefore, that the whole of scriptures
and hence every passage in it as well far surpasses
our understanding.
it is good for us to be daily reminded of this fact,
which again points to Jesus Christ Himself,
'in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge col. 2.3
so perhaps one may say that every scripture reading always
has to be somewhat 'too long',
because it is not merely proverbial and practical wisdom
my God's revealing word in Jesus Christ.
because the scripture is a corpus, a living whole,
the so called lectio continual or consecutive reading
must be adopted for scripture reading in the family fellowship.
historical books, prophets, gospels, epistles, and revelation
are read and heard as God's word in their context.
they set the listening fellowship in the midst of the
wonderful world of revelation of the people of israel
with its prophets, judges, kings and priests,
its wars, festivals, sacrifices and sufferings.
the fellowship of believers is woven into
the christmas story, the baptism, the miracles and teaching,
the suffering, dying, and rising again of Jesus Christ.
it participates in the very events that occurred on this earth
for the salvation of the world, and in doing so
receives salvation in Jesus Christ.
consecutive reading of biblical books forces everyone
who wants to hear \to put himself,
or to allow himself to be found,
where God has acted once and for all for the salvation of men.
we become a part of what once took place for our salvation.
forgetting and losing ourselves, we too
pass through the red sea, through the desert,
across the jordan into the promised land.
with israel we fall into doubt and unbelief
and through punishment and repentance
experience again God's help and faithfulness.
all this is not mere reverie but holy, godly reality.
we are torn out of our own existence and
set down in the midst of the holy history of God on earth.
there God dealt with us,
and there He still deals with us, our needs and our sins,
in judgment and grace.
it is not that God is the spectator and sharer of our present life,
howsoever important that is;
but rather that we are the reverent listeners and participants
in God's action in the sacred story, the history of the Christ on earth.
and only in so far as we are there, is God with us today also.
a complete reversal occurs.
it is not in our life that God's help and presence must still be proved,
but rather God's presence and help have been demonstrated for us
in the life of Jesus Christ.
it is in fact more important for us to know what God did to israel,
to His Son Jesus Christ,
than to seek what God intends for us today.
the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground
of my hope that i too shall be raised on the last day.
our salvation is 'external to ourselves'.
i find no salvation in my life history,
but only in the history of Jesus Christ,
in His incarnation, His cross, and His resurrection,
is with Gos and God with Him,
in this light the whole devotional reading of the scriptures
becomes daily more meaningful and salutary.
what we call our life, our troubles, our guilt,
is by no means all of reality;
there in the scriptures is our life, our need, our guilt, and
our salvation.
because it pleased God to act for us there,
it is only there that we shall be saved.
only in the holy scriptures do we learn to know our own history.
the God of abraham, isaac and jacob is the God and Father of
Jesus Christ and our Father.
we must learn to know the scriptures again,
as the reformers and our fathers knew them.
we must not grudge the time and the work that it takes.
we must know the scriptures first and foremost for the sake of
our salvation.
but besides this, there are ample reasons
that make this requirement exceedingly urgent.
how, for example, shall we ever attain certainty and confidence
in our personal and church activity if we do not stand on solid
biblical ground?
it is not our heart that determines our course,
but God's word.
but who in this day has any proper understanding of
the need for scriptural proof?
how often we hear innumerable arguments
'from life' and 'from experience'
put forward as the basis for most crucial decisions,
but the argument of scripture is missing.
and this authority would perhaps point in exactly
the opposite direction.
it is not surprising, of course, that the person
who attempts to cast discredit upon their wisdom
should be the one who himself does not seriously
read, know, and study the scriptures.
but one who will not learn to handle the bible for himself
is not an evangelical christian.
it might be asked further:
how shall we ever help a christian brother and set him straight
in his difficulty and doubt, if not with God's own word?
all our own words quickly fail.
but he who like a good 'householder...
bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old' matt. 13.52,
he who can speak out of the abundance of God's word,
the wealth of directions, admonitions and consolations
of the scriptures, will be able through God's word
to drive out demons and help his brother.
there we leave it.
'because from childhood thou hast known the holy scriptures,
they are able to instruct you unto salvation' II tim. 3.15 luther's tr
how shall we read the scriptures?
in family devotions it is best that the various members thereof
undertake the consecutive reading in turn.
when this is done it will soon become apparent
that it is not easy to read the bible aloud for others.
the more artless, the more objective, the more humble
one's attitude toward the material is,
the better will the reading accord with the subject.
often the difference between an experienced christian
and the novice becomes clearly apparent.
it may be taken as a rule for the right reading of the scriptures
that the reader should never identify himself with the person
who is speaking in the bible.
it is not i that am angered, but God;
it is not i giving consolation, but God:
it is not i admonishing, but God admonishing in the scriptures.
i shall be able , of course, to express the fact that
it is God who is angered, who is consoling and admonishing,
not by indifferent monotony, but only with inmost concern and rapport,
as one who knows that he himself is being addressed.
it will make all the difference between right and wrong reading
of scriptures
if i do not identify myself with God but quite simply serve Him.
otherwise i will become rhetorical, emotional, sentimental,
or coercive and imperative;
that is, i will be directing the listeners' attention to myself
instead of to the word.
but this is to commit the worst of sins in presenting the scriptures.
if we may illustrate by an example in another sphere,
we might say that the situation of the reader of scripture is
probably closest to that in which i read to others a letter from a friend.
i would not read the letter as though i had written it myself.
the distance between us would be clearly apparent as it was read.
and yet i would also be unable to read the letter of my friend to others
as if it were of no concern to me.
i would read it with personal interest and regard.
proper reading of scripture is not a technical exercise that can be learned;
it is something that grows or diminishes according to
one's own spiritual frame of mind.
the crude, ponderous rendition of the bile by many a christian
grown old in experience often far surpasses the most highly polished
reading of a minister.
in a christian family fellowship one person may give counsel
and help to others in this matte also.
will complain that the scripture reading is often too long
for him and that much therein he does not understand.
to this it must be said that for the mature christian
every scripture reading will be 'too long', even the shortest one.
what does this mean?
the scripture is a whole and every word, every sentence
possesses such multiple relationships with the whole
that it is impossible always to keep the whole in view
when listening to details.
it becomes apparent, therefore, that the whole of scriptures
and hence every passage in it as well far surpasses
our understanding.
it is good for us to be daily reminded of this fact,
which again points to Jesus Christ Himself,
'in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge col. 2.3
so perhaps one may say that every scripture reading always
has to be somewhat 'too long',
because it is not merely proverbial and practical wisdom
my God's revealing word in Jesus Christ.
because the scripture is a corpus, a living whole,
the so called lectio continual or consecutive reading
must be adopted for scripture reading in the family fellowship.
historical books, prophets, gospels, epistles, and revelation
are read and heard as God's word in their context.
they set the listening fellowship in the midst of the
wonderful world of revelation of the people of israel
with its prophets, judges, kings and priests,
its wars, festivals, sacrifices and sufferings.
the fellowship of believers is woven into
the christmas story, the baptism, the miracles and teaching,
the suffering, dying, and rising again of Jesus Christ.
it participates in the very events that occurred on this earth
for the salvation of the world, and in doing so
receives salvation in Jesus Christ.
consecutive reading of biblical books forces everyone
who wants to hear \to put himself,
or to allow himself to be found,
where God has acted once and for all for the salvation of men.
we become a part of what once took place for our salvation.
forgetting and losing ourselves, we too
pass through the red sea, through the desert,
across the jordan into the promised land.
with israel we fall into doubt and unbelief
and through punishment and repentance
experience again God's help and faithfulness.
all this is not mere reverie but holy, godly reality.
we are torn out of our own existence and
set down in the midst of the holy history of God on earth.
there God dealt with us,
and there He still deals with us, our needs and our sins,
in judgment and grace.
it is not that God is the spectator and sharer of our present life,
howsoever important that is;
but rather that we are the reverent listeners and participants
in God's action in the sacred story, the history of the Christ on earth.
and only in so far as we are there, is God with us today also.
a complete reversal occurs.
it is not in our life that God's help and presence must still be proved,
but rather God's presence and help have been demonstrated for us
in the life of Jesus Christ.
it is in fact more important for us to know what God did to israel,
to His Son Jesus Christ,
than to seek what God intends for us today.
the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is the sole ground
of my hope that i too shall be raised on the last day.
our salvation is 'external to ourselves'.
i find no salvation in my life history,
but only in the history of Jesus Christ,
in His incarnation, His cross, and His resurrection,
is with Gos and God with Him,
in this light the whole devotional reading of the scriptures
becomes daily more meaningful and salutary.
what we call our life, our troubles, our guilt,
is by no means all of reality;
there in the scriptures is our life, our need, our guilt, and
our salvation.
because it pleased God to act for us there,
it is only there that we shall be saved.
only in the holy scriptures do we learn to know our own history.
the God of abraham, isaac and jacob is the God and Father of
Jesus Christ and our Father.
we must learn to know the scriptures again,
as the reformers and our fathers knew them.
we must not grudge the time and the work that it takes.
we must know the scriptures first and foremost for the sake of
our salvation.
but besides this, there are ample reasons
that make this requirement exceedingly urgent.
how, for example, shall we ever attain certainty and confidence
in our personal and church activity if we do not stand on solid
biblical ground?
it is not our heart that determines our course,
but God's word.
but who in this day has any proper understanding of
the need for scriptural proof?
how often we hear innumerable arguments
'from life' and 'from experience'
put forward as the basis for most crucial decisions,
but the argument of scripture is missing.
and this authority would perhaps point in exactly
the opposite direction.
it is not surprising, of course, that the person
who attempts to cast discredit upon their wisdom
should be the one who himself does not seriously
read, know, and study the scriptures.
but one who will not learn to handle the bible for himself
is not an evangelical christian.
it might be asked further:
how shall we ever help a christian brother and set him straight
in his difficulty and doubt, if not with God's own word?
all our own words quickly fail.
but he who like a good 'householder...
bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old' matt. 13.52,
he who can speak out of the abundance of God's word,
the wealth of directions, admonitions and consolations
of the scriptures, will be able through God's word
to drive out demons and help his brother.
there we leave it.
'because from childhood thou hast known the holy scriptures,
they are able to instruct you unto salvation' II tim. 3.15 luther's tr
how shall we read the scriptures?
in family devotions it is best that the various members thereof
undertake the consecutive reading in turn.
when this is done it will soon become apparent
that it is not easy to read the bible aloud for others.
the more artless, the more objective, the more humble
one's attitude toward the material is,
the better will the reading accord with the subject.
often the difference between an experienced christian
and the novice becomes clearly apparent.
it may be taken as a rule for the right reading of the scriptures
that the reader should never identify himself with the person
who is speaking in the bible.
it is not i that am angered, but God;
it is not i giving consolation, but God:
it is not i admonishing, but God admonishing in the scriptures.
i shall be able , of course, to express the fact that
it is God who is angered, who is consoling and admonishing,
not by indifferent monotony, but only with inmost concern and rapport,
as one who knows that he himself is being addressed.
it will make all the difference between right and wrong reading
of scriptures
if i do not identify myself with God but quite simply serve Him.
otherwise i will become rhetorical, emotional, sentimental,
or coercive and imperative;
that is, i will be directing the listeners' attention to myself
instead of to the word.
but this is to commit the worst of sins in presenting the scriptures.
if we may illustrate by an example in another sphere,
we might say that the situation of the reader of scripture is
probably closest to that in which i read to others a letter from a friend.
i would not read the letter as though i had written it myself.
the distance between us would be clearly apparent as it was read.
and yet i would also be unable to read the letter of my friend to others
as if it were of no concern to me.
i would read it with personal interest and regard.
proper reading of scripture is not a technical exercise that can be learned;
it is something that grows or diminishes according to
one's own spiritual frame of mind.
the crude, ponderous rendition of the bile by many a christian
grown old in experience often far surpasses the most highly polished
reading of a minister.
in a christian family fellowship one person may give counsel
and help to others in this matte also.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
3.23.2013 GOD HAS A WONDERFUL PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE
the myth of the modern message...by ray comfort, 2010
maybe 5% of people who make decisions for Christ become faithful members
of churches.
88% of children raised in bible believing homes leave the church at 18
and never return.
'come to Christ and your life will get better' has replaced the gospel.
church tradition:
philip: crucified, phrygia, a
maybe 5% of people who make decisions for Christ become faithful members
of churches.
88% of children raised in bible believing homes leave the church at 18
and never return.
'come to Christ and your life will get better' has replaced the gospel.
church tradition:
philip: crucified, phrygia, a
Friday, March 22, 2013
3.22.2013 THE EVERYBODY I KNOW CAMPAIGN
philip henry's comments on repenting of EVERY SIN still are
trying to become more than thoughts..
to become fruit..actions in my life.
recently i had occasion to go through a lot of old papers
...and there are many 'loose ends' there
...much, as i am now seeing, unfinished business in my life.
vague thoughts are forming to begin a season of
examining myself now, examining my past life
with the prayer that God would bring to consciousness
all that needs to be repented of,
relationships that need to be corrected,
any recompense or restoration of any nature
that needs to be made...
so that joyful reconciliation
or the peace that comes from full repentance/ forgiveness
if actual reconciliation is not possible.
on that foundation, another thought comes,
to share my relationship with God through Jesus Christ
with, literally, everyone i have known but not done this with
to this point.
then, on that foundation, to make it a set practice
to share this with everyone with whom i have the slightest
opportunity to share...
and make this the pattern of my daily life
as long as i'm still here.
(matthew 10.7...Jesus to His disciples...'as you go, proclaim..
'the kingdom of heaven is at hand'....calls me..oh Lord change me..)
i always had heard of my uncle steve
having the practice whenever on the job with a new person,
to take the first opportunity to share his faith in Christ.
it just never hit home that this is one way
of taking Jesus' command to preach the gospel
to every creature
seriously.
Lord, You know my sinful carelessness, and often my conscious avoidance
of obeying Your command.
help me Lord.
change my heart and make it,
rather than drawing back from another eternal being
to, by Your help, become a person with Your heart
and a stretched out love
that is full of Your compassion,
that carefully, prayerfully and boldly
seeks to confront every person
with their desperate and eternal need
and with Your provision for that need,
in Jesus' name i pray, amen.
trying to become more than thoughts..
to become fruit..actions in my life.
recently i had occasion to go through a lot of old papers
...and there are many 'loose ends' there
...much, as i am now seeing, unfinished business in my life.
vague thoughts are forming to begin a season of
examining myself now, examining my past life
with the prayer that God would bring to consciousness
all that needs to be repented of,
relationships that need to be corrected,
any recompense or restoration of any nature
that needs to be made...
so that joyful reconciliation
or the peace that comes from full repentance/ forgiveness
if actual reconciliation is not possible.
on that foundation, another thought comes,
to share my relationship with God through Jesus Christ
with, literally, everyone i have known but not done this with
to this point.
then, on that foundation, to make it a set practice
to share this with everyone with whom i have the slightest
opportunity to share...
and make this the pattern of my daily life
as long as i'm still here.
(matthew 10.7...Jesus to His disciples...'as you go, proclaim..
'the kingdom of heaven is at hand'....calls me..oh Lord change me..)
i always had heard of my uncle steve
having the practice whenever on the job with a new person,
to take the first opportunity to share his faith in Christ.
it just never hit home that this is one way
of taking Jesus' command to preach the gospel
to every creature
seriously.
Lord, You know my sinful carelessness, and often my conscious avoidance
of obeying Your command.
help me Lord.
change my heart and make it,
rather than drawing back from another eternal being
to, by Your help, become a person with Your heart
and a stretched out love
that is full of Your compassion,
that carefully, prayerfully and boldly
seeks to confront every person
with their desperate and eternal need
and with Your provision for that need,
in Jesus' name i pray, amen.
3.22.2013 ATTITUDE
by charles swindoll
the longer i live, the more i realize the impact of attitude on life.
attitude to me, is more important
than the facts,
than money,
than circumstances,
than failures,
than successes,
than what other people think or say or do.
it is more important than
appearance,
giftedness
or skill.
it will break a company..
a church..
a home.
the remarkable thing is
we have a choice every day regarding
the attitude we will embrace for that day.
we cannot change our past...
we cannot change the fact that people
will act in a certain way.
we cannot change the inevitable.
the only thing we can do
is play on the one string we have
and that is our attitude....
i am convinced that life is
10% what happens to me and
90% how i react to it.
the longer i live, the more i realize the impact of attitude on life.
attitude to me, is more important
than the facts,
than money,
than circumstances,
than failures,
than successes,
than what other people think or say or do.
it is more important than
appearance,
giftedness
or skill.
it will break a company..
a church..
a home.
the remarkable thing is
we have a choice every day regarding
the attitude we will embrace for that day.
we cannot change our past...
we cannot change the fact that people
will act in a certain way.
we cannot change the inevitable.
the only thing we can do
is play on the one string we have
and that is our attitude....
i am convinced that life is
10% what happens to me and
90% how i react to it.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
3.21.2013 LIFE TOGETHER: COMMUNITY
'behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity! ps 133.1
in the following we shall consider a number of directions and precepts
that the scriptures provide us for our life together under the word.
it is not simply to be taken for granted that the christian
has the privilege of living among other christians.
Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies.
at the end all His disciples deserted Him.
on the cross He was utterly alone,
surrounded by evildoers and mockers,\
for this cause he had come,
to bring peace to the enemies of God.
so the christian, too,
belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life
but in the thick of foes.
there is his commission, his work.
'the kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies.
and he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the
kingdom of Christ;
he wants to be among friends,
to sit among roses and lilies,
not with the bad people but the devout people.
o you blasphemers and betrayers of Chri9st!
if Christ had done what you are doing
who would ever have been spared? luther
'I will sow them among the people:
and they shall remember me in far countries zech. 10.9
according to God's will christendom is a scattered people,
scattered like seed 'into all the kingdoms of the earth deut. 28.25
that is its curse and its promise.
God's people must dwell in far counties among the unbelievers,
but it will be the seed of the kingdom of God in all the world.
'i will...gather them; for i have redeemed them:
...and they shall return zech. 10.8-9.
when will that happen?
it has happened in Jesus Christ, who died 'that He should
gather together in one the children of God
that were scattered abroad john 11.52,
and it will finally occur visibly at the end of time
when the angels of God 'shall gather together His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
matt. 24.31
until then, God's people remain scattered,
held together solely in Jesus Christ,
having become one in the fact that,
dispersed among unbelievers, they remember Him
in the far countries.
so between the death of Christ and the last day
it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things
that christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship
with other christians.
it is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted
to gather visibly in this word to share God's word and sacrament.
not all christians receive this blessing.
the imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely,
the proclaimers of the gospel in heathen lands stand alone.
they know that visible fellowship is a blessing.
they remember, as the psalmist did, how they went
'with the multitude...to the hose of God,
with the voice of joy and praise,
with a multitude that kept holy day ps. 42.4
but they remain alone in far countries,
a scattered seed according to God's will.
yet what is denied them as an actual experience
they seize upon more fervently in faith.
thus the exiled disciple of the Lord,
john the apocalyptist, celebrates in the loneliness of patmos
the heavenly worship with his congregations
'in the Spirit on the lord's day' rev 1.10
he sees the seven candlesticks his congregations,
the seven stars, the angels of the congregations
and in the midst and above it all the Son of Man, Jesus Christ,
in all the splendor of the resurrection.
He strengthens and fortifies him by His word.
this is the heavenly fellowship, shared by the exile on
the day of his Lord's resurrection.
the physical presence of other christians is a source
of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.
longingly the imprisoned apostle paul calls his
'dearly beloved son in the faith', timothy,
co come to him in prison in the last days of his life;
he would see him again and have him near.
paul has not forgotten the tears timothy shed
when last they parted II tim. 1.4
remembering the congregation in thessalonica,
paul prays 'night and day..exceedingly that we
might see your face.'
I thess. 3.10
the aged john knows that his joy will not be full
until he can come to his own people
and speak face to face instead of writing with ink . II john 12
the believer feels no shame, as though he were still living
too much in the flesh,
when he yearns for the physical presence of other christians.
man was created a body,
the Son of God appeared on earth in the body,
he was raised in the body,..
the prisoner, the sick person, the christian in exile
sees in the companionship of a fellow christian
a physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God.
visitor and visited in loneliness recognize in each other
the
Christ who is present in the body;
they receive and meet each other as one meets the Lord,
in reverence, humility and joy.
they receive each other's benedictions as the
benediction of the Lord Jesus Christ.
but if there is so much blessing and joy even in
a single encounter of brother with brother,
how inexhaustible are the riches that open up
for those who by God's will are privileged
to live in the daily fellowship of life with other christians!
it is true, of course, that what is an unspeakable gift of God
for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot
by those who have the gift every day.
it is easily forgotten that the fellowship of christian brethren
is a gift of grace,a gift of the kingdom of God
that any day may be taken from us.
that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness
may be brief indeed.
therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of
living a common christian life with other christians
praise God's grace from the bottom of his heart.
let him than God on his knees and declare:
it is grace, nothing but grace,
that we are allowed to live in community with christian brethren.
together in unity! ps 133.1
in the following we shall consider a number of directions and precepts
that the scriptures provide us for our life together under the word.
it is not simply to be taken for granted that the christian
has the privilege of living among other christians.
Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies.
at the end all His disciples deserted Him.
on the cross He was utterly alone,
surrounded by evildoers and mockers,\
for this cause he had come,
to bring peace to the enemies of God.
so the christian, too,
belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life
but in the thick of foes.
there is his commission, his work.
'the kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies.
and he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the
kingdom of Christ;
he wants to be among friends,
to sit among roses and lilies,
not with the bad people but the devout people.
o you blasphemers and betrayers of Chri9st!
if Christ had done what you are doing
who would ever have been spared? luther
'I will sow them among the people:
and they shall remember me in far countries zech. 10.9
according to God's will christendom is a scattered people,
scattered like seed 'into all the kingdoms of the earth deut. 28.25
that is its curse and its promise.
God's people must dwell in far counties among the unbelievers,
but it will be the seed of the kingdom of God in all the world.
'i will...gather them; for i have redeemed them:
...and they shall return zech. 10.8-9.
when will that happen?
it has happened in Jesus Christ, who died 'that He should
gather together in one the children of God
that were scattered abroad john 11.52,
and it will finally occur visibly at the end of time
when the angels of God 'shall gather together His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
matt. 24.31
until then, God's people remain scattered,
held together solely in Jesus Christ,
having become one in the fact that,
dispersed among unbelievers, they remember Him
in the far countries.
so between the death of Christ and the last day
it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things
that christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship
with other christians.
it is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted
to gather visibly in this word to share God's word and sacrament.
not all christians receive this blessing.
the imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely,
the proclaimers of the gospel in heathen lands stand alone.
they know that visible fellowship is a blessing.
they remember, as the psalmist did, how they went
'with the multitude...to the hose of God,
with the voice of joy and praise,
with a multitude that kept holy day ps. 42.4
but they remain alone in far countries,
a scattered seed according to God's will.
yet what is denied them as an actual experience
they seize upon more fervently in faith.
thus the exiled disciple of the Lord,
john the apocalyptist, celebrates in the loneliness of patmos
the heavenly worship with his congregations
'in the Spirit on the lord's day' rev 1.10
he sees the seven candlesticks his congregations,
the seven stars, the angels of the congregations
and in the midst and above it all the Son of Man, Jesus Christ,
in all the splendor of the resurrection.
He strengthens and fortifies him by His word.
this is the heavenly fellowship, shared by the exile on
the day of his Lord's resurrection.
the physical presence of other christians is a source
of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.
longingly the imprisoned apostle paul calls his
'dearly beloved son in the faith', timothy,
co come to him in prison in the last days of his life;
he would see him again and have him near.
paul has not forgotten the tears timothy shed
when last they parted II tim. 1.4
remembering the congregation in thessalonica,
paul prays 'night and day..exceedingly that we
might see your face.'
I thess. 3.10
the aged john knows that his joy will not be full
until he can come to his own people
and speak face to face instead of writing with ink . II john 12
the believer feels no shame, as though he were still living
too much in the flesh,
when he yearns for the physical presence of other christians.
man was created a body,
the Son of God appeared on earth in the body,
he was raised in the body,..
the prisoner, the sick person, the christian in exile
sees in the companionship of a fellow christian
a physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God.
visitor and visited in loneliness recognize in each other
the
Christ who is present in the body;
they receive and meet each other as one meets the Lord,
in reverence, humility and joy.
they receive each other's benedictions as the
benediction of the Lord Jesus Christ.
but if there is so much blessing and joy even in
a single encounter of brother with brother,
how inexhaustible are the riches that open up
for those who by God's will are privileged
to live in the daily fellowship of life with other christians!
it is true, of course, that what is an unspeakable gift of God
for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot
by those who have the gift every day.
it is easily forgotten that the fellowship of christian brethren
is a gift of grace,a gift of the kingdom of God
that any day may be taken from us.
that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness
may be brief indeed.
therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of
living a common christian life with other christians
praise God's grace from the bottom of his heart.
let him than God on his knees and declare:
it is grace, nothing but grace,
that we are allowed to live in community with christian brethren.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
3.20.2013 'NEWS'
i'm gonna shoot off my mouth so you might as well log off. every once in a while, just to feel good...i know it's wrong but i ask God to help me be better...
i've been painting at a house for about a week and a half. every day they have the news on at noon and 4. one thing i've learned about news nowadays is that it is purely geared to what they evidently know by polls or some such to be a 'draw'. i've never heard so many words said about so little...but there's PICTURES to enjoy i guess...i was in the next room. i also am amazed that not one thing of
importance was said in those 9 days. whatever happened to all the myriad so informative and helpful and educational content that filled the pages of ben franklin's and other printed material...my my what a colossal waste of human time and potential. just one of the myriad of things that 'happen' to a society that turns its back on its creator.
i've been painting at a house for about a week and a half. every day they have the news on at noon and 4. one thing i've learned about news nowadays is that it is purely geared to what they evidently know by polls or some such to be a 'draw'. i've never heard so many words said about so little...but there's PICTURES to enjoy i guess...i was in the next room. i also am amazed that not one thing of
importance was said in those 9 days. whatever happened to all the myriad so informative and helpful and educational content that filled the pages of ben franklin's and other printed material...my my what a colossal waste of human time and potential. just one of the myriad of things that 'happen' to a society that turns its back on its creator.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
3.20.2013 THE ATHEIST'S DILEMMA
this testimony by jordan monge is in march 2013 christianity today on p88.
'i tried to face down an overwhelming body of evidence,
as well as the living God.
i don't know when i first became a skeptic.
it must have been around age 4, when my mother found me arguing
with another child at a birthday party:
'but HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
IS TRUE?
by age 11, my atheism was so widely known in my middle school
that a christian boy threatened to come to my house
and 'shoot all the atheists'.
my christian friends in high school avoided talking to me
about religion because they anticipated
that i would tear down their poorly constructed arguments.
and i did.
as i set off in 2008 to begin my freshman year studying government at harvard
(whose motto is veritas, 'truth'),
i could never have expected the change that awaited me.
it was a brisk november when i met john joseph porter.
our conversations initially revolved around conservative politics,
but soon gravitated toward religion.
he wrote an essay fro the ichthus, harvard's christian journal,
defending God's existence.
i critiqued it.
on campus, we'd argue into the wee hours;
when apart, we'd take our arguments to email.
never before had i met a christian who could respond to my
most basic philosophical questions:
how does one understand the bible's contradictions?
could an omnipotent God make a stone He could not lift?
what about the euthyphro dilemma:
is something good because God declared it so,
or does God merely identify the good?
to someone like me, with no christian background,
resorting to an answer like
'it takes faith' could only be intellectual cowardice.
joseph didn't do that.
and he did something else:
he prodded me on how inconsistent i was as an atheist
who nonetheless, believed in right and wrong as objective, universal categories.
defenseless, i decided to take a seminar on metaethics.
after all, atheists had been developing ethical systems for 200 some years.
in what i now see as providential,
my atheist professor assigned a paper by c.s. lewis
that resolved the euthyphro dilemma, declaring,
'God is not merely good, but goodness;
goodness is not merely divine, by God.
joseph also pushed me on the origins of the universe.
i had always believed in the big gang.
but i was blissfully unaware that thew man who first proposed it,
georges lemaitre, was a catholic priest.
and i'd happily ignored the rabbit rail of a problem of what caused the big bang,
and what caused that cause, and so on.
by valentine's day, i began to believe in God.
there was no intellectual sham in being a deist,
after all, as i joined the respectable ranks of
thomas jefferson and other founding fathers.
i wouldn't
stay a deist for long,
a catholic friend gave me j. budziszewski's book 'ask me anything,
which included the christian teaching
that LOVE IS A COMMITMENT OF THE WILL
TO THE TRUE GOOD
OF THE OTHER PERSON.
this theme-of love as sacrifice for true good-struck me.
the cross no longer seemed a grotesque symbol of divine sadism,
but a remarkable act of love.
and christianity began to look less strangely mythical
and more cosmically beautiful..
at the same time, i had begun to READ THROUGH THE BIBLE
and WAS CONFRONTED BY MY SIN.
i was painfully arrogant and prone to fits of rage.
i was unforgiving and unwaveringly selfish.
i passed sexual boundaries that i promised i wouldn't.
the fact that I FAILED TO ADHERE TO MY OWN ETHICAL STANDARDS
filled me with deep regret.
yet I COULD DO NOTHING TO RIGHT THESE WRONGS.
the cross no longer looked merely like a symbold of love,
but like the answer to an incurable need.
when i read the crucifixion scene in the blood of john for the first time,
i wept. but beauty and need do not make something true.
i longed for the bible to be true,
but the intellectual evidence was still insufficient.
so i plunged headlong into apologetics,
devouring debates and books from many perspectives.
i read the qur'an ad richard dawkins's 'the God delusion.
i went through 'the skeptic's annotated bible
and looked up christian rebuttals to apparent contradictions.
but nothing compared to the rich tradition of christian intellect.
i'd argued with my peers,
but i'd never investigated the works of the masters:
augustine, anselm, aquinas, descartes, kant. pascal and lewis.
when i finally did, the only reasonable course of action
was to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
(she then relates an experience on a retreat on cape cod.
she is moved to wander in the ruff.
she kept pausing, thinking,
DO I WANT TO GO BACK?
I LEFT ALL MY STUFF BEHIND.
but kept going.
she escaped a briar patch by heading into a river
where the most trustworthy ground was
'along the middle of the river
where the water had worn the path.)
i quickly realized that my journey through the briar patch
was an apt metaphor.
i'm trying to get somewhere, but i'm not sure how to get there.
there's no clear path, so i must proceed by trusting my instincts...
if i wanted to continue forward in this investigation,
I COULDN'T LET IT BE JUST AN INTELLECTUAL JOURNEY.
Jesus said, 'if you HOLD TO MY TEACHING,
you are really my disciples.
then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. john 8.31-2
i could know the truth only if i pursued obedience first.
(note: if any man WILL DO HIS WILL, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God or whether I speak of Myself.)
i could know the truth only if i PURSUED OBEDIENCE FIRST.
i'd been waiting for my head and my heart to be in agreement.
by the end of the church retreat, they weren't completely in sync.
many days they still aren't.
but i realized that the unity could come later....
i committed my life to Christ by being baptized on easter sunday, 2009.
this walk has proved to be quite a journey.
i've struggled with depression.
i would yell, scream, cry at this God
whom i had begun to love but didn't always like.
but never once did i have to sacrifice my intellect for my faith,
and He blessed me most keenly through my doubt.
God revealed Himself through
scripture, prayer, friendships and the christian tradition
WHENEVER I PURSUED HIM FAITHFULLY.
i cannot say for certain where the journey ends,
but i have committed to follow the way of Christ
wherever it may lead.
when confronted with the overwhelming body of evidence i encountered,
when facing down the living God,
it was the only rational course of action.
i came to harvard seeking veritas,.
instead, He found me.
'i tried to face down an overwhelming body of evidence,
as well as the living God.
i don't know when i first became a skeptic.
it must have been around age 4, when my mother found me arguing
with another child at a birthday party:
'but HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
IS TRUE?
by age 11, my atheism was so widely known in my middle school
that a christian boy threatened to come to my house
and 'shoot all the atheists'.
my christian friends in high school avoided talking to me
about religion because they anticipated
that i would tear down their poorly constructed arguments.
and i did.
as i set off in 2008 to begin my freshman year studying government at harvard
(whose motto is veritas, 'truth'),
i could never have expected the change that awaited me.
it was a brisk november when i met john joseph porter.
our conversations initially revolved around conservative politics,
but soon gravitated toward religion.
he wrote an essay fro the ichthus, harvard's christian journal,
defending God's existence.
i critiqued it.
on campus, we'd argue into the wee hours;
when apart, we'd take our arguments to email.
never before had i met a christian who could respond to my
most basic philosophical questions:
how does one understand the bible's contradictions?
could an omnipotent God make a stone He could not lift?
what about the euthyphro dilemma:
is something good because God declared it so,
or does God merely identify the good?
to someone like me, with no christian background,
resorting to an answer like
'it takes faith' could only be intellectual cowardice.
joseph didn't do that.
and he did something else:
he prodded me on how inconsistent i was as an atheist
who nonetheless, believed in right and wrong as objective, universal categories.
defenseless, i decided to take a seminar on metaethics.
after all, atheists had been developing ethical systems for 200 some years.
in what i now see as providential,
my atheist professor assigned a paper by c.s. lewis
that resolved the euthyphro dilemma, declaring,
'God is not merely good, but goodness;
goodness is not merely divine, by God.
joseph also pushed me on the origins of the universe.
i had always believed in the big gang.
but i was blissfully unaware that thew man who first proposed it,
georges lemaitre, was a catholic priest.
and i'd happily ignored the rabbit rail of a problem of what caused the big bang,
and what caused that cause, and so on.
by valentine's day, i began to believe in God.
there was no intellectual sham in being a deist,
after all, as i joined the respectable ranks of
thomas jefferson and other founding fathers.
i wouldn't
stay a deist for long,
a catholic friend gave me j. budziszewski's book 'ask me anything,
which included the christian teaching
that LOVE IS A COMMITMENT OF THE WILL
TO THE TRUE GOOD
OF THE OTHER PERSON.
this theme-of love as sacrifice for true good-struck me.
the cross no longer seemed a grotesque symbol of divine sadism,
but a remarkable act of love.
and christianity began to look less strangely mythical
and more cosmically beautiful..
at the same time, i had begun to READ THROUGH THE BIBLE
and WAS CONFRONTED BY MY SIN.
i was painfully arrogant and prone to fits of rage.
i was unforgiving and unwaveringly selfish.
i passed sexual boundaries that i promised i wouldn't.
the fact that I FAILED TO ADHERE TO MY OWN ETHICAL STANDARDS
filled me with deep regret.
yet I COULD DO NOTHING TO RIGHT THESE WRONGS.
the cross no longer looked merely like a symbold of love,
but like the answer to an incurable need.
when i read the crucifixion scene in the blood of john for the first time,
i wept. but beauty and need do not make something true.
i longed for the bible to be true,
but the intellectual evidence was still insufficient.
so i plunged headlong into apologetics,
devouring debates and books from many perspectives.
i read the qur'an ad richard dawkins's 'the God delusion.
i went through 'the skeptic's annotated bible
and looked up christian rebuttals to apparent contradictions.
but nothing compared to the rich tradition of christian intellect.
i'd argued with my peers,
but i'd never investigated the works of the masters:
augustine, anselm, aquinas, descartes, kant. pascal and lewis.
when i finally did, the only reasonable course of action
was to believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
(she then relates an experience on a retreat on cape cod.
she is moved to wander in the ruff.
she kept pausing, thinking,
DO I WANT TO GO BACK?
I LEFT ALL MY STUFF BEHIND.
but kept going.
she escaped a briar patch by heading into a river
where the most trustworthy ground was
'along the middle of the river
where the water had worn the path.)
i quickly realized that my journey through the briar patch
was an apt metaphor.
i'm trying to get somewhere, but i'm not sure how to get there.
there's no clear path, so i must proceed by trusting my instincts...
if i wanted to continue forward in this investigation,
I COULDN'T LET IT BE JUST AN INTELLECTUAL JOURNEY.
Jesus said, 'if you HOLD TO MY TEACHING,
you are really my disciples.
then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. john 8.31-2
i could know the truth only if i pursued obedience first.
(note: if any man WILL DO HIS WILL, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God or whether I speak of Myself.)
i could know the truth only if i PURSUED OBEDIENCE FIRST.
i'd been waiting for my head and my heart to be in agreement.
by the end of the church retreat, they weren't completely in sync.
many days they still aren't.
but i realized that the unity could come later....
i committed my life to Christ by being baptized on easter sunday, 2009.
this walk has proved to be quite a journey.
i've struggled with depression.
i would yell, scream, cry at this God
whom i had begun to love but didn't always like.
but never once did i have to sacrifice my intellect for my faith,
and He blessed me most keenly through my doubt.
God revealed Himself through
scripture, prayer, friendships and the christian tradition
WHENEVER I PURSUED HIM FAITHFULLY.
i cannot say for certain where the journey ends,
but i have committed to follow the way of Christ
wherever it may lead.
when confronted with the overwhelming body of evidence i encountered,
when facing down the living God,
it was the only rational course of action.
i came to harvard seeking veritas,.
instead, He found me.
Monday, March 18, 2013
3.18.2013 ROSARIA BUTTERFIELD
the following is taken from world magazine 3.23.13, p33. it is an interview by editor marvin olasky...
see 2.24.2013 'my train wreck conversion' in christianity today 1.2013.
let's start with the very first sentence in this terrific book:
'when i was 28 years old, i boldly declared myself lesbian'.
did you feel heroic in doing so?
*i felt i was simply telling the truth.
how did you get to that point?
* i was in graduate school and cared deeply about relationships.
i even authored at least one article on the subject of morality and moral living.
i was steeped in worldviews that buttressed a sense of equality
and the high value of personal experience.
i had wonderful relationships with many of my female colleagues-
deeper, resonating relationships.
for me, coming out as a lesbian,
was the same way i might come out
as someone who loves her dog or feeds her cat in the morning.
it was bold in that it provided an edge for me in the world,
but i like edges.
it didn't seem spectacular.
it didn't seem very extraordinary.
it just was.
at age 36 and well established at syracuse,
you wrote a critique of the promise keepers movement
in the local newspaper and received lots of letters
...you didn't know where to put a letter from a pastor, ken smith,
because it wasn't nasty, just questioning.
*i couldn't dispose of this letter...
it had some questions that no one had ever asked me in my li8fe.
at the end of the letter the pastor asked me,
please, to give him a call.
the title of the church was syracuse reformed presbyterian church,
and i assumed reformed meant enlightened.
an anthropologist colleague of mine said a meeting
would be 'GOOD FOR YOUR RESEARCH!'
call him back!
so i did.
what wer some of the questions no one had asked you?
*one had to do with the nature of the bible as a library,
not just a book,
that it contained every genre i used to teach from.
HE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MY WELL BEING.
he asked, do i believe in God, and if so ,
what do i think He thinks of all this?
HE WROTE IN SUCH A GRACIOUS WAY
and i was intrigued by it.
you write that he invited you to dinner,
and there was no air conditioning.
why was that a plus in your mind?
*i had presumed that evangelical christians were people who felt
entitled to a dominion over the earth
that is hateful, violent, unhelpful, unkind.
air conditioning: not necessarily good for the ozone layer
and expensive.
they had fans and served a vegetarian meal,
which i appreciated because i felt at this point
that the eating of meat was violent activity
and i didn't want to be a part of it.
their home and their culture didn't seem so different from mine.
that put me at ease.
was there prayer before the meal?
*amazing prayer.
i had heard lots of prayer before.
i was the heathen who got to overhear the prayers of many people
at gay pride marches and in front of planned parenthood.
i was going to hold my breath and get through the prayer
and then i could have a chance to get to some of my research
by talking to this family.
but it wasn't like that at all:
it was a very conversational prayer,
a prayer that INCLUDED ASKING GOD FOR FORGIVENESS
OF SINS,
AND IN A VERY SPECIFIC WAY.
it wasn't terribly lengthy prayer
but it had some details in it that made me think about myself,
like forgetting to bring a meal to someone.
basic everyday things,
but he was noticing them,
and they were big enough to ask a holy God to forgive him for.
you write that THEY DIDN'T 'SHARE THE GOSPEL'
AND INVITE YOU TO CHURCH-
and it was important that they did not do those things.
*absolutely:
I TRUSTED THEM BECAUSE THEY DID NOT DO THOSE THINGS.
i knew the script.
but ken and his wife floy were not talking to me
as if i simply were a blank slate:
'ok, here is someone how clearly needs the gospel.
'let's make sure we get to these points before we let her leave our house.
THEY SEEMED MORE INTERESTED IN HAVING A
LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP WITH ME.
you and they became friends?
*GENUINE FRIENDS.
when i wouldn't answer an email or didn't show up,
or they hadn't heard from me in a month,
ken would come over,
or floy would drop off a loaf of bread.
we had many things in common'
floy and i both love to bake bread,
and we like the same literature,
which was astounding.
and because i was a researcher,
i started to read the bible.
what were you researching?
*i was working on a book on the religious right.
i needed to read the book that had gotten all these
well meaning, good intentioned,
but naive and foolish people off track.
and so i was doing that,
was reading the bible the way a glutton approaches a bag of oreo cookies,
and i needed some scholarly help.
you read big chunks?
*that is part of my training,
\but some powerful things happen
when you read the bible many, many times in a year,
from genesis to revelation,
and in multiple translations.
i really encourage christians to do that,
and not to read the bible as though you're reading your horoscope.
i don't think it's really meant to be read like that.
you read serious passages such as romans 1.24-8,
which may be the scariest part of scripture
to anyone suffering from sexual sin.
how did that hit you?
*my friend jay at that point was a transgendered woman-
biologically male,
but had taken enough female hormones to be what's called
chemically castrated.
jay followed me to the kitchen,
put her large hand on my hand, and said,
'rosaria, something is changing you.
this bible reading is changing you,
and you need to tell me what is going on with you,
because i am worried, i am losing you.
i sat down and had that panic feeling you have when you're
not really sure if you're going to throw up.
i said, 'i'm reading the bible,
reading it a lot,
and what if it's true?
and jay sat down and said...
i have some books for you to read.
which books?
*the next day i had two boxed of books overflowing.
one book was a copy of calvin's institutes.
in the margins in jay's handwriting,
right by the exegesis of romans 1, is a note.
i still have it today:
it says, 'be careful,
this is where you will fall.
romans i of course, tells us that God will give some over
to their lusts.
it made you start thinking about...
*i was thinking,
do i want to be changed?
no.
i like my life,
i like my girlfriend.
i like my house thank you very much,
i even like my wonderful career.
i am standing in the rushing water of the world.
i have my toe in another world because of all that bible reading.
what will happen if i put my foot in,
if i put my whole body in?
i started reading commentaries, and those from my friend jay,
whose handwriting was in the margins,
were like a flag on those icy ponds that you see in syracuse:
it looks like ice, but you walk on it,
you'll fall through, now or later.
you started not going to church but parking across from it?
*isn't that terrible?
i had my starbucks coffee and my new york times
and maybe an article i was working on in my truck
with the gay and lesbian bumper stickers on the back.
i would park and watch these enormous families
pour out of 15 person passenger vans.
the kids just kept coming and coming
and it was astounding.
when did you move from the parking lot inTo the church?
*i woke up one morning, emerged from a bed that i shared
with a woman, got in my truck with my bumper stickers
and my butch hair cut
and showed up at the reformed presbyterian church.
what strikes me, looking back,
is what this church had been doing:
praying for me faithfully, faithfully.
ken was sharing with this church our friendship and our relationship
and the members were genuinely on their knees praying for me.
it's easier to simply be disgusted by a person like me,
than pray for me.
i also brought friends like jay to church,
and jay had probably the best bass voice there-
so that's an issue, right?
the church went from being a cleaned up home schooling church
to suddenly a church with ministry to a lot of broken people.
uncomfortable?
*really uncomfortable.
a friend of mine from the church said,
you are a bridge and bridges get walked on.
but i had a suicidal student and was unable to deal with this by myself,
so my gay community and my church community
would meet in the ICU.
we would meet!
there'd be prayer,
there'd be anti-prayer,
and there'd be, 'do you need a cup of coffee?
you write, 'conversion put me in a complicated and comprehensive chaos.
what did the church at that point do to be hospitable to a person immersed in chaos?
i had some really burning questions for people.
i would go up to my homeschool mom friends and say
'look, i have to give up the girlfriend:
WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP TO BE HERE?
i heard amazing things that made me realize
i did not have any more to give up than anyone else.
i learned there were other people in my church
who struggled with sexual sin, with lust, with faithlessness...
and they told me that!
THEY TOOK THE RISK OF NO LONGER LOOKING ALL CLEANED UP
to me.
a good question to ask:
'christian, what did you have to give up to be here?
*you never know the journey people take to get to church,
even the people who are very cleaned up.
even the people without the butch haircuts
and without a t shirt announcing,
'hi, I'm rahab the harlot,
how can you minister to me?
what finally helped you make a public decision both in terms of church
and then in terms of your 1999 lecture opening up the fall semester
at syracuse?
*when the Lord calls someone to obedience out of a life of sin,
that's going to hurt a lot of people.
it just is.
a lot of people were hurt by my obedience.
i'm grateful that when i had this stirring i was not in a church
that minimized it.
I NEVER HEARD ANYBODY SAY,
"GOD HAS A PERFECT PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE'
no they said,
'FOSARIA, COUNT THE COSTS,
THIS IS GOING TO BE BRUTAL,
THIS IS GOING TO BE BLOODY'.
WHEN I SAID, 'LOOK AT ALL THESE HURTING PEOPLE
nobody said,
'serves them right, boy, are they a bunch of sinners.
instead, people in church rolled up their sleeves and said,
'OK, HOW CAN WE HELP?
HOW CAN WE GET TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDS?'
see 2.24.2013 'my train wreck conversion' in christianity today 1.2013.
let's start with the very first sentence in this terrific book:
'when i was 28 years old, i boldly declared myself lesbian'.
did you feel heroic in doing so?
*i felt i was simply telling the truth.
how did you get to that point?
* i was in graduate school and cared deeply about relationships.
i even authored at least one article on the subject of morality and moral living.
i was steeped in worldviews that buttressed a sense of equality
and the high value of personal experience.
i had wonderful relationships with many of my female colleagues-
deeper, resonating relationships.
for me, coming out as a lesbian,
was the same way i might come out
as someone who loves her dog or feeds her cat in the morning.
it was bold in that it provided an edge for me in the world,
but i like edges.
it didn't seem spectacular.
it didn't seem very extraordinary.
it just was.
at age 36 and well established at syracuse,
you wrote a critique of the promise keepers movement
in the local newspaper and received lots of letters
...you didn't know where to put a letter from a pastor, ken smith,
because it wasn't nasty, just questioning.
*i couldn't dispose of this letter...
it had some questions that no one had ever asked me in my li8fe.
at the end of the letter the pastor asked me,
please, to give him a call.
the title of the church was syracuse reformed presbyterian church,
and i assumed reformed meant enlightened.
an anthropologist colleague of mine said a meeting
would be 'GOOD FOR YOUR RESEARCH!'
call him back!
so i did.
what wer some of the questions no one had asked you?
*one had to do with the nature of the bible as a library,
not just a book,
that it contained every genre i used to teach from.
HE ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT MY WELL BEING.
he asked, do i believe in God, and if so ,
what do i think He thinks of all this?
HE WROTE IN SUCH A GRACIOUS WAY
and i was intrigued by it.
you write that he invited you to dinner,
and there was no air conditioning.
why was that a plus in your mind?
*i had presumed that evangelical christians were people who felt
entitled to a dominion over the earth
that is hateful, violent, unhelpful, unkind.
air conditioning: not necessarily good for the ozone layer
and expensive.
they had fans and served a vegetarian meal,
which i appreciated because i felt at this point
that the eating of meat was violent activity
and i didn't want to be a part of it.
their home and their culture didn't seem so different from mine.
that put me at ease.
was there prayer before the meal?
*amazing prayer.
i had heard lots of prayer before.
i was the heathen who got to overhear the prayers of many people
at gay pride marches and in front of planned parenthood.
i was going to hold my breath and get through the prayer
and then i could have a chance to get to some of my research
by talking to this family.
but it wasn't like that at all:
it was a very conversational prayer,
a prayer that INCLUDED ASKING GOD FOR FORGIVENESS
OF SINS,
AND IN A VERY SPECIFIC WAY.
it wasn't terribly lengthy prayer
but it had some details in it that made me think about myself,
like forgetting to bring a meal to someone.
basic everyday things,
but he was noticing them,
and they were big enough to ask a holy God to forgive him for.
you write that THEY DIDN'T 'SHARE THE GOSPEL'
AND INVITE YOU TO CHURCH-
and it was important that they did not do those things.
*absolutely:
I TRUSTED THEM BECAUSE THEY DID NOT DO THOSE THINGS.
i knew the script.
but ken and his wife floy were not talking to me
as if i simply were a blank slate:
'ok, here is someone how clearly needs the gospel.
'let's make sure we get to these points before we let her leave our house.
THEY SEEMED MORE INTERESTED IN HAVING A
LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP WITH ME.
you and they became friends?
*GENUINE FRIENDS.
when i wouldn't answer an email or didn't show up,
or they hadn't heard from me in a month,
ken would come over,
or floy would drop off a loaf of bread.
we had many things in common'
floy and i both love to bake bread,
and we like the same literature,
which was astounding.
and because i was a researcher,
i started to read the bible.
what were you researching?
*i was working on a book on the religious right.
i needed to read the book that had gotten all these
well meaning, good intentioned,
but naive and foolish people off track.
and so i was doing that,
was reading the bible the way a glutton approaches a bag of oreo cookies,
and i needed some scholarly help.
you read big chunks?
*that is part of my training,
\but some powerful things happen
when you read the bible many, many times in a year,
from genesis to revelation,
and in multiple translations.
i really encourage christians to do that,
and not to read the bible as though you're reading your horoscope.
i don't think it's really meant to be read like that.
you read serious passages such as romans 1.24-8,
which may be the scariest part of scripture
to anyone suffering from sexual sin.
how did that hit you?
*my friend jay at that point was a transgendered woman-
biologically male,
but had taken enough female hormones to be what's called
chemically castrated.
jay followed me to the kitchen,
put her large hand on my hand, and said,
'rosaria, something is changing you.
this bible reading is changing you,
and you need to tell me what is going on with you,
because i am worried, i am losing you.
i sat down and had that panic feeling you have when you're
not really sure if you're going to throw up.
i said, 'i'm reading the bible,
reading it a lot,
and what if it's true?
and jay sat down and said...
i have some books for you to read.
which books?
*the next day i had two boxed of books overflowing.
one book was a copy of calvin's institutes.
in the margins in jay's handwriting,
right by the exegesis of romans 1, is a note.
i still have it today:
it says, 'be careful,
this is where you will fall.
romans i of course, tells us that God will give some over
to their lusts.
it made you start thinking about...
*i was thinking,
do i want to be changed?
no.
i like my life,
i like my girlfriend.
i like my house thank you very much,
i even like my wonderful career.
i am standing in the rushing water of the world.
i have my toe in another world because of all that bible reading.
what will happen if i put my foot in,
if i put my whole body in?
i started reading commentaries, and those from my friend jay,
whose handwriting was in the margins,
were like a flag on those icy ponds that you see in syracuse:
it looks like ice, but you walk on it,
you'll fall through, now or later.
you started not going to church but parking across from it?
*isn't that terrible?
i had my starbucks coffee and my new york times
and maybe an article i was working on in my truck
with the gay and lesbian bumper stickers on the back.
i would park and watch these enormous families
pour out of 15 person passenger vans.
the kids just kept coming and coming
and it was astounding.
when did you move from the parking lot inTo the church?
*i woke up one morning, emerged from a bed that i shared
with a woman, got in my truck with my bumper stickers
and my butch hair cut
and showed up at the reformed presbyterian church.
what strikes me, looking back,
is what this church had been doing:
praying for me faithfully, faithfully.
ken was sharing with this church our friendship and our relationship
and the members were genuinely on their knees praying for me.
it's easier to simply be disgusted by a person like me,
than pray for me.
i also brought friends like jay to church,
and jay had probably the best bass voice there-
so that's an issue, right?
the church went from being a cleaned up home schooling church
to suddenly a church with ministry to a lot of broken people.
uncomfortable?
*really uncomfortable.
a friend of mine from the church said,
you are a bridge and bridges get walked on.
but i had a suicidal student and was unable to deal with this by myself,
so my gay community and my church community
would meet in the ICU.
we would meet!
there'd be prayer,
there'd be anti-prayer,
and there'd be, 'do you need a cup of coffee?
you write, 'conversion put me in a complicated and comprehensive chaos.
what did the church at that point do to be hospitable to a person immersed in chaos?
i had some really burning questions for people.
i would go up to my homeschool mom friends and say
'look, i have to give up the girlfriend:
WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP TO BE HERE?
i heard amazing things that made me realize
i did not have any more to give up than anyone else.
i learned there were other people in my church
who struggled with sexual sin, with lust, with faithlessness...
and they told me that!
THEY TOOK THE RISK OF NO LONGER LOOKING ALL CLEANED UP
to me.
a good question to ask:
'christian, what did you have to give up to be here?
*you never know the journey people take to get to church,
even the people who are very cleaned up.
even the people without the butch haircuts
and without a t shirt announcing,
'hi, I'm rahab the harlot,
how can you minister to me?
what finally helped you make a public decision both in terms of church
and then in terms of your 1999 lecture opening up the fall semester
at syracuse?
*when the Lord calls someone to obedience out of a life of sin,
that's going to hurt a lot of people.
it just is.
a lot of people were hurt by my obedience.
i'm grateful that when i had this stirring i was not in a church
that minimized it.
I NEVER HEARD ANYBODY SAY,
"GOD HAS A PERFECT PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE'
no they said,
'FOSARIA, COUNT THE COSTS,
THIS IS GOING TO BE BRUTAL,
THIS IS GOING TO BE BLOODY'.
WHEN I SAID, 'LOOK AT ALL THESE HURTING PEOPLE
nobody said,
'serves them right, boy, are they a bunch of sinners.
instead, people in church rolled up their sleeves and said,
'OK, HOW CAN WE HELP?
HOW CAN WE GET TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDS?'
3.18.2013 MY DEAR DAD
the following is part of a letter in which i describe something that God did for me, did in me in reference to my dad who went to heaven july 8,1998...
...i am now in the process of getting my house ready for sale.
i have been here 26 years in may
and, as i start to do this,
there are 'tugs' in the opposite direction.
the only thing to do is to keep looking to the Lord
and put my trust in Him
to help and to guide me in the whole matter.
right now i am going through all of my father's papers.
this is hard.
but it is also very good.
we never had a close relationship
and i always put the blame on Dad
Dad was not interested in me.
as i now go through his papers,
it is evident that
that was not at all the truth.
my Dad deeply loved me.
this whole process has made me reflect upon several things.
first, it causes me to see how my human heart can be so hard
and can be so blinded to what is really true.
also it has set my heart right.
i now have a good,
actually a very warm heart toward my dear departed father.
(note: for the first time since i was a small child.)
where before my heart was hard and sullen and unforgiving
toward my Dad-
in reading his notes on things
and seeing how,
although a sinful, fallen person like us all,
he was
-sometimes extremely difficult and taxing situations
-enabled to trust...
to put his trust in the Lord,
who was his only help...
i honor and esteem and am so proud of him...
and love him deeply.
i can't wait to see him.
even though he continually reached out to me,
i turned my back on him Joe.
i left him to go through the most difficult years of his life
alone.
but do you know,
i already know that he forgave me
and just continued to love and never complained.
so it will be great to be reunited with him and mom soon.
if i wasn't planning to move i would
-maybe
-never have gone through his papers
and seen how badly my wicked heart was deceiving me
....and receive God's forgiveness
and shed many tears of sorrow this last week-
overwhelming but overwhelmed now with joy.
blessed by God!
funny how He continually 'meets' me
and helps me in the many areas of my deep, dark needs.
He's so good!
i can't wait to be with Him.
hope it's soon!
well gotta go....
...i am now in the process of getting my house ready for sale.
i have been here 26 years in may
and, as i start to do this,
there are 'tugs' in the opposite direction.
the only thing to do is to keep looking to the Lord
and put my trust in Him
to help and to guide me in the whole matter.
right now i am going through all of my father's papers.
this is hard.
but it is also very good.
we never had a close relationship
and i always put the blame on Dad
Dad was not interested in me.
as i now go through his papers,
it is evident that
that was not at all the truth.
my Dad deeply loved me.
this whole process has made me reflect upon several things.
first, it causes me to see how my human heart can be so hard
and can be so blinded to what is really true.
also it has set my heart right.
i now have a good,
actually a very warm heart toward my dear departed father.
(note: for the first time since i was a small child.)
where before my heart was hard and sullen and unforgiving
toward my Dad-
in reading his notes on things
and seeing how,
although a sinful, fallen person like us all,
he was
-sometimes extremely difficult and taxing situations
-enabled to trust...
to put his trust in the Lord,
who was his only help...
i honor and esteem and am so proud of him...
and love him deeply.
i can't wait to see him.
even though he continually reached out to me,
i turned my back on him Joe.
i left him to go through the most difficult years of his life
alone.
but do you know,
i already know that he forgave me
and just continued to love and never complained.
so it will be great to be reunited with him and mom soon.
if i wasn't planning to move i would
-maybe
-never have gone through his papers
and seen how badly my wicked heart was deceiving me
....and receive God's forgiveness
and shed many tears of sorrow this last week-
overwhelming but overwhelmed now with joy.
blessed by God!
funny how He continually 'meets' me
and helps me in the many areas of my deep, dark needs.
He's so good!
i can't wait to be with Him.
hope it's soon!
well gotta go....
Saturday, March 16, 2013
3.16.2013 LIFE TOGETHER: CONFESSION & COMMUNION by BONHOEFFER
'
confess your faults one to another' James 5.16
he who is alone with his sin is utterly alone.
it may be that christians, notwithstanding corporate worship,
common prayer and all their fellowship in service,
may still be left to their loneliness.
the final break through to fellowship with one another
as believers and as devout people,
they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners
the pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner.
so everybody must conceal his sin
from himself and from the fellowship.
we dare not be sinners.
many christians are unthinkably horrified
when a real sinner is suddenly discovered
among the righteous.
so we remain alone with our sin,
living in lies and hypocrisy.
the fact is that we ARE sinners!
but it is the grace of the gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand,
that it confronts us with the truth and says:
you are a sinner,
a great, desperate sinner;
now come, as the sinner that you are,
to God who loves you.
He wants you as you are;
H wants you alone.
'my son, give me thine heart prov. 13.26
God has come to you to save the sinner.
be glad!
this message is liberation through truth.
you can hid nothing from God.
the mask you wear before men will do you no good
before Him.
He wants to see you as you are,
He wants to be gracious to you.
you do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers,
as if you were without sin;
you can dare to be a sinner.
thank God for that;
He loves the sinner but He hates sin.
Christ became our brother in the flesh in order that we might believe in Him.
in Him the love of God came to the sinner.
through Him men could be sinners and only so
could they be helped.
all sham was ended in the presence of Christ.
the misery of the sinner and the mercy of God-
this was the truth of the gospel in Jesus Christ.
it was in this truth that His church was to live.
therefore, He gave his followers
the authority to hear the confession of sin and to forgive sin in His name.
'whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them;
and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. john 2.23
when He did that, Christ made the church, and in it our brother,
a blessing to us.
now our brother stands in Christ's stead.
before Him alone in the whole world
i dare to be the sinner that i am;
here the truth of Jesus Christ and His mercy rules.
Christ became our brother in order to help us.
through Him our brother has become Christ for us
in the power and authority of the commission Christ has given to him.
our brother stands before us as the sign of the truth
and the grace of God.
he has been given to us to help us.
he hears the confession of our sins in Christ's stead
and he forgives our sins in Christ's name.
he keep the secret of our confession as God keeps it.
when i go to my brother to confess,
i am going to God.
so in the christian community when the call to brotherly
confession and forgiveness goes forth it is a call to the
great grace of God in the church.
BREAKING THROUGH TO COMMUNITY
in confession the break through to community takes place.
sin demands to have a man by himself.
it withdraws him from the community.
the more isolated a person is,
the more destructive will be the power of sin over him,
and the more deeply he becomes involved in it,
the more disastrous is his isolation.
sin wants to remain unknown.
it shuns the light.
in the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons
the whole being of a person.
this can happen even in the midst of a pious community.
in confession the light of the gospel breaks into the
darkness and seclusion of the heart.
the sin must be brought into the light.
the unexpressed must e openly spoken and acknowledged.
all that is secret and hidden is mad manifest.
it is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted.
but God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron ps. 107.16
since the confession of sin is made in the presence of a christian brother,
the last stronghold of self justification is abandoned.
the sinner surrenders;
he gives up all his evil.
he gives his heart to "God
and he finds the forgiveness of all his sin
in the fellowship of Jesus Christ and his brother.
the expressed, acknowledged sin has lost all its power.
it has been revealed and judged as sin.
it can no longer tear the fellowship asunder.
now the fellowship bears the sin of the brother.
he is o longer alone with his evil
for he has cast off his sin in confession
and handed it over to God.
it has been taken away from him.
now he stands in the fellowship of sinners
who live by the grace of God in the cross of Jesus Christ.
now he can be a sinner and still enjoy the grace of God.
he can confess his sins and
in this very act find fellowship for the first time.
the sin concealed separated him from the fellowship,
made all his apparent fellowship a sham;
the sin confessed has helped him to find true fellowship
with the brethren in Jesus Christ.
moreover, what we have said applies solely to confession
between two christians.
a confession of sin in the presence of all the members of the congregation
is not required to restore one to fellowship with the whole congregation.
i meet the whole congregation in the one brother
to whom i confess my sins and who forgives my sins.
in the fellowship i find with this one brother
i have already found fellowship with the whole congregation.
in this matter no one acts in his own mane nor by his own authority,
but by the commission of Jesus Christ.
this commission is give to the whole congregation
and the individual is called merely to exercise it for the congregation.
if a christian is in the fellowship of confession with a brother
he will never be alone again, anywhere.
BREAKING THROUGH TO THE CROSS
in confession occurs the break through to the cross
the root of all sin is pride, superbia.
i want to be my own law,
i have a right to my self, my hatred and my desires,
my life and my death.
the mind and flesh of man are set on fire by pride;
for it is precisely in his wickedness that a man wants to be God.
confession in the presence of a brother
is the profoundest kind of humiliation.
it hurts, it cuts a man down, it is a dreadful blow to pride.
to stand there before a brother as a sinner
is an ignominy that is almost unbearable.
in the confession of concrete sins the old man dies
a painful, shameful death before the eves of a brother.
because this humiliation is so hard we continually scheme to
evade confessing to a brother. our eyes are so blinded
that they no longer see the promise and glory
in such abasement.
it was none other that Jesus Christ Himself who suffered
the scandalous, public death of a sinner in our stead.
he was not ashamed to be crucified for us as an evildoer.
it is nothing else by our fellowship with Jesus Christ
that leads us to the ignominious dying that comes in confession,
in order that we may in truth share in His cross.
the cross of Jesus Christ destroys all pride.
we cannot find the cross of Jesus
if we shrink from going to the place where it is to be found,
namely, the public death of the sinner.
and we refuse to bear the cross when we are ashamed
to take upon ourselves the shameful death of the sinner
in confession.
in confession we break through to the true fellowship
of the cross of Jesus Christ,
in the confession we affirm and accept our cross.
in the deep mental and physical pain of humiliation
before a brother-which means, before god-
we experience the cross of Jesus as our rescue and salvation.
the old man dies, but it is God who has conquered him.
now we share in the resurrection of Christ and eternal life.
BREAKING THROUGH TO NEW LIFE
in confession the break through to new life occurs.
where sin is hated, admitted, and forgiven,
there the break with the past is made.
'old things are passed away.
but where there is a break with sin, there is conversion.
confession is conversion.
'behold, all things are become new Ii cor. 5.17
Christ has made a new beginning with us.
as the first disciples left all and followed when Jesus called,
so in confession the christian gives up all and follows.
confession is decipleship.
life with Jesus Christ and His community has begun.
'he that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
proverbs 28.13
in confession the christian begins to forsake his sins.
their dominion is broken.
from now on the christian wins victory after victory.
what happened to us in baptism is bestowed upon us anew
in confession. we are delivered out of darkness
into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
that is joyful news.
confession is the renewal of the joy of baptism.
'weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning. ps. 30.5
BREAKING THROUGH TO CERTAINTY
in confession a man breaks through to certainty.
why is it that it is often easier for us to confess our sins
to God than to a brother?
God is holy and sinless,
He is a just judge of evil and the enemy of all disobedience.
but a brother is sinful as we are.
he knows from his own experience
the dark night of secret sin.
why should we not find it easier to go to a brother
than to the holy God?
but if we do, we must ask ourselves whether
we have not often been deceiving ourselves
with our confession of sin to God,
whether we have not rather been confessing our sins
to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution.
and is not the reason perhaps for our
countless relapses and the feebleness of our
christian obedience
to be found precisely in the fact that we are living on
self forgiveness and not a real forgiveness?
self forgiveness can never lead to a breach with sin;
this can be accomplished only by the
judging and pardoning word of God itself.
who can give us the certainty that,
in the confession and the forgiveness of our sins,
we are not dealing with ourselves by with the living God
God gives us this certainty through our brother.
our brother breaks the circle of self deception.
a man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother
knows that he is no longer alone with himself;
he experiences the presence of God
in the reality of the other person.
as long as i am by myself in the confession of my sins
everything remains in the dark,
but in the presence of a brother the sin
has to be brought into the light.
but since the sin must come to light some time.,
it is better that it happens today between
me and my brother,
rather than on the last day
in the piercing light of the final judgment.
our brother has been given me that
even here and now
i may be made certain through him
of the reality of God in His judgment and His grace.
as the open confession of my sins to a brother
insures me against self deception,
so too, only when it is spoken by a brother
in the name of God.
mutual, brotherly confession is given to us by God
in order that we may be sure of divine forgiveness.
but it is precisely for the sake of this certainty
that confession should deal with CONCRETE sins.
people usually are satisfied when they make
a general confession.
but one experiences the utter perdition
and corru0ption of human nature,
in so far as this ever enters into experience at all,
when one sees his own specific sins.
self examination on the basis of
all Ten Commandments
will therefore be the right preparation
for confession.
otherwise it might happen that one could still
be a hypocrite even in confessing to a brother
and thus miss the good of the confession.
Jesus dealt with people whose sins were obvious,
with publicans and harlots.
they knew why they needed forgiveness,
and they received it as forgiveness of their
specific sins.
blind bartimaeus was asked by Jesus:
what do you want me to do for you?
before confession we must have
a clear answer to this question.
in confession we, too, receive the forgiveness
of the particular sins which are here brought to light,
and by this very token the forgiveness
of all our sins, known and unknown.
does all this mean that confession to a brother
is a divine law?
no, confession is not a law,
it is an offer of divine help for the sinner.
it is possible that a person may by God's grace
break through to certainty, new life,
the cross, and fellowship
without benefit of confession to a brother.
it is possible that a person may never know
what it is to doubt his own forgiveness
and despair of his own confession of sin,
that he may e given everything in his own
private confession to God.
we have spoken here for those who
cannot make this assertion.
luther himself was one of those
for whom the christian life was unthinkable
without mutual, brotherly confession.
in the large catechism he said:
'therefore when i admonish you to confession
i am admonishing you to be a christian.
those who, despite all their seeking and trying,
cannot find the great joy of fellowship,
the cross, the new life, and certainty
should be shown the blessing that God offers us
in mutual confession.
confession is within the liberty of the christian.
who can refuse, without suffering loss,
a help that God has deemed it necessary to offer?
TO WHOM CONFESS?
to whom shall we make confession?
according to jesus' promise,
every christian brother can hear the confession of another.
but will he understand?
may he not be so far above us in his christian life
that he would only turn away from us
with no understanding of our personal sins?
anybody who lives beneath the cross
and who has discerned in the cross of Jesus
the utter wickedness of all men
and of his own heart will find there is no sin
that can ever be alien to him.
anybody who has once been horrified by
the dreadfulness of his own sin that nailed Jesus to the cross
will no longer be horrified by even the rankest sins of a brother.
looking at the cross of Jesus, he knows the human heart.
he knows how utterly lost it is in sin and weakness,
how it goes astray in the ways of sin,
and he also knows that it is accepted in grace and mercy.
only the brother under the cross can hear a confession.
it is not experience of life but experience of the cross
that makes one a worthy hearer of confessions.
the most experience psychologist or
observer of human nature
knows infinitely less of the human heart
than the simplest christian who lives beneath the cross of Jesus.
the greatest psychological insight, ability and experience
cannot grasp this one thing:
what sin is.
worldly wisdom knows what distress and weakness and failure
are,
but it does not know the godlessness of men.
and so it also does not know that man is destroyed
only be his sin
and can be healed only by forgiveness.
only the christian knows this.
in the presence of a psychiatrist i can only be a sick man;
in the presence of a christian brother i can dare to be a sinner.
the psychiatrist must first search my heart
and yet he never plumbs its ultimate depth.
the christian brother knows when i come to him:
here is a sinner like myself,
a godless myself who wants to confess and yearns for
God's forgiveness.
the psychiatrist views me as if there were no God.
the brother views me as i am
before the judging and merciful God in the cross of
Jesus Christ.
it is not lack of psychological knowledge
but lack of love for the crucified Jesus Christ
that makes us so poor and inefficient in brotherly confession.
in daily, earnest living with the cross of Christ
the christian loses the spirit of human censoriousness
on the one hand and weak indulgence on the other,
and he receives the spirit
of divine severity and divine love.
the death of the sinner before God and life that comes
out of that death through grace
become for him a daily reality.
so he loves the brothers with the merciful love of God
that leads through the death of the sinner
to the life of the child of god.
who can hear our confession?
he who himself lives beneath the cross.
wherever the message concerning the crucified
is a vital, living thing,
there brotherly confession will also avail.
TWO DANGERS
there are two dangers that a christian community
which practices confession must guard against.
the first concerns the one who hears confessions.
it is not a good thing for one person to be the confessor
for all the others.
all too easily this one person will be overburdened;
thus confession will become for him
an empty routine,
and this will give rise to the disastrous misuse of the confessional
for the exercise of spiritual domination of souls.
in order that he may not succumb to this sinister danger
of the confessional every person should refrain
from listening to confession
who does not himself practice it.
only the person who has so humbled himself
can hear a brother's confession without harm.
the second danger concerns the confessant.
for the salvation of his soul let him guard
against ever making a pious work of his confession.
if he does so, it will become the final,
most abominable, vicious and impure
prostitution of the heart;
the act becomes an idle, lustful babbling.
confession as a pious work is an invention of the devil.
it is only God's offer of grace, help and forgiveness
that could make us dare to enter the abyss of confession.
we can confess solely for the sake of the promise
of absolution.
confession as a routine duty is spiritual death;
confession in reliance upon the promise is life.
the forgiveness of sins is the sole ground
and goal of confession.
THE JOYFUL SACRAMENT
though it is true that confession is an act in the name of Christ
that is complete in itself
and is exercised in the fellowship as frequently
as there is desire for it,
it serves the christian community
especially as a preparation for the common reception
of the holy communion.
reconciled to God and men,
christians desire to receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
it is the command of Jesus that none should come to the altar
with a heart that is unreconciled to his brother.
if this command of Jesus applies to every service of worship,
indeed, to every prayer we utter,
then it most certainly applies to the reception
of the Lord's supper.
the day before the Lord's supper is administered will
find the brethren of a christian fellowship together
and each will beg the forgiveness of the others
for the wrongs committed.
nobody who avoids this approach to his brother
can go rightly prepared to the table of the Lord.
all anger, strife, envy, evil gossip and unbrotherly conduct
must have been settled and finished if the brethren
wish to receive the grace3 of God together
in the sacrament.
but to beg a brother's pardon is still not confession,
and only the latter is subject to the express command of Jesus.
but preparation for the Lord's supper will also awaken
in the individual the desire to be completely
certain that the particular sins which disturb and torment him
and are known only to God are forgiven.
it is this desire that the offer of brotherly
confession and absolution fulfills.
where there is deep anxiety and trouble over one's own sins,
where the certainty of forgiveness is sought,
there comes the invitation in the name of Jesus to come
to brotherly confession.
what brought upon Jesus the accusation of blasphemy,
namely, that he forgave sinners,
is what now takes place in the christian brotherhood
in the power of the presence of Jesus Christ.
one forgives the other all his sins in the name
of the triune God.
and there is joy in the presence of the angels of God
over the sinner who repents.
hence the time of preparation
for the Lord's supper will be filled
with brotherly admonition and encouragement,
with prayers, with fear, and with joy.
the day of the Lord's supper is an occasion of joy
for the christian community.
reconciled in their hearts with God and the brethren,
the congregation receives the gift of
the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and, receiving that,
it receives forgiveness, new life and salvation.
it is given new fellowship with God and men.
the fellowship of the Lord's supper is the
superlative fulfillment of christian fellowship.
as tghe members of the congregation
are united in body and blood at the table of the Lord
so will they be together in eternity.
here the community has reached its goal.
here joy in Christ and His community is complete.
the life of christians together under the word
has reached its perfection in the sacrament.
confess your faults one to another' James 5.16
he who is alone with his sin is utterly alone.
it may be that christians, notwithstanding corporate worship,
common prayer and all their fellowship in service,
may still be left to their loneliness.
the final break through to fellowship with one another
as believers and as devout people,
they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners
the pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner.
so everybody must conceal his sin
from himself and from the fellowship.
we dare not be sinners.
many christians are unthinkably horrified
when a real sinner is suddenly discovered
among the righteous.
so we remain alone with our sin,
living in lies and hypocrisy.
the fact is that we ARE sinners!
but it is the grace of the gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand,
that it confronts us with the truth and says:
you are a sinner,
a great, desperate sinner;
now come, as the sinner that you are,
to God who loves you.
He wants you as you are;
H wants you alone.
'my son, give me thine heart prov. 13.26
God has come to you to save the sinner.
be glad!
this message is liberation through truth.
you can hid nothing from God.
the mask you wear before men will do you no good
before Him.
He wants to see you as you are,
He wants to be gracious to you.
you do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers,
as if you were without sin;
you can dare to be a sinner.
thank God for that;
He loves the sinner but He hates sin.
Christ became our brother in the flesh in order that we might believe in Him.
in Him the love of God came to the sinner.
through Him men could be sinners and only so
could they be helped.
all sham was ended in the presence of Christ.
the misery of the sinner and the mercy of God-
this was the truth of the gospel in Jesus Christ.
it was in this truth that His church was to live.
therefore, He gave his followers
the authority to hear the confession of sin and to forgive sin in His name.
'whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them;
and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. john 2.23
when He did that, Christ made the church, and in it our brother,
a blessing to us.
now our brother stands in Christ's stead.
before Him alone in the whole world
i dare to be the sinner that i am;
here the truth of Jesus Christ and His mercy rules.
Christ became our brother in order to help us.
through Him our brother has become Christ for us
in the power and authority of the commission Christ has given to him.
our brother stands before us as the sign of the truth
and the grace of God.
he has been given to us to help us.
he hears the confession of our sins in Christ's stead
and he forgives our sins in Christ's name.
he keep the secret of our confession as God keeps it.
when i go to my brother to confess,
i am going to God.
so in the christian community when the call to brotherly
confession and forgiveness goes forth it is a call to the
great grace of God in the church.
BREAKING THROUGH TO COMMUNITY
in confession the break through to community takes place.
sin demands to have a man by himself.
it withdraws him from the community.
the more isolated a person is,
the more destructive will be the power of sin over him,
and the more deeply he becomes involved in it,
the more disastrous is his isolation.
sin wants to remain unknown.
it shuns the light.
in the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons
the whole being of a person.
this can happen even in the midst of a pious community.
in confession the light of the gospel breaks into the
darkness and seclusion of the heart.
the sin must be brought into the light.
the unexpressed must e openly spoken and acknowledged.
all that is secret and hidden is mad manifest.
it is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted.
but God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron ps. 107.16
since the confession of sin is made in the presence of a christian brother,
the last stronghold of self justification is abandoned.
the sinner surrenders;
he gives up all his evil.
he gives his heart to "God
and he finds the forgiveness of all his sin
in the fellowship of Jesus Christ and his brother.
the expressed, acknowledged sin has lost all its power.
it has been revealed and judged as sin.
it can no longer tear the fellowship asunder.
now the fellowship bears the sin of the brother.
he is o longer alone with his evil
for he has cast off his sin in confession
and handed it over to God.
it has been taken away from him.
now he stands in the fellowship of sinners
who live by the grace of God in the cross of Jesus Christ.
now he can be a sinner and still enjoy the grace of God.
he can confess his sins and
in this very act find fellowship for the first time.
the sin concealed separated him from the fellowship,
made all his apparent fellowship a sham;
the sin confessed has helped him to find true fellowship
with the brethren in Jesus Christ.
moreover, what we have said applies solely to confession
between two christians.
a confession of sin in the presence of all the members of the congregation
is not required to restore one to fellowship with the whole congregation.
i meet the whole congregation in the one brother
to whom i confess my sins and who forgives my sins.
in the fellowship i find with this one brother
i have already found fellowship with the whole congregation.
in this matter no one acts in his own mane nor by his own authority,
but by the commission of Jesus Christ.
this commission is give to the whole congregation
and the individual is called merely to exercise it for the congregation.
if a christian is in the fellowship of confession with a brother
he will never be alone again, anywhere.
BREAKING THROUGH TO THE CROSS
in confession occurs the break through to the cross
the root of all sin is pride, superbia.
i want to be my own law,
i have a right to my self, my hatred and my desires,
my life and my death.
the mind and flesh of man are set on fire by pride;
for it is precisely in his wickedness that a man wants to be God.
confession in the presence of a brother
is the profoundest kind of humiliation.
it hurts, it cuts a man down, it is a dreadful blow to pride.
to stand there before a brother as a sinner
is an ignominy that is almost unbearable.
in the confession of concrete sins the old man dies
a painful, shameful death before the eves of a brother.
because this humiliation is so hard we continually scheme to
evade confessing to a brother. our eyes are so blinded
that they no longer see the promise and glory
in such abasement.
it was none other that Jesus Christ Himself who suffered
the scandalous, public death of a sinner in our stead.
he was not ashamed to be crucified for us as an evildoer.
it is nothing else by our fellowship with Jesus Christ
that leads us to the ignominious dying that comes in confession,
in order that we may in truth share in His cross.
the cross of Jesus Christ destroys all pride.
we cannot find the cross of Jesus
if we shrink from going to the place where it is to be found,
namely, the public death of the sinner.
and we refuse to bear the cross when we are ashamed
to take upon ourselves the shameful death of the sinner
in confession.
in confession we break through to the true fellowship
of the cross of Jesus Christ,
in the confession we affirm and accept our cross.
in the deep mental and physical pain of humiliation
before a brother-which means, before god-
we experience the cross of Jesus as our rescue and salvation.
the old man dies, but it is God who has conquered him.
now we share in the resurrection of Christ and eternal life.
BREAKING THROUGH TO NEW LIFE
in confession the break through to new life occurs.
where sin is hated, admitted, and forgiven,
there the break with the past is made.
'old things are passed away.
but where there is a break with sin, there is conversion.
confession is conversion.
'behold, all things are become new Ii cor. 5.17
Christ has made a new beginning with us.
as the first disciples left all and followed when Jesus called,
so in confession the christian gives up all and follows.
confession is decipleship.
life with Jesus Christ and His community has begun.
'he that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
proverbs 28.13
in confession the christian begins to forsake his sins.
their dominion is broken.
from now on the christian wins victory after victory.
what happened to us in baptism is bestowed upon us anew
in confession. we are delivered out of darkness
into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
that is joyful news.
confession is the renewal of the joy of baptism.
'weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning. ps. 30.5
BREAKING THROUGH TO CERTAINTY
in confession a man breaks through to certainty.
why is it that it is often easier for us to confess our sins
to God than to a brother?
God is holy and sinless,
He is a just judge of evil and the enemy of all disobedience.
but a brother is sinful as we are.
he knows from his own experience
the dark night of secret sin.
why should we not find it easier to go to a brother
than to the holy God?
but if we do, we must ask ourselves whether
we have not often been deceiving ourselves
with our confession of sin to God,
whether we have not rather been confessing our sins
to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution.
and is not the reason perhaps for our
countless relapses and the feebleness of our
christian obedience
to be found precisely in the fact that we are living on
self forgiveness and not a real forgiveness?
self forgiveness can never lead to a breach with sin;
this can be accomplished only by the
judging and pardoning word of God itself.
who can give us the certainty that,
in the confession and the forgiveness of our sins,
we are not dealing with ourselves by with the living God
God gives us this certainty through our brother.
our brother breaks the circle of self deception.
a man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother
knows that he is no longer alone with himself;
he experiences the presence of God
in the reality of the other person.
as long as i am by myself in the confession of my sins
everything remains in the dark,
but in the presence of a brother the sin
has to be brought into the light.
but since the sin must come to light some time.,
it is better that it happens today between
me and my brother,
rather than on the last day
in the piercing light of the final judgment.
our brother has been given me that
even here and now
i may be made certain through him
of the reality of God in His judgment and His grace.
as the open confession of my sins to a brother
insures me against self deception,
so too, only when it is spoken by a brother
in the name of God.
mutual, brotherly confession is given to us by God
in order that we may be sure of divine forgiveness.
but it is precisely for the sake of this certainty
that confession should deal with CONCRETE sins.
people usually are satisfied when they make
a general confession.
but one experiences the utter perdition
and corru0ption of human nature,
in so far as this ever enters into experience at all,
when one sees his own specific sins.
self examination on the basis of
all Ten Commandments
will therefore be the right preparation
for confession.
otherwise it might happen that one could still
be a hypocrite even in confessing to a brother
and thus miss the good of the confession.
Jesus dealt with people whose sins were obvious,
with publicans and harlots.
they knew why they needed forgiveness,
and they received it as forgiveness of their
specific sins.
blind bartimaeus was asked by Jesus:
what do you want me to do for you?
before confession we must have
a clear answer to this question.
in confession we, too, receive the forgiveness
of the particular sins which are here brought to light,
and by this very token the forgiveness
of all our sins, known and unknown.
does all this mean that confession to a brother
is a divine law?
no, confession is not a law,
it is an offer of divine help for the sinner.
it is possible that a person may by God's grace
break through to certainty, new life,
the cross, and fellowship
without benefit of confession to a brother.
it is possible that a person may never know
what it is to doubt his own forgiveness
and despair of his own confession of sin,
that he may e given everything in his own
private confession to God.
we have spoken here for those who
cannot make this assertion.
luther himself was one of those
for whom the christian life was unthinkable
without mutual, brotherly confession.
in the large catechism he said:
'therefore when i admonish you to confession
i am admonishing you to be a christian.
those who, despite all their seeking and trying,
cannot find the great joy of fellowship,
the cross, the new life, and certainty
should be shown the blessing that God offers us
in mutual confession.
confession is within the liberty of the christian.
who can refuse, without suffering loss,
a help that God has deemed it necessary to offer?
TO WHOM CONFESS?
to whom shall we make confession?
according to jesus' promise,
every christian brother can hear the confession of another.
but will he understand?
may he not be so far above us in his christian life
that he would only turn away from us
with no understanding of our personal sins?
anybody who lives beneath the cross
and who has discerned in the cross of Jesus
the utter wickedness of all men
and of his own heart will find there is no sin
that can ever be alien to him.
anybody who has once been horrified by
the dreadfulness of his own sin that nailed Jesus to the cross
will no longer be horrified by even the rankest sins of a brother.
looking at the cross of Jesus, he knows the human heart.
he knows how utterly lost it is in sin and weakness,
how it goes astray in the ways of sin,
and he also knows that it is accepted in grace and mercy.
only the brother under the cross can hear a confession.
it is not experience of life but experience of the cross
that makes one a worthy hearer of confessions.
the most experience psychologist or
observer of human nature
knows infinitely less of the human heart
than the simplest christian who lives beneath the cross of Jesus.
the greatest psychological insight, ability and experience
cannot grasp this one thing:
what sin is.
worldly wisdom knows what distress and weakness and failure
are,
but it does not know the godlessness of men.
and so it also does not know that man is destroyed
only be his sin
and can be healed only by forgiveness.
only the christian knows this.
in the presence of a psychiatrist i can only be a sick man;
in the presence of a christian brother i can dare to be a sinner.
the psychiatrist must first search my heart
and yet he never plumbs its ultimate depth.
the christian brother knows when i come to him:
here is a sinner like myself,
a godless myself who wants to confess and yearns for
God's forgiveness.
the psychiatrist views me as if there were no God.
the brother views me as i am
before the judging and merciful God in the cross of
Jesus Christ.
it is not lack of psychological knowledge
but lack of love for the crucified Jesus Christ
that makes us so poor and inefficient in brotherly confession.
in daily, earnest living with the cross of Christ
the christian loses the spirit of human censoriousness
on the one hand and weak indulgence on the other,
and he receives the spirit
of divine severity and divine love.
the death of the sinner before God and life that comes
out of that death through grace
become for him a daily reality.
so he loves the brothers with the merciful love of God
that leads through the death of the sinner
to the life of the child of god.
who can hear our confession?
he who himself lives beneath the cross.
wherever the message concerning the crucified
is a vital, living thing,
there brotherly confession will also avail.
TWO DANGERS
there are two dangers that a christian community
which practices confession must guard against.
the first concerns the one who hears confessions.
it is not a good thing for one person to be the confessor
for all the others.
all too easily this one person will be overburdened;
thus confession will become for him
an empty routine,
and this will give rise to the disastrous misuse of the confessional
for the exercise of spiritual domination of souls.
in order that he may not succumb to this sinister danger
of the confessional every person should refrain
from listening to confession
who does not himself practice it.
only the person who has so humbled himself
can hear a brother's confession without harm.
the second danger concerns the confessant.
for the salvation of his soul let him guard
against ever making a pious work of his confession.
if he does so, it will become the final,
most abominable, vicious and impure
prostitution of the heart;
the act becomes an idle, lustful babbling.
confession as a pious work is an invention of the devil.
it is only God's offer of grace, help and forgiveness
that could make us dare to enter the abyss of confession.
we can confess solely for the sake of the promise
of absolution.
confession as a routine duty is spiritual death;
confession in reliance upon the promise is life.
the forgiveness of sins is the sole ground
and goal of confession.
THE JOYFUL SACRAMENT
though it is true that confession is an act in the name of Christ
that is complete in itself
and is exercised in the fellowship as frequently
as there is desire for it,
it serves the christian community
especially as a preparation for the common reception
of the holy communion.
reconciled to God and men,
christians desire to receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
it is the command of Jesus that none should come to the altar
with a heart that is unreconciled to his brother.
if this command of Jesus applies to every service of worship,
indeed, to every prayer we utter,
then it most certainly applies to the reception
of the Lord's supper.
the day before the Lord's supper is administered will
find the brethren of a christian fellowship together
and each will beg the forgiveness of the others
for the wrongs committed.
nobody who avoids this approach to his brother
can go rightly prepared to the table of the Lord.
all anger, strife, envy, evil gossip and unbrotherly conduct
must have been settled and finished if the brethren
wish to receive the grace3 of God together
in the sacrament.
but to beg a brother's pardon is still not confession,
and only the latter is subject to the express command of Jesus.
but preparation for the Lord's supper will also awaken
in the individual the desire to be completely
certain that the particular sins which disturb and torment him
and are known only to God are forgiven.
it is this desire that the offer of brotherly
confession and absolution fulfills.
where there is deep anxiety and trouble over one's own sins,
where the certainty of forgiveness is sought,
there comes the invitation in the name of Jesus to come
to brotherly confession.
what brought upon Jesus the accusation of blasphemy,
namely, that he forgave sinners,
is what now takes place in the christian brotherhood
in the power of the presence of Jesus Christ.
one forgives the other all his sins in the name
of the triune God.
and there is joy in the presence of the angels of God
over the sinner who repents.
hence the time of preparation
for the Lord's supper will be filled
with brotherly admonition and encouragement,
with prayers, with fear, and with joy.
the day of the Lord's supper is an occasion of joy
for the christian community.
reconciled in their hearts with God and the brethren,
the congregation receives the gift of
the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and, receiving that,
it receives forgiveness, new life and salvation.
it is given new fellowship with God and men.
the fellowship of the Lord's supper is the
superlative fulfillment of christian fellowship.
as tghe members of the congregation
are united in body and blood at the table of the Lord
so will they be together in eternity.
here the community has reached its goal.
here joy in Christ and His community is complete.
the life of christians together under the word
has reached its perfection in the sacrament.
Monday, March 11, 2013
3.10.2013 LIFE TOGETHER: MINISTRY by DIETRICH BONHOEFFER
..then came the fateful year 1933. in february bonhoeffer delivered a lecture broadcast over the berlin radio in which he flayed the german public for its hankering after a 'leader' who would inevitably become a 'misleader' so long as he did not clearly refuse to become the idol of the led. the broadcast was cut off before he had finished. when it became apparent that hitler, the idol, had succeeded, he accepted a call to be the pastor of two german congregations in london, for he refused to have any part in the 'german-christian' compromise with the nazi government.
in england he formed a close friendship with bishop bell of chichester and became one of the foremost interpreters to the world outside of events in the german churches.
then, while preparing to visit gandhi in india through the mediation of c. f. andrews to pursue an interest in pacifism, he received a call from the confessing church to take charge of an 'illegal', clandestine seminary for the training of young pastors in pomerania. he went back at once. in 1935 he moved to zingst and from there to finkenwalde near stettin, where he shared a common life in emergency built houses with 25 vicars. this was life together, the life of the christian community which is described and documented with biblical insights in the book. gemeinsames leben (1938), here presented in translation.
hope to share several sections. the section here is chapter 4, Ministry.
'there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be the greatest luke 9.46.
we know who it is that sows this thought in the christian community.
but perhaps we do not bear in mind enough that no christian community
ever comes together without this thought immediately emerging as a seed of discord.
thus at the very beginning of Christian fellowship there is engendered an
invisible, often unconscious, life and death contest.
'there arose a reasoning among them'
this is enough to destroy a fellowship.
hence it is vitally necessary that every christian community
from the very outset face this dangerous enemy squarely,
and eradicate it.
there is no time to lose here,
for from the first moment when a man meets another person
he is looking for a strategic position he can assume and hold
over against that person.
there are strong persons and weak ones.
if a man is not strong, he immediately claims the right of the weak
as his own and uses it against the strong.
there are gifted and ungifted persons,
simple people and difficult people,
devout and less devout,
the sociable and the solitary.
does not the ungifted person have to take up a position
just as well as the gifted person,
the difficult one as well as the simple?
and if i am not gifted, then perhaps i am devout anyhow;
of if i am not devout it is only because i do not want to be.
may not the sociable individual carry the field before him
and put the timid, solitary man to shame?
then may not the solitary person become the undying enemy
and ultimate vanquisher of his sociable adversary?
where is there a person who dose not
with instinctive sureness find the spot
where he can stand and defend himself,
but which he will never give up to another,
for which he will fight with all the drive of his instinct of self assertion?
all this can occur in the most polite or even pious environment.
but the important thing is that a christian community
should know that somewhere in it
there will certainly be 'a reasoning among them,
which of them should be the greatest'.
it is the struggle of the natural man for self justification.
he finds it only in comparing himself with others,
in condemning and judging others.
self justification and judging others go together,
as justification by grace and serving others go together.
THE MINISTRY OF HOLDING ONE'S TONGUE
often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we
absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words.
it is certain that the spirit of self justification
can be overcome only by the Spirit of grace;
nevertheless, isolated thoughts of judgment can be
curbed and smothered by never allowing them
the right to be uttered,
except as a confession of sin,
which we shall discuss later.
he who holds his tongue in check
controls both mind and body James 3.2f
thus it must be a decisive rule of every christian fellowship
that each individual is prohibited from saying
much that occurs to him.
this prohibition does not include the personal word
of advice and guidance;
on this point we shall speak later. \
but to speak about a brother covertly is forbidden,
even under the cloak of help and good will;
for it is precisely in this guise that the spirit of hatred
among brothers always creeps in
when it is seeking to create mischief.
this is not the place to discuss the limitations
upon this rule in particular cases.
they must be a matter of decision in each instance.
the point, however, is clear and biblical:
'thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;
thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
these things hast thou done,
and I kept silence'
thou thoughtest that I was altogether
such a one as thyself:
but I will reprove thee,
and set them in order before thine eyes ps. 50. 20-1
'speak not evil one of another, brethren.
he that speaketh evil of his brother,
and judgeth his brother,
speaketh evil of the law and judgeth the law:
but if thou judge the law.
thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
there is one lawgiver,
who is able to save and to destroy:
who are thou that judgest another?
James 4.11-2
'let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,
but that which is good to the use of edifying,
that it may minister grace unto the hearers. eph. 4.29
where this discipline of the tongue is practiced
right from the beginning,
each individual will make a matchless discovery.
he will be abel to cease from constantly scrutinizing
the other person,
judging him, condemning him,
putting him in his particular place
where he can gain ascendancy over him
and thus doing violence to him as a person.
now he can allow the brother to exist
as a completely free person,
as God made him to be.
his view expands and , to his amazement,
for the first time he sees,
shining above his brethren, the richness of God's creative glory.
God did not make this person as i would have made him.
he did not give him to me as a brother
for me to dominate and control,
but in order that i might find above him the creator.
now the other person, in the freedom with which he was created,
becomes the occasion of joy,
whereas before he was only a nuisance and an affliction.
God does not will that i should fashion thee other person
according to the image that seems good to me,
that is, in my own image;
rather in his very freedom from me
God made this person in His image.
i can never know beforehand
how God's image should appear in others.
that image always manifests a completely new and unique form
that comes solely from God's free and sovereign creation.
to me the sight may seem strange, even ungodly.
but God creates every man in the likeness of His son, the crucified.
after all, even that image certainly looked
strange and ungodly to me before i grasped it.
strong and weak, wise and foolish,
gifted or ungifted, pious or impious,
the diverse individuals in the community,
are no longer incentives for talking and judging and condemning,
and thus excuses for self justification.
they are rather cause for rejoicing in one another
and serving one another.
each member of the community is given his particular place,
but this is no longer the place
in which he can most successfully assert himself,
but the place where he can best perform his service.
in a christian community everything depends upon
whether each individual is an indispensable link in a chain.
only when even the smallest link is securely interlocked
is the chain unbreakable.
a community which allows unemployed members
to exist within it will perish because of them.
it will be well, therefore,
if every member receives a definite to perform
for the community,
that he may know in hours of doubt that he, too,
is not useless and unusable.
every christian community must realize
that not only do the weak need the strong,
but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak.
the elimination of the weak
is the death of fellowship.
not self justification, which means the use of domination
and force,
but justification by grace,
and therefore service,
should govern the christian community.
once a man has experienced the mercy of God in his life
he will henceforth aspire only to serve.
the proud throne of the judge no longer lures him;
he wants to be down below with
the lowly and the needy,
because that is where God found him.
'mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate'. rom. 12.16
THE MINISTRY OF MEEKNESS
he who would learn to serve must first learn
to think little of himself.
let no man 'think of himself more highly
than he ought to think rom. 12.3
'this is the highest and most profitable lesson,
truly to know and to despise ourselves.
to have no opinion of ourselves,
and to think always well and highly of others,
is great wisdom and perfection' (thomas a dempis
'be not wise in your own conceits rom. 12.16
only he who lives by the forgiveness of his sin in Jesus Christ
will rightly think little of himself.
he will know that his own wisdom reached
the end of its tether when Jesus forgave him.
he remembers the ambition of the first man
who wanted to know what is good and evil
and perished in his wisdom.
that first man who was born on this earth
was cain, the fratricide.
his crime is the fruit of man's wisdom.
because the christian can no longer fancy
that he is wise
he will also have no high opinion
of his own schemes and plans.
he will know that it is good
for his own will to be broken
in the encounter with his neighbor.
he will be ready to consider his neighbor's will
more important and urgent than his own.
what does it matter if our own plans are frustrated?
is it not better to serve our neighbor
than to have our own way?
but not only my neighbor's will,
but also his honor is more important than mine.
'how can you believe,
which receive honour one of another, \
and seek not the honour
that cometh from god only? john 5.44
the desire fro one's own honor hinders faith.
one who seeks his own honor
is no longer seeking god and his neighbor.
what does it matter if i suffer injustice?
would i not have deserved even worse punishment from God,
if He had not dealt with me according to His mercy?
is not justice done to me a thousand times even in injustice?
must it not be wholesome and conducive to humility
for me to learn to bear such petty evils silently and patiently?
'the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. eccl. 7.8
one who lives by justification by grace
is willing and ready to accept even insults and injuries
without protest,
taking them from God's punishing and gracious hand.
it is not a good sign when we can no longer bear
to hear this said without immediately retorting
that even paul insisted
and that Jesus replied to the man who struck Him,
'why smitest thou Me
in any case, none of us will really act as Jesus and pau did
if we have not first learned, like them,
to keep silent under abuse.
the sin of resentment that flares up so quickly in the fellowship
indicates again and again how much false desire for honor,
how much unbelief,
still smolders in the community.
finally, one extreme thing must be said.
to forego self conceit
and to associate with the lowly means,
in all soberness and without mincing the matter,
to consider oneself the greatest of sinners.
this arouses all the resistance of the natural man,
but also that of the self confident christian.
it sounds like an exaggeration, like an untruth.
yet even paul said of himself that he was
the foremost of sinners. I tim. 1.15;
he said this specifically at the point
where he was speaking of his service as an apostle.
there can be no genuine acknowledgment of sin
that does not lead to this extremity.
if my sinfulness appears o me to be
in any way smaller or less detestable
in comparison with the sins of others,
i am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all.
my sin is of necessity the worst,
the most grievous, the most reprehensible.
brotherly love will find any number of extenuations
for the sins of others;
only for my sin is there no apology whatsoever.
therefore my sin is the worst.
he who would serve his brother in the fellowship
must sink all the way down o these depths of humility.
how can i possibly serve another person
in unfeigned humility
if i seriously regard his sinfulness as worse
than my own?
would i not be putting myself above him;
could i have any hope for him?
such service would be hypocritical.
'never think that thou hast made any progress
till thou look upon thyself as inferior to all' (thomas a kempis)
how, then is true brotherly service performed in the christian community?
we are apt these days to reply too quickly
that the one real service to our neighbor
is to minister to him the word of God.
it is true that there is no service that compares with this one,
and even more,
that every other service is performed
for the sake of the service of the word of
god.
yet a christian community does not consist
solely of preachers of the word.
we can go monstrously wrong there
if we overlook a number of other things.
THE MINISTRY OF LISTENING
the first service that one owes to others in the fellowship
consists in listening to them.
just as love to God begins with listening to His word,
so the beginning of love for the brethren
is learning to listen to them.
it is
God's love for us hat He
not only gives us His word
but also lends us His ear.
so it is His work that we do for our brother
when we learn to listen to him.
christians, especially ministers,
so often think they must always contribute something
when they are in the company of others.
that this is the one service they have to render.
they forget that listening can be a greater service
than speaking.
many people are looking for an ear that will listen.
they do not find it among christians,
because these christians are talking where they
should be listening.
but he who can no longer listen to his brother
will soon be no longer listening to god either;
he will be doing nothing but prattle
in the presence of God too.
this is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life,
and in the end there is nothing left but
spiritual chatter
and clerical condescension arrayed in pious words.
one who cannot listen long and patiently
will presently be talking beside the point
and be never really speaking to others,
albeit he be not conscious of it.
anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable
to spend keeping quiet
will eventually have no time for God and his brother,
but only for himself and for his own follies.
brotherly pastoral care is essentially distinguished from preaching
by the fact that, added to the task of speaking the word,
there is the obligation of listening.
there is a kind of listening with half and ear
that presumes already to know
what the other person has to say.
it is an impatient, inattentive listening,
that despises the brother
and is only waiting for a chance to speak
and thus get rid of the other person.
this is no fulfillment of our obligation,
and it is certain that here too our attitude
toward our brother only reflects our relationship to God.
it is little wonder that we are no longer capable
of the greatest service of listening
that God has committed to us,
that of hearing our brother's confession,
if we refuse to give ear to our brother on lesser subjects.
secular education today is aware that often
a person can be helped merely by having someone
who will listen to him seriously
and upon this insight it has constructed its own soul therapy,
which has attracted great numbers of people,
including christians.
but christians have forgotten
that the ministry of listening
has been committed to them by Him who is Himself
the great listener
and whose work they should share.
we should listen with the ears of God
that we may speak the word of God.
THE MINISTRY OF HELPFULNESS
the second service that one should perform for another
in a christian community
is that of active helpfulness.
this means, initially, simple assistance
in trifling, external matters.
there is a multitude of these things
wherever people live together.
nobody is too good for the meanest service.
one who worries about the loss of time
that such petty, outward acts of helpfulness entail
is usually taking the importance of his own career too solemnly.
we must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.
God will be constantly crossing our paths
and canceling our -plans
by sending us people with claims and petitions.
we may pass them by,
preoccupied with our more important tasks,
as the priest passed by the man who
had fallen among thieves,
perhaps-reading the bible.
when we do that we pass by the visible sign of the cross
raised athwart our path
to show us that, not our way, but God's way
must be done.
it is a strange fact that christians
and even ministers
frequently consider their work so important and urgent
that they will allow nothing to disturb them.
they think they are doing God a service in this,
but actually they are disdaining God's
'crooked yet straight path' (gottfried arnold).
they do not want a life that is crossed and balked.
but it is part of the discipline of humility
that we must not spare our hand
where it can perform a service
and that we do not assume that our schedule
is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.
in the monastery his vow of obedience to the abbot
deprives the monk of the right to dispose of his own time.
in evangelical community life,
free service to one's brother takes the place of the vow.
only where hands are not too good for
deeds of love and mercy in everyday helpfulness
can the mouth joyfully and convincingly
proclaim the message of God's love and mercy.
THE MINISTRY OF BEARING
we speak, third, of the service that consists in bearing others.
'bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. gal. 6.2
thus the law of Christ is a law of bearing.
bearing means forbearing and sustaining.
the brother is a burden to the christian,
precisely because he is a christian.
for the pagan the other person never becomes a burden at all.
he simply sidesteps every burden
that others may impose upon him.
the christian, however, must bear the burden of a brother.
he must suffer and endure the brother.
it is only when he is a burden
that another person is really a brother
and not merely an object to be manipulated.
the burden of men was so heavy for God Himself
that He had to endure the cross.
God verily bore the burden of men
in the body of Jesus Christ.
but He bore them as a mother carries her child,
as a shepherd enfolds he lost lamb that has been found.
God took men upon Himself and they weighted Him to the ground,
but God remained with them and they with God.
in bearing with men God maintained fellowship with them.
it is the law of Christ that was fulfilled in the cross.
and christians must share in this law.
they must suffer their brethren, but,
what is more important, now that the law of Christ has been fulfilled,
they can bear with their brethren.
the bible speaks with remarkable frequency of 'bearing'.
it is capable of expressing the whole work of Jesus Christ
in this one word.
'surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows...
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. isaiah 53.4-5
therefore, the bible can also characterize
the whole life of the christian as bearing the cross.
it is there fellowship of the cross
to experience the burden of the other.
if one does not experience it,
the fellowship he belongs to is no christian.
if any member refuses to bear that burden,
he denies the law of Christ.
it is, first of all, the freedom of the other person,
of which we spoke earlier,
that is a burden to the christian.
the other's freedom collides with his won autonomy,
yet he must recognize it.
he could get rid of this burden
by refusing the other person his freedom,
by constraining him and thus doing violence to his personality,
by stamping his own image upon him.
but if he lets God create His image in him,
he by this token gives him his freedom
and himself bears the burden of this freedom
of another creature of God.
the freedom of the other person includes all that we mean
by a person's nature, individuality, endowment.
it also includes his weaknesses and oddities,
which are such a rial to our patience,
everything that produces fictions, conflicts and collisions
among us.
to bear the burden of the other person means
involvement with the crated reality of the other,
to accept and affirm it, and, in bearing with it,
to break through to the point were we take joy in it.
this will prove especially difficult where varying strength
and weakness in faith are bound together in a fellowship.
the weak must not judge the strong,
the strong must not despise the weak.
the weak must guard against pride,
the strong against indifference.
none must seek his own rights.
if the strong person falls,
the weak one must guard his heart against
malicious joy at his downfall.
if the weak one falls,
the strong one must help him rise again in all kindness.
the one needs as much patience as the other.
'woe to him that is alone when he falleth;
for he hath not another to help him up eccl. 4.10
it is doubtless this bearing of another person in his freedom
that the scripture means when it speaks of
'forbearing one another' col. 3.13.
'walk with all lowliness and meekness,
with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. eph. 4.2
then, besides he other's freedom,
there is the abuse of that freedom
that becomes a burden for the christian.
the sin of the other person is hard to bear than his freedom'
for in sin, fellowship with God
and with the brother is broken.
here the christian suffers the rupture of his fellowship
with the other person that had its basis in Jesus Christ.
but here too it is only in bearing with him
that the great grace of God. becomes wholly plain.
to cherish no contempt for the sinner
but rather to prize the privilege of bearing him
means not to have to give him up as lost,
to be able to accept him,
to preserve fellowship with him through forgiveness.
'brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault,
ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness'. gal 6.1
as Christ bore and received us as sinners
so we in His fellowship may bear and receive sinners
into the fellowship of Jesus Christ
through the forgiving of sins.
we may suffer the sins of our brother;
we do not need to judge.
this is a mercy for the christian;
for when does sin ever occur in the community
that he must not examine and blame himself
for his own unfaithfulness in prayer and intercession,
his lack of brotherly service,
of fraternal reproof and encouragement,
indeed, for his own personal sin and spiritual laxity,
by which he has done injury to himself,
the fellowship and the brethren?
since every sin of every member
burdens and indicts the whole community,
the congregation rejoices,
in the midst of all the pain and the burden
the brother's sin inflicts, that it has the privilege
of bearing and forgiving.
'behold, you bear them all
and likewise all of them ear you
and all things are common,
both the good and the bad.' Luther
the service of forgiveness is rendered by one to the others daily.
it occurs, without words,
in the intercessions for one another.
and every member of the fellowship,
who does not grow weary in this ministry,
can depend upon it that this service is also
being rendered him by the brethren.
he who is bearing others knows that
he himself is being born
and only in this strength can he go on bearing.
then where the ministry of listening, active helpfulness.
and bearing with others is faithfully performed,
the ultimate and highest service can also be rendered,
namely, the ministry of the word of God.
THE MINISTRY OF PROCLAIMING
what we are concerned with here is the free communication
of the word from person to person,
not by the ordained ministry which is bound to
a particular office, time and palace.
we are thinking of that unique situation
in which one person bears witness in human words
to another person,
bespeaking the whole consolation of God,
the admonition, the kindness and the severity of God.
the speaking of that word is beset with infinite perils.
if it is not accompanied by worthy listening,
how can it really be the right word for the other person?
if it is contradicted by one's own lack of active helpfulness,
how can it be a convincing and sincere word?
if it issues, not from a spirit of bearing and forbearing,
but from impatience and the desire to force its acceptance,
how can it be the liberating and healing word?
moreover, the person who has really listened and served
and borne with others is the very one who is likely to say nothing.
a profound distrust of everything that is merely verbal
often causes a personal word to a brother to be suppressed.
what can weak human word accomplish for others?
why add to the empty talk?
are we, like the professionally pious,
to 'talk away' the other person's real need?
is there anything more perilous than speaking God's word
to excess?
but, on the other hand, who wants to be accountable
for having been silent when he should have spoken?
how much easier is ordered speech in the pulpit
than this entirely free speech which is uttered betwixt
the responsibility to be silent and the responsibility to speak!
added to the fear of one's responsibility to speak there is
the fear of the other person.
what a difficult thing it often is
to utter the name of Jesus Christ in the presence even of
a brother.!
here, too, it is difficult to distinguish between right ad wrong.
who dares to force himself upon his neighbor?
who is entitled to accost and confront his neighbor
and talk to him about ultimate matters?
it would be no sign of great christian insight
were one simply to say at this point that everybody
has this right, indeed, this obligation.
this could be the point where the desire to dominate
might again assert itself in the most insidious way.
the other person, as a matter of fact,
has his own right, his own responsibility,
and even his own duty,
to defend himself against unauthorized interference.
the other person has his own secret which dare not be invaded
without great injury,
and which he cannot surrender without destroying himself.
it is not a secret dependent on knowledge or feeling,
but rather the secret of his freedom, his salvation, his being.
and yet this correct judgment lies perilously near
to the deadly dictum of cain:
'am i my brother's keeper?
a seemingly sacred respect for another's freedom
can be subject to the curse of God:
'his blood will i require at thine hand eve. 3.18
where christians live together the time must inevitable come
when in some crisis one person will have to declare God's
word and will to another.
it is inconceivable that the things that are of utmost importance
to each individual should not be spoken by one to another.
it is unchristian consciously to deprive another of the
one decisive service we can render to him.
if we cannot bring ourselves to utter it,
we shall have to ask ourselves whether we are not still
seeing our brother garbed in his human dignity
which we are afraid to touch
and thus forgetting the most important thing,
that he, too, no matter how old or highly placed
or distinguished he may be, is still a man like us,
a sinner in crying need of God's grace.
he has the same great necessities that we have and needs
help, encouragement and forgiveness as we do.
the basis upon which christians can speak to one another
is that each knows the other as a sinner, who,
with all his human dignity, is lonely and lost
it he is not given help.
this is not to make him contemptible
nor to disparage him in any way.
on the contrary, it is to accord him the one real dignity
that man has, namely, that, though he is a sinner,
he can share in God's grace and glory and be God's child.
this recognition gives to our brotherly speech the freedom
and candor that it needs.
we speak to one another on the basis of the help
we both need.
we admonish one another to go the way that Christ
bids us to go.
we warn one another against the disobedience
that is our common destruction.
we are gentle and we are severe with one another,
for we know both God's kindness and God's severity.
why should we be afraid of one another,
since both of us have only God to fear?
why should we think that our brother
would not understand us,
when we understood very well
what was meant when somebody spoke
God's comfort or God's admonition to us,
perhaps in word that were halting and unskilled?
or do we really think there is a single person in this world
who does not need either encouragement or admonition?
why, then, has God bestowed christian brotherhood
upon us?
the more we learn to allow others to speak the word to us,
to accept humbly and gratefully eve severe
reproaches and admonitions,
the more free and objective will we be in speaking ourselves.
the person whose touchiness and vanity make him spurn
a brothers earnest censure
cannot speak the truth in humility to others;
he is afraid of being rebuffed and of feeling that he has
been aggrieved.
the touchy person will always become a flatterer
and very soon he will come to despise and slander his brother.
but the humble person will stick both to the truth and to love.
he will stick to the word of God
and will let it lead him to his brother.
because he seeks nothing for himself
and has no fears for himself,
he can help his brother through the word.
reproof is unavoidable.
God's word demands it when a brother falls into open sin.
the practice of discipline in the congregation
begins in the smallest circles.
where defection from God's word in doctrine or life
imperils the family fellowship
and with it the whole congregation,
the word of admonition and rebuke must be ventured.
nothing can be more cruel than the tenderness
that consigns another to his sin.
nothing can be more compassionate than
the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin.
it is a ministry of mercy,
an ultimate offer of genuine fellowship,
when we allow nothing but God's word to stand between us,
judging and succoring.
then it is not we who are judging;
God alone judges, and God's judgment is helpful and healing.
ultimately, we have no charge but to serve our brother,
never to set ourselves above him,
and we serve him even when, in obedience to God,
we must break off fellowship with him.
we must know that it is not our human love
which makes us loyal to another person,
but God's love which breaks its way through to him
only through judgment.
just because God's word judges,
it serves the person.
he who accepts the ministry of God's judgment is helped.
this is the point where the limitations of all human action
toward our brother become apparent:
'none of them can by any means redeem his brother,
nor give to God a ransom for him
(for the redemption of their life is costly,
and it faileth for ever. ps 49.7-8 arv
this renunciation of our own ability is precisely
the prerequisite and the sanction for the redeeming help
that only the word of God can give to the brother.
our brother's ways are not in our hands;
we cannot hold together what is breaking;
we cannot keep life in what is determined to die.
but God binds elements together in the breaking,
creates community in the separation,
grants peace through judgment.
He has put His word in our mouth.
He wants it to be spoken through us.
if we hinder His word,
the blood of the sinning brother will be upon us.
if we carry our His word,
God will save our brother through us.
'he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way
shall save a soul from death,
and shall hide a multitude of sins. James 5.20
MINISTRY OF AUTHORITY
'whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister. mark 10.43
Jesus made authority in the fellowship dependent upon brotherly service.
genuine spiritual authority is to be found only where
the ministry of hearing, helping, bearing and proclaiming is carried out.
every cult of personality that emphasizes the distinguished
qualities, virtues and talents of another person,
even though these be of an altogether spiritual nature,
is worldly
and has no place in the christian community;
indeed, it poisons the christian community.
the desire we so often hear expressed today
for 'episcopal figures', 'priestly men', 'authoritative personalities'
springs frequently enough from a spiritually sick need for the admiration of men,
for the establishment of visible human authority,
because the genuine authority of service appears to be so unimpressive.
there is nothing that so sharply contradicts such a desire as
the new testament itself in its description of a bishop I tim. 3.1f
one finds there nothing whatsoever with respect to
worldly charm and the brilliant attributes of a spiritual personality.
the bishop is the simple, faithful man,
sound in faith and life,
who rightly discharges his duties to the church.
his authority lies in the exercise of his ministry.
in the man himself there is nothing to admire.
ultimately, this hankering for false authority
has at its root a desire to re-establish some sort of immediacy,
a dependence upon human beings in the church.
genuine authority knows that all immediacy is
especially baneful in matters of authority.
genuine authority realizes that
it can exist only in the service of Him who alone has authority.
genuine authority knows that it is bound in the strictest sense
by the saying of Jesus:
'one is your master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. matt. 23.8
the church does not need brilliant personalities
but faithful servants of Jesus and the brethren.
not in the former but in the latter is the lack.
the church will place its confidence only
in the simple servant of the word of Jesus Christ
because it knows that then it will be guided,
not according to human wisdom and human conceit,
but by the word of the Good Shepherd.
the question of truth, which is so closely related to that of authority,
is determined by the faithfulness with which a man
serves Jesus Christ,
never by the extraordinary talents which he possesses.
pastoral authority can be attained only be the servant of Jesus
who seeks no power of his own,
who himself is a brother among brothers
submitted to the authority of the word.
in england he formed a close friendship with bishop bell of chichester and became one of the foremost interpreters to the world outside of events in the german churches.
then, while preparing to visit gandhi in india through the mediation of c. f. andrews to pursue an interest in pacifism, he received a call from the confessing church to take charge of an 'illegal', clandestine seminary for the training of young pastors in pomerania. he went back at once. in 1935 he moved to zingst and from there to finkenwalde near stettin, where he shared a common life in emergency built houses with 25 vicars. this was life together, the life of the christian community which is described and documented with biblical insights in the book. gemeinsames leben (1938), here presented in translation.
hope to share several sections. the section here is chapter 4, Ministry.
'there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be the greatest luke 9.46.
we know who it is that sows this thought in the christian community.
but perhaps we do not bear in mind enough that no christian community
ever comes together without this thought immediately emerging as a seed of discord.
thus at the very beginning of Christian fellowship there is engendered an
invisible, often unconscious, life and death contest.
'there arose a reasoning among them'
this is enough to destroy a fellowship.
hence it is vitally necessary that every christian community
from the very outset face this dangerous enemy squarely,
and eradicate it.
there is no time to lose here,
for from the first moment when a man meets another person
he is looking for a strategic position he can assume and hold
over against that person.
there are strong persons and weak ones.
if a man is not strong, he immediately claims the right of the weak
as his own and uses it against the strong.
there are gifted and ungifted persons,
simple people and difficult people,
devout and less devout,
the sociable and the solitary.
does not the ungifted person have to take up a position
just as well as the gifted person,
the difficult one as well as the simple?
and if i am not gifted, then perhaps i am devout anyhow;
of if i am not devout it is only because i do not want to be.
may not the sociable individual carry the field before him
and put the timid, solitary man to shame?
then may not the solitary person become the undying enemy
and ultimate vanquisher of his sociable adversary?
where is there a person who dose not
with instinctive sureness find the spot
where he can stand and defend himself,
but which he will never give up to another,
for which he will fight with all the drive of his instinct of self assertion?
all this can occur in the most polite or even pious environment.
but the important thing is that a christian community
should know that somewhere in it
there will certainly be 'a reasoning among them,
which of them should be the greatest'.
it is the struggle of the natural man for self justification.
he finds it only in comparing himself with others,
in condemning and judging others.
self justification and judging others go together,
as justification by grace and serving others go together.
THE MINISTRY OF HOLDING ONE'S TONGUE
often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we
absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words.
it is certain that the spirit of self justification
can be overcome only by the Spirit of grace;
nevertheless, isolated thoughts of judgment can be
curbed and smothered by never allowing them
the right to be uttered,
except as a confession of sin,
which we shall discuss later.
he who holds his tongue in check
controls both mind and body James 3.2f
thus it must be a decisive rule of every christian fellowship
that each individual is prohibited from saying
much that occurs to him.
this prohibition does not include the personal word
of advice and guidance;
on this point we shall speak later. \
but to speak about a brother covertly is forbidden,
even under the cloak of help and good will;
for it is precisely in this guise that the spirit of hatred
among brothers always creeps in
when it is seeking to create mischief.
this is not the place to discuss the limitations
upon this rule in particular cases.
they must be a matter of decision in each instance.
the point, however, is clear and biblical:
'thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;
thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
these things hast thou done,
and I kept silence'
thou thoughtest that I was altogether
such a one as thyself:
but I will reprove thee,
and set them in order before thine eyes ps. 50. 20-1
'speak not evil one of another, brethren.
he that speaketh evil of his brother,
and judgeth his brother,
speaketh evil of the law and judgeth the law:
but if thou judge the law.
thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
there is one lawgiver,
who is able to save and to destroy:
who are thou that judgest another?
James 4.11-2
'let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,
but that which is good to the use of edifying,
that it may minister grace unto the hearers. eph. 4.29
where this discipline of the tongue is practiced
right from the beginning,
each individual will make a matchless discovery.
he will be abel to cease from constantly scrutinizing
the other person,
judging him, condemning him,
putting him in his particular place
where he can gain ascendancy over him
and thus doing violence to him as a person.
now he can allow the brother to exist
as a completely free person,
as God made him to be.
his view expands and , to his amazement,
for the first time he sees,
shining above his brethren, the richness of God's creative glory.
God did not make this person as i would have made him.
he did not give him to me as a brother
for me to dominate and control,
but in order that i might find above him the creator.
now the other person, in the freedom with which he was created,
becomes the occasion of joy,
whereas before he was only a nuisance and an affliction.
God does not will that i should fashion thee other person
according to the image that seems good to me,
that is, in my own image;
rather in his very freedom from me
God made this person in His image.
i can never know beforehand
how God's image should appear in others.
that image always manifests a completely new and unique form
that comes solely from God's free and sovereign creation.
to me the sight may seem strange, even ungodly.
but God creates every man in the likeness of His son, the crucified.
after all, even that image certainly looked
strange and ungodly to me before i grasped it.
strong and weak, wise and foolish,
gifted or ungifted, pious or impious,
the diverse individuals in the community,
are no longer incentives for talking and judging and condemning,
and thus excuses for self justification.
they are rather cause for rejoicing in one another
and serving one another.
each member of the community is given his particular place,
but this is no longer the place
in which he can most successfully assert himself,
but the place where he can best perform his service.
in a christian community everything depends upon
whether each individual is an indispensable link in a chain.
only when even the smallest link is securely interlocked
is the chain unbreakable.
a community which allows unemployed members
to exist within it will perish because of them.
it will be well, therefore,
if every member receives a definite to perform
for the community,
that he may know in hours of doubt that he, too,
is not useless and unusable.
every christian community must realize
that not only do the weak need the strong,
but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak.
the elimination of the weak
is the death of fellowship.
not self justification, which means the use of domination
and force,
but justification by grace,
and therefore service,
should govern the christian community.
once a man has experienced the mercy of God in his life
he will henceforth aspire only to serve.
the proud throne of the judge no longer lures him;
he wants to be down below with
the lowly and the needy,
because that is where God found him.
'mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate'. rom. 12.16
THE MINISTRY OF MEEKNESS
he who would learn to serve must first learn
to think little of himself.
let no man 'think of himself more highly
than he ought to think rom. 12.3
'this is the highest and most profitable lesson,
truly to know and to despise ourselves.
to have no opinion of ourselves,
and to think always well and highly of others,
is great wisdom and perfection' (thomas a dempis
'be not wise in your own conceits rom. 12.16
only he who lives by the forgiveness of his sin in Jesus Christ
will rightly think little of himself.
he will know that his own wisdom reached
the end of its tether when Jesus forgave him.
he remembers the ambition of the first man
who wanted to know what is good and evil
and perished in his wisdom.
that first man who was born on this earth
was cain, the fratricide.
his crime is the fruit of man's wisdom.
because the christian can no longer fancy
that he is wise
he will also have no high opinion
of his own schemes and plans.
he will know that it is good
for his own will to be broken
in the encounter with his neighbor.
he will be ready to consider his neighbor's will
more important and urgent than his own.
what does it matter if our own plans are frustrated?
is it not better to serve our neighbor
than to have our own way?
but not only my neighbor's will,
but also his honor is more important than mine.
'how can you believe,
which receive honour one of another, \
and seek not the honour
that cometh from god only? john 5.44
the desire fro one's own honor hinders faith.
one who seeks his own honor
is no longer seeking god and his neighbor.
what does it matter if i suffer injustice?
would i not have deserved even worse punishment from God,
if He had not dealt with me according to His mercy?
is not justice done to me a thousand times even in injustice?
must it not be wholesome and conducive to humility
for me to learn to bear such petty evils silently and patiently?
'the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. eccl. 7.8
one who lives by justification by grace
is willing and ready to accept even insults and injuries
without protest,
taking them from God's punishing and gracious hand.
it is not a good sign when we can no longer bear
to hear this said without immediately retorting
that even paul insisted
and that Jesus replied to the man who struck Him,
'why smitest thou Me
in any case, none of us will really act as Jesus and pau did
if we have not first learned, like them,
to keep silent under abuse.
the sin of resentment that flares up so quickly in the fellowship
indicates again and again how much false desire for honor,
how much unbelief,
still smolders in the community.
finally, one extreme thing must be said.
to forego self conceit
and to associate with the lowly means,
in all soberness and without mincing the matter,
to consider oneself the greatest of sinners.
this arouses all the resistance of the natural man,
but also that of the self confident christian.
it sounds like an exaggeration, like an untruth.
yet even paul said of himself that he was
the foremost of sinners. I tim. 1.15;
he said this specifically at the point
where he was speaking of his service as an apostle.
there can be no genuine acknowledgment of sin
that does not lead to this extremity.
if my sinfulness appears o me to be
in any way smaller or less detestable
in comparison with the sins of others,
i am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all.
my sin is of necessity the worst,
the most grievous, the most reprehensible.
brotherly love will find any number of extenuations
for the sins of others;
only for my sin is there no apology whatsoever.
therefore my sin is the worst.
he who would serve his brother in the fellowship
must sink all the way down o these depths of humility.
how can i possibly serve another person
in unfeigned humility
if i seriously regard his sinfulness as worse
than my own?
would i not be putting myself above him;
could i have any hope for him?
such service would be hypocritical.
'never think that thou hast made any progress
till thou look upon thyself as inferior to all' (thomas a kempis)
how, then is true brotherly service performed in the christian community?
we are apt these days to reply too quickly
that the one real service to our neighbor
is to minister to him the word of God.
it is true that there is no service that compares with this one,
and even more,
that every other service is performed
for the sake of the service of the word of
god.
yet a christian community does not consist
solely of preachers of the word.
we can go monstrously wrong there
if we overlook a number of other things.
THE MINISTRY OF LISTENING
the first service that one owes to others in the fellowship
consists in listening to them.
just as love to God begins with listening to His word,
so the beginning of love for the brethren
is learning to listen to them.
it is
God's love for us hat He
not only gives us His word
but also lends us His ear.
so it is His work that we do for our brother
when we learn to listen to him.
christians, especially ministers,
so often think they must always contribute something
when they are in the company of others.
that this is the one service they have to render.
they forget that listening can be a greater service
than speaking.
many people are looking for an ear that will listen.
they do not find it among christians,
because these christians are talking where they
should be listening.
but he who can no longer listen to his brother
will soon be no longer listening to god either;
he will be doing nothing but prattle
in the presence of God too.
this is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life,
and in the end there is nothing left but
spiritual chatter
and clerical condescension arrayed in pious words.
one who cannot listen long and patiently
will presently be talking beside the point
and be never really speaking to others,
albeit he be not conscious of it.
anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable
to spend keeping quiet
will eventually have no time for God and his brother,
but only for himself and for his own follies.
brotherly pastoral care is essentially distinguished from preaching
by the fact that, added to the task of speaking the word,
there is the obligation of listening.
there is a kind of listening with half and ear
that presumes already to know
what the other person has to say.
it is an impatient, inattentive listening,
that despises the brother
and is only waiting for a chance to speak
and thus get rid of the other person.
this is no fulfillment of our obligation,
and it is certain that here too our attitude
toward our brother only reflects our relationship to God.
it is little wonder that we are no longer capable
of the greatest service of listening
that God has committed to us,
that of hearing our brother's confession,
if we refuse to give ear to our brother on lesser subjects.
secular education today is aware that often
a person can be helped merely by having someone
who will listen to him seriously
and upon this insight it has constructed its own soul therapy,
which has attracted great numbers of people,
including christians.
but christians have forgotten
that the ministry of listening
has been committed to them by Him who is Himself
the great listener
and whose work they should share.
we should listen with the ears of God
that we may speak the word of God.
THE MINISTRY OF HELPFULNESS
the second service that one should perform for another
in a christian community
is that of active helpfulness.
this means, initially, simple assistance
in trifling, external matters.
there is a multitude of these things
wherever people live together.
nobody is too good for the meanest service.
one who worries about the loss of time
that such petty, outward acts of helpfulness entail
is usually taking the importance of his own career too solemnly.
we must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.
God will be constantly crossing our paths
and canceling our -plans
by sending us people with claims and petitions.
we may pass them by,
preoccupied with our more important tasks,
as the priest passed by the man who
had fallen among thieves,
perhaps-reading the bible.
when we do that we pass by the visible sign of the cross
raised athwart our path
to show us that, not our way, but God's way
must be done.
it is a strange fact that christians
and even ministers
frequently consider their work so important and urgent
that they will allow nothing to disturb them.
they think they are doing God a service in this,
but actually they are disdaining God's
'crooked yet straight path' (gottfried arnold).
they do not want a life that is crossed and balked.
but it is part of the discipline of humility
that we must not spare our hand
where it can perform a service
and that we do not assume that our schedule
is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.
in the monastery his vow of obedience to the abbot
deprives the monk of the right to dispose of his own time.
in evangelical community life,
free service to one's brother takes the place of the vow.
only where hands are not too good for
deeds of love and mercy in everyday helpfulness
can the mouth joyfully and convincingly
proclaim the message of God's love and mercy.
THE MINISTRY OF BEARING
we speak, third, of the service that consists in bearing others.
'bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. gal. 6.2
thus the law of Christ is a law of bearing.
bearing means forbearing and sustaining.
the brother is a burden to the christian,
precisely because he is a christian.
for the pagan the other person never becomes a burden at all.
he simply sidesteps every burden
that others may impose upon him.
the christian, however, must bear the burden of a brother.
he must suffer and endure the brother.
it is only when he is a burden
that another person is really a brother
and not merely an object to be manipulated.
the burden of men was so heavy for God Himself
that He had to endure the cross.
God verily bore the burden of men
in the body of Jesus Christ.
but He bore them as a mother carries her child,
as a shepherd enfolds he lost lamb that has been found.
God took men upon Himself and they weighted Him to the ground,
but God remained with them and they with God.
in bearing with men God maintained fellowship with them.
it is the law of Christ that was fulfilled in the cross.
and christians must share in this law.
they must suffer their brethren, but,
what is more important, now that the law of Christ has been fulfilled,
they can bear with their brethren.
the bible speaks with remarkable frequency of 'bearing'.
it is capable of expressing the whole work of Jesus Christ
in this one word.
'surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows...
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. isaiah 53.4-5
therefore, the bible can also characterize
the whole life of the christian as bearing the cross.
it is there fellowship of the cross
to experience the burden of the other.
if one does not experience it,
the fellowship he belongs to is no christian.
if any member refuses to bear that burden,
he denies the law of Christ.
it is, first of all, the freedom of the other person,
of which we spoke earlier,
that is a burden to the christian.
the other's freedom collides with his won autonomy,
yet he must recognize it.
he could get rid of this burden
by refusing the other person his freedom,
by constraining him and thus doing violence to his personality,
by stamping his own image upon him.
but if he lets God create His image in him,
he by this token gives him his freedom
and himself bears the burden of this freedom
of another creature of God.
the freedom of the other person includes all that we mean
by a person's nature, individuality, endowment.
it also includes his weaknesses and oddities,
which are such a rial to our patience,
everything that produces fictions, conflicts and collisions
among us.
to bear the burden of the other person means
involvement with the crated reality of the other,
to accept and affirm it, and, in bearing with it,
to break through to the point were we take joy in it.
this will prove especially difficult where varying strength
and weakness in faith are bound together in a fellowship.
the weak must not judge the strong,
the strong must not despise the weak.
the weak must guard against pride,
the strong against indifference.
none must seek his own rights.
if the strong person falls,
the weak one must guard his heart against
malicious joy at his downfall.
if the weak one falls,
the strong one must help him rise again in all kindness.
the one needs as much patience as the other.
'woe to him that is alone when he falleth;
for he hath not another to help him up eccl. 4.10
it is doubtless this bearing of another person in his freedom
that the scripture means when it speaks of
'forbearing one another' col. 3.13.
'walk with all lowliness and meekness,
with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. eph. 4.2
then, besides he other's freedom,
there is the abuse of that freedom
that becomes a burden for the christian.
the sin of the other person is hard to bear than his freedom'
for in sin, fellowship with God
and with the brother is broken.
here the christian suffers the rupture of his fellowship
with the other person that had its basis in Jesus Christ.
but here too it is only in bearing with him
that the great grace of God. becomes wholly plain.
to cherish no contempt for the sinner
but rather to prize the privilege of bearing him
means not to have to give him up as lost,
to be able to accept him,
to preserve fellowship with him through forgiveness.
'brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault,
ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness'. gal 6.1
as Christ bore and received us as sinners
so we in His fellowship may bear and receive sinners
into the fellowship of Jesus Christ
through the forgiving of sins.
we may suffer the sins of our brother;
we do not need to judge.
this is a mercy for the christian;
for when does sin ever occur in the community
that he must not examine and blame himself
for his own unfaithfulness in prayer and intercession,
his lack of brotherly service,
of fraternal reproof and encouragement,
indeed, for his own personal sin and spiritual laxity,
by which he has done injury to himself,
the fellowship and the brethren?
since every sin of every member
burdens and indicts the whole community,
the congregation rejoices,
in the midst of all the pain and the burden
the brother's sin inflicts, that it has the privilege
of bearing and forgiving.
'behold, you bear them all
and likewise all of them ear you
and all things are common,
both the good and the bad.' Luther
the service of forgiveness is rendered by one to the others daily.
it occurs, without words,
in the intercessions for one another.
and every member of the fellowship,
who does not grow weary in this ministry,
can depend upon it that this service is also
being rendered him by the brethren.
he who is bearing others knows that
he himself is being born
and only in this strength can he go on bearing.
then where the ministry of listening, active helpfulness.
and bearing with others is faithfully performed,
the ultimate and highest service can also be rendered,
namely, the ministry of the word of God.
THE MINISTRY OF PROCLAIMING
what we are concerned with here is the free communication
of the word from person to person,
not by the ordained ministry which is bound to
a particular office, time and palace.
we are thinking of that unique situation
in which one person bears witness in human words
to another person,
bespeaking the whole consolation of God,
the admonition, the kindness and the severity of God.
the speaking of that word is beset with infinite perils.
if it is not accompanied by worthy listening,
how can it really be the right word for the other person?
if it is contradicted by one's own lack of active helpfulness,
how can it be a convincing and sincere word?
if it issues, not from a spirit of bearing and forbearing,
but from impatience and the desire to force its acceptance,
how can it be the liberating and healing word?
moreover, the person who has really listened and served
and borne with others is the very one who is likely to say nothing.
a profound distrust of everything that is merely verbal
often causes a personal word to a brother to be suppressed.
what can weak human word accomplish for others?
why add to the empty talk?
are we, like the professionally pious,
to 'talk away' the other person's real need?
is there anything more perilous than speaking God's word
to excess?
but, on the other hand, who wants to be accountable
for having been silent when he should have spoken?
how much easier is ordered speech in the pulpit
than this entirely free speech which is uttered betwixt
the responsibility to be silent and the responsibility to speak!
added to the fear of one's responsibility to speak there is
the fear of the other person.
what a difficult thing it often is
to utter the name of Jesus Christ in the presence even of
a brother.!
here, too, it is difficult to distinguish between right ad wrong.
who dares to force himself upon his neighbor?
who is entitled to accost and confront his neighbor
and talk to him about ultimate matters?
it would be no sign of great christian insight
were one simply to say at this point that everybody
has this right, indeed, this obligation.
this could be the point where the desire to dominate
might again assert itself in the most insidious way.
the other person, as a matter of fact,
has his own right, his own responsibility,
and even his own duty,
to defend himself against unauthorized interference.
the other person has his own secret which dare not be invaded
without great injury,
and which he cannot surrender without destroying himself.
it is not a secret dependent on knowledge or feeling,
but rather the secret of his freedom, his salvation, his being.
and yet this correct judgment lies perilously near
to the deadly dictum of cain:
'am i my brother's keeper?
a seemingly sacred respect for another's freedom
can be subject to the curse of God:
'his blood will i require at thine hand eve. 3.18
where christians live together the time must inevitable come
when in some crisis one person will have to declare God's
word and will to another.
it is inconceivable that the things that are of utmost importance
to each individual should not be spoken by one to another.
it is unchristian consciously to deprive another of the
one decisive service we can render to him.
if we cannot bring ourselves to utter it,
we shall have to ask ourselves whether we are not still
seeing our brother garbed in his human dignity
which we are afraid to touch
and thus forgetting the most important thing,
that he, too, no matter how old or highly placed
or distinguished he may be, is still a man like us,
a sinner in crying need of God's grace.
he has the same great necessities that we have and needs
help, encouragement and forgiveness as we do.
the basis upon which christians can speak to one another
is that each knows the other as a sinner, who,
with all his human dignity, is lonely and lost
it he is not given help.
this is not to make him contemptible
nor to disparage him in any way.
on the contrary, it is to accord him the one real dignity
that man has, namely, that, though he is a sinner,
he can share in God's grace and glory and be God's child.
this recognition gives to our brotherly speech the freedom
and candor that it needs.
we speak to one another on the basis of the help
we both need.
we admonish one another to go the way that Christ
bids us to go.
we warn one another against the disobedience
that is our common destruction.
we are gentle and we are severe with one another,
for we know both God's kindness and God's severity.
why should we be afraid of one another,
since both of us have only God to fear?
why should we think that our brother
would not understand us,
when we understood very well
what was meant when somebody spoke
God's comfort or God's admonition to us,
perhaps in word that were halting and unskilled?
or do we really think there is a single person in this world
who does not need either encouragement or admonition?
why, then, has God bestowed christian brotherhood
upon us?
the more we learn to allow others to speak the word to us,
to accept humbly and gratefully eve severe
reproaches and admonitions,
the more free and objective will we be in speaking ourselves.
the person whose touchiness and vanity make him spurn
a brothers earnest censure
cannot speak the truth in humility to others;
he is afraid of being rebuffed and of feeling that he has
been aggrieved.
the touchy person will always become a flatterer
and very soon he will come to despise and slander his brother.
but the humble person will stick both to the truth and to love.
he will stick to the word of God
and will let it lead him to his brother.
because he seeks nothing for himself
and has no fears for himself,
he can help his brother through the word.
reproof is unavoidable.
God's word demands it when a brother falls into open sin.
the practice of discipline in the congregation
begins in the smallest circles.
where defection from God's word in doctrine or life
imperils the family fellowship
and with it the whole congregation,
the word of admonition and rebuke must be ventured.
nothing can be more cruel than the tenderness
that consigns another to his sin.
nothing can be more compassionate than
the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin.
it is a ministry of mercy,
an ultimate offer of genuine fellowship,
when we allow nothing but God's word to stand between us,
judging and succoring.
then it is not we who are judging;
God alone judges, and God's judgment is helpful and healing.
ultimately, we have no charge but to serve our brother,
never to set ourselves above him,
and we serve him even when, in obedience to God,
we must break off fellowship with him.
we must know that it is not our human love
which makes us loyal to another person,
but God's love which breaks its way through to him
only through judgment.
just because God's word judges,
it serves the person.
he who accepts the ministry of God's judgment is helped.
this is the point where the limitations of all human action
toward our brother become apparent:
'none of them can by any means redeem his brother,
nor give to God a ransom for him
(for the redemption of their life is costly,
and it faileth for ever. ps 49.7-8 arv
this renunciation of our own ability is precisely
the prerequisite and the sanction for the redeeming help
that only the word of God can give to the brother.
our brother's ways are not in our hands;
we cannot hold together what is breaking;
we cannot keep life in what is determined to die.
but God binds elements together in the breaking,
creates community in the separation,
grants peace through judgment.
He has put His word in our mouth.
He wants it to be spoken through us.
if we hinder His word,
the blood of the sinning brother will be upon us.
if we carry our His word,
God will save our brother through us.
'he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way
shall save a soul from death,
and shall hide a multitude of sins. James 5.20
MINISTRY OF AUTHORITY
'whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister. mark 10.43
Jesus made authority in the fellowship dependent upon brotherly service.
genuine spiritual authority is to be found only where
the ministry of hearing, helping, bearing and proclaiming is carried out.
every cult of personality that emphasizes the distinguished
qualities, virtues and talents of another person,
even though these be of an altogether spiritual nature,
is worldly
and has no place in the christian community;
indeed, it poisons the christian community.
the desire we so often hear expressed today
for 'episcopal figures', 'priestly men', 'authoritative personalities'
springs frequently enough from a spiritually sick need for the admiration of men,
for the establishment of visible human authority,
because the genuine authority of service appears to be so unimpressive.
there is nothing that so sharply contradicts such a desire as
the new testament itself in its description of a bishop I tim. 3.1f
one finds there nothing whatsoever with respect to
worldly charm and the brilliant attributes of a spiritual personality.
the bishop is the simple, faithful man,
sound in faith and life,
who rightly discharges his duties to the church.
his authority lies in the exercise of his ministry.
in the man himself there is nothing to admire.
ultimately, this hankering for false authority
has at its root a desire to re-establish some sort of immediacy,
a dependence upon human beings in the church.
genuine authority knows that all immediacy is
especially baneful in matters of authority.
genuine authority realizes that
it can exist only in the service of Him who alone has authority.
genuine authority knows that it is bound in the strictest sense
by the saying of Jesus:
'one is your master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. matt. 23.8
the church does not need brilliant personalities
but faithful servants of Jesus and the brethren.
not in the former but in the latter is the lack.
the church will place its confidence only
in the simple servant of the word of Jesus Christ
because it knows that then it will be guided,
not according to human wisdom and human conceit,
but by the word of the Good Shepherd.
the question of truth, which is so closely related to that of authority,
is determined by the faithfulness with which a man
serves Jesus Christ,
never by the extraordinary talents which he possesses.
pastoral authority can be attained only be the servant of Jesus
who seeks no power of his own,
who himself is a brother among brothers
submitted to the authority of the word.
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