Senior 40: Christian Community
This week I read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together. It was amazing.
Recently (actually throughout my time at APU, but especially in the last week or two) I have been thinking about the Church and Christian community. There is a great deal of disillusionment and frustration with its various faults, failings, impoverishment, and impotence. Many look at the Church in its present broken condition and mistakenly conclude that that is an accurate reflection of the Christian concept of community. They then reject "Christian community" and look for something else. Unfortunately, what they have rejected is not genuine Christian community, and by abandoning the Church, they have cut themselves off from the fellowship of faith. Dallas Willard reminds us that the Church is the natural outgrowth and expression and vehicle of God's grace moving in the world. And if the Church is the body of Christ as the Apostle Paul says, then cutting oneself off from that can lead to no better end than that of a finger or toe that is severed from a physical body.
Bohoeffer reminds the reader of the true nature and character of Christian community. His words were wonderfully refreshing, encouraging, and challenging to me. Here are some of my favorite passages (underlined in my copy).
-----
"It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world 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." (18)
It was almost a shock to read this, and yet it's such an obvious point. Christians spend so much time complaining about the Christian community--I find myself criticizing, critiquing, and evaluating it--and we forget what a privilege it is to be able to meet with other believers at all. How would it change me if I reminded myself of that every Sunday before church? How would it change the faith community?
--
"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 inn the faith," Timothy, to come to him in prison in the last days of his life; he would see him again and have him near." (19)
"The believer feels no shame, as though he were still living too much in the flesh, when he years for the physical presence of other Christians." (19)
The second quote about feeling no shame also struck me. I think Christian community must look a bit strange to the outside world, but the members should not feel shame. This is not so much a problem at APU, I think, but something to be mindful of.
--
"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." (20)
"Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God's Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth." (23)
I am indebted to a number of people (professors and students) who have been Jesus Christ to me over the past four years. And it is my joy to speak the blessings and truth of Jesus Christ to others (albeit often sloppily and haltingly).
--
"How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things? If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ." (29)
Every now and then I need a reminder of just how richly God has blessed me. I also need to remember that my tangible, external, empirical experience is not always the best judge of spiritual things. This point segues well into the next quote:
"What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God. Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.
"Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it." (30)
One of the hardest things to do is to follow God wholly and trust the results completely to Him. We want to see the fruits of our labors. We want to know that we're making progress. But when we focus on our progress or condition too much, we wind up taking our eyes off Jesus.
(A peculiar analogy to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in Quantum Physics comes to mind. According to this principle, for a given particle, a researcher can accurately identify either its speed or its position, but not both simultaneously. Sometimes Christian's focus too much on their position--where they are, how their doing--and lose sight of what their doing, i.e. following Jesus. There are problems with that analogy, but I thought it was interesting that it spontaneously occurred to me.)
What would it mean to focus on Jesus Christ, at the expense of ministry, the fight for justice, our love for people, helping the poor, our job, everything. Some would balk and call that grossly negligent. Many would be and are offended by Jesus' words in Luke 14:26.
And people should take seriously Jesus' warning to count the cost of discipleship. (Luke 14:27-33) No one should glibly, or on a whim, leave everything to follow Jesus; I doubt if anybody actually ever does. But it is not a blind faith that brings people to full and complete surrender before the Throne of Grace. And for those that "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness," Jesus assures, "all these things will be added to you" as well. (Matthew 6:33)
A radical reorientation--reversal, actually--is necessary if we are to find our place in God's world. And let us be clear, it is God's world.
"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." (53-54)
-----
Bonhoeffer goes on to write about prayer and Bible study and spiritual disciplines and ministry, bringing new vitality to these and other familiar practices by examining them in the light of God's reality.
Oh, by the way, Bonhoeffer has another important Christian classic to his name, The Cost of Discipleship, if you want to read still more on this. That book is next on my reading list.
Blessings all,
(P.S. It suddenly occurs to me that if Bonhoeffer is correct, than I may have to retract or better qualify my statement in the second paragraph about it not being genuine Christian community that people are rejecting. Hmm... I shall have to think on that. That's the joy of posting works in progress.)
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
Recently (actually throughout my time at APU, but especially in the last week or two) I have been thinking about the Church and Christian community. There is a great deal of disillusionment and frustration with its various faults, failings, impoverishment, and impotence. Many look at the Church in its present broken condition and mistakenly conclude that that is an accurate reflection of the Christian concept of community. They then reject "Christian community" and look for something else. Unfortunately, what they have rejected is not genuine Christian community, and by abandoning the Church, they have cut themselves off from the fellowship of faith. Dallas Willard reminds us that the Church is the natural outgrowth and expression and vehicle of God's grace moving in the world. And if the Church is the body of Christ as the Apostle Paul says, then cutting oneself off from that can lead to no better end than that of a finger or toe that is severed from a physical body.
Bohoeffer reminds the reader of the true nature and character of Christian community. His words were wonderfully refreshing, encouraging, and challenging to me. Here are some of my favorite passages (underlined in my copy).
-----
"It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world 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." (18)
It was almost a shock to read this, and yet it's such an obvious point. Christians spend so much time complaining about the Christian community--I find myself criticizing, critiquing, and evaluating it--and we forget what a privilege it is to be able to meet with other believers at all. How would it change me if I reminded myself of that every Sunday before church? How would it change the faith community?
--
"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 inn the faith," Timothy, to come to him in prison in the last days of his life; he would see him again and have him near." (19)
"The believer feels no shame, as though he were still living too much in the flesh, when he years for the physical presence of other Christians." (19)
The second quote about feeling no shame also struck me. I think Christian community must look a bit strange to the outside world, but the members should not feel shame. This is not so much a problem at APU, I think, but something to be mindful of.
--
"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." (20)
"Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God's Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth." (23)
I am indebted to a number of people (professors and students) who have been Jesus Christ to me over the past four years. And it is my joy to speak the blessings and truth of Jesus Christ to others (albeit often sloppily and haltingly).
--
"How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things? If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ." (29)
Every now and then I need a reminder of just how richly God has blessed me. I also need to remember that my tangible, external, empirical experience is not always the best judge of spiritual things. This point segues well into the next quote:
"What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God. Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.
"Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it." (30)
One of the hardest things to do is to follow God wholly and trust the results completely to Him. We want to see the fruits of our labors. We want to know that we're making progress. But when we focus on our progress or condition too much, we wind up taking our eyes off Jesus.
(A peculiar analogy to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in Quantum Physics comes to mind. According to this principle, for a given particle, a researcher can accurately identify either its speed or its position, but not both simultaneously. Sometimes Christian's focus too much on their position--where they are, how their doing--and lose sight of what their doing, i.e. following Jesus. There are problems with that analogy, but I thought it was interesting that it spontaneously occurred to me.)
What would it mean to focus on Jesus Christ, at the expense of ministry, the fight for justice, our love for people, helping the poor, our job, everything. Some would balk and call that grossly negligent. Many would be and are offended by Jesus' words in Luke 14:26.
And people should take seriously Jesus' warning to count the cost of discipleship. (Luke 14:27-33) No one should glibly, or on a whim, leave everything to follow Jesus; I doubt if anybody actually ever does. But it is not a blind faith that brings people to full and complete surrender before the Throne of Grace. And for those that "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness," Jesus assures, "all these things will be added to you" as well. (Matthew 6:33)
A radical reorientation--reversal, actually--is necessary if we are to find our place in God's world. And let us be clear, it is God's world.
"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." (53-54)
-----
Bonhoeffer goes on to write about prayer and Bible study and spiritual disciplines and ministry, bringing new vitality to these and other familiar practices by examining them in the light of God's reality.
Oh, by the way, Bonhoeffer has another important Christian classic to his name, The Cost of Discipleship, if you want to read still more on this. That book is next on my reading list.
Blessings all,
(P.S. It suddenly occurs to me that if Bonhoeffer is correct, than I may have to retract or better qualify my statement in the second paragraph about it not being genuine Christian community that people are rejecting. Hmm... I shall have to think on that. That's the joy of posting works in progress.)
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 9:52 PM
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