Heritage of the Saints: Bonhoeffer in Rome

 When Deitrich Bonhoeffer turned 18, he had the opportunity to spend a semester of his theology studies in Rome. He became caught up in Michelangelo's art in the Sistine Chapel during his time there.

"I was hardly able to move beyond the Adam.  There is an inexhaustible abundance of ideas in the picture.  The figure of God reverberates with colossal power and tender love, or rather with the divine attributes that supersede these two human attributes that are often far removed from each other.  Man is about to awaken to life for the first time.  The meadow send out shoots in front of unending mountain ranges, thereby foreshadowing man's later fate.  The painting is worldly and yet very pure.  In short, one can't express it."  Bonhoeffer, Metaxas, page 51

 In 1998, my wife and I spent two weeks touring Italy. The tour began and ended in Rome, and due to circumstances, we were able to stay an extra day in Rome at the end of the tour. Not only did we have time at St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, but we were also in St Peter's Square to see the Pope come to the window and address those gathered in the Square. The experience, as Bonhoeffer stated, "one can't express."

Three years after his time in Rome, Bonhoeffer had the opportunity to attempt to express his experience and its impact on him to a group called the Thursday Circle in which he participated. In attempting to summarize his thoughts, he wrote a short paper that stated, in part,

"With admirable power, it has understood how to maintain unity in diversity, to gain the love and respect of the masses, and to foster a stong sense of community...We adhere to the same confession of faith, we pray the same Lord's Prayer, and we share some of the same ancient rites.  This binds us together...The designation Catholic or Protestant is unimportant. The important thing is God's word." Bonhoeffer, Mataxas, Page 57

 Deitrich's summary words resonate through the centuries, from Paul's writing to the Galatians. In Galatians 3:26-28 Paul tells them and us today,

"For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

 Is this where our greatest challenge and greatest advance lie as followers of Christ? Combining the thought and writing of Bonhoeffer and Paul, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither Catholic nor Protestant, neither denomination nor sect. It is unimportant, as we are all one in Christ Jesus.

We are within a couple of weeks of entering the Hebrew month of Elul, a time of repentance. Elul is a time when we posture our hearts for Techuvah—to repent, confess, and return to God. We renew our positions as all one in Christ Jesus.

Matthew Henry in writing for his commentary on Galatians 3:26-28 further causes us to consider the words of Bonhoeffer and Paul at a much deeper level.

"That this privilege of being the children of God, and of being by baptism devoted to Christ, is now enjoyed in common by all real Christians. The law indeed made a difference between Jew and Greek, giving the Jews on many accounts the pre-eminence: that also made a difference between bond and free, master and servant, and between male and female, the males being circumcised. But it is not so now; they all stand on the same level, and are all one in Christ Jesus; as the one is not accepted on the account of any national or personal advantages he may enjoy above the other, so neither is the other rejected for the want of them; but all who sincerely believe on Christ, of what nation, or sex, or condition, soever they be, are accepted of him, and become the children of God through faith in him."

 Is this an area of our lives where we need to prepare to our heart in Teshuvah?  Do we need God to examine our hearts 

• Do I set myself above others who have been baptised in Christ Jesus?
• Do I believe that my acceptance by Christ Jesus is based on a national advantage?
• Do I believe that my acceptance by Christ Jesus is based on a personal advantage?
• Do I believe that my acceptance by Christ Jesis is based on a denominatinal advantage?
• Do I believe others are rejected by Christ Jesus because they do not share my advantage?
• Do I believe that my sex gives me a special advantage before Christ Jesus?

It is time to do Techuvah—to repent, confess, and return to God.

Join us in returning to our position as "all one in Christ Jesus."

Heritage of the Saints: Bonhoeffer Childhood

 Our voices portray the heritage left to us as followers of Christ. We speak carefully with wisdom but also learn to discern when we are called not to speak - to remain silent. We speak in  decress:

"Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart."  Psalms 119:111 

As Deitrich Bonhoeffer grew up, the world entered World War I, with three of his brothers going into military service. The middle brother of the three died in France shortly after enlisting. Deitrich saw the devastating effect on his mother, who took over 10 years to recover to some level of normalcy.

It may have been this experience that caused Deitrich to follow the path of her side of the family to a career in theology. His sister-in-law, Emmi, recalled that once he made the announcement, they peppered him with questions:

"We like to ask him questions that haunted u, e.g. was evil really overcome by good, or did Jesus want us to offer the other cheek to the insolent person too, and hundreds of other problems which drive young people into deadlock when they face real life.  He often countered with another question which took us further than a concise answer might have done, e.g. "Do you think Jesus wanted anarchy? Did he not go into the temple with a whip to throw out the money-changers?"  He himself was one who asked questions.  Bonhoeffer, Mataxas, page 38.

Scholars indicate that in the Gospels, Jesus asked 307 questions. While it is unclear that all the questions are unique, even half of them would be significant, particularly when these scholars also indicate that Jesus only answered three of the 183 questions asked of Him.

Bonhoeffer's observation that "He himself was one who asked questions" is an excellent insight as we seek to discover our heritage as servants of the Lord. The better the questions, the more we are reflecting our heritage.

Asking questions is also a sign of humility. When we are too quick to give answers, it can be a sign of arrogance. Is the answer to educate and lift up, or is it an attempt to show superiority? Might our being quick with an answer before understanding the real question be our answer in action to the question that Jesus asked in Matthew 7:3?

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

 Often, the questions we get asked as followers of Christ are designed to point out what is seen as a speck in our eye, particularly when the question comes from another Christian. We see an example of what should be our heritage in Matthew 15:1- 6. The Pharisees and scribes challenge Jesus with the questions:

“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

While it was easy for Jesus to directly answer this question from members of what would be a different denomination today, Jesus points to a more significant question that could apply to more than just the ones asking the question. Jesus begins his reply with:

“Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

By replying with a question, Jesus gains control of the conversation, which allows Him to bring up a more significant point. One part of heritage is the traditions that we gain from our ancestors. Even as Christians, we have the scriptures, other confirmed writings, and the church's traditions. Jesus has just pointed out that traditions may break God's commandments. A good question we learn to ask in relationship to our heritage is, Do our traditions (religious or otherwise) break the commandments of God?

 Honest answers to these types of questions can cut us to the core of our being, both our spiritual being and our physical being. It gets to the foundation of what we believe and how founded we are in our heritage. It leads to the dialogue that Jesus had with the chief priests and elders as he entered the temple on a defining day for them in Matthew 21:23,

"When He entered the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”"

This is again a place where Jesus takes complete control of the conversation by asking a question that seems relatively innocent on the surface but sets a tone of cooperation and engagement. In Matthew 21:24,

"Jesus responded and said to them, “I will also ask you one question, which, if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John was from what source: from heaven or from men?”"

Is this a question that we should be asking ourselves today, not necessarily about the baptism of John but in our daily lives? Questions such as:

• My current job was from what source: from heaven or from men?
• The home I reside in, whether owned or rented, was from what source: from heaven or from men?
• My finances are from what source: from heaven or from men?
• My spouse is from what source: from heaven or from men?

Hopefully, when answering such questions, we do not get caught up as the chief priests and elders did in considering the implications of their answers. We should rapidly see only one answer to these questions and loudly proclaim—FROM HEAVEN!!!!

Of course, the chief priests and elders were too concerned about how their response would appear to others and

"they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.”"

 The questions that Jesus asked in response to the religious authorities of the time make an amazing study all by itself. Often, we can get caught up in the answers and in how we would answer rather than learning to ask the question ourselves, rather than learning that our heritage in Christ and from Christ is to ask questions. We need to get more comfortable having questions rather than having answers.

When the mother of the sons of Zebedee went to Jesus with a request, we can mistake our heritage as going to Jesus with requests. While we can go to Jesus with our requests, and He will answer them, we need to understand that the questions are our heritage to ask. Matthew 20:20 documents the request, and verse 21 contains the question we need to learn to ask:

"Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, “What do you desire?”"

 While our desire is to become like Christ, which is the foundation of being Christian, we often meet people with an answer rather than a question. Perhaps we come with our Christian hammer (answer), and so everything looks like a nail. Our answer is the same regardless of the question. To be like Christ, should we be asking, "What do you desire?"

In this Hebraic year 5784, as we learn to use our voice and ask questions, perhaps the questions are not all that complex or complicated; maybe they are very simple:

• What do you desire?
• Do you want to be healed?
• What do you need?
• What do you want?

Asking questions is a massive part of our heritage in Christ. Can we be challenged to ask 307 questions for every three answers?

Heritage of the Saints: Bonhoeffer Introduction

For a couple decades, the words of God in Isaiah 54:17 have had my attention and meditation. This scripture even formed the focal point of my doctoral dissertation.

“This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,”

Isaiah 54:17

When you consider, the chapter and verse structure of scripture was added long after the original writer wrote it down, and it was originally a long scroll, you ask, “how much of the text before constitutes “the heritage of the servants of the Lord.”  Consider the text just 14 verses earlier.

“For you will spread out to the right and to the left.
And your descendants will possess nations
And will resettle the desolate cities.

And your descendants will possess nations

And will resettle the desolate cities.”

Isaiah 54:3

As our cities become desolate, our natural (human) tendency is to move on and abandon the places we’re called to settle. The desolation can be a lack of employment opportunities, issues with the public school system, local dominant politics, or local dominant religion. Where we may see desolation, others may see opportunity. All can be a matter of perspective.

As we consider Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a servant of the Lord and a participant in the heritage mentioned in Isaiah 54:17, his perspective at a time when Germany was driven by a significant political shift can be enlightening to us today.

Dietrich’s fiancee, Maria von Wedemeyer, and oldest sister, Ruth-Alice von Bismark, shared a story that can be helpful:

“…Ruth-Alice recalled…as a teenager in the mid-1930’s - she was taken every Sunday with her brothers and sisters by their heroic mother Ruth von Kleizt to hear Dietrich preach…She vividly recalled how most other young people at the time had gulped down the Nazi propaganda and craned to hear the cackling of its demented standard-bearer, giddily declaring, “This is the future! This is the future!”

…they knew this burgeoning movement was the enemy of everything their beloved parents had taught them about God and about God’s idea of Germany.

…when they heard Bonhoeffer preach those Sundays, they had their answer, “Here!” she said…”Here was our future!”  This golden man and what he said in that chapel was proof God had not forgotten them.”

Page xviii, Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas

If Dietrich Bonhoeffer had not chosen to stay in a city that was headed for a form of desolation, no one would have heard an alternate future compared to the Nazi propaganda. 

Are there alternate futures prepared by God that you are called to speak to in your city? Are there places where you must “die to self” and speak the truth?

Bonhoeffer had a vision of what “dying to self” and living for others and for God looked like and lived it.

“In a tired and decadent world where such beliefs had become fatally attenuated, or where they had devolved to pro forma exercises in religious tradition, Bonhoeffer believed them utterly.  And he saw that the failure on the part of the German church to believe these things made the way for the river of blood that was National Socialism.”

Page xxiii, Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas

With Bonhoeffer as an example of “the heritage of the saints,” we see that our heritage is to speak truth, particularly during impending desolation. We see  Dietrich perhaps condemning those who would make accusations and speak forth Nazi propaganda.

“And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.”

Isaiah 54:17

Our heritage as saints is to speak against those things that would be accusative, even when those things come from “pro forma exercises in religious tradition.”  We are not called to be passive in the face of impending desolation but proactive. When events occur to desolate our families, spouses, children, homes, cities, states, country, or church, we are to be proactive and condemn the source. We condemn the source even if it is the government, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer spoke the truth.

“Bonhoeffer’s “radical” theology…which was simply traditional orthodox Christianity rediscovered…did not sit well with those Germans who shrank from bravely standing against the Nazis and hid behind the fig leaves of a deliberately circumscribed misreading of Romans 13.”

Page xxv, Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas

As we embrace the “heritage of the saints” we have been grafted into, we must ensure we do not let our voice be silenced  In the face of propaganda or religious tradition, we must bravely stand against those things that attempt to desolate our cities  We must resettle or restore those places and institutions where desolation has already occurred.