The words of this small book are such that they transcend time. Bonhoeffer’s observations about the life of the church and living in unity, and that which hinders such unity, demonstrates the kind of insight that only one who has attempted and thoroughly pursued such community could provide. The bulk of my observations on this book were for my purposes; primarily in learning not only that within me which has caused disillusionment as a Christian and thereby serves as a hindrance, but that which will serve in the future to create a community similar to what Bonhoeffer has described.
Bonhoeffer begins his book with the incarnation:
“Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. In the end all his disciples abandoned him. On the cross he was all alone, surrounded by criminals and the jeering crowds. He had to come for the express purpose of bringing peace to the enemies of God. So Christians, too, belong not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the midst of enemies. There they find their mission, their work (37).”
In dwelling amongst your enemies, Bonhoeffer teaches that it is more important to seek peace with your brethren, and live and dwell together among the enemies of God rather than seeking comfort and security amongst your peers. The better portion of the book is devoted to commentation on the blessings of Christian community.
Establishing this foundation Bonhoeffer addressed an issue that is very common amongst disillusioned Christians today as it was in Bonhoeffer’s time.
“Those who want more than what Christ has established between us do not want Christian community. They are looking for some extraordinary experiences of community that were denied them elsewhere… Precisely at this point Christian community is most often threatened from the very outset by the greatest danger, the danger of internal poisoning, the danger of confusing Christian community with some wishful image of pious community… (43).”
This is the great danger that I have found myself and others like me partaking in, and Bonhoeffer’s words here serve as a challenge to all of us who think this way. It is the belief that the community of the church should in fact satisfy the longings of our heart for unity with others. When such unity is not achieved, the only conclusion that one can make is that the community is inauthentic and therefore an invalid expression of Christian faith.
Bonhoeffer however, does not leave the disillusioned Christian without a purpose, but rather sees this disillusionment as a great test which propels the church into its mission.
“Only that community which enters into the experiences of this great disillusionment with all its unpleasant and evil appearances begins to be what it should be in God’s sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it. The sooner this moment of disillusionment comes over the individual and the community, the better for both. However, a community that cannot bear and cannot survive such disillusionment, clinging instead to its idealized image, when that should be done away with, loses at the same time the promise of a durable Christian community (43).”
If I understand Bonhoeffer correctly, a sincere community must in fact relinquish its ambitions for a utopian society. Disillusionment then can in fact be a constructive quality which propels the community away from its own personalized vision and into genuineness with its members. As Bonhoeffer further goes on to say:
“Every human idealized image that is brought into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be broken up so that genuine community can survive. Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial (43).”
These are some of the most important words that must be spoken into our time and context. The generations within the church of America seem to be at war with one another. The great tragedy is that while the older generation holds out for their “human idealized image” about what the church should look like and how it should operate; the younger generation is seeking for an identity of its own which it too must one day protect in a similar fashion. While debates over preference and form continue, the fact that the generations need one another to complete the mission of Christ is tragically overlooked.
Moving on from this, Bonhoeffer begins to explain how it is that a Christian ought to live in community by providing a series of spiritual practices that Christians should regularly engage in. The first discipline is introduced by way of Bonhoeffer’s making the case that the early hours of the morning belong to the Christian.
“For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and haunted by the various kinds of concerns they face during the working day. The Lord stands above the new day, for God has made it. All the darkness and confusion of the night with its dreams gives way to the clear light of Jesus Christ and his awakening Word. All restlessness, all impurity, all worry and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, in the early morning hours of the day may our many thoughts and our many idle words be still (54).”
From here, Bonhoeffer goes to explain in what the editor called a Christocentric (but I would rather call a Christotelic) way how the Psalter “is the vicarious prayer of Christ for his congregation (57).” Bonhoeffer speaks of reading the Psalter in this way as participating in the prayers of Christ.
Bonhoeffer transitions to the way in which the community should read the bible. He explains that many are used to hearing one passage spoken about or reflected upon, but that the bible should in fact be read in large portions. Also, Bonhoeffer explains that not only is it acceptable that people learn the bible in their own way but that it is necessary:
“God’s word is to be heard by all in their own way and according the measure of their understanding. A child hears and learns the biblical story for the first time during daily worship. Mature Christians keep on learning it and learn it better and better; and as they read and hear it on their own, they will never finish this learning (61).”
This is an important observation desperately needed for our time. Many believe (myself included once) that much of the decline in attendance and exodus of the church by youth is caused by poor teaching, and that a more committed Christian can be nurtured by better teaching of doctrine at a younger age. For Bonhoeffer, biblical learning is a progression that one continues to participate in. Pinpointing the problems within the church by theologians and clergy alike cannot be delineated to the belief that inferior cognitive doctrine is what has made for weak disciples. Rather a person who grows in the community continues to grow in their understanding of the bible, not the other way around.
Prayer is another discipline which Bonhoeffer commends to his reader. He suggests that there be a person assigned to pray for the community those concerns which individual members of the congregation share (69).
Bonhoeffer speaks of Christian community assembling for the eating of bread. This “signifies obligation. It is our daily bread that we eat, not my own. We share our bread. Thus we are firmly bound to one another not only in Spirit, but with our whole physical being (72).”
Moving from prayer to the sharing of bread to work, Bonhoeffer declares that:
“Without the burden and labor of the day, prayer is not prayer, and without prayer, work is not work (73)… Prayer offered in early morning is decisive for the day. The wasted time we are ashamed of, the temptations we succumb to, the weakness and discouragement in our work, the disorder and lack of discipline in our thinking and in our dealings with other people – all these very frequently have their cause in our neglect of morning prayer. ”
Within this community, the extension of the forgiveness of sins and the practice of confession amongst the brethren are a vital part of a healthy community:
“The mask you wear in the presence of other people won’t get you anywhere in the presence of God. God wants to see you as you are, wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and to other Christians as if you were without sin (101)… In confession there takes place a breakthrough to community. Sin wants to be alone with people. It takes them away from the community. The more lonely people become, the more destructive the power of sin over them. The more deeply they become entangled in it, the more unholy is their loneliness. Sin wants to remain unknown (102).”
In Bonhoeffer’s description of confession, it becomes true then that the Christian, especially such Christians who feel so far from other Christians and the Christian community, are not alone. This feels like a personal victory and validation for me. I have felt that many are left uncomfortable and subsequently turned off when the pleasantries of conversation are passed over and the more challenging topics are brought to the forefront. While I personally consider vulnerability as a strength, it has not gained me many friends. Bonhoeffer’s description tells me that my desire for a community that partakes in confession is not an idealistic projection. It is the drawing out of sin and darkness into the light now, so that those secrets will not be revealed painfully on the Day of Judgment later. Most forsake such practice because:
“Confession in the presence of another believer is the most profound kind of humiliation. It hurts, makes one feels small; it deals a terrible blow to one’s pride. By confessing actual sins the old self dies a painful, humiliating death before the eyes of another Christian (103).”
There is of course discernment that is to be exercised with such practices, and Bonhoeffer details the best way in which such practices should be carried out.
As can be seen in the length of this paper, there is a great deal of depth and insight in this short book. Every Evangelical Christian living in America should read this book, because it contains with great clarity the plight of the church in the West.
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