Lenten Journey- Ash Wednesday- Interrupted By God

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…
When we do that we pass by
the visible sign of the Cross,
raised athwart our path to show us,
not our way,
but God’s way
must be done.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Life Together

Bonhoeffer. He has been much in my thoughts over the past few months. He is one of the heroes of the faith that early on had an incredible impact on me. It was 1971. I was at my first ever church camp. I was a counselor, invited by a friend, to help him lead a course on the church and war. The program leader first introduced the camp to Bonhoeffer in one of his morning lectures. Bonhoeffer was a theologian and pastor in Germany in the 1930s and 40s. He died 26 years before in 1945 in the waning days of World War II- imprisoned and executed by Hitler’s SS as the result of his participation in an attempt to assassinate Hitler. He had been a major opponent of the German Lutheran Church’s support of Hitler and the Nazi policies. He was a founding leader of what came to be known as The Confessing Church.

He has become one of the guiding theologians on wrestling with grace and discipleship, the church and our role in the world. The Cost of Discipleship remains a relevant classic; Life Together may be one of the single best theologies of church life; Letters and Papers From Prison shows his ongoing pastoral concerns. A giant of a man.

Over the past two months I have been writing a series of nine posts related to dealing with impressions, reactions, and concerns that have arisen for many people since the election in November. Many have described their reaction as a “Dark Night of the Soul.” I explored the Dark Night as an essential experience to getting closer to union with our Higher Power. It doesn’t matter what political or non-political situation starts the journey through the dark night. I believe many on both sides of the political spectrum have experienced this in many different ways over the past years- not to mention centuries. What is important is opening ourselves to the ways that we may be being led. I am not an active pastor any more. I am writing as a person on a spiritual journey, giving voice to my own concerns and yearnings for peace in my soul and in my land. I speak for no one but myself. (Link to the posts.)

The question comes down to a very simple (though not easy) one for me:

How does one live the spiritual life in the midst of cultural, social, and religious unrest?

The answer for me started in allowing the dark night to open me up to surrender to the ways and will of my Higher Power, whom I call God as revealed in the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Please note: I am writing personally as a Christian. I will talk about “God” and “Jesus Christ as Lord” and the “Holy Spirit” in this series. Lent is a Christian journey with Jesus to His death and resurrection. These, and the Jewish underpinnings of the Christian faith, are who I am. They are the language that speaks to me. But I believe the spiritual journey of the soul knows no denominational or specific faith tradition.

The second question builds on the first:

How does one live in the world when one has journeyed what may be called the mystical path into some form of greater union with God knowing that the ultimate union must wait until after this life?

As I came to the end of the previous series I realized I needed to dig more deeply into those questions. I also realized that Lent is the perfect Christian season to do so! At the same time I came across a post on Facebook by “The Contemplative Monk” who described the journey of Lent:

Lent is the church season we die to ourselves, lament our loss, fast, and pray, to be enabled to live a resurrected incarnational ‘Christ in us’ life. No one lives a resurrected life without dying daily. 

With that in mind here’s what I hope to do in the weeks until Easter.

I will be posting a series called “Interrupted by God” which is a phrase from the quote above. I have found 12-14 of the most commonly noted quotes from Bonhoeffer and will deal with one each Sunday of Lent and each day during Holy Week until Easter. I will be looking for direction on how to live in difficult times or even times when things seem to be going downhill far too quickly.

In so doing I will be seeking words of

• grace and peace, 
• conviction and repentance, 
• atonement and forgiveness. 
• I will be looking for the ways that, as a follower of God, I can seek God’s will and the power to live it.

It begins with today’s quote at the top of this post. Here is what that quote said to me as I begin Lent, 2017.

• We need to be ready to be interrupted by God.

It is way too easy to be busy. In my busyness, which even includes my plans on being spiritual (!), I can easily overlook the presence of God in my life. This is not a new insight. Rather it is one that has been one of those human failings that so many of us have. We can be so busy with what we think is God’s work (or not) that we don’t see the work in front of us.

• God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans

In my experience God does not suddenly grab me by the back of the neck and pull me Godward. Nor does God hit me with a  2x4. At least not very often. God more often just walks in front of me, crossing the path where I had been going, and getting my attention with more subtlety than we may expect.

• Sending us people with claims and petitions.

The subtlety is because God uses other people. For me, in my experience, these people are often those we have so easily “labeled” as the “least, and lonely, and lost.” Nice categories but what happens when the person in my path is not a least, a lost, or a lonely person, at least on the outside? What happens if it is a person with “privilege” fighting her own struggles? What if it is a person I don’t feel comfortable around? There is where this interruption by God becomes meddlesome.

• We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks…

We do have choice, “Free Will!” We can say no. We can continue on our way. “Yes, I see you,” we may say, “but what I’m doing is so important. I have hungry to feed, sick to visit, strangers to welcome.” These are good things, even important things. But sometimes the person right there in my path needs something from me, or perhaps even more likely, is a way for God to get my attention. But I can move on.

• When we do that we pass by the visible sign of the Cross,

There's always - BUT! The visible sign of the cross is what I am ignoring. The visible sign of the cross- the sign of God’s action in Jesus- calls me to live and love as Jesus did. Isn’t that what the inner journey of the dark night was supposed to teach me? But in my free will, forget it. Oh how blind we can be when we choose not to see.

• raised athwart our path to show us, not our way, but God’s way must be done,

Not my will but God’s be done. Amen.

But how then do I bring this into my life? How do I discover God’s way? I must ask myself some questions. Perhaps even each day- and often each day...

1. What is interrupting my life right now? Might that be a call from God to move in that direction?
2. How can I learn to more clearly see the “visible signs of the cross” when I am moving through my day?
3. Am I willing to follow the directions of my Higher Power, praying only for God’s will for me and the power to carry it out?

As I write this I realize how big a task is in front of me this Lent.

May I be willing to stop and see the cross-
and the ever present promise of life!

Lenten Journey- Sunday 1- Trust to the Word

Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic.

Do not defend God's word, but testify to it.

Trust to the Word.

It is a ship loaded to the very limits of its capacity.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In this quote Bonhoeffer was talking about preaching. He said it to his ordinands at the “illegal” seminary he was leading during the war. Over the years he had become convinced of the importance of knowing the Word of God, not a particularly popular topic, especially in that moment of German-based theology. He had studied under the modern critical-thinking theologians and had great respect for them, but he was also a friend and follower of Karl Barth who did not feel the same way. The Bible, the Word of God, needs no defending. It is always relevant.

Perhaps in less demanding times than Bonhoeffer lived in there is the luxury of digging into the Word in different ways, parsing the nuances. But Bonhoeffer had seen in the Black American Church a different way. There was the need to be faithful in the midst of suffering, he discovered, never dreaming in his worst moments that this idea would become so essential in his beloved homeland. To the African American experience of the early 1930s he owed a debt of deepest faith. They taught him the forever relevance of the Bible, even when it may not always seem that way.

I have to be honest about how I look at the Bible. It is, of course, the product of its time. As I read passages about the subservient role of women in the church I know I am hearing only one side of a story- the side that did the final editing. As I read some of Jesus’ words there is a clear disconnect with other teachings of his. It is easy to twist and turn the meaning of words to fit what you need. I remember being at a youth conference where the preacher excitedly made a quote from the Book of Job. I scratched my head since that quote did not fit the book as I remembered it. So I looked it up. It was from the Book of Job, but they were words from one of the false comforters trying to explain to Job why he was suffering. It sounded good when preached, but they were words that God discounted a few chapters later.

Everything I need to know about living a faithful life is in the book- and that, Bonhoeffer would say- is all I need to know.

Even today in this time of division and uncertainty. Even today when some “preachers” seem to say that if you disagree with the president you are following the Devil. You are Satanic. Even today in a world that has such different views of history, creation, government, people than in the time of the Biblical authors. How then can we find the relevance?

1. Be honest about yourself.

Don’t think more highly than you ought to think. Your opinion of yourself will seriously impact my view of what I see in the Word. I may ignore the passages that challenge me- and emphasize how they challenge someone else. But we do think better of ourselves. Research has shown that we often think of ourselves in the top 20% or higher- even when all the evidence says we’re not.

How can I become open to letting my own behavior be the first place I challenge and look to change?

2. Be prayerful!

Bonhoeffer did not see how anyone could preach without having the discipline of prayer. It was inconceivable to him!
Bonhoeffer was not a “Fundamentalist” nor was he a “Liberal.” It is wrong to put opinions from the last 70 years into his thoughts. He was faithful! He knew what the Bible was all about, and that was not necessarily rules and regulations. It was about being in communion with God and others. That starts in and with prayer.

How can I be more prayerful and prayerfully mindful this Lent?

3. Be open to other points of view than your own.

In spite of what some churches, preachers, and others may think, they do not have all the answers. No one does. A quote I’ve heard many times says If I can understand and explain God, than I’m not talking about God. Or, put another way, such a God that I can understand is not worth worshiping. There may be truth found in different opinions, something important to learn, but not everything can be true at all times. That can be confusing, sure. But in a prayerful life, we can learn discernment.

How can I find ways to listen, explore, and seek for insights, even in those with whom I may disagree?

4. Be willing to stand on your convictions.

Being wishy-washy will get us nowhere. Yes, there are broader truths and understandings than I may be willing to admit. Yes, I may even be wrong sometimes in my opinions. But when it is necessary, I must be willing to stand by what I believe.

How (and when) have I been afraid to speak my convictions?

5. Be obedient to God’s word.

When I discover all these things above (and others that I will add to this over these weeks), I then must be obedient. This understanding of The Word is not just (or even) an intellectual exercise. It is a discovery of what I am called to do and how I am called to live in my life. Most of the time this can be quite easy. I am fortunate to live in a time and place where that is possible. Bonhoeffer, in the end was not. The fear of many in this time- and it was a fear of others for the past eight years (see # 3 above!)- is that this could change. I need to learn the discipline of obedience now, when it is safer, so it will be a habit if it changes.

Where is my obedience lacking or less than it can be?

In the end, putting this all together with the world I am living in that has spurred this spiritual journey, I can perhaps look to Bonhoeffer’s mentor for a piece of advice I have heard for over 45 years:

Take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. 
But interpret newspapers from your Bible.
-Karl Barth

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to God, my Creator!

Lenten Journey- Sunday 2- In Denial

If my sinfulness appears to me in any way smaller or less detestable
in comparison with the sins of others, 

I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Life Together

“Thank goodness I’m not as bad as that guy over there!” These are words that clearly indicate I am in denial and most certainly on the wrong path. I am making one of the most common of hypocritical statements. Even if I try to modify it in a way that admits, that well, maybe I am sinful, that is usually just a way of allowing me to point out the sins in the other person without guilt.

As Jesus sat down next to the woman caught in adultery he started doodling in the sand. He looked around at the men (almost certainly no woman would have been allowed in such a place) and made one of the most powerful condemnations of human judgmentalism- “Whoever is without sin may throw the first stone” and he went back to doodling. I imagine the crowd quietly slipping away.

In the Twelve Step programs of recovery and self-help five of the steps have the person look at themselves and find out what they have been doing wrong. Many balk at what seems to be an extreme self-examination. Yet recovery and growth depend on it.

• Steps four and five are a personal moral inventory; 
• Steps eight and nine recommend that the person go and make amends to all they may have harmed, not looking for forgiveness, but honesty; 
• Step ten says continue to take personal stock of one’s life and promptly admit when we are wrong.

Rigorous honesty is deeply embedded in the Twelve Steps, not honesty at telling someone else what they have done wrong but honestly admitting to oneself and others what we have done wrong.

That is one of the major points of Lent. This is a time to take inventory of ourselves. This is not a wallowing in how bad we are. It is not a time of self-flagellation over how we have been so sinful it is hard to believe God can even get close to wanting to give us grace. Those have been part of Lent in many times and places- and still are for many. But that can be counter-productive to living the grace of forgiveness.

As I have often understood it, it is important to realize that I am in just as much need of grace as anyone I may meet. I got into a discussion with a colleague one time about hoping that someone even as bad as Hitler or Charles Manson could be given the grace that allows them into heaven. My summation was simply that if God’s grace is THAT big, then there is also room for me. I wasn’t trying to say there is universal salvation. I’m not sure the Hitlers, Stalins, or Mansons of the world would want to be in heaven. I was talking about the oversized, one size fits all grace of God. (Please- no theological dissertations here. It was not a statement of doctrine!)

If I am to know grace and forgiveness- and share it with others- then I have to see my human condition. Which brings me to the Lenten questions to ask myself this week in light of Bonhoeffer’s quote.

• How do I participate in the sinfulness I am condemning?

This is perhaps the most difficult thing to do. It is one of those psychological insights that we often rant the loudest and with the most anger at the things we are afraid of in ourselves. "Methinks she doth protest too much!" to misquote Shakespeare, is often used to indicate just that. I must look at the ways i benefit from or encourage the things I am finding sinful.

• How can I discover when my own defects of character are getting out of control?

If we take the time to pray and meditate in whatever ways we find helpful, the answers to this question will be quite clear. When I'm lying awake night replaying issues; when I'm filled with anxiety about something I said or did; when I am afraid to face a situation because it hurts emotionally- those could be indications that my shortcomings are our of control.

• When have I not treated my neighbor with the love and respect I want- and need?

Is it the way of God- if I only treat my neighbor well only when they earn it, but not at all times; or when they stop doing what I don’t like? How about even when I am upset at them? I need to regularly take THAT inventory. 

• When have I judged others, casting the first stone, so to speak, instead of recognizing my own shortcomings?

It is almost a cycle, since this question takes me back to the first one and back through the list again. Such a Lenten discipline can bear incredible fruit in peace and a sense of spiritual direction. These questions can even be the start of finding our what my God's will for me is.

Does all this mean that I cannot speak out when I see evil being done or when people are being taken advantage of or when situations and individuals are acting in ways contrary to the ways of God? Absolutely not. Part of the witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer was his selfless stands challenging the Nazis and the powers that be in the church in Germany. He did not mince words or soft-pedal the condemnations he was seeing. To look at oneself first is not to ignore the evil that may be happening around us. But we cannot do such challenge from a self-righteous position of being better or holier than the others. Only when we see our own self- honestly and in depth- can we begin to see the ways we are called to speak out from humility.

But that will come later in Lent. For this week, I continue to dig around in my own soul, learning how to be more in touch with the will and work of my higher power.

Lenten Journey- Sunday 3- Listening

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship 

consists of listening to them. 

Just as love of God begins with 

listening to his word, 

so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters is 

learning to listen to them. 

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Bonhoeffer was writing about what makes a “church” in this devotional classic, Life Together. Over the years before the war he had come in contact with many different styles of being church that changed his own understanding of his traditional German Lutheran training. He saw a need for a “new monasticism” in the church and incorporated that into his seminary he began for the Confessing Church. Part of such monastic-style fellowship he saw was the need to listen to each other.

Listening is hard. It takes effort to pay attention to what someone is saying to us. It has become a cliche that we spend all our time listening thinking about how we will respond instead of paying attention- truly listening. When we are not listening to respond we are not even listening. Our mind wanders, we lose track, we simply nod our head, vocalize some non-committal response, and look interested. The other person doesn’t often catch on because, in essence we are both doing the same things. We are talking around each other, over or under the discussion and not actually being in dialogue.

None of this is helpful, as Bonhoeffer saw it. It is not dialogue, it is not fellowship, it is not learning to love others. No wonder the church was in difficult times and not just with Hitler’s attempts at co-opting, taking over, and eventually destroying the church. It was boring itself to death without love because no one was listening.

Earlier this week we were driving north through eastern Louisiana and Arkansas. As we drove through those wide-open spaces of the Delta two things jumped out at my wife and me. I realized that this issue of listening may be right in front of us. The first thing noticeable was the incredible number of churches we passed on the way. We figured that in the 75-100 miles from just west of Vicksburg where we turned north we must have passed at least 50 or more churches. That averages to one every two miles or so. Not bad when you then realize we would go miles and miles with the farmland and no churches, then a cluster of them, barely half a mile apart.

Most of them were small buildings, like a majority of churches in the United States. Many smaller than houses, but on average, not much bigger than a mobile home or small sanctuary. Every now and then there would be a bigger one, but it was mile upon mile of small buildings for worship.We wondered what the story might have been? Rural people, most of them poor, no doubt, started these churches as places to be together. My wife, not knowing what I was writing about for this week, said, “They wanted someplace to belong- and to be heard.”

They wanted to be listened to! Oh, I am sure that there were enough church fights represented there as well. More like church “brawls” no doubt. Someone wasn’t listened to, someone was misheard and therefore misunderstood, someone was offended by what they thought someone else was saying, doing, or planning on doing. Theology may have been under some of it, too. But in those congregations theology was interwoven with the life, the people, the families, and the relationships. Change in theology can mean disaster to such fellowships. The search for meaningful fellowship was represented in those long string of church buildings lining the Mississippi Delta. It was almost like “house churches” except they came to “God’s House” since no one else had a large enough building.

Listen to each other, said Bonhoeffer. Truly listen. It is as important to listen to the word of your brothers and sisters as it is to listen to the Word of God.

The second thought saw what was more than obvious- the level of poverty and loss these people were living with. It was almost desolate. True- crops were not planted or growing which meant the colors were wintry drab. But the ramshackle buildings, corrugated metal sheds, the hardscrabble existence was obvious. Is anyone listening to them in their silent desolation? Is that even what it is?

Have we who have ears to hear heard that? Or are we still doing the same old thing. We think we know what they should be thinking, even as I am doing in this post. We judge what we think is going on.

And no one is listening to each other. Not truly listening. We throw words and phrases at the problem. We put our two cents worth of spin to it and go away angry or frustrated. We all then become more angry and frustrated at each other. The politics of the day then begins to take that all and spin it some more, further dividing us. One of the great disheartening results of this last election was that it appears no one is listening to each other. One side says they speak for a particular group while ignoring the needs of another; the other side says they speak for a particular group while ignoring the needs of another; and around it goes in a vicious cycle of not listening and not caring.

It is time to learn to listen to each other- not to the media, not to the talking heads and pundits, but to each other. Active listening, alive listening, compassionate listening. Am I, in this Lenten season, willing to listen as carefully to the words of my brothers and sisters on all sides of these issues as I think I am listening to the Word of God. We must have that dialogue of the needs in others. To do that, and I know I am being repetitive, we must listen.

So I am hoping to work more on that this Lent. I need to be able to hear the cries of others- on all sides of these divisive issues. I need to do that with their best interests in mind as well as the awareness that, as a Christian, I am called to affirm their concerns and then seek ways to work with them. So here are some of my guidelines for listening gathered from my experience as well as from myriad sources.

I start with one I learned a few years ago from one of my mentors, Dr. Amit Sood of Mayo Clinic:

• Assume positive intent with others.

Give others a break. Start with a place of compassion. While words and even actions may imply poor motives, don’t always assume that. Assume that what the other person is telling us is real for them and has a positive outcome. Look for that positive intent as you talk. It may be similar to what we want. Find it and work on it.

• Don’t interrupt and place your solution on them.

In other words, pay attention and jump in with some quick answer. Hear what they are saying- and what they are leaving unspoken. How does that connect with what I am feeling.

• Try to feel what the other person is feeling.

Empathize. Don’t assume you understand it, especially if you haven’t gone through the same things they are going through. But keep listening for the feelings.

• Be patient.

In a conversation with my brother on some of these issues I wanted to jump right in and let him know what I thought was right. I didn’t succeed at being as patient as I would like to have been, but I eventually began to hear what he was saying. We didn’t end up agreeing, but we could find the points where our concerns and discussion could intersect.

• Ask questions for clarification.

In order to get to that point I had to ask questions. They were not judgmental questions (I hope), but rather seeking for clarification. These are reflective questions, “Do you mean this is what’s important to you? Does this mean you want this or that to happen? What is the most important thing that you want to see happen?” AND, be ready to have those questions asked of you.

• Affirm areas of agreement.

Don’t get stuck on the disagreements. Find the common ground. Affirm where you are on the same page, even if neither of the answers will satisfy the other person. At least you get started.

Can I do this for the next week? Can I make sure that I slow down my tongue so that it isn't getting ahead of my thoughts? Can I turn off that inner voice that always has the right answers for every issue and let wisdom come from someone other than myself?

Tough to do, I know. But it may be the most spiritual thing I can do on any given day. A number of writers have suggested that spirituality is part of who we have evolved into because it can be a way of interacting in healthy ways with others. Religion hasn’t done well in this department, but spirituality is the ability to care and have compassion and be led to deeper understandings. In the end the most spiritually important thing we can give to another person is to listen to what they have to say without judgement or prejudice or seeking to overthrow their thinking.

It is being a vessel of peace- and the love of God.

Lenten Journey- Sunday 4- Uncompromising

Things do exist that are worth standing up for without compromise. To me it seems that peace and social justice are such things,
as is Christ himself.
–Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in a letter to his brother

To compromise may be a brave thing to do in the right circumstances. But in others, we better not. The possibility might be that we would compromise our soul. Bonhoeffer was a very intense thinker. He did more mental and theological gymnastics to come to terms with things he felt were right- or wrong. As German culture and the German Church was descending into chaos and then the very center of hell itself under the Nazis, Bonhoeffer was shaken to his core by what was happening to the country he loved, the people he loved- and the church he loved. The quote above was made in a letter to his non-Christian brother when Bonhoeffer was organizing an illegal seminary, unapproved by the German Lutheran establishment. Dietrich was moving into dangerous territory and he knew it. Yet he had to do it.

Whether we agree with all his theological conclusions, or even begin to understand them from this perspective 75 years later, is not important. What is important is the challenge and the witness to what was important, essential, to being a Christian. These three could be in any order and make sense. But I think for Bonhoeffer he would put it this way.

As a professing Christian, he would insist on an

• Uncompromising Christocentrism.

Jesus, to Bonhoeffer, had to be at the center of the faith. But this was not in some narrow “What Would Jesus Do?” kind of idea. It was far more radical than that. In Jesus, God was showing that humanity, which God created, was worth the time and effort to save! The Incarnation was essential to the Christian life in the broadest sense possible. It made no sense without it.

Because of this the second thing for a Christian is

• Uncompromising discipleship.

He, of course wrote the classic book on that, Cost of Discipleship, which in its original German was simply Nachfolge, Following. In it he spoke of cheap versus costly grace. He did not see that we had to “pay” more to get grace- it was free. Rather, having received grace, we become willing to pay any price to follow Christ. We can do all kinds of our own theological gymnastics to try to understand, agree with, or argue with this. The point for me is that when I say I have received grace from the Creator, I have at that moment been called to live a particular kind of life. And then to live that life through everything I do. Easier said than done, but still the call!

The result of this in the Christian’s life is then

• Uncompromising compassion.

One of the first things that caused Bonhoeffer so much pain was the treatment the Jews in Germany were beginning to receive. His social justice interest was formed in the United States where he found the deepest and most profound faith among the African-American Churches in the midst of the deeply rooted racism. When he saw the same things happening to the Jews, he stood up.

His was not a narrow Christianity. He did not limit compassion to those who deserve it or those who were like him. He continued to be a pastoral presence in Tegel Prison- to guards as well as to other prisoners. He refused a cell on a cooler floor knowing that meant someone else would be put in his cell. He understood the dangers of narrow compassion and worked against it. His was not a faith that looked to life after death as the purpose of believing. It was far more important than that. It was about how we live each and every day.

Today is the 4th Sunday in Lent. We are nearing the half-way point of the Lenten journey. So far our themes have been:

• Being open to God’s daily interruptions.
• Trusting the Word of God.
• Taking an honest self-inventory.
• Giving the gift of truly listening to others.

I admit that now, after these three weeks, I must go deeper into the mystery of being a person of spirituality and faith. I must take some greater steps to understand how I am to follow the ways and will of my Higher Power. I must move away from my self-centered human ways and ask some tough questions of my self. They all follow from those three uncompromising stands that Bonhoeffer laid out.

1. Is Jesus Christ the center of my faith if I profess to be a follower of his? I can ask this in numerous ways to fit a broader context. Have I truly turned my will and my life over to the care of God as I understand God? Is the spiritual path truly at the center of who I am? I won’t know the answers to these questions unless I am open to that self-challenge of the honest inventory of my actions that speak louder than words what I truly follow.

2. Am I willing to pay the cost of discipleship? How will I know? In Twelve Step programs they ask it a different way- Are you willing to go to any length to get and stay sober?
This is a tough one to deal with. We won’t know how far we are willing to go until faced with the situations. I have absolutely no idea what I would have done in Bonhoeffer’s situation- and I pray I never have to find out. He himself wasn’t sure most of the time, either. He wrestled constantly with what he was doing and often took a step back when he thought it might harm someone else simply by association.

3. How can I live a life of uncompromising compassion in ways I have not done before? Where and how have I been less than compassionate this past week? Maybe I need to ask that question every night in the upcoming week and be ready to make amends as needed for I am sure there will be times and places every day when that will happen.

This week my daily inventory will need to include these three elements of a personal faith, as well as the awareness that this is not a simple tip of the hat to some theological idea. I have to take a close look at how I live this life.

Earlier this week The Contemplative Monk posted a quote from Dallas Willard that makes a perfect beginning to this week's opportunities to be interrupted by God in our daily lives:

The gospel is less about getting into the Kingdom of Heaven after you die and more about how to live in the Kingdom of Heaven before you die.

Lenten Journey- Sunday 5- For the Children

The ultimate test of a moral society is
the kind of world that it leaves to its children.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Unknown source

It is always helpful for me to remember that Bonhoeffer grew up in what was considered one of the more civilized countries. Culture, science, theology had all flourished in Germany for decades and decades. They excelled in music- the home of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bach. They gave us Goethe, Schiller, and Remarque; Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Count Zinzendorf, and Martin Luther. He himself was from an aristocratic family. His family pedigree was as good as it gets. His father was a well-respected and honored doctor of psychiatry in Berlin. His brother would become lead attorney for Lufthansa Airlines.

In the early 1930s they all watched with increasing horror as this great heritage was run over by brown-shirted thugs bent on undoing everything German and making it into their empire. For Bonhoeffer seeing Luther become an adjunct to Aryan theology while the church went along was the ultimate degradation. The source of moral direction, the church, was helpless at best and complicit in horrific evil at worst.

Bonhoeffer was not alone in this view of course. Many, even within the German Army (Abwehr) were horrified at what Hitler had done to their proud military heritage through the SA, the SS, and the Gestapo. The plots to undermine and then assassinate Hitler formed from the Abwehr where Bonhoeffer was working as a double agent with them against Hitler. He was convinced, with solid reason and evidence, that Hitler and his supporters were not just bad, but truly evil. Against such evil, victory will be very difficult and costly. It might even be he would have to wish for - and support - the defeat of his own country in war.

In the midst of all these conflicting concerns and feelings, Bonhoeffer worked on what he hoped would be his greatest work. It was started in the early 1940s and was his constant task during his time in prison. He never finished it but it has been cited by David P. Gushee, director of Mercer University's Center for Theology and Public Life as one of the five best books on patriotism. It was simply titled Ethik, Ethics in English.

For Bonhoeffer Christlikeness is at the center of ethics. No greater moral standard would there be but becoming as much like Christ as possible. An online overview describes Bonhoeffer’s thinking in this way:

All separation, fragmentation, and binary thinking must now be overcome. The practice of ethics, therefore, is not the division of the world into good and evil; instead, the goal of ethics is the full reintegration of all humanity into the divine reality revealed in Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer thus sees the merging of secular reality and divine reality as imperative; separate, they, too, form a binary conceptualization to be overcome. ("Ethics - Overview" Literary Essentials: Christian Fiction and Nonfiction Ed. John K. Roth. eNotes.com, Inc. 2007 eNotes.com 30 Mar, 2017 )

Simply put, Bonhoeffer’s ethics was therefore not a list of right and wrong, a code of behavior, or even judgement. It was the living out of one’s Christlikeness thanks to the work of God. It was always based on God’s acceptance of humans and God's love for humanity. Jesus does not love a moral code, but people. Each of us must “create his or her own moral behavior within the frame of his or her own Jesus-Christ consciousness.” (Same citation as above).

It is an over-simplification to say that this is a summary of the basic of his ethics, but without going into great theological and academic depths, it does seem to be a decent summary. It can therefore be our jumping of point for this Fifth Sunday of Lent and the week ahead. Keeping it simple and concise is important or we will end up playing all the old theological games like the number of angels on the head of a pin.


What about the world we leave to our children?


With that in mind here are the themes I am going to work on in my Lenten journey this week.

• Christ-consciousness
• Christ-likeness. 

Then, bringing them together into

• How can my actions, not just my thoughts, help bring about a world where the moral example of God’s love is lived and 
• How can my actions today help make this a more moral, I.e. God-directed world?
• How can my actions help make this a better world, one we are proud to leave to the next generations?
  

We humans tend to be very short-sighted. If it's good for me right now, the long term consequences are not even added into the equation. Hence issues like climate change can be challenged and disbelieved since it isn't imperative TODAY. Why should I care about 50 years from now?  Someone, sometime will find a solution to these long-term problems, is the "optimistic" take on this. The reality is not so rosy.

A number of years ago I asked a confirmation class the then popular question:

What would Jesus do?

The answer was quick and concise.

We know what Jesus would do. We just don't do it.

But most of the time we don't even ask the question to try to figure out how we should act if we are to be Christ-like. We don't spend much more than a nano-second to check in our the Christ-consciousness within us. 

God has been interrupting me these Lenten weeks, getting into my face at times. I must now be prepared to do something with that. This week, then, is a good time to bring all these weeks together and use the Christ-consciousness we have been cultivating during Lent to be more Christ-like in our actions. It is a good time as we prepare for Palm Sunday and Holy Week next week, to put a few more pieces of awareness and spirit into my life.

[Note: This week's quote is one of the most often repeated of all the quotes I found from Bonhoeffer. What is interesting is that I cannot find a source. I did a bunch of searches in many places and the quote has not yet popped up. I have found almost all the other quotes in the Metaxas biography which I have been reading this Lenten season. But not this one. It may very well be in a book of sermons or letters that I have not yet found- or one that is not digitized for easy online searching. Whatever the situation, it is certainly well known- and one that should not be ignored.]

Lenten Journey- Palm Sunday- Stopping the Wheel

We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in an essay to theologians and theological students

The question that always hovers around any discussion of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is his participation in the surprisingly widespread plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler. While he himself was not anywhere near being the assassin, his work with the Abwehr (German Army) as a double agent was connected with the overall plotting and planning. (It also kept him from being drafted and sent to the front.) He was involved in the plans almost from the beginning and gave it his complete support, knowing full well what the consequences would be. Many, myself included, have struggled with that position. Many debates have been held - and will continue to be held - among people who wonder if that was an appropriate thing for a Christian pastor and theologian to do.

His most famous justification for his actions is the example he used of needing to stop a runaway bus from killing many people. If it took shooting the driver, he said, it was appropriate in order to save more lives. Even if it is a sin, he said, he must risk that to stop evil. In an essay for theological students he used the quote above as a description of what he was doing. He was committed to bringing the wheels of injustice and evil to a halt once and for all.

I did not live in that time. I do not live in a place that is anywhere near as awful as Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. We too often throw words like Nazi and the name of Hitler around as if we know what we are talking about. Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived in a time and place that was filled with and governed by evil. There was no apparent human caring in Hitler, Himmler, or Goering. The SS and Gestapo were as inhuman as any army has ever been. The whole direction of the Nazi vision was anti-religion, anti-God, anti-any life but their own. Words like compassion, kindness, or grace have absolutely no meaning in their world. We have seen far too many of such people and situations in the past century. They are still happening in parts of the world. But what we have in our histories of World War II gives us an unprecedented example of how easily and quickly an otherwise civilized society can devolve into hatred, anger, fear, and unrestrained death. That must not be downplayed or overlooked!

In reading Eric Metaxas’s biography of Bonhoeffer I have come to a deeper appreciation of what this deeply faithful and faith-filled man was facing. Metaxas makes it clear that it was not an easy decision for Bonhoeffer. He did not take it lightly. He took his faith very seriously and its role in his life was paramount. At the very end of his life he continued to exhibit a calm and a “presence” that astonished his fellow prisoners and the guards who watched them. He saw death, at the end, as a road to freedom. He was able to combine his deep faith with the needs of those around him and face the situations without any outward fear. He was convinced he was doing what was right and went ahead and did it. All the things I have talked about in the previous weeks of Lent were all combined at the end to propel him forward with certainty in the resurrection of Jesus Christ! His faith was as real as it can be!

There has been much talk in the US in the past three months about resistance and even revolution. Some have pointed to Nazi Germany in the 1930s as someplace to learn from, hence the look to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his faith. We are, at this point, far from that level of extremism. But that only makes it more imperative that those of us who feel strongly need to know what is happening and learn what potential actions we can engage in. It has been and will continue to be a time of contention, disagreement, fear, anger, and a multitude of emotions. In our country we have seen many things challenged that we thought were being taken care of- civil rights, women’s rights, the environment to name a few. We have seen a series of potential scandals and ongoing investigations, the extent of which we have never seen in our lifetimes. We watch as saber-rattling becomes the norm. We argue over walls and immigration, refugees and the Biblical idea of sanctuary cities.

Which brings us to Holy Week- the central activity of Jesus that makes clear why we Christians are to follow him. In Jesus, Bonhoeffer would say, we see God’s view of being human.

• We see in the life of Jesus the life that every Christian should strive for. 
• We see in Holy Week the suffering that Jesus was willing to undergo for humanity. 
• We see on Maundy Thursday the call to servant obedience he gave to his followers. 
• We see on Good Friday the ultimate personal sacrifice of self for others. And, to use Bonhoeffer’s quote, we see how far God in and through Jesus was willing to go to drive a spoke into the wheel of evil and injustice.

Today, Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem to cheers and acclaim. The people are all on his side. They will be so- until it becomes inconvenient. Leaving aside all the theological niceties and sermon themes I have preached and we have all heard, what is there about Palm Sunday and Holy Week to challenge us in the year 2017? What is there to remind us of the direction of God’s will, the power of God’s love, the vision of how we as humans are called to live? As I go through this week I will have shorter posts each day to help me focus on how this week can guide us. In some ways, even though many churches focus on the whole Passion narrative, it is still only Palm Sunday. It is the day of hope and joy, even as we know what is about to happen. That gives us the opportunities to prepare.

In my preparations this week, even as I cheer Jesus, I know that all around are things to pay attention to- the things that Jesus paid attention to, as, for example, he drove the money changers from the Temple before retiring to Bethany.

• Where am I seeing the signs of injustice?

• How do I participate in these acts of injustice and evil, even if it is “only” by my silence?

• What are the ways I can care for the victims of injustice and evil? That is important. But if I do nothing to stand up to the evil we will all continue to be overwhelmed with more victims than we can handle.

• What are the ways I can name these signs of evil?

• How can refuse to go along with the evil

• In the end, how can I help in the actions to stop the evil?

Not easy questions, and the answers are even more difficult. But it is what Jesus did in Holy Week. Can I do anything less?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In Memory:

April 9, 1945

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

was executed by the Nazis at

Flossenburg Concentration Camp.

He was 39 years old.

Lenten Journey- Holy Week Monday- Illumination

Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Love is illumination. Light.

To be loved by God is to allow light to grow within me.

To see, I need light. Blindness keeps the light from getting through.

But blindness can be self-inflicted by judging others and ignoring my own shortcomings.

As I get ready for the life- and world-shattering events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, I am reminded today to be honest and open - with myself; to refrain from judgement and instead see an honest picture of who I am.

I must allow the light of the Spirit to shine on me and in me so I can see and grow.

Again I ask the question:

• How do I participate in the evil and injustice I see around me?

And then I must ask:

• How does that evil and injustice keep me from being the spiritual follower God wants me to be?

Lord, I believe.
Help my unbelief.

Lenten Journey- Holy Week Tuesday- Running

If you board the wrong train, 
it is no use running along the corridor 
in the other direction.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer's response when it was suggested he join the "German Christians" in order to work against them from within.


When I get carried away by an idea or action that I thought was good and appropriate only to later find that I made a mistake, what is it that I should do?

Once on the train, Bonhoeffer reminds us, we can’t get out of a difficult situation simply by trying to stay on the train. Somewhere, somehow, I have to get off the train. I have to make a change in what I’m doing.

All the Lenten preparations are finished now. This is the week I have to come face to face with the reality of my life and my actions. Thursday we Christians will remember Jesus' words at Communion “for forgiveness of sin.” As long as I hide from my involvement in sin and injustice I can’t make a difference. Until I turn around and get off the train, I will be as much a victim as those I want to help.

• What “train” of denial am I still riding on?
• How do I fool myself into thinking I am doing the right thing even when I know I’m not doing as well as I think I am?
• When I come face to face with Jesus’ call to live his life, what will I have to come face to face with in my life that I may not want to admit?
• What can I do to make the changes that are needed to live “after Easter”?
• How can I stop running in place and start working the program Jesus is leading me into?

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Lenten Journey- Holy Week Wednesday- Struggle

When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Nothing that Bonhoeffer did was easy. It was a time of fear and evil. He struggled often with what he as an individual could do. The spirit may be willing, as we often quote, but the flesh is weak. Or rather the flesh wants to take an easier, softer way. There has to be such a way, doesn’t there? I don’t have to REALLY follow Jesus THAT much, do I.

Holy Week reminds me that this struggle was real for Jesus- he even prayed that it be taken away from him if that was God’s will. But in the end, he admitted that he was there to do God’s will. The struggle is often in making that admission and in so doing, moving the struggle to the back burner and allowing the power of God to strengthen me to do God’s will. In mid-Holy Week then, I simply name the struggles- and become willing to listen for the answers.

• The struggle of getting off the train of injustice or away from the path of evil.
• The struggle of being honest with myself abut my shortcomings.
• The struggle to be willing to do the work and will of my Higher Power.
• The struggle to keep fresh and focused when it never seems to end.
• The struggle to be a bringer of light into darkness.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? 

Why so disturbed within me? 

Put your hope in God, 

for I will yet praise him, 

my Savior and my God.

Lenten Journey- Maundy Thursday- Obedience

One act of obedience is worth a hundred sermons.
 -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Do this!
Wash each others’ feet.

Do this!
Break the bread and share it.

Do this!
Drink from the same cup as Jesus.

Do this!
Remember Jesus.

Just do it!
It makes quite a witness.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or
take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and
grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Lenten Journey- Good Friday- Loving the Real

God does not love some ideal person, but rather human beings just as we are, not some ideal world, but rather the real world.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Meditations on the Cross

On the cross, no matter how we explain it, God in Jesus knew the reality of being human. It was not a warm, fuzzy, feel-good moment. I have no idea how or why it happened. There are many different theological explanations. I have a hunch all of them are wrong- and all of them may have a kernel of truth. If I could understand it, it wouldn’t be the work of God.

What I do know is that in the eternal wisdom and will of the Creator of the universe, Good Friday was the first half of the revolution and restoration of humanity. Jesus knew very well how we humans act. God knew very well how we humans can be evil and do injustice to our fellow humans.

Yet there was that cross.

At that I am speechless.

Were the whole realm of nature mine, 

that were a present far too small. 

Love so amazing, so divine, 

demands my soul, my life, my all.

Lenten Journey- Great Sabbath- The Way Back

The day in-between.

Ponder Bonhoeffer’s words as a guide to be ready for the second half of the weekend.


We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds;

we have been drenched by many storms;

we have learnt the arts of equivocation and pretense;
experience has made us suspicious of others and kept us from being truthful and open;

intolerable conflicts have worn us down and even made us cynical.

Are we still of any use?

What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, and straightforward men.

Will our inward power of resistance be strong enough, and our honesty with ourselves remorseless enough, for us to find our way back to simplicity and straightforwardness?
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

Easter- To Live.. For Others

The Lord is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed!

The Church is the Church only when it exists for others...not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

Let those who have ears, hear!