Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:
"To his first disciples Jesus was bodily present, speaking his word directly to them. But this Jesus died and is risen. How, then, does his call to discipleship reach us today? Jesus no longer walks past me in bodily form and calls, "Follow me," as he did to Levi, the tax collector. Even if I would be truly willing to listen, to leave everything behind, and to follow, what justification do I have for doing so? What for the first disciples as so entirely unambiguous is for me a decision that is highly problematic and fraught with uncertainty...There is something wrong with...these questions. Every time we ask them, we place ourselves outside the living presence of the Christ. All of these questions refuse to take seriously that Jesus Christ is not dead but alive and still speaking to us today through the testimony of Scripture. He is present with us today, in bodily form and with his word. If we want to hear his call to discipleship, we need to hear it where Christ himself is present. It is within the church that Jesus Christ calls through his word and sacrament."
I read this, and wonder...what is "the church"?
Is the church a building? Is it a place that we gather? Or is it a body of people who all believe the same thing? And if so, what's the defining belief? What does someone have to say to "get in?" That Christ lived? That He died? That He lives now? Is the church a continuous historical structure? Despite our ideological differences, is my "church" one and the same as an Eastern Orthodox Christian's?
And what of Bonhoeffer's reference to "word and sacrament?" Bonhoeffer believed, as do I, that there is a living presence in Christianity, and that this presence of Christ is experienced through scripture practiced from the church. But...interpretations of scripture, uses of sacrament, and even canonical scripture itself differ greatly within the church (I'm remembering the first time I tried to find the book of "Ecclesiasticus" in my NIV).
If Bonhoeffer is right, and Christ lives through His church and His word--these are weighty questions. Coincidentally, if Bonhoeffer is wrong, and Christ isn't a living being at all, they are still weighty questions. Christian or not, "the church" is a force in American political and cultural life.
So, what do you believe? Do you consider (or have you ever considered) yourself to be living inside of "the church"? And what does that mean to you? Is Christ alive for you in the same sense that Bonhoeffer seems to imply? Can we connect with a living deity through the Christian scriptures?
All good questions. Many implications.
On a side note--I have plenty of questions and implications to go around, and go around they will, on Tuesdays and Fridays. Fun!
great questions! the Church, in my understanding, is not the building, denomination, sect, camp, or tribe... the Church is the collective continuance of Christ followers on the earth. the commonality is that we hear Christ, learn of Him, and carry out the commission He began & assigned. people debate many things within the bible, and we have allowed for different interpretations and understandings. but there tends to be less debate on the behavior of Christ and more debate on the mysteries. and just like with children, we learn from modeled behavior as life instills it's own lessons within the journey. what i'm saying is, copying Christ should lead to life of mysteries revealed.
ReplyDeletethat being said, i strongly believe that as Christians it is important to keep Christ as the center of our faith. resembling Him in spirit, deed, & in heart unifies us.
great stuff to consider... i have much more to consider.
looking forward to Tuesdays and Fridays:)
Julia
As Christians, I believe that we all live within the "Church". The issue is what in fact is the Church? Is the Church merely bricks and mortar, or is the true Church wherever Christians congregate in the name of the Lord? Perhaps we need to change our terminology to a more broader sense and consider the "Kingdom of God" rather than merely the Church.
ReplyDeleteIn order to act in the manner that Christ expects and exemplified, we need to consider moving outside of our "churches" and into God's Kingdom as a "Missional" church. Reggie McNeal writes in his book "Missional Renaissance" that in order to become a missional church that one of the required paradigm shifts must be from "church-based to kingdom-based in terms of leadership agenda".
This is to say that we need to "take the message to the steets". Move from our traditional churches where we preach to the choir, and take the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who don't seek Him. McNeal states that, "The missional shift needs to move from an Internal to an External Ministry Focus".
It's time to move from our comfort zones and speak boldy of our faith, not just to one another in the "Church" but wherever we encounter others in "God's Kingdom".