Friday, 7 November, 2003

We begin with pieces from “Ethics” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.



There is a spurious activity of (humanity) which is itself a judgment, and there is also, astonishingly enough, a judgment which is true activity of (humanity), that is to say, a “judging” which springs from the achievement of union with the origin, with Jesus Christ. There is a “knowing” which arises from the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Reconciler… This judgment and this knowledge spring from unity, not from disunion. They therefore create not further disunion, but reconciliation. Jesus Christ’s judgment consisted precisely in His having come not to condemn but to save; “And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world” (John 3:19. cf. verses 17 & 18), and likewise (people) who are reconciled with God and (humanity) in Christ will judge all things, as (people) who do not judge, and will know all things as (people) who do not know good and evil.



The light is come into the world! “In thy light, we see light.” What we so often fear is what we create in our minds. That is odd. That also seems like something that goes against the first commandment: (I am the Lord, your God) You shall have no other gods before me. And yet, we do…our own minds. The world we would create within our minds fits very well with how we would judge things to be good and evil. It is too often a world that is ruled by judgment and condemnation rather than by the rule of the One who brings union even where disunion attempts to fashion the world. In our worlds, we too often let our own comfort lead us into lives that really seek little more than what fits into our judgments of the way things must be. How quickly we throw out the Christ and the unity created in Jesus’ name when we turn away from reconciliation and insist on a world that fits our demands.



Connection: We are all in a bind. We long to be the followers of Jesus in our day and yet we find so many other things within our minds to trust….more that the one we call Lord. What would it take to unbind ourselves and experience Jesus anew today?



Bind us together, Lord, and lift us up to see the grand banquet feast that you have set for all your children. Let us see the faces of those we cannot love today. Let us see them at the table of your victory feast and then…let us bring our eyes back to earth and begin to celebrate with all of them even now before the end is here, your love that reunites all people. Amen