A happy Lent to all who are walking with our Lord Up to Jerusalem! We're a week in now and I've enjoyed my readings and "discussion" on the Dietrich Bonhoeffer book "God is on the Cross". This is my first year including it in my readings and it's definitely a supplement as it doesn't get too in depth or long enough to really flesh each topic out in length. That's where I appreciate bringing it into the other stuff I'm reading (you know, like the Bible) and listening (you know, like the Lenten sermons on Wednesday nights) and my Issues, etc. podcasts. The Danger of Rejecting Lenten Practices and Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent has been good reminders of what Lent is and what it isn't.
It's been so great to discuss "God is on the Cross" with another reader as I go along! You can find our back and forth of the first week under the comments section of my last post.
To recap, last week's theme was Prayerful Reflection. We read about Jesus' cross for us and what our crosses are and the uniqueness in them. We read about prayer - what it is and what it isn't and the confidence in who we're praying to! We read about how important it is to stay connected to the vine through his Word and Sacraments, his constancy and our moodiness! We read about mediation and slowly taking in his words to us and the power those words have.We were reminded of how God preserves his children and strengthens us to remain on the path to salvation. We read about the hope we have as Christians and how hope is only found in Jesus! And finally, we read about how patient our God is with us. We concluded that God uses our suffering for our eternal good and things are not always as they seem!
This week's theme is Self-Denial which should be interesting. We live in a culture where we really don't need to deny ourselves anything. We can be instantly entertained, fed, amused - all at the click of a mouse, remote control or drive through. And seeing as the author wrote his thoughts while rotting in a Nazi concentration camp, he should have some interesting perspective!
Jesus denied himself to extreme perfection, allowing even his life to be taken for us. Nothing we do or deny ourselves can add to this! I suspect there can be a spiritual benefit however, in strengthening our muscles by practicing restraint despite the ease of getting what we want when we want it. I hope to flesh this out further in the coming week.
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The start of week 2 in Lent -
Simple Obedience
The title is interesting - describing the type of obedience needed here as "simple". Humans have a tendency to make things complicated, don't we?
The concrete call of Jesus - describing the call of Jesus as sure, foundational, "concrete".
And yet there are lots of examples I can think of in ministry where there was nothing "simple" about it to people who didn't perceive his call as "concrete". Their road to faith was complicated and progress slow and arduous - if at all.
Perhaps in Bonhoeffer's extreme poverty and conditions, his perspective was clearer without all the "complications" of a cushy lifestyle to cause distraction. He wasn't denying himself luxuries (if that's what you want to call freedom) on purpose but his self was being denied! And the poem from him is inspiring - that having all of this taken from him he could still be thankful and recognize the "good and loving hand" of God.
May I see spiritual truths clearer and less complicated by not keeping so busy and distracted in the things of this world. Help me to have spiritual perspective and clear the fog of diversions that cloud my thoughts. Thank you for your perfect obedience!
Week 2, Day 1 - Wednesday: Simple Obedience
There are most certainly great powers that want to embed themselves within us between God's Word and our obedience to him! Ephesians 6:12 comes to mind: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
As you said, Rachel, a "cushy lifestyle" and having EVERYTHING available to us RIGHT NOW does add a level of distraction and complication that can allow those "spiritual forces of evil" an opportunity to edge their way in.
I must say that one phrase gave me pause. "Only in concrete obedience do we become free to believe." I know that obedience is an exercise of faith, and as we exercise our faith it becomes stronger. And yet, our obedience is NOT the first step. Without God's help we are powerless to obey! The first step is the one Jesus took in obeying his father and paying for our sins! When the Holy Spirit works in us THAT is what frees us to believe.
With that said, this is what I need to remind myself of when obedience to God's Word means denying myself - that Jesus and His Word are "a more secure foundation than all the securities of the world." Jesus himself used a parable about foundations to illustrate the importance of obedience (Matt 7:24-27):
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Dear Father, give me the strength to obey you so that I may have a solid foundation.
Week 2, Thursday: The Way of Love for Human Beings
Is this not the heart of the message of Lent? Jesus, who is God Himself, CHOSE obedience to his Father - which meant suffering and humility - over what he'd had from eternity - the comfort, joy, and glory of heaven - FOR US, who by nature WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM!
In Philippians 2:5-8 God calls us to imitate Jesus. Because he first chose the way of love for humans, we are moved to choose the way of love for our fellow humans in an attitude of humility and self-denial.
I confess that I have a LONG way to go when it comes to self-sacrificing love. Jesus, thank you for your perfection on my behalf. Forgive my sin of selfishness. Lead me to increasingly choose the way of love for humans.
I liked your comment on the phrase "only concrete believers.." - well said. It struck me the wrong way too but I was confused as to what he meant by that. But regardless of what he meant, you've done a great job explaining truth and referring to Scripture.
Thursday - The Way of Love for Human Beings
Yes, this is a beautiful picture of Lent and it's heart and message! It makes me also think about when he - the Son of God - washed the feet of his disciples in the upper room. What a vivid picture of what humbling self and service to others looks like. Mark
Mark 10:45 - "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Friday - The Gospel is not a Cheap Consolation of Faith
The Theology of the Cross by Deutschlander refers to our old Adam as our "self". He writes about the struggle we have with "self" and our new man under the cross. Mark 8:34 says "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Deutschlander writes (page 31) "Cross bearing is self denial for the sake of Jesus and his Word. Thus anything that tempts us to turn away from Jesus and his Word is in cahoots with this adulterous and sinful generation. The struggle against temptation is a cross because of the appeal of temptation to self. the stronger the appeal to self, the more difficult resistance will be. Self, for example, loves to be flattered and pampered; accordingly, the approval and praise of the the world makes it harder to trust in Christ and his sword, since I like hearing from the world that I'm already good enough and better than most. The pleasures that the world has in abundance easily turn my eyes from the cross of Christ and from his Word to comfort and ease as ends in themselves that are worthy of all my attention.
Ouch. Hits a little close to home! There is indeed a struggle - not a cheap consolation of faith! "The cross means suffering along with Christ".
Friday - The Gospel is Not a Cheap Consolation of Faith
This reading is one that I have been mentally chewing on all day. Rachel, your quote from Deutschlander makes me want to be sure I read the book at some point.
I do wonder whether I have ever really suffered for the sake of Christ. I do not recall ever feeling rejection for the sake of Christ or his Gospel. Have I been conforming too closely to the pattern of this world? I pray that if I have been avoiding the taking up of my crosses, that my Lord would grant me forgiveness for Jesus' sake.
The quote from Mechthild of Magdeburg is also quite thought-provoking. I wonder, however, whether this kind of idea of the Christian life makes room for rejoicing in the Lord that is God's will for us.
I pray that I may learn to bear the crosses God has chosen for me willingly and with joy.
"2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)
Saturday - The Misuse of Vicarious Living
Whoa. This reading is not within the bounds of what I am accustomed to thinking about. I wonder - is that a sign of my own selfishness, of the self-centered, comfort-driven, entertainment-focused nature of our society? I'm thinking it is good to be contemplating Bonhoeffer's writings in order to combat those things. I pray that God would lead me to live more sacrificially - perhaps more vicariously??? I'm not even sure I know what that means.
"Where the divine yes and no become one in a person" - An interesting thought to chew on. We have our own ideas, and then we look for an answer whether our idea is God's will or not... Yes? or No? There is a struggle or a battle inside us as we seek that answer. The more easily the answers come, the more our own ideas in between the yes and the no dissolve. Is another way of saying this "When God's will becomes one with our will our will"?
While we want our own will to become ever closer to God's will, another thing we want to avoid is for the opinions of others to get in that space between God's yes and no. I think this is the other threat of the misuse of the vicarious life Bonhoeffer speaks of.
Now I have to look up "vicarious." The first definition at dictionary.com is "performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another: vicarious punishment." I know Christ lived, suffered, and died vicariously - in our place. I suppose we, then, live vicariously by receiving God's grace and the sure hope of eternal life, in essence taking the place of Jesus who paid the price.
So now, what does that have to do with our own will and ideas disappearing and becoming one with God's will? Is it sanctification? In our Christian life we are growing to become more and more like the one who is our substitute?
I think I've taken these thoughts as far as I can go. I look forward to reading your thoughts, Rachel.
Sunday - Self-Denial Means Knowing Only Christ
I think this reading brings more light to the idea of vicarious living, as I have been thinking about it.
The way Bonhoeffer defines self-denial is absolutely beautiful. "Self-denial can never be defined as some profusion (had to look this one up!) - be it ever so great - of individual acts of self-torment or asceticism (back to dictionary.com!).... Self-denial means knowing only Christ, and no longer oneself. It means seeing only Christ, who goes on ahead of us, and no longer the path that is too difficult for us. Again, self-denial is saying only: He goes on ahead of us; hold fast to him."
Dear Lord, teach me to say of myself, "I don't know the [wo]man!"
Monday - The Yoke that Makes the Burden Light
"A burden that would simply push a person down to the ground becomes bearable through the yoke."
Has anyone ever said to you, "I don't know how you do it"? They are wondering how you bear the burden without being pushed into the ground. We are instructed in 1 Peter 3:15, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." I must admit, I'm not always prepared to respond to the comment "I don't know how you do it." I usually say something like "I can't do it on my own." But often the comment feels like it falls flat.
Bonhoeffer's explanation of the yoke provides a good illustration to talk about these things. Really, it's our Lord who provides it in Matthew 29:11, but Bonhoeffer makes the connection in a way that was really helpful for me.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Falling behind and trying to keep up!!!
I wanted to acknowledge your response from Friday about not being sure you've ever really suffered for the sake of Christ. But I'll keep that for now because it'll come up again as I discuss the weekend's readings.
I must have read the Saturday reading 10 times trying to understand all the meaning in it. And when you admitted to looking up the definition of "vicarious", I laughed because I almost did the same thing. I've used it in my vocabulary before but in this context, it had me really confused. I felt silly! But thank you for being the bigger person and going ahead and looking it up!!!
A selfless person dies to SELF and lives for CHRIST. Every time we say no to what SELF wants, we say yes to CHRIST who lives in us and gives us the strength. So when we are dedicated to other people (as the first part starts), we are saying no to our selfish desires to please SELF and yes to turning our attention and care to other people, denying that selfish tendency. So when Bonhoeffer has the presence of mind to be worrying about what his parents must be going through while he's the one in the messy and horrible situation, he's denying the pity party that SELF would like to throw and instead thinks about his loved ones.
We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit. It goes against every natural tendency we have by nature. This is part of our cross to bear for Jesus' sake.
For Sunday's reading, I'd like to go back to my Theology of the Cross book and quote it for some clarity. "It needs to be pointed out that the cross bearing of which Jesus speaks, the cross bearing that we are talking about under the heading of the theology of the cross, is not self-chosen or self-inflicted suffering. It is not the self-chosen poverty of the monk or the solitude of the hermit. It is not the celibacy inflicted by the papacy on those who wish to serve in the public ministry. Rather it is the self-denial that lives in submission to the law of God, in works of service to one's neighbour out of love for Christ. SOmetimes such service may appear easy and convenient, sometimes difficult and unappreciated; sometimes such service matters to others or to all; sometimes it is unseen and unheralded by any. It is the SELF denial of putting the other first at work, in the family, in whatever station in life we may occupy. It is the willing, cheerful understanding that we live not for SELF but for him who loves us and gave himself for us. It is a life that is lived in harmony with the law of God because that pleases God. And that law is summed up in loving service."
So you see, when you questioned whether or not you've really suffered for Christ - I can tell you confidently that you do - all the time. I don't know you, or very much about your life other than you are a daughter of Christ and a fellow sister in the faith. Faith produces fruit. And there is fruit when you deny your SELF (who doesn't want to change a dirty, stinky diaper) but you do anyway - thousands of them - because you're not living for your SELF, you are living for Christ. Even in the mundane things that you may do. Everything done out of love for our Saviour can be an opportunity to deny SELF and serve Christ.
There are many more examples of the crosses we carry that gets fleshed out in the book and you will see that as Christians we do it all the time - not perfectly like Christ did but we grow in our lives of sanctification in this way.
And finally - todays reading "The Yoke that makes the Burden Light" - how did he know I needed to read this today? What comfort the words on this page bring to me especially right now. "…you will find rest for your souls" I could quote the whole devotion from the except of Bonhoeffer's "the mystery of Easter" to the Psalm. What more could I add?
Loved your example about how to respond to people's comment about "how do you do it?" and feeling like your response falls short. I usually say "by the grace of God" and still feel like I didn't give him enough credit!
Good stuff to contemplate as we start our new week. Thank you , Lord!
2nd Tuesday of Lent - Forgoing the Pious Self
Our last of this week's thoughts on self-denial and we are discussing our will against God's will. I think his warning here is to be careful of being pious in our spiritual life. And since I'm inspired by my book club friend to look words up when I need to be assured of their meaning as opposed to my lazy way of skipping over it - I've looked up pious in the dictionary:)
Pious - devoutly religious
1. Making a hypocritical display of virtue
2.Sincere but unlikely to be fulfilled
So in other words, nice try outwardly but it's the inner focus that's important. Is the inner focus on SELF's way while outwardly appearing you're humouring God? Bonhoeffer says, "We must first have a basic understanding that in these things, it is not our will but God's will alone that matters." He also sites another good reason to do away with our pious self - so that we shut up long enough to hear God speak through his Word and God can "do his work in us".
This is another concept that deny's SELF and instead "seeks God and his neighbour". This is something that can't happen apart from the means of grace. It's so unnatural to our human nature that we need the power of the Holy Spirit for this to happen. This is fruit that blossoms and grows with time spent watered and fed in word and sacrament until our will conforms to his. What fruit! What miracle! What peace as I release my grasp on the mirage of control and wisdom I think I have and "then the Holy Spirit begins to speak in us, and we say something quite new and different from our previous "I will".
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
Tuesday - Forgoing the Pious Self
I read Bonhoeffer yesterday morning and felt I needed to let it soak in for a while before commenting. I know this is an area in which I struggle. It grips me over and over again in a way that is so subtle that I don't even detect it unless I am paying close attention.
As a child I was a "good girl," a pleaser, a straight A student, very rarely got in trouble, and if I was rebuked even slightly by teachers I was embarrassed and felt my failure acutely. I delighted in doing what I was supposed to do, because that made me proud of myself. It made me feel like God was happy with me. I recall a sermon in which the pastor quoted the passage about all our good works being like filthy, stinking rags in God's sight, and I think I almost cried right there in the pew!
Now, as an adult, I feel uneasy when there is any evidence that I might not be doing my job well. I struggle to - I love your phrase, Rachel - "release my grasp on the mirage of control and wisdom I think I have." I try to walk past the crumbs and Cheerios on the floor without letting them frustrate me. Because if it's not a dirty floor it's laundry that needs to be folded, or a mirror one can barely see oneself in, or children who need to be taught how to brush their teeth without getting toothpaste on the mirror, or paperwork that needs to be done because our family finances are not organized enough for a budget to be made, let alone followed.
And when I'm exhausted from all my work, and still EVERYTHING I'm responsible for seems to be dirty, disorganized, behind-schedule, and misbehaving, I get depressed. If that was because I felt that I had somehow offended God, that might be ok. But then I would repent, and God would give me the peace of his forgiveness.
No, the reason that I get depressed is not because I don't feel I've honored God with my work, but because I myself don't feel honorable. That's why the quote after the main passage "The desire for one's own honor hinders faith" was such a perfectly worded reminder for me.
There is so much more I could say about this reading today - about selfish ambition, about concern for one's own reputation rather than God's reputation, about pious intentions rather than truly good intentions, about how human beings look at the outward appearance while the Lord looks at the heart...
But the bottom line is that without being continuously re-calibrated by the means of grace, I get off-track faster than a locomotive with a missing wheel. As you point out, Rachel, there is no other way.
Holy Spirit, work in my heart to will and to act according to your good purpose - and to forgo my pious self.
Rachel, in an earlier post you mentioned how we don't really know each other. I'd love to connect on a more personal level at some point, so if you have some time to at least exchange email addresses, send me a note. Maybe I'm inviting spam if I put my email address in a blog post comment - so my username is "tracy_siegler" and it is a yahoo email account. :)
Love in Jesus, -Tracy
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