Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the ministry* of listening

On the ministry of listening: The first service that one owes to others in community consists in listening to them. Just as love for God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them. It is God’s love for us that He not only gives His Word but also lends us His ear. …Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians because these Christians are talking where they should be listening. But he who can no longer listen to his brother will soon be no longer listening to God either; he will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life, and, in the end, there is nothing left but spiritual chatter and clerical condescension arrayed in pious words.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, quoted from the transcript of a radio program, “Ethics and the Will of God: The Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.” (I lost my copy of the book.)

*Ministry as understood in terms of the priesthood of all believers, not just of the clergy in contrast to the laity. All in Jesus are to so serve with ears open to each other and to others.

Lois Tverberg on the restoration of “the picture of Jesus that the gospel writers first gave us”

In 1977, Pinn Barcilon won the assignment of a lifetime when she was asked to lead the restoration of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, one of the most well-known images of all time. But the renowned Italian art conservator could hardly imagine how nerve-wracking the next twenty-three years would be.

The centuries hadn’t been kind to the mural that da Vinci completed on a monastery wall in Milan, Italy, in 1498. Always the experimenter, Leonardo had reformulated his paints in a way that proved to be unstable, so that the paint began flaking off even before his death. And even though his mural was immediately hailed as a masterpiece, it was left unprotected from pollution and humidity. When Barcilon began her restoration, five hundred years of dust, mold, and candle soot had darkened the iconic work almost to the point of invisibility.

The real challenge for her team, however, was to undo the disastrous attempts at restoration that had begun back in the 1700s. Heavy coats of varnish, glue, and wax had been brushed on, each of them hastening the darkening process.  Worst of all, hack amateurs had painted over da Vinci’s work time and again, rendering its images distorted, brushing out details they didn’t understand, and filling in gaps with their own interpretations.

After months of photographing every square centimeter of the painting’s surface and analyzing it using state-of-the-art technology, Barcilon’s team members finally began their work. Then, for over twenty years they hunched over microscopes, painstakingly scraping away five hundred years of grime and overpainting. On a good day, one postage stamp’s  worth of the image would emerge. In 1999, when da Vinci’s brushstrokes were finally revealed, her team’s meticulous, mind-numbing labor found its reward. Barcilon called it a “slow, severe conquest, which, flake after flake, day after day, millimeter after millimeter, fragment after fragment, gave back a reading of the dimensions, of the expressive and chromatic intensity that we thought was lost forever.”

Gloomy shadows banished; a well-lit banquet hall emerged. Peter’s beard and nose were free of the clumsy weight that later retouchings had given them. Matthew sported blond hair, not black. Thomas gained a left hand. Andrew’s expression was transformed—he was no longer sullen, but astonished. And Jesus’ face glowed with new light after the dingy repaintings had been removed.

The essence of the scene remained unchanged. Da Vinci had depicted the fateful scene at the moment Jesus revealed one of his disciples would soon betray him. But after centuries of murky obscurity, restoration had brought to light the original beauty of the artist’s masterful portrayal  of the facial expression and body language of Christ and his disciples.

Just as modern technology enabled Barcilon to reveal da Vinci’s original strokes, in recent decades scholars have gained new tools to restore the picture of Jesus that the gospel writers first gave us. In just the past fifty years, we have seen more advances in biblical archaeology and in the discovery of ancient texts than in all the centuries since the time of Jesus. As dingy accretions of history are cleared away,  vivid details of Jesus’ life and culture are emerging….

….Leonardo da Vinci’s….masterpiece has influenced the Christian imagination of Jesus’ fateful last evening more than any other, yet it is culturally wrong in every detail. In the background are windows looking out on a sunny mid-afternoon scene, whereas the Passover meal always took place at night. And of course the faces of Jesus and the disciples are pale-faced Europeans, not Semitic. Most telling is what is on the table. Lacking are the essential elements of the Passover celebration, including the lamb and unleavened bread. In their place is a puffy loaf of bread, when leavening is strictly forbidden during the week of Passover, and a shockingly unkosher plate of grilled eels garnished with orange slices!

Of course da Vinci’s goal was to portray the disciples’ reactions at that critical moment, and he does so with brilliant technique and emotive depth. But by not including the elements of Passover, a feast that celebrated God’s redemption and brimmed over with messianic expectations, we miss the fact that Jesus was powerfully proclaiming himself as the fulfillment of God’s ancient promises. Jesus uses the symbols of Passover to point toward his coming atonement to redeem those who believed in him and to inaugurate a “new covenant” for the forgiveness of sin.

Lois Tverberg, Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life, 15,16,22.

C.S. Lewis on unsatisfied desires

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

C.S. Lewis, Wikiquote, taken from his book,  Mere Christianity.

Thomas à Kempis on the primacy of being a follower of Jesus

“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,” says the Lord. By these words Christ advises us to imitate his life and habits if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our primary effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.

Thomas à Kempis quoted by James Bryan Smith in Rich Mullins: A Devotional Biography: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven, 83.

Augustine on the necessity of the church

He cannot have God for his Father who refuses to have the Church for his Mother.

Augustine in Rich Mullins: A Devotional Biography: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven, 30.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the weakness and suffering of the Word (versus human ideology)

An ideology requires fanatics, who neither know nor notice opposition, and it is certainly a potent force. But the Word of God in its weakness takes the risk of meeting the scorn of men and being rejected. There are hearts which are hardened and doors which are closed to the Word. The Word recognizes opposition when it meets it, and is prepared to suffer it. It is a hard lesson, but a true one, that the gospel, unlike an ideology, reckons with impossibilities. The Word is weaker than any ideology, and this means that with only the gospel at their command the witnesses are weaker than the propagandists of an opinion. But although they are weak, they are ready to suffer with the Word…

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 207.

Anna Rapa telling the story of the rich young ruler

Encounters with Jesus IV – The Rich Young Ruler

It’s too much.  It’s just too much.  I want to do what he asked me, I really do.  But he asked me for the one thing I can’t give.

I’ve been a good man all my life.  I was successful enough in my studies and in my business that they made me a member of the ruling council, even though I am still young.  I guess they could see that I followed the law perfectly and did all the right things.

But I often wondered—was that enough?  I mean really—was it enough?  I got very concerned about it.  What if there was something more I should be doing?  It seemed like there should be more.  I mean, I keep the ten commandments—don’t worship other gods or make images of them; don’t take God’s name in vain; don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, don’t give false testimony; don’t covet; honor father and mother; keep the Sabbath day.  Every single one of them I’ve kept since I was young.  Not many  people can do that.  Even so, I wanted to be  sure of  my place in the faith, and I wanted to be sure of what would happen to me after death.

So Jesus is in town.  We’ve been talking about him quite a bit at the council meetings. He’s that rabbi, the son of Joseph, who has quite a following.  He’s been making outlandish statements and stirring up trouble.  But he also has a tendency to make a difference in people’s lives.  People claim that he’s been healing the sick and making blind men see.  And people are saying that he’s been sent by God.

So I thought it might be a good idea to ask him about what I need to do to make sure that I have eternal life.   I don’t have anything to lose, and if he really is from God, then I have a lot to gain if there’s something I’m missing.

So I heard he was in town and I spent today trying to find him.  I looked for quite a while, and then I finally saw the crowd around him.  I pushed my way through and I threw myself at his feet.

“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”+

Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good—except God alone.””+

And then he started to answer my question.  “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”+

I replied, “All these I have kept since I was a boy.”+

And then Jesus said, “You still lack one thing.  Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.”+

Sell everything?  Everything?  I’m wealthy.  I have so many things, and I live a comfortable life.  Jesus roams from one city to another, imposing on the hospitality of others.  I give hospitality to others.  How can I give that up?  Treasure in heaven sounds great, but how do I know that I’ll really have it?  And how does that help my life today?  And just think about how many people I’m  able to help and all the things that I can do for the poor.   I can’t give that up, can I?

Really, how can he ask so much of me?  I’ve done everything that God has ever commanded.  I am living a good life, according to the law.  And what about Abraham?  And Solomon?  They had riches so far beyond mine, and God didn’t ask them to give up their wealth.  How can God possibly expect more of me?

No, I can’t do it.  I just can’t do it.  It’s too much.  And I refuse to believe that’s what God requires for me to ensure eternal life.

Jesus must have known what I was thinking, because he looked at me and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”+

The people around him asked, “Who then can be saved?”+

Jesus answered, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”+

And that’s when I left.  I’m heartbroken about it, but there it is.  And I truly believe that God will reward me for my righteous living, even though I haven’t sold everything I own.

© 2011 Anna R. Rapa

+Quotations taken from Luke 18.

The full story can be found in Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18.  The portions that are not quoted from the Bible are a fictionalized account of the rich young ruler based on the Bible and commentaries that interpret and explain his story.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.™  All rights reserved worldwide.

The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™Discussion

Questions
• What did you notice about this story?
• What did you wonder about?
• Why do you think Jesus reacted to the man’s statement that he was good?  What point do you think Jesus was trying to make?
• What did you notice about how the man defined his life of faith?  Do you think he was right or wrong?
• How did Jesus challenge his perception?
• Why did Jesus ask him to sell all his possessions and give to the poor?
• Do you think that was a lot to ask?
• What do you think held the man back?
• What do you think he would have gained if he’d chosen to do what Jesus said?
• How does his story compare to the blind man’’s story?  Do you think that what Jesus asked him to do was easier or harder than what he asked the blind man to do?
• What kind of life was Jesus inviting the man to?  What do you think that life would have looked like for the man?
• What does it mean to ““believe” in Jesus?  Does it require more than thoughts?  Does it require actions?  What kind of actions?

Anna Rapa, Encounter Jesus

Eugene Peterson on Jesus: our way to God and God’s way to us

The way we come to God is the same way that God comes to us. God comes to us in Jesus; we come to God in Jesus. It is the same way, the Jesus way. God comes to us in Jesus speaking the words of salvation, healing our infirmities, promising the Holy Spirit, teaching us how to live in the kingdom of God. It is in and through this same Jesus that we pray to and believe, hear and obey, love and praise God. Jesus is the way God comes to us. Jesus is the way we come to God. “The way up and the way down is the same way.”*

Jesus is the way of salvation. We follow his way. Jesus is the way of eternal life. We follow his way. The way Jesus does it is the way we do it. Jesus is the way we come to God. Period. End of discussion.

And Jesus is the way God comes to us. On earth, Jesus is the way of faith and obedience and prayer–to God. From heaven, Jesus is the way of God’s revelation, God’s salvation, God’s blessing–to us.

Everything we need to know of God comes by way of Jesus. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory” (John 1:14 RSV). St. John’s Gospel, carefully and in a most leisurely way–”unresting, unhasting, and silent as light”** tells us the story, all the operations of the Holy Trinity revealed to us in Jesus, the Christ.

Several decades ago Charles Sheldon wrote a book that was widely read, What Would Jesus Do? Good question, But if another question is not given equal billing alongside it, it yields answers that are only a half-truth. We must also ask, What is God doing? Jesus tells us what to do; at the same time he tells us what God is doing. Jesus is God in action. Jesus is God speaking. Jesus is God touching lepers. Jesus is God forgiving a condemned and dying criminal and an adulterous woman hounded by men holding rocks and poised to kill her. Jesus is God blessing children. Jesus is God giving sight to Bartimaeus, life to Lazarus. Jesus is God calling down judgment on religious posturing. Jesus is God weeping over Jerusalem.

Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus is the way we come to God. Jesus is the way God comes to us. And not first one and then the other but both at the same time. Not God’s way to us on Sundays and our way to God on weekdays. It is a two-lane road. Much mischief has been perpetrated in the Christian community by not keeping both lanes open. The road up and the road down are the same road.

Psalm 84 speaks of men and women “in whose hearts are the highways to Zion.” We know something about highways and we know what happens when an accident blocks the lane we are in. We sit there stuck, while the cars on the other side of the road are free to drive home, or to work, or to the mountains to ski, or to the ocean to surf and swim. It is not enough to have a single lane. We require a highway with the traffic going both ways–Jesus. Our way to God. God’s way to us.

Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way, 37-39.

*”Heraclitus, the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher” from Charles H. Kahn, The Art and Thought of Heraclitus (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1979), p. 74.

**”From the hymn by Walter Chalmers Smith, “”Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise,” The Hymnbook (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Publishing Co., 1955), p. 82.

Scot McKnight on what real “Church-Life” is

What many churches offer is not what you want to give your One.Life for. Where did we get the idea that church is a one-hour Sunday morning service at 11:00 a.m.? Not from Jesus, not from his dream parables, and not from his vision of the Kingdom.Life.

Many today are looking for connectedness in a common life, and many are willing to devote their One.Life to that kind of society, but what they are finding at that weekly gathering is a group of folks gathered but disconnected. The tragedy is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Something can be done about it. It begins if we will return to the community vision of the earliest followers of Jesus and let Pentecost happen all over again. Notice what we see in this earliest of Christian communities, a life that can only be called Church.Life:

Life lived with others, regardless of who they are
Life shaped by the teachings of Jesus through his apostles
Life experienced by eating with one another
Life swarmed by prayer
Life carried away in awe of what God was doing
Life shared economically and materially
Life welcomed by outsiders
Life expanded
Life unleashed

I think if more people were finding these things at the local church, they’d pitch in and say, “This is what Life-to-the-Full looks like and I want some of it!” I would characterize the community life of Pentecost with these words:

Friendship
Teaching the faith
Common meals
Spirituality
Worship
Holistic care for one another
Integrity
Growth

What is the alternative?

Life lived alone and unsatisfied
Life shaped by someone or something else other than Jesus
Life experienced by dining alone
Life with thick spaces between you and God
Life noted by pursuing more and more stuff
Life shaped by: “What’s mine is mine!”
Life unnoticed by others
Life stunted by “groupishness” and cliques
Life protected

Scot McKnight, One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow, 103-104.

Ann Voskamp on finding the thin places

…I wonder too…if the rent in the canvas of our life backdrop, the losses that puncture our world, our own emptiness, might actually become places to see.

To see through to God.

That that which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become the thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to the heart-aching beauty beyond. To Him. To the God whom we endlessly crave.

Maybe so.

But how? How do we choose to allow the holes to become seeing-through-to-God places? To more-God places?

How do I give up resentment for gratitude, gnawing anger for spilling joy? Self-focus for God-communion.

To fully live–to live full of grace and joy and all that is beauty eternal. It is possible, wildly.

I now see and testify.

So this story–my story.

A dare to an emptier, fuller life.

Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, 22-23.