#dietrichbonhoffer

[quotethislater]

On responsibility. #dietrichbonhoffer #responsibilities #quotethislater #qoutes https://www.instagram.com/p/CBOe5iWATdk/?igshid=82sjad8k19nl

[coffeehousetheo]

Uneven reading - Discipleship & Letters and Papers in Prison

The work Discipleship is more familiar territory. When however you get into its skeleton after reading a ton of Barth I reacted a couple of ways. One, I came away reading the next section of Discipleship- Matthew 5 with a sense that I lack the suffering & “cost” element of my life and faith it seems in turn for a life of no inconvenience.  I live in an urban area and constantly I am reminded of the poor, the homeless, those who have been shamed, who have no humanity left and yet I, like the pharisee in the Good Samaritan story keep walking.  I don’t take the time to engage with the people that cross my path.  The cost/suffering of one's actions seem for Bonhoeffer is necessary, distinctive of one who truly is a Christ follower.   Second, this idea of suffering/cost  is also displayed during the Interrogation Period of Letters and Papers in Prison.  Dietrich speaks of his boredom, idleness, and in the beginning a bit of hope, but this turns to declaration of his suffering/cost he is enduring for the sake of the cross.  This extends beyond his prison walls to empathy for his family and friends who also are joining him in his suffering.   He writes in an apologetic mode especially of his aging parents and fiancee who bear his burden of his imprisonment.  His biblical references are filled with solace from his daily reading of the Psalms a practice he continued from his time with his students at Finkenwelde. He speaks of his solidarity with Paul's Ethics, job, and John on the island of Patmos, with verses that speak to perseverance and testing that continue to deepen his conviction that he is under trial, physically and spiritually. It is however evident how close and supportive his family literally became co-sufferers with him, much it seems both to his comfort and dismay. Yet he writes with anticipation and joy in the small things that give him pleasure such a church bells or birds he is able to hear. He is isolated yet he finds God in the midst of silence, and is perplexed that he doesn't miss worship.