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Pax et Bonum The Online worship resource for St. James Parish The Word of God, hidden in the heart
Is a stubborn voice to suppress.
--The Rev. Billy Graham--
Guide us waking, O Lord, Watching with Christ
The refrain above comes from the end of our Compline service found in the Book of Common Prayer. Monday, we used it as a springboard for Contemplating in our Prayer group that meets at 7pm. Today I used it with a family keeping vigil their dying beloved. Today, in the Pax, Art Callaham+ encourages us in a different kind of watching with Christ – the kind that makes us stand up for what we believe, no matter what the cost -
"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost?" Luke 14:28. I must admit that while Bonhoeffer is a towering figure in the theological and ecclesiastical history of the 20th century, I know very little about him. He was a favorite of many of my classmates in divinity school, but for my part, I preferred American writers. What I know of Bonhoeffer and his theology comes heavily interpreted through the lenses of my peers’ writing and my own understanding of the context of his writing. Nonetheless, it seems to me that Bonhoeffer, whose feast we celebrate today, could have more to say than any other late-modern theologian about the struggles that we face as contemporary Christians. Take, for instance, the title and theme of one of his better-known works, The Cost of Discipleship. Based on the sayings of Jesus in Luke 14:28ff, it sums-up an important, though little considered tenant of our faith: though the Grace of God given to us as disciples is the ultimate free-gift, we cannot ignore the fact that actively submitting ourselves to Christ, as his followers, can be – temporally – very costly. While I pray that none of us have encountered the same kind of persecution (intimidation, imprisonment, and ultimately hanging) for our beliefs that Bonhoeffer did, I know that each of us do the kind of cost-counting that Jesus is speaking about every day. We all forgo temporal benefits and opportunities to remain faith to Christ and his body the Church . . . but to what end?
During these Great 50 Days of Easter, we are confronted with exactly what end. In the recounting of resurrection appearances, miracles and the history of the earliest churches, we see the great benefit of following Christ. A redeemed life as a part of the Kingdom of God is exactly the benefit of discipleship. May we all have the grace to join Dietrich Bonhoeffer in understanding that such a benefit outweighs even the greatest cost.
Collect for Dietrich Bonhoeffer
 I Am the Gate The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:3-4
The voice that we are usually straining to hear is presented to us as a familiar sound-the sound of the Beloved.
The point of entry into abundant life begins with hearing. He is calling us by name. Perhaps the sound lingers in the air, meandering around the obstacles in its way. Do the shadows cast by the shape of the gate stretch out far enough to entice me? To understand Christ as gate, as point of entry, means that I need to reconsider what it means to be fixed. Christ, the gate, is not rooted to a particular time or place. Christ, the gate is moveable, timeless.
Stretching beyond imagination, this point of entry into a new life has a stability, which cannot be measured in longitude and latitude.
The point of entry into abundant life is within your own heart.
Blessings,
Daily Morning Prayer:
Lord, you now have set your servant free This Week at St. James:
Friday: 10:00 Theology and Spirit;
MAESA Fair at SJA (Maryland Association of Episcopal Schools);
7:00 SJA Spring Fling Prayers Etc.
For those on our prayer list:
David; Arabella; Brittany; Lori S.; Owen; Jennifer D. In Closing:
Guide us waking, O Lord,
Pax et Bonum, |
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This is one of my favorite parts of the gospel of John. The metaphors for Christ are flying fast and furious-shepherd, gate, door. What we hear through the metaphors is that our God, in Christ, is at once comforter, protector, and point of entry.