Heavenly fellowship

“It is by the grace of God that a congregation

   is permitted to gather visibly in the world…”

During the summer of 2001 I visited the ancient, contested city of Jerusalem, staying at an American institute in the Armenian Quarter. One afternoon I set out on foot to visit a bookstore on the opposite side of the old city, and beyond the city walls. This was not a long walk, but it was very hot and it was Friday—preparation day for the Sabbath.  By the time I reached the Damascus Gate, the narrow streets were choked with people hurrying to finish their business.  Gridlocked in a wave of humanity, I inched my way through the gate, up the Shechem Road past the Garden Tomb. By the time I reached the bookstore, which I now discovered was also closing for Sabbath, it was already dark and I was exhausted and nearly dehydrated. Thousands of miles from home, friends, and family, I was vulnerable to anyone who might see my condition and take advantage. Thankfully, those who took note of my predicament were a husband and wife missionary couple from the U.S. who operated the bookstore as the base for their ministry. In my depleted state, it was a tremendous relief to make their acquaintance!  They gave me water and drove me to their home where they set before me a wonderful meal of falafel, pita bread, pumice, and olives. After a good night’s sleep, I regained my strength but I remained in their home for several days as they graciously introduced me to the area, its people, and its fledgling churches.

In chapter 1 of Life Together Bonhoeffer writes that the believer “yearns for the physical presence of other Christians” and that they are “a source of incomparable joy and strength” (19). I experienced the truth of that statement in my needy encounter with the Christian couple in Israel. Of course, not all encounters with fellow believers are like that, but how easily we take Christian fellowship for granted when it is all around us! Comfortably situated in our Christian enclaves, we can scarcely relate to John the author of Revelation, in exile on the Island of Patmos, or Paul, imprisoned in Rome, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned in Nazi Germany and starving for Christian fellowship in his lonely cell. These saints and martyrs were denied the privilege of fellowship that most of us enjoy as often we choose. They had to wait to for heaven in order to be reunited with fellow believers. Their example and testimony, therefore, must serve as a wakeup call to us. As Bonhoeffer explains, “between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians.” When was the last time you experienced Christian fellowship as a relief, a joy, or a delight?  Share your experience, below.

Into the deep end with Jesus

“Jesus Christ lived in the midst of enemies”

Being different from those around you can be very uncomfortable.  Imagine finding yourself alone in a dark alley with someone larger and stronger, and about whose motives you cannot be sure. Another kind of discomfort comes with the discovery that you are radically different from someone wonderful whom you’ve always presumed to measured up to.  As a young child, I spent time with a “big brother” who carried me around on his shoulders. I forgot how much taller he was than me until he carried me with him into the deep end of the pool.  All at once my imagined equality disappeared in a great shock of humility!  If it is troubling to discover differences between ourselves and those we care about most, how much more should we lament our differences from the One in whose image we have been created, and in whose image we are called to be conformed (Romans 8:29)?

The shock of humility accompanies every genuine experience of drawing close to Christ. Bonhoeffer points to a dramatic difference between our Lord and ourselves. Namely, that Jesus never basked in uninterrupted fellowship because “he had come to bring peace to the enemies of God” (17).  Consider the biblical evidence for yourself. Though born into a loving family, Jesus was misunderstood by his family (John 7:5; Mark 3:21). The call to be about his heavenly Father’s business led him away beginning at an early age (Luke 2:41-51). After his baptism, Jesus was tested in the solitude of the wilderness (Matthew 4).  And though he soon called his disciples, they too profoundly misunderstood his identity (John 14:9; Mark 9:19; Matthew 16:22-23). Jesus suffered the ordeals of Gethsemane, his trial and crucifixion, all alone (Matthew 26-27). “At the end,” notes Bonhoeffer, “all his disciples deserted him” (17). That Jesus on occasion enjoyed fellowship with his disciples should not be doubted (Matthew 26:30; Mark 3:33-34). But that he steadfastly put his mission before his desire for fellowship is also beyond doubt.

Seldom venturing beyond our own circle of Christian friends, we forsake Christ and his call to be scattered among unbelievers for the sake of the kingdom. Remaining too long in the nursery of Christian fellowship we become spoiled for the world. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described such believers as salt which has lost its saltiness (Matthew 5:13). In turn, we risk losing our love and appreciation for Christian fellowship, preferring to align ourselves with believers who think and act like we do. The Apostle Paul diagnosed the Corinthians with this malady: “Each one of you says, I follow Paul, I follow Apollos…” (1 Corinthians 1:12 ESV). Bonhoeffer quotes Martin Luther whose criticism was more pointed still: “O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ!  If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared?” (18)  Of course, Bonhoeffer is not advising us to abandon Christian fellowship, but he is exposing our tendency to allow our own comfort to eclipse the call to follow Christ wherever he leads.  And Life Together helps us to understand the great value of Christian fellowship in light of that call.

It was Christ, after all, whose death and resurrection laid the foundation for Christian fellowship. Yet, his mission precluded the enjoyment during his earthly life of what he himself made possible. And, as Bonhoeffer further notes, not all believers are free to enjoy the blessings of fellowship (e.g. “the imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely,” etc.).   So long as we view Christian fellowship as an entitlement or even as a command—“forsake not the assembling of yourselves together”—we are likely to miss the treasure within our grasp.

Drinking at the well of Christian community

“The Christian has the privilege of
living among other Christians.”

Why are today’s Christians so often disappointed with their church experience?   Many reasons for this have been offered, and, indeed, enough is published annually on the theme to fill a shelf at the local Christian bookstore.  As for me, I have no intention of adding to the list of books on “What’s wrong with the church?”  If that were my design I doubt you would bother to keep reading.  Instead, I want to share some thoughts penned by Dietrich Bonhoeffer over seven decades ago which speak to our current dilemma.  

On the very first page of his 1939 publication, Life Together, Bonhoeffer writes, “It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians” (p.17). The author recorded these thoughts after Gestapo agents closed his school for pastoral training and arrested his students.  Those who survived the ordeal testified that the school had been much more than a traditional seminary: the students and their professor had experienced life together.

Has your free access to Christian fellowship ever been limited or even denied?  If it has, I invite you to reply to this entry and share your story.  If it has not, then it’s natural for you to take for granted the privilege you have always enjoyed, and you are one of those Bonhoeffer had in mind while writing his book.  However, reading Life Together will force you to ask yourself, “Have I truly experienced Christian fellowship?” And this in itself can be a worthwhile exercise! Bonhoeffer lived among his students. His definition of fellowship as “living among other Christians” seems to exclude mere attendance at a weekly worship service, or even growing up in a religious home where, perhaps, Christian talk and practices were restricted to Sundays. 

Back to the problem of disappointment with church, some join on the basis of their preferences of worship style and preaching, on the availability of programming that meets their needs, and perhaps for the opportunities afforded them for involvement. Or else they join for a shallow version of fellowship—that feeling of community that comes with being in the company of people they find interesting, attractive, and like-minded.  Indeed, they may not join at all, at least not in a formal sense.  The statement, “this is where the Lord has led me…for now,” suggests loyalty to one’s own interests.  My point is that even those who confess to the sin of taking Christian community for granted may not have experienced such community in its fullness.  At one level or another, then, our disappointment with church stems from complacency toward community or, as Bonhoffer describes it, our tendency to take for granted the privilege of living among other Christians.  His description of Christian community carefully builds on the foundation of God’s word, beginning with the Psalm 133’s “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”  Those who read these pages may testify that Bonhoeffer speaks of fellowship like one describing a cool drink after a long dry spell.  Indeed, we read Bonhoeffer because his writing refreshes us like a cool drink. Those who have no need of refreshment will not be helped by this writing; those who prefer their own company will not be satisfied at the well of community.  Bonhoeffer’s experience of community enriched his understanding, and his writings will enrich those in search of true community.  If our quest leads us to unexpected challenges, at least Bonhoeffer has warned us!