“Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. “The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared” (Martin Luther).”
―Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
[For this week’s quotes, I chose to use Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I read this book when I was a young pastor, and it changed the way in which I thought/preached/taught about community. Bonhoeffer and his friends developed an underground seminary, a point of great resistance during the dark days of Nazi Germany. He gave his life for this dream of a beloved community. It is not for the faint of heart! I came to the Church of the Saviour community in 2001 to live in Disciples House, a program of the Festival Center. I would be forever changed as I experienced community in all of its joys and hardships, rather than just reading and teaching about it. It’s an experience that can change us. We cannot do this alone. –Jim Marsh, Jr.]
