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The final chapter. Confession and Communion is such a fitting title to the final chapter of a book about life together. Living this current alreadynotyet season in God’s metanarrative is completely characterized by confession and communion. In today’s blog post, I’ll discuss the connections and conversation of Bonhoeffer in this chapter. It is a common misconception about Christians that once you accept Jesus, everything in your life is better and you will no longer sin. It’s true for those who are in Christ that there is no condemnation for sin (Romans 8:1) but that does not mean that Christians are perfect and don’t sin. As Bonhoeffer writes, “Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!” (110) We must be able to face our own sinfulness and confess it to our brother and sisters.

The chapter for this week’s Bonhoeffer reading is called Ministry . This chapter truly focuses on an extension of conversation about community. How sweet it is to talk about a Life Together that has been truly lived. My goal for this post is to point out three tidbits from this chapter which struck me as important. First, the ministry of holding one’s tongue. Second, a matchless discovery. Third, meekness. Bonhoeffer suggests that if we held our tongues at the right time, the evil words that are unfit for speech would not be spoken. He acknowledges the difficult balance here. We must not speak evil against our brother but also we must not tolerate injustice. What is the key to understanding when to speak out and when to hold our tongues? Well, how is your heart? In the next section, Bonhoeffer talks about a matchless discovery when you hold your tongue. How does someone go from harsh and hurtful words toward someone to kind and praising words toward that same person? “Where this...

The beginning of a new book! How exciting to start reading Bonhoeffer’s Life Together ! This post will begin to cover the first chapter, Community. First, we’ll look at visible fellowship. Next, we’ll look at joy and strength. Last, we’ll look at through Christ and in Christ. “It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God’s Word and sacrament.” (18) Bonhoeffer makes the point that believers have a unique bond that unbelievers do not have. We are able to spend time together in the same space to talk about God. There are several places all around the globe of people who cannot make their faith public because they would be persecuted for the gospel message. What a gift it is to be able to gather together with other believers. “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.” (19) As humans, we were made with a physical body. This is important because if we try to neglect ...