Dietrich Bonhoeffer to His Parents - The Mystery of Holy Night

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian and martyr who participated in a resistance movement against Nazism. He was imprisoned and executed because of his involvement.


"I don't have to tell you how greatly I long for freedom, and for all of you. But for decades you gave us such incomparably beautiful Christmases that my grateful memory of them is strong enough to outshine even this rather dark one. It is times like these that show what it really means to have a past and in inner legacy independent of the change of times and conditions. The awareness of being borne up by a spiritual tradition that lasts for decades gives one a strong sense of security in the face of all transotory distress... From the Christian point of view, spending Christmas in prison dosn't pose any special problem. Most likely, a more meaningful and authentic Christmas is celebrated here by many people that in places where only the name of the feast remains. Misery, pain, poverty, loneliness, helplessness, and guilt have an altogether different meaning in God's eyes than in the judgement of men. God turns toward the very places from which humans tend to turn away. Christ was born in a stable because there was no room for him at the inn: A prisoner can understand all this better than other people. It's truly good news for him; in believeing it, he knows he has been made a part of the Christian community that breaks down all spatial and temporal frontiers, and the walls of prison lose their meaning."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BUSES AND COFFEE

Image
We've been in Costa Rica for almost 3 months. We finally feel pretty adapted and pretty blessed with the opportunity to be here. It's amazing how living in a different country makes you think a lot about your identity and values. God is teaching us so much about people and culture! We wanted to take the time and share a little about our lives here. Costa Rica is a country of 4 million people, which is equivalent to the city of Houston! And 1 million of them live in the the province of San Jose, where the capital is and where we live. It is a pretty advanced country and we have almost everything we need. In some cases not what we are use too, but hey it works. Something that we've had to adapt to is not having a car. So buses have become our common mean of transportation. I've really grown to enjoy it because we are exposed to people daily and through it I have learned a lot about patience. Having a car you can get in, drive to, get out, do what you have to do and head b
Read more

Transgenerational Discipleship

Image
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.  2 Timithy 2:2 This verse serves as the basis for a concept known as transgenerational discipleship, the heart and soul of campus ministry and what we believe is the method of Jesus. In this verse we can identify 4 generations of believers: Paul, Timothy, reliable people, and others. Paul is entrusting a responsibility to Timothy, not just that he would make disciples, but that he would make disciples that make disciples.  This is discipleship; not just a class or 45 minute teaching, but a real life following of Jesus, in which more mature Christians take responsibility for the life of others, so at some point they can do the same.  Do I believe that Christ has done a great thing in my life? Do I believe that others are just as valuable to Him? Then now I need to take responisbility for the life of another so that they will be able t
Read more

First Student Retreat - Summer 2009

Image
This weekend Josh and I had the privilege of taking 5 university students on our first ever retreat. The students that attended were involved this summer in small group and took our leadership training course. It was a wonderful time of prayer and planning before these students head back to class during the month of March. The retreat was also purposeful in solidifying their commitment and helping establish an identity that will  be  present in 5 major campuses this school year. We are grateful for their dedication and desire to take part in reaching their campus. We are in awe as we see these students begin to establish a vision for what God can do on their campus.
Read more