 |
| Dietrich Bonhoeffer |
This was organized and edited by Jana Reiss and translated from the original German by O.C. Dean Jr. Thus, though the words are Bonhoeffer's, it's organization is not.
The word 'advent' means waiting, so advent is about waiting for the coming of Christ the child. Those who read advent devotionals already know that Christ has come and, at least for Bonhoeffer, it is a reminder to await the second coming as well.
A devotional assumes that you are Christian and are well versed in the story of Christ. Specifically it assumes that you believe that Christ's birth was foretold to Mary, the wise men, and shepherds, that Mary was a virgin, and that Christ would redeem us.
For simplicity's sake this post will be written mostly from this perspective. (Remember the goal is to understand before critiquing).
Like many devotionals, this devotional is organized to be read daily and each week has a theme.
But how can you wait for something that has already happened? The first reading answers this question by comparing the wait of the first Advent to the wait for the second Advent:
This is followed by a letter from Bonhoeffer to his parents saying that he does not not know how much longer we have.
Not all can wait, some are satisfied or do not have respect, but those who do will also wait for Truth, love, and all that is good. If we cannot wait then we will not have these things. We have largely become indifferent to the fear that Christ's coming should arouse in us (pg 8).
It is also the wonder of wonders that God loves the broken and the lowly, the excluded and the broken. He loves us so much he became one of us. Like God becoming mortal we should celebrate Christmas by laying down our power and dignity. By doing so we participate in the mystery that is Advent.
Jesus does not want to exonerate himself from the guilt because people he loves are living in it; so he becomes guilty, the one who takes all the guilt. He does this out of love.
Even those who act responsibility should not want to absolve themselves of guilt, this would blind them to the guilt that all humanity shares.
Advent reminds us that we are participants in world judgment and world redemption. But God does not wish to frighten us; we should not be afraid. pg. 44. But only by experiencing the initial fear described in the first week's reading, can we appreciate the beauty of advent. The initial fear should not last.
God wants us to become human, pg. 50. God became human so that human beings can become human. "In Christ the form of human beings before God was created anew," pg. 52.
Remembering the Incarnation every year at Christmas time is a reminder that he lets himself be found by everyone. He was here among us.
The Christ-child is God despite his weakness and poverty because of his divine love. Bonhoeffer encourages us to pause at this statement: "God became a child!"
In this devotional it almost seems as if the transformation from God into God-child happens every Christmas pg. 58-59.
Before advent is a liminal period, an in between of promise and fulfillment - Luci Shaw quoted in God is in the Manger pg. 61.
For simplicity's sake this post will be written mostly from this perspective. (Remember the goal is to understand before critiquing).
Like many devotionals, this devotional is organized to be read daily and each week has a theme.
The first week's theme is waiting.
But how can you wait for something that has already happened? The first reading answers this question by comparing the wait of the first Advent to the wait for the second Advent:
The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, pg. 2.
This is followed by a letter from Bonhoeffer to his parents saying that he does not not know how much longer we have.
Not all can wait, some are satisfied or do not have respect, but those who do will also wait for Truth, love, and all that is good. If we cannot wait then we will not have these things. We have largely become indifferent to the fear that Christ's coming should arouse in us (pg 8).
The second week's theme is mystery of Christ and mystery in general.
Mystery is a child-like quality; mystery is where we reach the boundary of our being. The greatest mystery is the person next to us. And the deeper you know someone the greater the mystery; the greatest mystery is when you know someone so well that you fall in love. The fact that you can be so close to someone is the "greatest mystery" (pg. 20)
It is also the wonder of wonders that God loves the broken and the lowly, the excluded and the broken. He loves us so much he became one of us. Like God becoming mortal we should celebrate Christmas by laying down our power and dignity. By doing so we participate in the mystery that is Advent.
The third week's theme is redemption.
Jesus does not want to exonerate himself from the guilt because people he loves are living in it; so he becomes guilty, the one who takes all the guilt. He does this out of love.
Even those who act responsibility should not want to absolve themselves of guilt, this would blind them to the guilt that all humanity shares.
Advent reminds us that we are participants in world judgment and world redemption. But God does not wish to frighten us; we should not be afraid. pg. 44. But only by experiencing the initial fear described in the first week's reading, can we appreciate the beauty of advent. The initial fear should not last.
The fourth week's theme incarnation.
God wants us to become human, pg. 50. God became human so that human beings can become human. "In Christ the form of human beings before God was created anew," pg. 52.
Remembering the Incarnation every year at Christmas time is a reminder that he lets himself be found by everyone. He was here among us.
The Christ-child is God despite his weakness and poverty because of his divine love. Bonhoeffer encourages us to pause at this statement: "God became a child!"
In this devotional it almost seems as if the transformation from God into God-child happens every Christmas pg. 58-59.
Before advent is a liminal period, an in between of promise and fulfillment - Luci Shaw quoted in God is in the Manger pg. 61.
After Christmas
There are readings for the twelve days of Christmas and the beginning of Epiphany as well. Though I won't write about those, at least not yet.
Bottom Line
Overall I can see why this is a popular Christmas devotional. All the chosen pieces were beautifully written and Bonhoeffer was writing from a context of waiting to get out of a prison cell, giving it additional meaning.
Supplementary readings from other authors and the Bible passages were well chosen to help put into context Bonhoeffer's main passage.
From an outside perspective you could criticize this devotional on its various theological claims. And you are free to do so. But personally I would find that uninteresting.
And assuming an internal Christian perspective there is little to critique. It is a book that is intended to aid in Christmastide meditation/thought/prayer. A Christian may even disagree with the thoughts in the book, but that still means it did its job as an aid to Christian thought.
One thing I would like to point out is to say that this is not a rational book, in the sense that it is not even trying to be rational.
There is no real argument, there are only ideas to meditate on around Christmas time. This is something that certain critics of religion often forget; sometimes religion is not trying to be rational, nor should it necessarily always be rational.
Religion is often experiential and this book is designed to aid in the religious experience of Christmas.
No comments:
Post a Comment