This is an ongoing series that pairs art from local artists with their reflections on topics of spirituality and faith. Come by St. Faith’s Anglican Church to experience the artist’s work Tuesday-Friday from 9:30 to 4pm or on Sundays. About The painting I am inspired by the beautiful flowers I am able to grow in
It was a Sunday morning on the Fourth Sunday in Easter and it was a beautiful spring day in Eastern Connecticut. I was greeting folks as they arrived at a church I served and while shaking the hand of an elderly member I suddenly heard the gentle melody of Howard Goodall’s, “The Lord is My
God’s Goodness Pursues You Read More »
Themes Bonhoeffer moves towards a beautiful vision of the disciple transformed into the Image of Christ in the final chapter of the book. To get there, he sweeps through history from the moment of God’s creation to the act of salvation in Jesus Christ. Starting at the beginning, Bonhoeffer offers a different interpretation of the
Chapter 13: The Image of Christ Read More »
Themes The theological doctrines of justification and sanctification feature prominently in this chapter as Bonhoeffer explores God’s work of the justification of the sinner and the ongoing work of sanctification that takes place within the church-community, with some side examination of lists of vices and sins. The result is some difficult-to-navigate reading. The helpful question
Chapter 12: The Saints Read More »
Themes What is the proper relationship between the church—the Body of Christ—and the world as well as those who hold authority? What should that relationship look like when those who hold power and authority use it to persecute the church or to commit injustices in the world? These are the questions that Bonhoeffer tries to
Chapter 11: The Visible Church-Community Read More »
Themes Building on the concept of being baptized into the Body of Christ from the previous chapter, Bonhoeffer turns his attention in this chapter to exploring what it means for the church to be the Body of Christ in the world today. For Bonhoeffer, this is not metaphor, but a literal statement. In the time
Chapter 10: the Body of Christ Read More »
What an odd group of people to have for a dinner party! A parishioner of mine at a former church made this observation to me years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. Because, you know what? They are right; this is a bizarre dinner party! First, we have Martha, the ever dutiful,
An Unusual Dinner Party Read More »
Themes For a book on the nature of discipleship, it might be surprising that Bonhoeffer has not brought up baptism until this point. Here he attempts to address that by connecting his understanding of discipleship, an understanding deeply rooted in the Synoptic Gospels, with the teachings about baptism as found in Paul’s writings in the
Chapter 9: Baptism Read More »
Themes Was not the experience of the disciple who heard Jesus’ call from his own lips different than ours, who listen for Jesus’ call through the distance of scripture and the teachings of the church? Bonhoeffer tackles this question head on in this brief chapter. Should we fall trap to the belief that the experience
Chapter 8: Preliminary Questions Read More »
Themes In previous chapters, Bonhoeffer has laid out the relationship of the disciple to Christ, the relationship of the disciple to the world, and even the relationship of the disciple to the neighbor. In this chapter, he moves his attention to the relationship of the disciple to the work of mission through his interpretation of
Chapter 7: The Messengers Read More »