A Lesson To Learn

[Damien the Leper]

A friend sent this blog post for me to read and there is much for me to learn from it and from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I thought I would share it.

A Supper in Cell 92 With Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The current Christian landscape in America is a war torn battlefield; daily blogs are launched like scud missiles at perceived ideological adversaries; renowned pastors are revered as decorated generals who are marshaling their congregants for battle; Conservative and Liberal authors, plus those in between and beyond, are ever busy devising top-secret publications designed to finish off the other side for good; all while the innocent lay Christian is caught between the fray, occasionally becoming theological collateral damage. But is this slow war of ideological attrition the only way? Is there but a singular option available to us amidst the current culture wars: pick up a weapon and choose up sides? I don’t think so. I am however convinced, as long as the war analogy is kept within reason, that there might be a second and more satisfying alternative: simply playing the host.

You see, during the Second World War in Tegel—one of Berlin’s many suburbs—was a time-worn prison which housed the cell of a condemned conspirator named Dietrich Bonhoeffer from April 5, 1943 through to October 8^th of the following year. At this time there were nightly air raids from the Allied Forces and the prison was of course a regular recipient of some of their bombs. From a spectator’s standpoint we might only see a battered prison situated among skeleton-like buildings and rubble laden streets that once was Berlin’s northwestern quarter. But amidst what otherwise might be described as hell-on-earth was a cell where peace, hospitality, and genuine humaness flourished—cell 92. This was Herr Bonhoeffer’s cell. Bonhoeffer was a budding theologian and reconnaissance agent for one of the Hitler-assassination groups whose top-secret documentation (known as the “Zossen” files) was discovered by the Nazis which of course led to his imprisonment and eventual execution.

And though there were many convicted conspirators in many cells throughout Tegel prison Bonhoeffer’s stood out from the rest; rows of books, a humble writing area, mounds of theological writings, personal letters, and even a vase of flowers which helped to create what one visitor described as a “cozy retreat.” Bonhoeffer is even recorded as saying that he “liked to play the host in his cell.” Fellow prisoners enjoyed and felt comforted during air raids because of their proximity to his cell. Even the hardened Nazi guards were known to visit the cell for prayer and spiritual guidance. Here, in cell 92, was a place amidst the battle where friends and foes alike could be served coffee or tea, given a morsel of food (rations are especially scarce in wartime), and of course engage in robust theological conversation. It is thus in Bonhoeffer’s unlikely “cozy retreat” of a cell that I discovered our alternative of “playing the host.”

What I’m attempting to convey is there needs to be more cell 92’s amidst our war-torn Christian culture; places of solace where Bonhoeffer-like hospitality flourishes; where friend and foe alike can discover momentary reprieve, and all this while we ourselves do the hosting. Surely our homes, apartments, church buildings, and even prisons can be radically transformed to accommodate those around us; after all, there was nothing special about the cell itself, as much as it was about the type of person who occupied it. Nevertheless, what Bonhoeffer did was not entirely without its precedent; you see cell 92 was really a reenactment of the Upper Room where Christ himself on the eve of his own execution managed to transform a sullen final meal into a joyous feast by himself playing the Host. And is it not the Host of whom we are to follow and emulate? Indeed!—thus, let the Christ-like Bonhoeffers begin setting out their tables wherever indeed that may be. I close with one of Bonhoeffer’s daily meditations written from his cell in Tegel:

In the midst of discipline, the entire fullness of the Holy Spirit wants to unfold and to ripen, and we should give it full space within us for the sake of God, for the sake of others, and for our own sake. The entire world of God, the dear Father, wants to be born in us, to grow and ripen. Love—where only suspicion and hostility reign; joy—instead of bitterness and pain; peace—amid internal and external strife; patience—where impatience threatens to overwhelm us; kindness—where only raw and hard words seem to make any difference; goodness—where understanding and empathy seem like weakness; faithfulness—where long separations and enormous changes in all relationships seek to rock the foundations of even what is most stable; gentleness—where recklessness and selfishness seem to be the only ways to reach one’s goals; self-control—where short term pleasures seem to be the only reasonable option and all bonds are about to dissolve.

Edited August 17, 2012 by Valentinus

[ChazzMichaels]

A friend sent blog post for me to read and there is much for me to learn from it and from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I thought I would share it.

May I just say it is an honor to be the first to comment on this article you have shared, and I hope you get more replies, as you deserve. Beautiful. It reminds me of other selfless heroic people in WW II, who are unfortunately not as recognized as they should be: Swede, Raoul Wallenberg, and Frenchmen, Jacques Lusseyran. There are books about both of them: Wallenberg was eventually captured by the KGB and very possibly was their prisoner for decades, dying in captivity, and Lusseyran was a part of the French Resistance, and survived a concentration camp. Neither man was technically religious, though Lusseyran's autobiography, "And There Was Light" describes his spirituality, which he felt become more acute when he became blind by an accident at age 7. I didn't mean to go off topic from Bonhoeffer, but those books are worthwhile reads that you likely would appreciate. Again, thank you for this article, and Bonhoeffer’s message is an ideal that we all should strive toward.

[volgadon]

May I just say it is an honor to be the first to comment on this article you have shared, and I hope you get more replies, as you deserve. Beautiful. It reminds me of other selfless heroic people in WW II, who are unfortunately not as recognized as they should be: Swede, Raoul Wallenberg, and Frenchmen, Jacques Lusseyran. There are books about both of them: Wallenberg was eventually captured by the KGB and very possibly was their prisoner for decades, dying in captivity, and Lusseyran was a part of the French Resistance, and survived a concentration camp. Neither man was technically religious, though Lusseyran's autobiography, "And There Was Light" describes his spirituality, which he felt become more acute when he became blind by an accident at age 7. I didn't mean to go off topic from Bonhoeffer, but those books are worthwhile reads that you likely would appreciate. Again, thank you for this article, and Bonhoeffer’s message is an ideal that we all should strive toward.

Wallenberg was also deeply spiritual. I have heard statements based on Russian sources that he was alive as las as 1954.

[ChazzMichaels]

Wallenberg was also deeply spiritual. I have heard statements based on Russian sources that he was alive as las as 1954.

Thank you for your comments. I have read the biography, "Wallenberg" a few times, and what I remember is that it stated Wallenberg was not Jewish, was not raised in a particularly religious household, he felt religion was a personal matter, and so understandably was concerned with Germany's "Final Solution." Other sources report that Wallenberg may tragically have been alive in KGB custody as late as November 1987.

[ANACO]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

Amazing. A Pastor and theologian resorting to complicity to murder. And he's likened unto being deeply spiritual.

But he had a wonderfully decorated jail cell.

The irony.

[Damien the Leper]

http://en.wikipedia....rich_Bonhoeffer

Amazing. A Pastor and theologian resorting to complicity to murder. And he's likened unto being deeply spiritual.

But he had a wonderfully decorated jail cell.

The irony.

This shows what you don't know or understand who Bonhoeffer was and is.

[Damien the Leper]

May I just say it is an honor to be the first to comment on this article you have shared, and I hope you get more replies, as you deserve. Beautiful. It reminds me of other selfless heroic people in WW II, who are unfortunately not as recognized as they should be: Swede, Raoul Wallenberg, and Frenchmen, Jacques Lusseyran. There are books about both of them: Wallenberg was eventually captured by the KGB and very possibly was their prisoner for decades, dying in captivity, and Lusseyran was a part of the French Resistance, and survived a concentration camp. Neither man was technically religious, though Lusseyran's autobiography, "And There Was Light" describes his spirituality, which he felt become more acute when he became blind by an accident at age 7. I didn't mean to go off topic from Bonhoeffer, but those books are worthwhile reads that you likely would appreciate. Again, thank you for this article, and Bonhoeffer’s message is an ideal that we all should strive toward.

Thank you for the historical references.

The point of the post was to illustrate a point that the author is trying to make. I wasn't necessarily looking for responses but something to share and uplift.

[ChazzMichaels]

Thank you for the historical references.

The point of the post was to illustrate a point that the author is trying to make. I wasn't necessarily looking for responses but something to share and uplift.

I understand. Thank you for sharing it.

[ChazzMichaels]

http://en.wikipedia....rich_Bonhoeffer

Amazing. A Pastor and theologian resorting to complicity to murder. And he's likened unto being deeply spiritual.

But he had a wonderfully decorated jail cell.

The irony.

Anaco, also, Wikipedia is not necessarily a definitively factually accurate source on any person, or topic, since registered users can modify the listed information.