Mitch Lewis

I first read Dietrich Bohnoeffer's writings when I was a high school student 38 years ago. My worn-out copy of Life Together (Gemeinsames Leben)  dates to 1978, my first year in seminary. Its words were foreign and almost incomprehensible to my Baptist ears, but even then I thought "wow." My appreciation of Bonhoeffer's words grows deeper every time I read this beautiful little text. Bonhoeffer's first chapter on "Community" starts with standard Reformation language regarding our righteousness in Christ. He proceeds to draw out from that, however, an understanding of the Christian life that turned my understanding of Christian piety upside down. The later chapters of Life Together describe what we might call spiritual disciplines that belong to Christian discipleship. You'll never understand what Bonhoeffer says about things like prayer, confession, communion, work and service, however, unless you first grasp the foundation that he lays in his chapter on community.

I revisited Bonhoeffer's chapter on "Community" in Life Together after writing this week's post on "Ordinary Christianity." It was obvious to me how much this little book has come to color not only my understanding of Christian community, but of Christian holiness as well.

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Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but who delight in the torah of the LORD and meditate on his torah day and night. (Psalms 1:1-2)

The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119,. It is composed of 176 verses, each one an acclamation of praise for God's self-revelation (and neatly arranged in stanzas of 8 verses each beginning with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet). The author variously refers to God's law, words, precepts, decrees, statutes, commands, promises and so forth.

Similarly, Psalm 19:7-10 praises God's law, statutes, decrees and ordinances.

The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure, and all of them are righteous.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.

How did the author of Psalm 1 encounter the torah so that he could meditate on it day and night? We 21st century Christians need to remember that when the psalmist commends meditation on the torah of God, he wasn't talking about reading the Bible at home. Not until well after Mr. Gutenberg invented his printing press did individuals come to possess personal copies of God's word.

When the written word came to have a significant role in the religious life of Israel (and later, the church), the people encountered that word as they heard it read in the assembly of God's people. Someone would have the opportunity to read aloud, while the others would listen. This is the pattern we see in Luke 4:17-21.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. (Luke 4:16-17)

When Psalm 119:103 declares

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

the author is most likely talking about his opportunity to read God's word aloud in God's gathered community. Except in the case of scribes who copied the sacred scrolls, the assembly was the only place that God's people could hear or read God's word.

The Christian church followed the pattern of the synagogue when it came to scripture reading. It was in the ekklesia ('assembly' but translated 'church') that Christians heard the scriptures (that is, the Old Testament) read aloud. In addition, they regularly listened to the writings that would come to comprise the New Testament. As they became a central element of corporate worship in the early church, the New Testament documents functioned like scripture. Over time, they came to be recognized as scripture.

When the Psalms praise God's laws, statutes, precepts and commands, they are also lifting up the importance of God's s people assembling together around the word of God. It is in the assembly that the word was read, heard and interpreted. And while it's a good thing that we can study the scriptures on our own today, we should remember that God's word was originally designed to be encountered in community and not treated as one's private channel to the almighty.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. (Acts 2:7-14)

On the day of Pentecost, the Lord fulfilled his promise given in Acts 1:8. The disciples received power to be Christ?s witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Just what kind of power would the disciples need for their international mission?

The Power to Communicate

Obviously, if you are going to be a messenger to people of other nations, you need the power to communicate with those to whom you bear your message. A miracle of communications took place on the day of Pentecost. The disciples spoke in other tongues or languages which they had not learned. The technical term for this miraculous phenomenon is xenolalia. Devout people from throughout the world heard and understood these unlearned disciples as they ?declared the wonders of God? in the people's native languages.?The day of Pentecost, then, anticipates and sets the stage for the entire book of Acts which recounts the movement of gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Never again do we find such a miracle of language in the book of Acts, but God?s people are still empowered to communicate God's message.

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Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.' And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone's sins, they are retained.' John 20:19-23

While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' But they were startled and terrified, thinking they saw a ghost. Then he said to them, 'Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; it's me! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones like you see I have.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still could not believe it (because of their joy) and were amazed, he said to them, 'Do you have anything here to eat?' So they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in front of them. Luke 24:36-48

Both Luke and John agree that the risen Jesus greeted his disciples with blessing, 'Peace be with you.' 'Shalom' is the Hebrew word for 'peace.' It was - and is - a customary greeting among Hebrew speaking Jews. Its Arabic cousin 'salaam' is used in the same manner. The phrase is present here, however, as something more than a courteous formality. Jesus surely greeted people with the word 'peace' on countless occasions in his life. Why is the risen Jesus' greeting of peace so significant that both Luke and John feel the need to remember it?

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Very early every morning, the company to which I am assigned forms up before physical training begins. When the platoon sergeants see the first sergeant walk to the front of the formation, they each call, "Platoon ...," the preliminary command causing everyone casually standing at ease to snap to parade rest, eyes to the front. "Atten..shun. Parade rest." We come to attention as a unit, and then as a unit we return to parade rest.

The first sergeant takes his place beside the company guidon and calls, "Fall in." Now, the entire company comes to attention as one. "Receive the report."

The platoon sergeants turn, face their platoons and receive the report from the squad leaders. The platoon sergeants then turn back to face the first sergeant. "Re..port," calls the first sergeant. And then, one-by-one the platoon sergeants report the whereabouts of their Soldiers.

• One on leave
• Three on pass
• One TDY
• Two on early work call
• One at sick call
• One out of ranks

Leaders are expected to know where their Soldiers are and what they are doing as the duty day begins. At the earliest opportunity, the unit tracks down anyone unexpectedly missing from formation.

I don't know why I've begun thinking about morning formation as I begin worship each Sunday. In addition to welcoming everyone and making the morning announcements, something inside of me wants to say, "Receive the report."

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Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:19-20

How to Pray as a Christian

How can I learn to pray? Like many other evangelicals, I've given this advice: just pray whatever is on your mind. There is no right or wrong in prayer. We don't please God or earn his favor by saying the right formula (or feeling the right emotion or having the right spiritual experience) and God is certainly tough enough to handle our honesty in prayer. That's all true enough, but by itself this advice is somewhat misleading and unlikely to help one grow much in Christian prayer.

Christians pray with words. They may pray in other ways as well, but Christian prayer is basically verbal. For the most part, prayer in the Bible has to do with words and ideas. While there are instances of non-verbal prayer in the scriptures (e.g., glossolalia in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15), the passages which might refer to non-verbal practices in prayer are few and far between.

So when it comes time to pray, what do you say? The problem is not that we have too much wrong stuff to say to God; it's that we don't have much to say at all. In extemporaneous prayer, one can become lost in one's own emptiness and crushed by one's own shallowness.

Praying the scriptures is one antidote to the lack of direction in prayer. And within the scriptures, one section is stands out as the "prayer book of the Bible" - the book of Psalms. The Psalms are prayers. The proper response to the word of God in the Psalms is not just "what should I believe" but "what should I pray?"

What should I say, then, when I pray? The words of the Psalms are one answer to that question. Yet, when most Christians begin to pray the Psalms, they quickly come to Psalms that they know they cannot pray. It's easy to pray Psalm 23. It's much harder to pray the Psalms that claim innocence before God, that ask for the destruction of one's enemies, that cry out to God from a place of unparalleled suffering and so forth.

The secret to praying the Psalms is that you do not pray them alone. Only one man in all of history has been worthy to pray the Psalms. He lives and reigns at God's right hand and dwells in his people by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we pray the Psalms, we pray them with Jesus Christ.

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