Today I begin blogging a new book, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ethics. This book was written during the war years and was incomplete at the time of his death. The fact that he never had the chance to finish this works was one of Bonhoeffer’s regrets as he faced death.
From the perspective of standing up against the evil forces of his day, Bonhoeffer considered Jesus words in Matthew 5:10, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In his interpretation, Bonhoeffer writes “This does not refer to the righteousness of God; it does not refer to persecution for Jesus Christ’s sake. It is the beatification of those who are persecuted for the sake of a just cause, and, as we may now add, for the sake of a true, good, and human cause.” (61)
These words had clear and obvious meaning for Bonhoeffer, but I am left to wonder what it means to the majority of Christians today.
There are examples of those who have been persecuted, and even killed, while working for a just cause.
Today, in Hayneville, Alabama, people will march in memory of the seminarian Jonathan Daniels who was martyred in 1965 while working for civil rights.
Just this last week, a United Methodist aid worker, Daniel Terry, and nine of his colleagues were killed in their efforts to bring health services to the people of Afghanistan.
While we hold these who know the true meaning of suffering in our hearts and prayers, what does it mean for those of us who live very comfortable lives? What true, good, and human cause would we be willing to suffer for?
No comments:
Post a Comment