What is the Church? Part 1. . .

Lately I have been reading a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a hero of mine.  For those of you who may not be familiar with him, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who joined the resistance against the Nazis during World War II.  After helping to found the Confessing Church in Germany (the Lutheran Church that refused to be tied to the heretical German Christian Church that supported Hitler's policies) he later became an important member of the German Resistance.  In 1943 he was arrested, and was later tied to Operation Valkyrie, the failed coup against Hitler. In the last weeks of the war, Bonhoeffer was executed for his political and religious stand against the Third Reich.  

One of the central questions posed by Bonhoeffer throughout his life was this, "What is the Church?  What is the role of the Church in this world?"  It is a profound question if you think about it. 

Bonhoeffer wrestled with this question for years as the Nazis increasingly consolidated power and initiated ghastly programs to re-engineer society through forced euthanasia, concentration camps, and persecution of minorities. 

Many of his contemporaries felt that the church was merely a body to provide for the spiritual nourishment of its parishioners.  When the Nazis began to initially implement their policies in 1933 to increasingly strip Jews and other minorities of their rights, many religious leaders simply stood by. 

Others found the courage to speak out when they felt that Hitler's consolidation of power was infringing on church matters.  When Hitler attempted to unify the churches in Germany under the German Christian church and forced the churches to expel Jewish converts or pastors of Jewish descent, many pastors cried foul and issued the Barmen Declaration repudiating Nazi policies interfering with the church.  This essentially resulted in a split of the German church.  However, very few pastors openly opposed the direction that the Nazis were taking in regards to Hitler's policies toward Jews and his increasing warmongering.  They felt that the church had no right to interfere with the policies of the state.  They cited Romans 13: 1-5 as justification that they must submit to the government in matters of state. 

Bonhoeffer, by contrast, urged his colleagues to vocally oppose Hitler's policies.  His efforts gained increasing attention from the Gestapo who severely restricted his ability to engage in academia and to preach openly.  

In time, Bonhoeffer, who had connections to members of the German Abwehr (the military intelligence branch), learned inside information about the programs of concentration camps and mass murder the Nazis implemented under cover of war.  Bonhoeffer made the decision to join the German Resistance, passing information to the Allies through his network of ecumenical contacts and assisting Jews and other refugees escape from Nazi Germany.  He was eventually arrested for his activities, later tied to the Valkyrie plot, and executed for treason.

Bonhoeffer's decision to actively join the German Resistance stemmed from his answer to the question, "What is the Church?"  

Bonhoeffer believed that the Church is meant to be the manifestation of Jesus Christ in this world.  To Bonhoeffer, the Church was not meant to be compartmentalized and segregated from the non-religious world.  To him, Jesus is the Lord of all, sovereign over all things.  

He believed that the Church holds a much greater responsibility than to simply serve as a meeting place on Sunday mornings.  As Christians we are obligated to speak out where God leads us to speak out, and to take action when God leads us to action.  This includes serving those in need, protecting those who cannot protect themselves, acting to counter even authorities when their actions are immoral.  Bonhoeffer famously said, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil:  God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act."

If we accept this as true, it has enormous implications for Christians.  As this is something I am wrestling with at the moment, I will try to spend the next few devotions studying this idea and the implications that proceed from it.