christianity – Page 5

BONHOEFFER

February 20, 2025

Good afternoon

( I am taking an on-line class on Dietrich Bonhoeffer from CMU )

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian and church person. He grew up in upper class society, and was destined to continue with such a life. He received his Ph.D at the early age of 21, and was going to be a teacher. He went to the United States in the early 1930’s and his views were radically changed by reading the Sermon on the Mount, and attending an African-American Church in Harlem, NYC. He says he became a believer. Our life as believers, as he discovered, was not to be effective, but to be faithful. He became a pacifist at this point.

He was part of the Confessing Church after Hitler came to power. He spoke truth to power. Most of the German church followed Hitler and became part of Nazi propaganda. The Confessing Church refused to back down, and Bonhoeffer became the face of this movement. His family wanted him to leave Germany because it was too dangerous for him. He went to New York in 1939, but almost immediately got on another ship, and returned to Germany.

He was arrested in 1943 on charges of conspiracy, in attempting to kill Hitler. He was executed on April 9, 1945 right before the end of the war. It seems everyone takes something out of Bonhoeffer’s life and theology, and uses it for their purposes. Eric Mataxas is a right-wing church person in the United States, and has written a biography on Bonhoeffer that seems to use the theologian’s writings and life, to defend the church’s defense of Mr. Trump. Three Mennonite scholars just finished a book that states that Bonhoeffer was not part of any plot to kill Hitler. Would any of us be justified in helping to kill Hitler. A Mennonite problem, for those who are committed to pacifism ?

Steve Martin, a Catholic poet/musician from Kitchener wrote a poem on Bonhoeffer. Below is part of it:

So Bonhoeffer with mind and heart

Along with kindred souls

Devise a plan to stanch the threat

with cunning and with moles

They thought that ending such a plague

Was aiding in God’s will

Even if it meant a murder bold

A despot’s blood to spill

His faith on action built to last

The Bible anchor sure

His writing showed no tolerance

For those might demur

His life and work for justice was

a template hard and clear

To follow in his dogged steps

Meant facing down dread fear…

Steve Martin April 2019

Lord of heaven and earth, help us to be faithful to our call to peace… AMEN

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ? MPL 2025

SCHLEITHEIM

Anabaptist Tuesday

The Schleitheim Articles

1) Adult baptism.

2) The Ban – excommunication for sinners.

3) Communion was a remembrance of the Last Supper. No mystery.

4) Separation from the world, the church was holy and the world was evil.

5) Ministers must live ethical lives.

6) Non-violence and pacifism.

7) No swearing of oaths.

One of the early leaders of the Swiss Anabaptist movement was Michael Sattler. He was a Catholic priest who came to read the Bible, and he left the Roman church. He was the main writer of the above articles. The Swiss Brethren ( as they were called ) met in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and agreed on the document on February 24, 1527. Every one of these articles brought the community at odds with the state and the church. For example, in saying that the Lord’s Supper was an act of remembrance, the group was saying that the bread and cup did not literally turn into the body and blood of Jesus during the Mass. In article six, they said they would not fight for the King or the state. Baptism of babies was for tax purposes, and when the Anabaptists did not baptize their babies it was an act of treason.

In the celebration of 500 years of Anabaptism, we are trying to define if we are still Anabaptist . Does it mean the same thing as what it meant for the people of the 1520’s ? There was disagreement among the various Anabaptist groups, just like today. Some Anabaptist groups today continue to practice the ‘ban’. Some keep away from the ‘world ‘, while others see their ministry within the ‘world ‘. Is baptism the core belief that makes us Anabaptist ? Young adults are delaying the decision of baptism because rituals, such as baptism do not hold the same meaning or value as they did before. And what role does the Sermon on The Mount ( Matthew 5-7 ) play in our daily lives ?

Michael Sattler died for the faith he expressed at Schleitheim. He was arrested in May 1527, and put on trial for most of the seven articles. He was found guilty and was brutally tortured, and eventually burned at the stake. His wife was also killed and a few other Anabaptists in the area. The authorities really feared that these beliefs were a real danger to church and society. It is a miracle that people continued to take these new beliefs, and live them out.
( There is a movie on Sattler’s life called the “Radicals ” )

In the love of Christ, and in memory of those who held to their faith.

Fred Redekop

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ? MPL 2025

EPIPHANY 2025

February 13, 2025

Good afternoon.

Western Christians celebrate Epiphany when Jesus is presented to the Gentiles in the visit of the Wise People. Eastern Christians or the Orthodox believers celebrate Epiphany as the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. Some others celebrate it with the first miracle of Jesus at the wedding at Cana. We probably argue about this holy day. Mennonites do not really celebrate the season of Epiphany ( this Sunday will be the sixth Sunday of Epiphany ). Historians believe that the Church has has in its calendar since 200 AD.
Epiphany in the dictionary means ” a moment of sudden and great revelation or realization. ” outside of the Christian tradition. There is a clothing store in Elora called Epiphany. I do not think I would have a epiphany moment if I went shopping there. But, maybe for you it might be such a moment of revelation. You just never know where God might show up in our world. God is everywhere and nowhere ? God is hard to pin down, sometimes. We do not see God, but we have faith that God is working.
Can you name a moment of Epiphany that you have experienced in God or the sacred ? In my home church, a Mennonite minister came from Russia on a Sunday morning. This was before the Soviet Union fell apart in 1989. He was a very large man, with a black suit and spoke both German and Russian. Our minister, David Neufeld, introduced him, and said that he would sing before he preached. It was a epiphany for me. It was the deepest bass voice I had ever heard . He did not need a piano to hit the notes. I remember that I almost began to laugh because it was so amazing. Another moment of sudden revelation was in hearing the stories of Cambodians. They had endured great suffering including genocide by its own people. My reaction was that I must do something, so we were obligated to tell their story. They had no more tears to tell it themselves. God was there in the suffering.
Where have you met Jesus/God in the most profound and sudden way ? A song A person A Scripture A thunderstorm A bird, a fruit or a vegetable.Praying for a Epiphany moment in the peacemaking in Gaza. AMEN

Epiphany moment last Sunday.

Fred

February 12, 2025

Good afternoon,

” The claim of the mystic is, at last, that you don’t need anything to bring you to God. You don’t need a mediator. You don’t need an institution. You don’t need a ceremony or a ritual. God is in me, and the ladder from the earth to sky is available. So, I can ascend my own altar stairs wherever I am, under any circumstances, and the key to the understanding of the experience, and to the experience itself, is never in the hands of any other human being . ”

Howard Thurman, mystic theologian

The Reformation taught us that we could go to God with only ourselves . Our presence with the divine did not need a priest as a mediator. This is one of the items that proved to separate the Catholics from the Protestants in the 1500’s. Do you believe that you can meet God alone ? You don’t need your pastor or teacher or mystic theologian ? I agree with this. We can meet the Divine in nature, in the snow, with the trees and birds singing. You can read the Bible, and God can speak to you through the letters, the sentences and paragraphs. But, we need the community as well.

Yet, sometimes I hear that ” I do not know how to pray to God “. Just go and ‘ be ‘. You do not need words or anything else. When Jesus went off to pray at various times while here on this earth, we do know what he said. Maybe, he just needed time away in silence. But, if you need words, then use words. Maybe you want to sing to God. You do not need to be on key.

Prayers

God : of the Book, creation and each other,

small words are fine

to offer to you.

Bigger words are not better,

just different,

You , O God,

invite us into your divine, holy and sacred presence.

Come quickly . AMEN

Fred

black and white shadows

crush humanity’s freedom

am I complicit ? MPL 2025

Mike Strathdee		Wed, Feb 12, 1:50 PM (18 hours ago)
Mike Strathdee reacted to your message: From: Fred Redekop <fred.redekop@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2025 6:42:10 PM To: Fred Redekop <fred.redekop

Wanda Hagen		Wed, Feb 12, 8:20 PM (12 hours ago)
Love your poetry Fred.

Fred Redekop <fred.redekop@gmail.com>	7:46 AM (50 minutes ago)
to Wanda