The Strong Can Not Exist Without the Weak
Some people work hard to “purge” the Christian community of any and all who are erring, weak, and stumbling. Flickering wicks, they would snuff out and they would go ahead and break off the bent reeds (Mt 12:20). The focus of some seems to be mainly on pulling weeds from the field that is the Church (Mt 13:24-30) rather than nurturing, encouraging and feeding the healthy plants. On the one hand, we can go to0 far and simply excuse sin, seek to justify it, or even say it is no longer sin; but, on the other hand, I think Dietrich Bonhoeffer has a point here well worth considering. Do you?
Every Christian community must know that not only do the weak need the strong, but also the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the community.The Christian community should not be governed by self-justification, which violates others, but by justification by grace, which serves others. Once individuals have experienced the mercy of God in their lives, from then on they desire only to serve. The proud throne of the judge no longer lures them; instead they want to be down among the wretched and lowly, because God found them down there themselves. “Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly” (Romans 12:16).
Bonhoeffer, Life Together (Fortress) p. 96
HT: MCH.
Bonhoeffer’s writings still speak to us today.
Thank you for this important reminder that our God is no respecter of persons.
Christine
This is a powerful and humbling message. It applies to the church at large, its subdivisions down to the smallest, and to each of us (sadly, particularly to me). Anyone affronted by it, redfaced over their take on its inferences, complies with the Cinderella Theory – If the Shoe Fits, Wear It.
Thank you so much for this lesson.
Good evening Pastor McCain,
There are some important concepts here and if I may, I would just like to contribute some thoughts on a couple of the issues inherent in this article, for the sake of my clarification in your meaning. Correct me if I’m wrong but the terms of “weak” “weakness” and “stumbling” suggest you are referring to sinners who are truly repentant rather than secure sinners whose primary goal is relief from temporal consequences of sin. Clearly the Church is called to share the Gospel and those who are prepared for it will benefit. However, (always a “but,” I know) particularly those with a pastoral vocation do need to keep in mind that there are multitudes of “secure sinners” who grab hold of the Gospel for the purpose of gaining relief from temporal consequences of sin, often at some other believer’s severe expense, and who are also highly proficient at disguising this fact. I do not mean to be “negative” but the truth must be told.
Church discipline has historically been and still should be an important part of a pastor’s responsibilities so I think it is worth mentioning in this context. “Where private confession or church discipline have been lost, there God’s commandment in the sermon is merely understood as a proclamation of general moral principles, which as such are void of any concrete claim.” [D. Bonhoeffer, Ethics, p 395]. “Despite the sharpness and severity of the key which binds, the achievement of its effect requires a good deal of effort. Therefore the strong key which binds is for the pious Christians a great consolation, protection, defense, and fortress against evil people. Also, it serves as a wholesome medicine and has a beneficial effect on evil persons, although it is terrifying and annoying to the flesh.” [M. Luther, AE 40]. “Löhe saw private confession and absolution as only a half measure if there is not joined with it the power to refuse absolution or to deny the Lord’s Supper. To use only one key means the loss of both.” [K. Korby, The Theology of Pastoral Care in Wilhelm Löhe with Special Attention to the Function of the Liturgy and the Laity, Dissertation, St. Louis: MO, 1976.]. Löhe’s own insistence on church discipline got him suspended from his pastorate for a time.
“. . . if the offender has indeed been ‘gained,’ the church has a right to expect ‘fruit that befits repentance’ (Matt. 3:8). Those who confess wrongdoing and express repentance are called upon ‘to make right the evil’ to the best of their ability. The repentant thief vows to return that which was stolen. . . . Any ‘repentance’ that expects forgiveness without corresponding change in life is a sham repentance and hypocrisy.” “Pastors may be just as guilty of neglect in this area as the laity. They may hesitate as they reflect on their own sins and are accused by their own conscience. ‘Who am I to take action against another when I have such a burden of my own faults?’ . . . another reason for the decline of church discipline is to be found in a fear of criticism or in the fear of the loss of members. ‘What will people think of us’ if we really begin to get serious also in this aspect of our life together? How can we attract people to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ when we appear loveless in our attitude even toward those who are members of the church? Won’t people go elsewhere if their doctrine or morals are questioned by the church?” [CTCR, Church Discipline in the Christian Congregation, 1985, pp 16, 19.]
“Thus justice and mercy, the two hands of God, work on the same fallen, sinful being. After the one strikes, the other binds up the wounds made by the first.” [Löhe, Löhe On Mercy, p 5.].