I’ve been reading Metaxas’s excellent book, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, and wanted to share something from it which connected with Sunday worship today as we gathered separately to live stream our worship service. The book is great, and makes me want to read more of Bonhoeffer’s works – but I’ll write more about that after I’m done with it.

Today, though, as we worshipped together but separately, I suddenly remembered something which frequently came up for Bonhoeffer when he was away from “the brethren”, the group of believers he often gathered with. When he was away, such as when he was traveling by ship to the United States, he missed gathering with them, but he still tried to virtually gather with them by worshipping and praying at the same time as they did. He bemoaned the time difference between Germany and the United States as it made doing so difficult.

I thought of this again as we worshipped, because I remembered that though we’re physically apart, God knows no spatial boundaries, so though apart, we all gathered together before His throne in worship and prayer. More than that, though, we have an advantage Bonhoeffer didn’t – we got to join simultaneously in doing so, hearing the same message and singing the same songs in unison, due to the wonderful technology we have. Yes, being physically together would be still better – but it’s definitely something to be thankful for.

There’s another aspect to this, too – not only do we join together with present day believers in worship, but we join with those throughout history who have gone before us. Bonhoeffer enjoyed some of the same hymns we still sing today, like “A Mighty Fortress is our God” and others. And there’s a sense, I think, in which we gather together not just with our church but with believer of the past, like him, when we gather in worship. Hebrews 12:1-3 wraps up the great “hall of faith” section of Hebrews 11 by concluding:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

So the believers of the past – those from Hebrews 11 as well as those like Bonhoeffer and others – are witnesses to our lives, faith, and worship, and this thought is to spur us on to persevere in our Christian walk as we follow Christ.

In any case, I was encouraged by being reminded that we are still together before God’s throne even when not physically together – and the reminder that we’re also together with believers of the past.

We’re not going back to the old normal, at least not precisely

I’ve also been encouraged reading this book by a bit of a parallel to the present. Bonhoeffer and others at the time knew they were facing a time of great social turmoil and upheaval and, at some way, things were changing forever – especially for those in the “confessing church” and resistance who stood opposed to the Nazi government. In a way, the present turmoil is similar – it’s not yet clear where things are headed, but I have this sense that nothing will quite be the same ever again. We’re not going back to the old “normal”. Thus, it’s up to me, to us, to still recognize that God is the great “I AM”, still in control, and determine what he’s calling me and us to do as the world changes around us.

Other posts in my coronavirus series: