“Fellowship with God and others.” Through Jesus we have both--what a blessing that is. But sometimes our fellowship is not person to person, hand to hand, touch to touch. At other times we are able to share the peace, to give and receive the sacrament, and even to talk and listen to other Christians—our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
What a blessing it is to have daily contact with other Christians and to worship on a weekly basis. Out of all of the lessons we will learn during this imposed solitude, this one will be great-- to not take for granted our relationship with other Christians, especially in worship.” To realize that even the little differences we have as fellow Christians (and we sometimes have them) pale in comparison to what we have in common and appreciate about one another.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Christian martyr who died in a concentration camp April 9, 1945 learned this lesson well. Before the war, but after the takeover of German by Adolf Hitler, he was a part of a seminary of brothers in Germany. He learned the value of daily worship and daily living with a group of men studying to be pastors. During this time, he wrote Life Together, a wonderful expression of thanks to God for fellowship: “It is not simply to be taken for granted that the Christian has the privilege of living among other Christians. Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end of all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come to bring peace to the enemies of God. So, the Christian too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes.”
So later when he was secluded in a cell in Finkenwalde, among other places, Bonhoeffer knew how precious that community he had experienced had been. Yet he was bolstered by knowing that Christ had experienced what he was going through, and that he had fellowship with God through Christ whether blessed through public community at that time, or not. So, let us take heart in that fellowship with God, and the hope of fellowship soon with one another.
“Let us pray. Grant us grace the gratitude to realize that we are not alone, but we are with you, and that you care for us like a heavenly Father whose children we are.”
Amen.
Readings today: Psalm 23, John 1:1-9, 1 John 1:1-9
-Pastor Roger H. Black
