So, what exactly is peace?

I’m not yet finished blogging about my dreams for what I’m going to so with the rest of my life, but I’m going to take a break from that blog series and start a new one.  Most of my blog posts over the next month will be about what I’m doing, experiencing, and thinking in El Salvador, but I wanted to start this new series now and hopefully post at least a couple posts on this series.  (I kind of like the idea of doing different themed series of blog posts- maybe I’ll keep thinking of new series, maybe I’ll even take requests.)

In this blog I’ve been writing about my search for peace, but I realized the other day that I never really defined what exactly I mean by “peace.”  So, I thought I should write a blog post about what I mean by “peace.”  But then I realized that I don’t really know exactly what I mean by “peace.”  Well, I think I know what I mean, but I can’t really explain or express what I mean. 

As the whole idea of coming up with a definition of peace was running around in my mind, I was reading the book Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy by Eric Metaxas.  See my post from yesterday about the book and the man.  

In the book, there is a quote from Bonheoffer about peace which made me think that it would be a good idea to take a look at how other people have defined peace and while doing so I’ll try to put into words what I think I mean by “peace.”

At a conference in 1934, Bonhoeffer gave a speech about the role of the church in working for peace.  Here’s part of that speech:

“There is no way to peace along the way of safety.  For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture and can never be safe.  Peace is the opposite of security.  To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself.  Peace means giving oneself completely to God’s commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes.  Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God.  They are won when the way leads to the cross.” 

The last words of Bonhoeffer’s speech that night were “What are we waiting for?  The time is late.”

I don’t even really know how to respond to these words from Bonhoeffer- his words are filled with so much truth and would challenge just about anyone.

Here’s what strikes me about Bonhoeffer’s words:

• Peace is something to be dared: working for peace is a risky business that requires surrendering safety and security.  It’s not a given that peace will just happen, peace is something that we must dare to pursue.
• Peace is possible only by giving oneself completely to God’s commandment (I’m not completely sure what commandment Bonhoeffer is referring to here…anyone have any guesses?)
• Peace will never be obtained with weapons or violence.  Only with and through God will true peace ever come about.
• There was a great sense of urgency for Bonhoeffer.  Surely the historical moment of the impending crisis in Germany brought about that sense of urgency, but Bonhoeffer had an incredible grasp of the necessity to work to bring about the Kingdom of God today.  For Bonhoeffer and for us today there is absolutely no reason to wait one second to begin and continue working for peace.  We have already waited far too long.

It’s hard to say if Bonhoeffer had any idea that more than 10 years after speaking these words he would forgo his own safety and security for peace.  In his work for peace, Bonhoeffer didn’t think about his own safety or security, but rather through faith he gave his life and fully obeyed God.  Even though Bonhoeffer was killed in a concentration camp and didn’t really achieve what he set out to do, I would argue that Bonhoeffer did find peace for himself and brought about more peace in the world.  He was completely in tune with God’s will and his journey for peace continually pointed toward and ended at the cross.

The world and situation we live in today is different from the world Bonhoeffer lived in.  However, that’s not to say that we can’t learn a lot from him, his life, and his words.

Bonhoeffer’s words make me ask a few questions of myself in my own search for peace: Am I truly willing to accept that my own safety and security are not the priority when it comes to working for peace?  Can if completely commit myself to God’s commandment and through faith put everything in God’s hands?  How can I move past wanting guarantees of my safety and guarantees that everything will work out how I think it should?  How can I ensure that my search for peace is not for selfish reasons?  What does it mean for me that battles of peace are won when the way leads to the cross?  What am I waiting for?

My new favorite theologian.

This may surprise some of you, it even surprised me a little, but I have a new favorite theologian.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I’ve known about Bonhoeffer for a few years and I even saw a play about him and read a collection of some of his letters.  I highly respected the man but didn’t know a whole lot about him, his life, and his theology beyond the basic details.  However, I just finished reading a most wonderful book about Bonhoeffer: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Prophet, Martyr, Spy by Eric Metaxas.  And now I want to read everything ever written by or about Bonhoeffer and he’s my new favorite theologian. 

This book is the perfect combination of biography, history, theology, spirituality, church drama, friendship, love story, and tragedy.  The book is a whopping 542 pages long (not including the notes and index), but it was 542 pages of fascinating and compelling information.  It’s not at all “dry” as many biographies can be.  Eric Metaxas did a great job writing this book, but with a person as interesting, inspiring, and incredible as Bonhoeffer, I think it would have been difficult to write a bad book about Bonhoeffer.

You really should read this book or at least look at the Wikipedia page about Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

But here are some brief words about Bonhoeffer that I know won’t adequately describe the man and his life, but here it goes:

Born in 1906 in Germany, Bonhoeffer knew from a young age that he wanted to study theology.  Bonhoeffer excelled in his studies and was a prolific writer throughout his life.  He became a Lutheran pastor as soon as he was old enough to do so.  He spent time in Spain and London as a pastor to German people living there.  He studied for a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York.  Spent time as a pastor in Germany, led and taught at a seminary that was illegal back in Germany, worked closely with ecumenical leaders from Europe and the US, worked as a spy, and became involved in a conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler.  Throughout the 1930s, Bonhoeffer actively spoke out against Hitler and the Third Reich.  Furthermore, he encouraged the church to do the same and to stand up for those who did not have a voice under Hitler’s rule- the Jews, the sick, the disabled.  Eventually the Gestapo arrested Bonhoeffer and he spent 18 months in a prison in Berlin and spent the final months of his life imprisoned at concentration camps before he was executed for his involvement with the plots to kill Hitler.         

When things got bad in Germany in the 1930s Bonhoeffer was given the opportunity to live and work in the US where he would be safe, but he decided to return to Germany to be with his people, to work with others to end the atrocities led by Hitler, and to suffer the same fate of many of the Jews that he was trying to save.

Throughout his life, Bonhoeffer was fully in tune with God’s will.  His own safety and well-being meant little to him.  Bonhoeffer’s faith and devotion to God was incredibly strong (although, Bonhoeffer would probably have said that it was God’s devotion and love to him that made Bonhoeffer so strong).  Even while in prison, Bonhoeffer continued his daily Bible reading, prayer, and hymn singing.  He was always a source of comfort and strength for those around him.

I have been searching for a Lutheran leader/theologian to look up to- a Lutheran hero, and Bonhoeffer is definitely what I have been looking for.  Most of the Christian leaders and theologians that I looked up to are Catholic, which certainly isn’t a bad thing, but it’s nice to have someone from my own religious tradition to look to for inspiration and an example of how to live out life as a Christian.  It’s good to have this example of how one Lutheran lived his life and gave his life for community, peace, and justice. 

I’m so excited to read more of Bonhoeffer’s writings.  I think the thing that most impresses me about Bonhoeffer is that he loved the academic side of theology, but I doubt that he ever wrote or said anything about God, religion, or spirituality that he wasn’t fully prepared live out.  For Bonhoeffer, theology and Christianity are things to be acted out not just talked about.  We could really use more people like Bonhoeffer who are willing to be authentic Christians by taking a stand against injustice in the world.  We can all learn so much from people like Bonhoeffer along with so many others who have and continue to stand up to say that justice must prevail.