Perspective

In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts…~Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

This quote is from Bonhoeffer’s time that he spent in prison before he eventually died in a concentration camp. We can only imagine how filled with fear that he must have been not only for his own life but for the lives of those around him. When I was in seminary, my sister and I met in Washington DC for the day to go to the Holocaust Museum. We were both cautioned about the experience as being incredibly impactful. There were many powerful artifacts in this space but the one that I still carry with me was this large pile of shoes many of them having belonged to children. There was something about seeing something as simple as a shoe being piled up without value that cast a light on how their lives and bodies were treated in the same manner. I feel this way when I often think about Jesus as well. His human body, a body that spent its time helping, feeding, and comforting others was treated in such a brutal manner.

After leaving the museum that day, I remember feeling exhausted with the weight of what we had just experienced. And it tended to put my other worries in life in check. My messy hair seemed less important. My mismatched furniture and overdue library books didn’t seem as pressing. When we think of how brutal and hard life can be and how we can treat one another, it tends to put the small things in perspective. Bonhoeffer, writing from prison, centers for us on what truly matters in this passage for today. There isn’t much that is worth breaking relationships over because at the end of day we are called to love, forgive, and cherish one another just as God does the same for us.

Prayer

God of love, thank you for calling us to be your children. In a world that can have many challenges, help us to focus on the ones that matter and to use our energy to bind us together. Let us remember to act in love and seek forgiveness, care, and hope in all that we do. In gratitude for your Son, Amen.