I’ve been using A Year with Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Daily Meditations from His Letters, Writings, and Sermons as a morning read and it doesn’t fit well within the traditional dose of daily encouragement so you can carpe diem like other devotional books. This book doesn’t allow the reader to wake up and wrap themselves in a warm blanket of Jesusy fuzziness, which is no surprise since it’s from Bonhoeffer. Rather, this book challenges the reader, often with a punch in the nose. Consider the entry for yesterday, June 26. The excerpt comes from his book Ethics, pages 140-141.
June 26: The Sin of Acquiescence
The church confesses itself guilty of violating all of the Ten Commandments. It confesses thereby its apostasy from Christ. It has not so borne witness to the truth of God in a way that leads all inquiry and science to recognize its origin in this truth. It has not so proclaimed the righteousness of God that all human justice must see there its own source and essence. It has not been able to make the loving care of God so credible that all human economic activity would be guided by it in its task. By falling silent the church became guiltly for the loss of responsible action in society, courageous intervention, and the readiness to suffer for what is acknowledged as right. It is guilty of the government’s falling away from Christ.
