Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a theologian and member of the resistance during the Nazi era, devoted much of his work to the study of human community. In his book Life Together,1 he offers three principles to live by within a community: 1) We should not idealize human community. Rather, we should accept that its members are imperfect and it is divine grace that blesses the community. We should accept others as God accepts them. Through the gentle way we see one another, the divine is present. 2) “The first service we owe to another in the community is to listen to them”—to have an open ear for others. 3) Bonhoeffer’s third point concerns the heart: “A Christian community lives from the intercession of its members for one another.” Thus, it is the eye, the ear, and the heart that we give to one another that makes it possible for a community to live and for heaven to spread out over it.
Translation Laura Liska
Image Dietrich Bonhoeffer with confirmation students, March 21, 1932, in Friedrichsbrunn; Source: Federal Archives, Image 183-R0211-316/CC-BY-SA 3.0
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