Bonhoeffer: hidden righteousness, hidden prayer

In Chapters 14 and 15, Bonhoeffer discusses Matthew 6: 1 –15; first, verses 1-4 and the expectation that our righteousness be a private righteousness, and second verses 5 – 15 and the command to pray secretly with instructions on how to pray. As is at times his pattern, Bonhoeffer really seems to beat a dead horse…or to play intellectual or verbal “whack a mole”, reiterating cyclically the need to be privately righteous, to obey for Christ’s sake and never for applause or public recognition or even our own satisfaction.  Be extraordinary, but not obvious.  Be righteous and never aware of your righteousness.  I think it was CS Lewis who wrote about the sin of pride and how we could be tempted to be proud of our own humility, then repent of that pride, then be proud of that repentance….until we might only laugh at the ridiculousness of the cycle and cast ourselves on the mercy of Christ.  Bonhoeffer in his seriousness almost approaches that ridiculous level, the continuous admonition to be humble but be obvious, be extraordinary but don’t be aware of your extraordinariness.  “The awareness on which Jesus insists is intended to prevent us from reflecting on our extraordinary position.  We have to take heed that we do not take heed of our own righteousness.”  

I think the ties his own conundrum up nicely midway through the chapter.  “How is this paradox to be resolved?  The first question to ask is:  from whom are we to hide the visibility of our discipleship?  Certainly not from other men, for we are told to let them see our light.  No.  We are to hide it from ourselves. Our task is to keep on following, looking only to our Leader who goes on before, taking no notice of ourselves or of what we are doing.  We must be unaware of our own righteousness, and see it only in so far as we look unto Jesus; then it will seem not extraordinary, but quite ordinary and natural. Thus we hide the visible from ourselves in the obedience to the word of Jesus.  If the “extraordinary” were important for its own sake, we should, like fanatics, be relying on our own fleshly strength and power, whereas the disciple of Jesus acts simply in obedience to his Lord.  That is, he regards the “extraordinary” as the natural fruit of obedience.”  

I find this phrase “[t]hus we hide the invisible from ourselves in the obedience to the word of Jesus….” to be the key phrase.  The WORD of Jesus.  It is this word of Jesus, the Word made flesh Himself, who lives in us; it is by the Spirit of God that we have wisdom unto eternal life, through that Spirit that we know the mind of God (1 Cor 2: 11), and through that Spirit that we have the law of God written on our minds and hearts (Hebrews 8: 8-12).  By keeping our eyes on Jesus, on the Word made Flesh, we can both live out the extraordinary righteousness which Christ calls us to while being humbling unaware of it.  Bonhoeffer says “The cross is at once the necessary, the hidden and the visible—it is the “extraordinary.””  And later “This voluntary blindness in the Christian (which is really sight illuminated by Christ) is his certainty, and the fact that his life is hidden from his sight is the ground of his assurance.”  

Paul says in Galatians 2: 20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  We are united with Christ, in His death and resurrection, by our baptisms (Romans 6: 1-7) and we are now new creations— there is no room for pride, for self-glory, for intentional self-serving works of righteousness.

In Chapter 15, Bonhoeffer goes on to discuss “The hiddenness of prayer” as covered in Matthew 6: 5-15, and he spends significant time discussing the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer which Jesus taught His disciples, the “quintessence of prayer.”  Bonhoeffer continues the admonition to hide our righteousness—this time the righteousness of prayer—from both the admiring eyes of others, and from our own prideful observations.  “We take note that we have prayed suitably well, and this substitutes the satisfaction of an answered prayer.  We have our reward.  Since we have heard ourselves, God will not hear us.  Having contrived our own reward of publicity, we cannot expect God to reward us any further.”  This is a rather frightening statement, and one I find possibly overstated—as Christians, we live in a constant state of Sinner-Saint:  pride over nicely turned phrases could be present concurrently and in equal measure with humility and repentance in the heart of a praying Christian!

I find the Lord’s Prayer to sit at the crux of both of these chapters which discuss the importance of Christian obedience and Christian humility.  We are taught to pray by Christ:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  (Matthew 6: 9b-10)

This first portion of the Lord’s Prayer confesses the glory, majesty and authority of God; the God from whom all goodness comes, and before whom there is no room for pride.  We pray “Your will be done”—that is, bless us to be instruments of Your holy will and plan, empower us with Your Spirit on earth; remind us that the extraordinary righteousness to which You call us is something that originates with and is received from You.

The central petitions are “Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”  (Matthew 6: 11, 12).  A commentary/discussion ofLuther’s Catechism by Pastor Jonathan Fisk posits that these verses are essentially corollaries of one another—that we ask for daily bread and for forgiveness in the same breath; that we need both in equal measure, the physical and the spiritual good which God alone can give; and that without the presence of reciprocal forgiveness—we forgive those who sin against us—there will not be forgiveness, nor will there be daily bread.  At first blush, I found this idea harsh and not logical; but I have since become convinced of the truth of it.  I think the concept fits well with Bonhoeffer’s assertion that we reject pride and self-righteousness, and rely only on the extraordinary righteousness of God.  These petitions for daily bread and for forgiveness remind us of our complete and total reliance on God our Father.  The extraordinary righteousness to which we are called is not through our own power, but is only through God’s grace.  We may labor under the illusion that we provide ourselves with daily bread and that we can stand in our own righteousness, but the Lord’s Prayer forces us to reject this and to rely instead only upon God to meet our needs, and to acknowledge this reliance.

The final portion of the Lord’s Prayer “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one [for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen].” reminds us again of our sinfulness, our reliance upon God’s grace and His strong arm to save us.  Jesus concluding words in Matthew 6: 14, 15 repeat the demand that we forgive others or our own sins will go unforgiven: we must live with a constantly repentant heart, one which leans perpetually on the grace and forgiveness of God in Christ, and one which continually offers forgiveness and mercy to others.  

The hidden righteousness and the hiddenness of prayer which Bonhoeffer discusses in these chapters, and which are discussed by Christ in Matthew 6, are highlighted in the Lord’s Prayer.  We have no righteousness of our own; we have no power of our own to meet our daily needs; we rely solely upon the goodness of our Heavenly Father and upon the forgiveness offered through Christ Jesus.  The hidden righteousness of the Christian is one based upon a life of constant repentance, and one which focuses on the cross of Christ and on His Word.

1)      When have you found yourself smugly congratulating yourself on your extraordinary righteousness or on some aspect of your prayers?  The fact that we are admonished not to feel this kind of pride means that Jesus knows that it exists; examine your heart for pride and self-righteousness.

2)      Jesus tells us that we are forgiven only as we forgive others.  Are there people whom you have not forgiven, bitterness which you may be harboring?  Bring those before God and pray for a repentant heart and for release from the anger, bitterness and grief associated with those past sins.

3)      Read the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6.  Consider what each verse says about God’s power and His merciful providence toward us.  How does this prayer appropriately frame your reliance upon your Heavenly Father?

4)      Our “extraordinary righteousness” comes from Jesus Christ alone.  As a baptized and redeemed child of God, you are forgiven through Him and live in His righteousness alone.  Consider how this frees you from fear of failure and from pride in your own works.  Read Galatians 2: 17 – 21.