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I remembered studying him in college. I remember watching a movie about his life. I remember skimming through “Cost of Discipleship“. Since then, Dietrich’s presence has been an overall knowledge of his life, and a few short readings and quotes that have been inspirationally included in other readings.

A year ago, I checked out a condensed version of “Letters from Prison” from the library. It was a small book, and easy to read small sections at a time. That began what I would confess as my first true desire to learn more/read more about this man. But life became busy. My desire to revisit the life of Bonhoeffer faded.

Until recently I was searching for a good book, offering substance to chew on along with a good story to swallow. I’d been seeing Bonhoeffer in the sidelines lately, reading some of Hauerwas and Yoder, and so I looked for a fictional biography of his life. I posted a blog not long after beginning it, impressed even early in the story.

I have to say, I’ve been even more impressed by his life, writing and desires for Christ/His Church. Especially his attention to the Sermon on the Mount lately. So much so, that I’ve set a goal for myself in 2010. I am going to read through the entire Biography (non-fiction) written by Bonhoeffer’s close student and friend, Eberhard Bethge. Most resources I’ve found point to it as the definitive work/collection in it’s most recent, revised form. It’s almost 1,000 pages long, so it will definitely be an undertaking for me. Which is why I’m giving myself the entire year. No doubt readers of my blog, if I stick with this, will become a bit sick of my references to him. But my hopes are that God will bless the time spent in these areas of contemplation and prayer.

As February hits this year, many people will be buzzing around, talking about the Superbowl. Since it seems the Lions might not make it again this year, I’ll probably wait until that night to think much about it. Then I’ll watch a few funny commercials, a few minutes of the game, eat some snacks, hang out with people I love, and tune out. I’ll find out the score the next morning, unless it’s an entertaining nail biter.

But what I WILL be excited about, along with a mob of people, it seems, is the return of the show LOST to ABC’s line-up. We’ve been hanging on the edge of infinite mysteries, and this season promises to at least connect a lot more of the dots. Although that usually leads to more mysteries…which is the lure of the show in many ways. I have to say, even without getting into the shows’ presence in our every day world, advertising, magazines, radio, etc…without us realizing it often (seriously, there is so much more to this show than what we watch on TV)…it’s a great stand alone television show. Here’s a recent interview with the writers about the final season.

Remember to be watching Tuesday, Feb. 2nd, on ABC at 8pm CST. And just in case you were worried about that pesky Presidential State of the Union Address:

Recently I’ve seen the commercials on TV for a (new to me) movement called “Catholics Come Home“.

All the selling for Catholicism instead of Jesus aside, I think it’s good. How many people do we know who used to be very involved in their church? But for whatever reason, they took a break. Maybe they intended to just back away for a few weeks. Maybe just reduce their involvement so they could focus on other areas of life if they were being over-used by the local church body, etc. But one reason or another, they’ve now (or perhaps YOU now) find themselves distant from a local church.

Now, for one reason or another, there are large amounts of people who still consider themselves followers of Christ; but who have grown comfortable in a place of low or no involvement in a local body of believers. They still have Christian friends, after all. They still pray before meals, and before bed, and before an important meeting with the Doctor. But perhaps feel “guilty” about having taken such a long break. Unspoken guilt, and the feeling of being judged keeps them from openly entering the church doors.

Sure, people are leaving the Church because of fallen leaders. Because of doubts in their faith. Bad examples of Christ-followers being the most boisterous in the media. Etc.

But what if we were missing some of our family simply because we haven’t said to them, “Come back. We miss you. Whatever the reason you’ve been away is…doesn’t matter. Let’s be family. Let’s do this some more. We need you.”

If that’s you, consider this your invitation back. Heck, I’d even call it a plea. If you are already attending somewhere, who might you know that simply could use “permission/invitation” to return to regular worship/meeting together?

“because since we are all united as “members one of another,” the living, salvific will of God is mysteriously communicated to us through one another. We all need one another, we all complete one another. God’s will is found in this mutual interdependence. ” – Thomas Merton