Review: Jesus and Community

January 28, 2026February 1, 2026 / rtrube54 / Leave a comment

Jesus and Community

Jesus and Community, Gerhard Lohfink (translated by john P. Galvin. Fortress Press (ISBN: 9780800618025) 1984.

Summary: How Jesus fulfilled Israel’s call, first in the contrast society of the Twelve, and then in early Christian communities.

One of my delightful discoveries as a Christian was that faith was not just a “me and Jesus” thing. Contrary to Western individualism, I discovered that Christian faith was social, that I was called into God’s new society. This meant not only mutual support of one another but that in some ways, we were intended to be a visible model of Jesus coming kingdom. But where does all this come from in the teaching and ministry of Jesus? So often, my sources were Acts and Paul’s letters. In this book, Gerhard Lohfink affirms the social dimension of Christianity and how this was realized in the teaching and ministry of Jesus.

Besides his Introduction and Postscript, the book consists of four chapters. Lohfink begins by emphasizing Jesus mission to Israel as the People of God. John prepared the way by calling this people to repentance. Early in Jesus’ ministry he calls twelve, many from John’s followers, prophetically harking back to Israel’s twelve tribes. His healing works proclaimed the coming of God’s kingdom rule as did his model prayer. But what about the Gentiles? Salvation was for them, but they would see the light through Israel. Yet in the end, Israel’s leaders rejected Jesus. Yet Jesus fulfilled Israel’s destiny as God’s people both through his atoning death for all and through the community of disciples who become the nucleus of this redeemed People of God.

Since the disciples are so important, Lohfink focuses the second chapter on them. He observes that there is a circle of disciples beyond the twelve, including women. The Sermon on the Mount sets forth for these disciples a vision of the new social order of God’s people they represent. Those who do God’s will are Jesus new family. But in it, there is but one father, with no patriarchal domination. It is a society that turns from violence. Yet this new social order is a light burden, one borne with Jesus the servant an his people. However it also anticipates the eschatological fulfillment of Israel’s destiny to bless the nations as the city on the hill.

But what happened following the ascension of Jesus to rule at God’s right hand? This is the focus of chapter three. Returning to Jerusalem, the disciples began to live out the reality of this renewed people of God, awaiting the return of the king, which they believed imminent. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they continue to do the powerful works of Jesus. Social barriers fall as all share in this empowering presence. Lohfink highlights their distinctive “togetherness,” citing twenty-three references in the New Testament. Their mutual care and love for each other sets them apart as a “contrast society.” They become a sign for the nations.

Finally, chapter four draws on early Christian writings to delineate how Christian communities continued this vision of the people of God as “contrast societies.” The were marked as one new people from among the peoples of the empire. They received grace both to heal and to die as martyrs. Fraternal care meant there were no needy and believers looked after each other’s welfare. As a contrast society, their moral standards set them apart from the rest of society as did their exclusive allegiance to God among the gods. Likewise, their renunciation of violence led to the refusal of military service. These aspects of being a contrast society led to attacks and persecution. Yet their life heralded God’ in-breaking reign and continued to draw many.

Lohfink’s postscript poses the question of when the church ceased to see itself as a contrast society, heralding God’s in-breaking kingdom. He believes the turning point was Constantine, and particularly Augustine’s City of God. Not only does Augustine portray the two cities in a kind of side by side stasis through history. He also portrays the kingdom as entirely future and transcendent, not imminent.

Lohfink’s study offers a picture of Christian community captivated by a great work of God through Christ in the people of God. Through that grace, in both love and the Spirit’s power, they stood out as a contrast society. Implicit in all this, is why is this not so today? Lohfink, acting on his theological work, joined and helped lead an intentional Christian community. And the book shows us a vision that goes back to Jesus and how the disciples turned that vision into dynamic praxis. In my life, I’ve watched church growth movements give way to political influence, while becoming increasing bankrupt spiritually and morally. This work, ironically from 1984, calls us from these spiritual dystopias back to the gospel of the kingdom of God for the People of God.

Review: Prayer Takes Us Home

January 6, 2026January 5, 2026 / rtrube54 / Leave a comment

Prayer Takes Us Home

Prayer Takes Us Home, Gerhard Lohfink, Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9780814688069) 2020.

Summary: What Christians believe about prayer and the various ways Christians pray and experience God in prayer.

Last year, I had the chance to review Gerhard Lohfink’s Why I Believe in God, which I named my Best Religious Memoir of 2025. His warm “theological memoir” filled with love for God motivated me to get my hands on other works of his. This is one of those.

The subtitle of this book states it is on the theology and practice of prayer. Lest you fear a dry disquisition on prayer, let me assure you I found the same personal warm of devotion in these pages as in his memoir. Here was someone who thought deeply both about the One he addressed and who clearly had devoted his life to prayer, aided by the structures of Catholicism.

He writes about Christian prayer, and that must begin with who we address. Rather than some generic “God” we address the Father through the Son and by the help of the Holy Spirit. He reminds us that we stand together in worship before the Living God, able to come face to face. We are helped in our prayers by the deep sighs of the Spirit. We do not pray to three gods, though we may address our prayers to each of the persons of the one Godhead, He encourages us that God is active in the world and that his “saving will and our prayers work together.”

Then he turns to the many forms of prayer. He reminds us of the different forms our every day speech takes and suggests that prayer is no different. He writes about petition, including a defense of asking God for things, praise, and lament. This last is a helpful corrective for “happy-clappy” Christianity. He explores the extensive material on lament in the scriptures.

I love how he introduces the Psalms as our home for all seasons, in joy and when beset by woes. They are our shelter, indeed our home, even as we make our way to Zion. He then gives instruction on meditation. This is not emptying one’s mind, but filling it with our story in scripture, in creeds, and the church’s prayers. For Lohfink, all this prayers us for the Eucharist. While this reflects a Catholic understanding, Lohfink’s discussion of the element of thanksgiving for the gift of God in Christ, manifest in the gifts of bread and cup, lifts us out of ritual into real communion.

The final chapter is characteristic Lohfink, in which he relates his personal history of prayer. His intent is not that we would follow his example. Nor does he want us to cram all the experiences of his life into our prayer practice. Rather, he wants to assure us in our own experience in both times of dryness and unspeakable joy. Here, as throughout, I sensed a brother walking alongside, not a superior speaking to novices.

Although I am not a Catholic Christian, I found much that spoke to my own prayer life. My heart was warmed by the greatness of God described on these pages and the awesome wonder of corporate worship and gathering at the Lord’s table. The chapter on Christian meditation is one of the best I’ve read. His encouragements that God is active and works in and through our prayers is truth I can never hear enough. He reminds me that in prayer, God takes us home.

Review: Why I Believe in God

August 15, 2025August 14, 2025 / rtrube54 / 2 Comments

Cover image of "Why I Believe in God" by Gerhard Lohfink

Why I Believe in God, Gerhard Lohfink, Linda M. Maloney, translator. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9780814689974) 2025.

Summary: A New Testament professor testifies to the reasons for his own faith in God in the form of a memoir.

Over the years of reading various works of New Testament scholarship, I came across the name of Gerhard Lohfink. Lohfink was a Catholic priest and theologian, teaching New Testament exegesis with the Catholic theological faculty at Tubingen. However, I had not read any of his works, having matured in a different theological tradition. Lohfink passed away in 2024. Why I Believe in God was his last book, a kind of theological autobiography and personal testimony to his faith.

This last is important in understanding the book. Rather than offer a formal theology or apologetic for God’s existence, he treats this as a given and traces how he was both formed in and lived out that faith as a priest and scholar. Because of that, the book has a personal feel, that of a man in his last days reflecting over his life. And, unlike some accounts that reflect disillusionment, this reflects gratitude and joy.

He begins quite simply by acknowledging that he believed because of believing parents, considering this a grace of God and his parents’ quietly resistant faith in the face of Nazism. This extended to an assistant priest who negotiated the razor edge of shrewdness and innocence under Nazi scrutiny while forming Lohfink and other youth in the faith. He also attributes a Catholic youth movement group led by Gertrud Koob for a pivotal experience of Christian community.

Through that movement, he came to understand the crucial decision of whether he would serve himself or follow Jesus. Yet he acknowledges that this also implied a lifetime of decisions:

“Probably, in the hour when we ultimately stand before Christ and have arrived completely in the presence of God, we will be astonished to see that the great decisions of our lives were fed by infinitely many daily choices–even by the help and hope of those who have lovingly and faithfully accompanied us through our lives” (p. 28).

For Lohfink, this decision also included the decision to enter the priesthood. He narrates his studies in philosophy at Frankfurt. Then he moved to Munich for theological studies. He describes the “intermission” of these years, discovering great works of music and art that taught him to see goodness, truth and beauty and to long for the eternal to which art pointed. During theological studies, he highlights his studies on the Trinity and on original sin. These two distinctively Christian doctrines are foundational to understanding God’s perfections and purposes in the world.

Lohfink spent a brief period as a priest before his bishop sent a letter opening the way to doctoral studies. It turns out two of his professors recognized in his graduation thesis a calling to scholarship. He speaks of the formative influence of Rudolph Schnackenburg, who directed his research on Luke’s resurrection accounts.

And then came the opportunity to teach at Tubingen, including his studies on community in the early church that led to his decision to leave in 1987. It is striking that he is silent about his role as a deputy of the theological faculty in the exclusion of Hans Kung. However, in 1987, he decided to leave Tubingen to join the Integrierte Gemeinde along with his parents. He offers a summary of his work on biblical community and how this afforded a chance to live his scholarship.

Then he turns to one of the most profound issues for any who defend God’s existence. He addresses the extent of suffering and evil in the world. In the end, he argues that our resolution of these universal realities is a faith decision. No argument can resolve these questions. We must choose between an absurd, godless world, or one that we believe “rests in the hands of God…who knows more than we do and has called us into freedom.”

With that, he returns to the title question–why I believe in God. His ultimate response is the mystery of the Incarnation. It is through meeting Jesus that he believes in God, seeing the face of God in the face of Jesus. He concludes: “But above all I look at Jesus. To him I hold fast. In him I will die.”

So much in this book spoke to my heart, including his conclusion. Though younger, I found many parallels in our journeys. And reading of his work, particularly that on community, led to picking up a couple of his books. I deeply appreciated a scholar who understood his work as being for Christ and the church, and not just the “publish or perish” rat race. This last work leaves me wanting to explore his other works, and with a profound sense of gratitude for his life.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.