From Church of Aaron to Church of Moses

“The priest against the prophet, the church of the world against the church of faith, the church of Aaron against the church of Moses—this eternal conflict in the church of Christ…” This is how Dietrich Bonhoeffer began a sermon in Berlin on May 28th, 1933. If you know any 20th century history, you will understand the importance of that date. It was just two months after Hitler achieved dictatorial power in Germany. 

While most Christians easily caved in to supporting Hitler’s regime, Bonhoeffer was one of the few in Germany who stood firm in their faith and commitment to the teachings of Jesus Christ and refused to be part of the Nazi church.  In this sermon he made a clear distinction between the church that goes along with the powers of the world and the church that stands on the Word of God. As I read this sermon yesterday morning I couldn’t help but see the relevance to today, even as our situation is very different from 1933 Germany. I’ll share a few paragraphs from this sermon. It is a sermon based in chapter 32 of the Book of Exodus, the episode of the Golden Calf at Sinai, when the people of Israel grew weary of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain and asked Aaron, the brother of Moses, to make them new gods! And Aaron responded by making the golden calf, which the people then worshipped. Bonhoeffer was only 27 when he preached this sermon. He vividly painted the picture of Exodus, chapter 32:

Moses is called by God to go up the mountain on behalf of his people. God wants to talk with him up there. The children of Israel know this; they know that Moses is standing up there on their behalf, struggling, praying, suffering. He wears no purple robe; he is not a priest; he is nothing, nothing at all but the servant who waits on the word of his Lord. He is nothing—but the prophet of his God. But the church of Aaron, the worldly church, cannot wait; it is impatient. Where is Moses anyway? Why doesn’t he come back? We can’t see him anymore. Where is he with his God? “We do not know what has become of him.” Maybe he isn’t there at all anymore—maybe he’s dead.

These are the questions that the church of Aaron has in every age about the church of the Word. “We don’t see it—what has it done, where are its accomplishments … surely it must be dead!” Don’t we understand that perhaps it is God who is keeping Moses up there on the mountain and hasn’t let him go, because God still has something more to say to him—that maybe even today God doesn’t let the church of Moses go, the church that wants to listen to God’s word alone? Surely, the church of the Word is once again on Mount Sinai today, and in fear and trembling, amid the thunder and lightning, stands facing the Word of God, waiting, believing, praying, struggling—and for whom? For the church of Aaron, for the church down there in the valley, for the church of the world. 

“We don’t know what has become of this Moses. Come on, Aaron, you make us some gods to go before us.” 

And Aaron, the brother of Moses, is all too eager to accommodate the people’s demands. The way Bonhoeffer develops this theme of two churches – the church of the world vs. the church of the Word – is quite brilliant and full of explosive insight not only into the state of Christianity in 1933, but into the state of churches in all ages, including our own – especially our own. Listen to Bonhoeffer again. And remember that in the OT Aaron represents the priestly tradition and Moses represents the prophet tradition of the Bible. Bonhoeffer could be talking to the churches of today.

Priestly church and church of the Word, church of Aaron and church of Moses—this historic collision at the foot of Mount Sinai, the end of the worldly church and the appearance of the Word of God, is repeated in our church day after day, Sunday after Sunday. The worldly church doesn’t want to wait, doesn’t want to live by something unseen; a church that makes its own gods, that wants to have a god that pleases it rather than asking whether it is itself pleasing to God; a church that wants to do for itself whatever God does not do; a church that is ready to make any sacrifice for the sake of idolatry, the glorification of human ideas and values—a church that presumes divine authority for itself. It is as such a church that we come again and again to worship. But we depart from one another as a church whose idol lies shattered to pieces on the floor, as a church that has to hear anew, “I am the Lord your God” … as a church that is struck by this word and crumbles. The impatient church becomes the church of quiet waiting; the church that impetuously demands to be shown becomes the church of sober faith; the church of self-idolization becomes the church where the one and only God is worshipped. 

That is just about the most profound statement I have ever read that describes the tension that should occur every Sunday morning in every church. We come as a church of the world and we depart as the church of faith. That is the transformation that should take place every Sunday morning and it really is the whole purpose of coming together on Sunday morning. Just as bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ; just as ordinary water today becomes a means of sanctifying our lives, our homes and occupations – so also our existence as a church is all about transformation, from the world to the Word. Bonhoeffer concludes where every Christian discussion must end: at the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Here on his cross, all idolatry comes to an end. Here the whole human race, the whole church, is judged and pardoned. We point to the cross as the church that is always both church of Moses and church of Aaron; we point to the cross and say: See, O Israel, this is your God who brought you up out of slavery, and who will lead you again. Come, believe and worship. Amen.

And I say Amen to that. The church is always going to be the church of the world and the church of the Word at the same time; the church of Aaron and the church of Moses. Do we want the church that glorifies our vanities and prejudices and our need for easy, quick answers? Or do we want the church that waits patiently for God to open new paths for us? Dear friends, here at the beginning of another year let us renew our commitment to experience transformation – not only on Sunday mornings at the Eucharist, but on a daily basis – from church of the world, church of Aaron – to church of the word, church of faith, church of Moses, church of Jesus Christ!

Tags: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Golden Calf