As Bonhoeffer goes through his suggestions on worship he beautifully depicts the Church. He stresses that we are not only individual, but also an assembly that breaks the barriers of heaven and earth in order to worship him who made us.
Although he mistakenly attempts to apply rules to the worship of God, his heart is definitely in the right place.
Here are some quotes from (Chapter Two) The Day With Others:
"Once more the daylight shines abroad,
O brethren let us praise the Lord,
Whose grace and mercy thus have kept
The nightly watch while we have slept." p 42.
"What do we today, who no longer have any fear or awe of night [The time before the incarnate Christ], know of the great joy that our forefathers and the early Christians felt every morning at the return of light?" p 41.
"The Holy Spirit, who pours the bright gleam of God's Word into our hearts at the dawn of day, driving away all darkness and sin and teaching us to pray aright." p 41.
(This next quote really makes me feel like a hypocrite,
but it's still a good one.)
"For Christians the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work. At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it. All the darkness and distraction of the dreams of night retreat before the clear light of Jesus Christ and his wakening Word. All unrest, all impurity, all care and anxiety flee before him." p 43.
"'Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light' (Eph. 5:14)." p 43.
(Think of worship wars with this next one.)
"Different fellowships will require different forms of worship; this is as it should be." p 44.
"In the morning of every day the Church on earth lifts up this song and in the evening it closes the day with this hymn.... On earth it is the song of those who believe, in heaven the song of those who see." p 58.
"It is the voice of the Church that is heard in singing together. It is not you that sings, it is the Church that is singing, and you, as a member of the Church, may share in its song." p 61.
"Our spoken words are inadequate to express what we want to say, that the burden of our song goes far beyond all human words." p 59.
Prayer:
"We are to pray to God as a fellowship, and this prayer must really be our word, our prayer for this day, for our work, for our fellowship, for the particular needs and sins that oppress us in common, for the persons who are committed to our care." p 62.
"Here all fear of one another, all timidity about praying freely in one's own words in the presence of others may be put aside where in all simplicity and soberness the common, brotherly prayer is lifted to God by one of the brethren. But likewise all comment and criticism must cease whenever words of prayer howsoever halting are offered in the name of Jesus Christ. It is in fact the most normal thing in the common Christian life to pray together." p 62.
The Prayer Leader:
"He must know the cares, the needs, the joys and thanksgivings, the petitions and hopes of the others." p 63.
"He prays as a brother among brothers." p 63.
"It is precisely when a person, who is borne down by inner emptiness and weariness or a sense of personal unworthiness, feels that he would like to withdraw from his task, that he should learn what it means to have a duty to perform in the fellowship, and the brethren should support him in his weakness, in his inability to pray." p 64.
"There must be a demonstration of the strong bearing the burdens of the weak, and of the weak not judging the strong." p 65.
"When we grow weary, God does His work." p 74.
"Let nothing be done by force; let everything be done in freedom and love." p 66.
Meals:
"All earthly gifts are given to it only for Christ's sake, as this whole world is sustained only for the sake of Jesus Christ, his Word, and his message.... He is not only the giver but the gift itself." p 67.
"We labor, but God nourishes and sustains us." p 68.
"The fellowship of the table teaches Christians that here they still eat the perishable bread of the earthly pilgrimage. But if they share this bread with one another, they shall also one day receive the imperishable bread together in the Father's house." p 69.
Lunch: "A brief rest on the day's march." By grace, God feeds us. p 72.
Work:
"The work of the world can be done only where a person forgets himself, where he loses himself in a cause, in reality, the task, the "it." In work the Christian learns to allow himself to be limited by the task, and thus for him the work becomes a remedy against the indolence and sloth of the flesh. The passions of the flesh die in the world of things. But this can happen only where the Christian breaks through the "it" to the "Thou," which is God, who bids him work and makes that work a means of liberation from himself." p 70.
"The prayer of the Christian reaches beyond its set time and extends into the heart of his work." p 71.
Night:
"A day at a time is long enough to sustain one's faith; the next day will have its own cares." p 73.
"Most remarkable and profound is the ancient church's prayer that when our eyes are closed in sleep God may nevertheless keep our hearts awake. It is the prayer that God may dwell with us and in us even though we are unconscious of His presence, that He may keep our hearts pure and holy in spite of all the cares and temptations of the night, to make our hearts ever alert to hear His call and, like the boy Samuel, answer Him even in the night; 'Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth' (I Sam. 3:9)." p 75.
"When our eyes with sleep are girt, | Be our hearts to Thee alert; | Shield us, Lord, with Thy right arm, | Save us from sin's dreadful harm. | Luther" p 75.
"But over the night and over the day stands the word of the Psalter: 'The day is thine, the night also is thine' (Ps. 74:16).) p 75.
Chapter <Intro-1-3-4/5->
"Let nothing be done by force; let everything be done in freedom and love." p 66.
Meals:
"All earthly gifts are given to it only for Christ's sake, as this whole world is sustained only for the sake of Jesus Christ, his Word, and his message.... He is not only the giver but the gift itself." p 67.
"We labor, but God nourishes and sustains us." p 68.
"The fellowship of the table teaches Christians that here they still eat the perishable bread of the earthly pilgrimage. But if they share this bread with one another, they shall also one day receive the imperishable bread together in the Father's house." p 69.
Lunch: "A brief rest on the day's march." By grace, God feeds us. p 72.
Work:
"The work of the world can be done only where a person forgets himself, where he loses himself in a cause, in reality, the task, the "it." In work the Christian learns to allow himself to be limited by the task, and thus for him the work becomes a remedy against the indolence and sloth of the flesh. The passions of the flesh die in the world of things. But this can happen only where the Christian breaks through the "it" to the "Thou," which is God, who bids him work and makes that work a means of liberation from himself." p 70.
"The prayer of the Christian reaches beyond its set time and extends into the heart of his work." p 71.
Night:
"A day at a time is long enough to sustain one's faith; the next day will have its own cares." p 73.
"Most remarkable and profound is the ancient church's prayer that when our eyes are closed in sleep God may nevertheless keep our hearts awake. It is the prayer that God may dwell with us and in us even though we are unconscious of His presence, that He may keep our hearts pure and holy in spite of all the cares and temptations of the night, to make our hearts ever alert to hear His call and, like the boy Samuel, answer Him even in the night; 'Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth' (I Sam. 3:9)." p 75.
"When our eyes with sleep are girt, | Be our hearts to Thee alert; | Shield us, Lord, with Thy right arm, | Save us from sin's dreadful harm. | Luther" p 75.
"But over the night and over the day stands the word of the Psalter: 'The day is thine, the night also is thine' (Ps. 74:16).) p 75.
Chapter <Intro-1-3-4/5->
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