Just as Jesus let his body be broken and his blood be shed, he wants you to give up being a separate grain of wheat, a separate grape. He wants you to throw yourself into the unity of the body, the unity of the flowing wine. Through the death of Christ this unity is created. The new Spirit flows and gives life to the body, making it of one heart and one mind. This is the mystery of Christ, of the Church, of full uniting. This is the Lord’s Supper.
- Eberhard Arnold, January 1933
- Eberhard Arnold, January 1920 From an EssayJustice and love demand that everyone take part in simple practical work with a spade, hatchet, or rake. Everyone should be ready to devote a few hours every day to this practical work; those who have done purely mental work till now will feel its humanizing effect especially. In this way it will be possible for each person’s unique gifts to be kindled. The light that flickers within each heart will then exhibit its once-hidden glow in scholarly research or in music, in expressive words, or in the craftsman’s art in wood, stone, or paint…such work will reveal the joy in life that is in each person. Only death knows idleness and tedium. Where there is life, the mind’s creative will remains alert and comes to expression in the service of the whole.
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Only those hearts have peace and only those people bring peace and cause peace who love the whole truth. The truth of God brings wisdom and genuineness, for it creates perfect love. Love is ultimate truth. It brings peace.
- Eberhard Arnold
Love, as the peace of God, is the bond of perfection that unites in complete surrender and common activity all that was broken and scattered.
The dedication demanded in the Sermon on the Mount is not a new law or moral teaching. Instead it is forgiveness. Its vital element is the light and warmth of the Holy Spirit. Here is Christ: the essence of salt, and the strength of the tree that bears good fruit. The Sermon on the Mount shows us the character of a community, which shines like a light for the whole world.
- Eberhard Arnold