Preaching text: Psalm 46
Today is Reformation Sunday, a day when we remember the work of the great reformers of the Church and why they chose to challenge the status quo of their times. Foremost among these reformers and key to our own identity as Christians is Martin Luther, who started the largest reform movement of the Church during the 16th century. But he's not the only one, nor is he the only major thinker and reformer of our own Lutheran tradition. So I decided to do something different for today. I decided not to talk about Luther and his ideas, but I chose another reformer.
I chose Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Bonhoeffer is a bit more contemporary to us than Luther, as he lived in the first part of the 20th century. He was witness to some of the most significant events of that century and their impact on the life of the Church, both good and bad. In fact, he was smack dab in the middle of much of it. He lived in Germany during the rise of the Nazi party.
The Church in Germany primarily had one of three responses to the rise of fascism and Hitler. The first group, and likely the largest, were those who basically buried their heads in the sand. They saw the brutality, they saw the tyranny. They saw their Jewish neighbors or those who in some way rejected or defied the Nazi regime disappear over time. And they ignored it all. Nope, none of that horrible stuff is happening. It's all fake news, to borrow a modern term. They did this largely out of fear, because they were worried if they spoke up or did something to protest what was happening, they would next. And they weren't wrong about that.
The second group were those who enthusiastically embraced Nazism. They saw Hitler as a champion of Christianity, one who finally had the guts to do what was necessary to those enemies of the Church that society had coddled for too long. Jews were Christ-killers and deserved whatever Hitler did to them. Communists were atheists who likewise deserved destruction. Homosexuals were an abomination before God and Hitler was ready and eager to bring them all to their deserved end. A frightening number of the clergy were among this group, and preached their enthusiastic support for Der Fuhrer every Sunday.
The third group were the bravest of them all, but also the smallest. It was those Christians who saw things as they were. They recognized the evil of their times, the evil of their leaders. And they spoke up. They wrote and they preached against the Nazis, at their risk of their lives. Some got involved with partisan groups, rebels within the Reich who wanted to bring Hitler down for the sake of the nation and of their fellow Germans. Many of these were forced to flee the country. A stalwart few remained behind and many faced the ultimate consequence for their defiance of evil.
Bonhoeffer was among these courageous few.
Bonhoeffer had written extensively about what it meant to be a true disciple of Jesus. He was particularly troubled by what he called "cheap grace." Many Christians, upon hearing the wonder of God's immense grace, had basically decided that was it. They were saved; nothing else mattered. They could steal, live in sin, hate their neighbor, and it didn't matter because God would forgive them. They had their get-out-of-hell-free card, so they could live however they wanted.
Bonhoeffer recognized the contrast between these Christians, which he saw a lot of in the church of his day, and the great paragons of the faith. Those who knew they were forgiven, knew they were saved, and then went forward to spread the Gospel as Jesus had commanded them to. They preached God's grace to those that society hated. They challenged injustice in society. They stood up to tyranny. And it often got them killed. We know their names: Peter and Paul, James and John, Andrew and so many more who were true disciples to Jesus. They understood the cost of their salvation. They understood what it had cost God. It was NOT cheap. It meant the death and suffering of Jesus. It meant the cross. In gratitude for that great sacrifice for their own sake, they went out to change the world.
Bonhoeffer recognized the similarities between his times in Nazi Germany and the times of those apostles, Rome under Nero. And he knew what he was called to do. He formed a splinter church that defied the pro-Nazi stance of the official church body, known as the Confessing Church. They met, preached the true Gospel, and worked to aid their neighbors in the midst of the Nazi tyranny.
But it was not enough. He knew the only way the evil woud be stopped was with another evil: the murder of Hitler. He wrestled with what it would mean to take that next step. Committing sin to stop a greater sin. As Luther himself had counseled, when confronted with such an evil choice, pick one and let God handle the rest.
So Bonhoeffer entered into a conspiracy to assassinate the Fuhrer. Unfortunately, the conspiracy was uncovered and Bonhoeffer was arrested. He was sent to a concentration camp and executed.
In living as a disciple of Jesus, he met the fate of one. And as a result, he is considered among the greatest of the modern martyrs.
Bonhoeffer rightly understood something that has plagued the Church since it first gained official sanction under Constantine in the 5th century. The Church has often been way too comfortable with the power system of the status quo. We have often been defenders of the establishment, instead of its challengers. And when evil has emerged in that establishment, the Church has often either turned a blind eye to it or has fervently embraced the evil.
And that embrace of evil has often had dire consequences for the Gospel. We are rightly called hypocrites by many in society because we preach good and often do evil. The Church in Europe has never recovered from its embrace of the Nazi evil. Only tiny fraction of the populace there are active in the life of the Church. You think pews are empty here. You should see how churches are in Germany now.
Which brings us to ourselves and to today. There are evils in our society. Hatred, racism, abuse of the poor, misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia, and countless others. Far too many of these are supported by our fellow Christians. But we must ask ourselves. What does Christ think of these things? He who gave his life for the sake of all people, regardless of who or what they are, what would he say to them or to us? Are we truly his disciples? Are we willing to stand up to evil? Or are we too accustomed to cheap grace? Tough questions. Questions whose answers may have dire consequences either way. Bonhoeffer died to do what was right, as did so many before and since. Can we do likewise?
The church is in need of reform yet again, as it always does. Human sin prevents the church from remaining pure as it should, so we must constantly be vigilant to the evil within it and within ourselves. We can be at the forefront of that reform, remaking the Church into what it once was and to what it's meant to be. Or we can watch the Church wither away because it will not live up to its own creeds and beliefs. The choice is ours. Amen.
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