So Much More Could be Said
Bonhoeffer’s story is well-known. He was a man of immense bravery who made some difficult choices in his life. In 1933, he chose to speak out against Hitler in a radio address with the theme “a man who lets himself be worshipped mocks God.” The address was swiftly cut from the air.
He wrote to pastors across Germany, urging them to speak out in support of their Jewish neighbors as the persecution began. Most churches remained silent. He taught at a subversive seminary until it was discovered and shut down. He chose to return to Germany from a trip to the U.S. in 1939, despite the clear dangers and numerous offers to remain safe in the United States. He assisted several Jewish friends and families in escaping the country.
He was a part of a plot to assassinate Hitler after learning of the plans for the extermination of the Jews. In April 1943, he was arrested and put in jail, in solitary confinement. He was later moved to a Gestapo prison, then to Buchenwald, then to the death camp of Flossenburg.
By all accounts, Bonhoeffer brought great peace and comfort to many fellow prisoners at every stop. On April 9, 1945, just days before the Allies would have freed him, he was led outside to a courtyard with a scaffolding and noose set up and ordered to remove his clothes. He walked to the platform, now 39 years old. His last words before being hanged were these:
“This is the end…but for me, the beginning of life.”
Bonhoeffer’s life, before and after death, reflected the certainty of Jesus’ resurrection- and, consequently, his and ours. Resurrection life is the way we can choose to live, believing that death has disarmed its ultimate weapon. Therefore, when we defend the weak, reach out to the lonely, and establish a home, we embody the resurrection. When we forgive an enemy, take time to stop and talk with someone, and dare to raise children, we inhabit the resurrection. When we include those on the margins in our lives, take joy in God’s creation, and sit beside a friend who is sick, we embody the resurrection.
Remember Mary Magdalene, that solitary figure standing outside the tomb that morning. She did not come to believe in the resurrection because her mind comprehended the logic of it all, nor even because of the angels’ presence at the tomb. She believed in the resurrection because she encountered the person of the resurrected Jesus. When we become aware of God’s presence, here and now, in our lives, and lean into it, we embrace the resurrection.
When John concludes his resurrection story, he finishes his writing with this:
“There are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
More can be said, and more will be said. But in the end, all that is needed is this:
Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed!)
– Rev. Dwayne Toews, Assistant District Superintendent
