Dr. Manfred K. Bahman SALM 1 BONHOEFFER AND COSTLY GRACE

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1 Dr. Manfred K. Bahman SALM 1 BONHOEFFER AND COSTLY GRACE A. FROM BONHOEFFER TO LUTHER On Reformation Sunday, November 1932, Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached the sermon at the worship service at the University of Berlin.Fieldmarshall Paul von Hindenburg was in attendance. He was then still the German president. Hitler was about to take power in another three months on January 30, Bonhoeffer was just 26 years old. But this young doctor in theology preached like one of the Old Testament prophets. Bonhoeffer had chosen as his text for this occasion Revelation 2, verse 4: "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first." With a few bold strokes he nailed the situation as it then in fact existed. He opened his sermon with this statement: "The fact that we are right now in the twelfth hour of the life of our evangelical church, that we therefore do not have much time left before it is decided whether she is done for or whether a new day will dawn - that much should be obvious to all of us by now." He then mocks the loud, blaring military music that at that time was heard all over Germany as a futile attempt to cover the deep fear, the "Angst", which sat in the bones of the people. Bonhoeffer then rejects the usual Lutheran Reformation Day celebrations as that "evil day" on which the church joins in the general hysteria as another futile attempt to drive away the deadly fear with pompous words and imposing hymns like "A Mighty Fortress is our God." He mocks his coreligionists, saying: "The church won't even let Luther have his well deserved rest anymore. They prop him up, this dead man, in all our churches, have him stretch out his hand and declare with great pathos over and over again: 'Here I stand. I can do no other.' " And then Bonhoeffer delivers to his hearers the incisive message of his sermon: "God, however, speaks to us here: 'But I have this against you that you have abandoned your first love'" (D.. Bonhoeffer: "Gesammelte Werke", vol iv, edited by Eberhard Bethge, Muenchen, 1961, pp. 93ff). When you listen to this outburst, you might easily get the idea that Bonhoeffer rejected Luther or considered him irrelevant to our time. That would be quite wrong. Bonhoeffer has a firm grasp of Luther's theology. He fully agrees with the great reformer. But he puts the essential core of Luther's contribution to work in the new and changed historical circumstances of his own time. This is something that we should also do in our situation here and now. Bonhoeffer actualizes Luther in a genuine way precisely because he agrees with the important points Luther wants to drive home. As Hitler established his power, the Protestant church in Germany divided into three parts. There were ardent supporters of the Nazis who called themselves "The German Christians." For them Hitler was the leader (Fuehrer) which God had sent. Then there were determined opponents for whom Hitler was a real danger for the church. They formed the Confessing

2 Church. Bonhoeffer was a decided member in it. Thirdly, there was the large block of the majority which did not take a definite position either way. They just went along with whatever happened. One of Bonhoeffer's most influential writings is his book "The Cost of Discipleship" of Its German title is "Nachfolge" or "Following" in the sense of following Jesus. I strongly recommend that you read it. The book opens with the chapter on "Costly Grace." His thesis is clear: "Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace." This is very strong and very appealing. But if you read this as a convinced Lutheran, you may be puzzled as I was. In caustic terms Bonhoeffer chastises the cheap grace he finds so prevalent in our churches. He describes it in these sarcastic words. "Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world's standards in every sphere of life, and not arrogantly aspire to a different life under grace from his old life under sin...the world has been justified by grace. The Christian knows that, and takes it seriously. He knows he must not strive against this indispensable grace. Therefore - let him live like the rest of the world!" ( "Cost of Discipleship", p. 44). But to appreciate Bonhoeffer's understanding of Luther, we have to read further in "The Cost of Discipleship." The other side of the coin is "costly grace." He explains: "Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs us our life (weil sie dem Menschen das Leben kostet), and it is grace because it gives us the only true life (weil sie ihm so das Leben erst schenkt)". With great emphasis Bonhoeffers points out: "Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son" (ibid. p. 45). Bonhoeffer makes his central point more explicit by saying: "Costly grace has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the living word, the Word of God, which he speaks as it pleases him. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart" (ibid). Still, in all honesty, Bonhoeffer has to ask himself: "Did not Luther himself come perilously near to this perversion in the understanding of grace? What about his Pecca fortiter, sed fortius fide et gaude in Christo ('Sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ more boldly still')? You are a sinner, anyway, and there is nothing you can do about it...so put a bold face on it, and all the more because you can rely on the opus operatum of grace. ( - und zwar gerade auf die geschehene Gnade hin!)...is not the Roman Catechism quite right in denouncing this as the sin against the Holy Ghost?" (ibid. p. 51). But no, Bonhoeffer rejects that with this affirmation: "For Luther 'sin boldly' could only be his very last refuge, the consolation for one whose attempts to follow Christ had taught him that he can never be sinless, who in his fear of sin despairs of the grace of God" (ibid. p.52).

3 Bonhoeffer then gives a wonderful interpretation of the controversial claim by Luther: "Take courage and confess your sin, says Luther, do not try to run away from it, but believe more boldly still. You are a sinner, so be a sinner, and don't try to become what you are not. Yes, and become a sinner again and again every day, and be bold about it. But to whom can such words be addressed, except to those who from the bottom of their hearts make a daily renunciation of sin and of every barrier which hinders them from following Christ, but who nevertheless are troubled by their daily faithlessness and sin? Who can hear these words without endangering his faith but he who hears their consolation as a renewed summons to follow Christ?" (ibid. p. 52 f). In conclusion, Bonhoeffer issues a stern warning, particularly to those of us who happen to be Lutherans: "We Lutherans have gathered like eagles round the carcass of cheap grace, and there we have drunk of the poison which has killed the life of following Christ.. To be 'Lutheran' must mean that we leave the following of Christ to legalists, Calvinists and enthusiasts - and all this for the sake of grace. We justified the world, and condemned as heretics those who tried to follow Christ. The result was that a nation became Christian and Lutheran, but at the cost of true discipleship. The price it was called upon to pay was all too cheap. Cheap grace had won the day" (ibid. p. 53). This was Bonhoeffer's verdict on the Germany of his day. To what extent does the same judgment apply to us in the USA today? B. WHAT DOES THE CHRISTIAN LIFE LOOK LIKE? According to Bonhoeffer, the life of the Christian is shaped by the Sermon on the Mount. Those who follow Christ hear his promises and keep his instructions. FIRST and foremost, they are blessed. This is true for them particularly when they are spiritually poor, when they mourn, when they hunger and thirst after righteousness, or when they are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. They are blessed because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Precisely as the meek they shall inherit the earth. They know that they shall obtain mercy and are confident that they shall see God. Therefore Bonhoeffer comes to this startling conclusion: "Having reached the end of the beatitudes, we naturally ask if there is any place on this earth for the community which they describe. Clearly, there is one place, and only one, and that is where the poorest, meekest, and most sorely tried of all men is to be found - on the cross of Golgotha. The fellowship of the beatitudes is the fellowship of the Crucified. With him it has lost all, and with him it has found all. From the cross there comes the call 'blessed, blessed.' The last beatitude is addressed directly to the disciples, for only they can understand it, 'Blessed are you when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets which were before you'" (ibid. p. 113).. SECONDLY, Jesus calls his followers "the salt of the earth." This is a big surprise. Bonhoeffer marvels at this and exclaims: "The disciples are the salt that sustains the earth, for their sake the world exists, yes, for the sake of these, the poor, ignoble and weak, whom the world rejects. In casting out the disciples the earth is destroying its very life. And yet, wonder of

4 wonders, it is for the sake of the outcasts that the earth is allowed to continue" (ibid. p. 115). This has far-reaching implications. "The disciples, then, must not only think of heaven; they have an earthly task as well." In other words, our task is not to prepare people for a sweet bye and bye. Rather it is to steer them to God's mission which is waiting for them in the here and now on earth. Bonhoeffer calls our attention to a remarkable fact. He says: "It is to be noted that Jesus calls not himself, but his disciples the salt of the earth, for he entrusts his work on earth to them. His own work rests with the people of Israel, but the whole earth is committed to the disciples" (ibid. p. 116). In the same way, Jesus calls the people who follow him "the light of the world." This is another marvel. "The same Jesus who, speaking of himself, said, 'I am the light,' says to his followers: 'You are the light in the your whole existence, provided you remain faithful in your calling. And since you are that light, you can no longer remain hidden." Bonhoeffer concludes: "The followers are a visible community; their discipleship is visible which lifts them out of the world...and of course the following is as visible to the world as a light in the darkness or a mountain rising from a plain" (ibid. p.117f). Bonhoeffer describes the community of the followers of Christ in a grand final vision: "It is in this light that the good works of the disciples are meant to be seen. Men are not to see the disciples but their good works, says Jesus. And these works are none other than those which the Lord Jesus himself has created in them by calling them to be the light of the world under the shadow of the cross." The Christian life is marked by poverty, being excluded, by meekness, peaceableness, and finally persecution and rejection. "All these good works are a bearing of the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross is the strange light which alone illuminates these good works of the disciples....but there is nothing for us to glorify in the disciple who bears the cross, or in the community whose light so shines because it stands visibly on the hill - only the Father which is in heaven can be praised for the 'good works.' It is by seeing the cross and the community beneath it that men come to believe in God. But that is the light of the Resurrection" (ibid. p. 119). THIRDLY, the life of the Christian is marked by a most unusual love.. Bonhoeffer observes: "In the Sermon of the Mount, we meet the word which sums up the whole of its message, the word 'love.' Love is defined in uncompromising terms as the love of our enemies. Had Jesus only told us to love our brethern, we might have misunderstood what he meant by love, but now he leaves no doubt whatever as to his meaning" (ibid. p. 146). Bonhoeffer states a fact of life which is true for all of us: "To the natural man, the very notion of loving his enemies is an intolerable offense, and quite beyond his capacity: it cuts right across his ideas of good and evil. More important still, to man under the law, the idea of loving his enemies is clean contrary to the law of God, which requires men to sever all connection with their enemies and to pass judgement on them. Jesus, however, takes the law of God in his own hands and expounds its true meaning" (p. 147). Here we have to pay close attention. For Bonhoeffer the will of God is not identical with God's law. God's will is greater and more generous than the law. Thus Bonhoeffer can write: "The will

5 of God, to which the law gives expression, is that men should defeat their enemies by loving them" (ibid. p. 147). Bonhoeffer is aware of the strong objections which he is bound to encounter. But he wards them off by saying: "We are not to imagine that this is to condone the enemy's evil; such a love proceeds from strength rather than weakness, from truth rather than fear, and therefore it cannot be guilty of the hatred of the other. And who is to be the object of such a love, if not those whose hearts are filled with hatred?" (ibid. p. 149). This extraordinary love of the enemy is the genuine hallmark for the Christian life.. Bonhoeffer is right when he notices: "When we love those who love us, our brethren, our nation, our friends, yes, and even our own congregation, we are no better than the heathen and the publicans. Such love is ordinary and natural, and not distinctively Christian. We can love our kith and kin, our fellow-countrymen and our friends, whether we are Christians or not, and there is no need for Jesus to teach us that. But he takes that kind of love for granted, and in contrast asserts that we must love our enemies. Thus he shows us what he means by love, and the attitude we must display toward it" (p. 152). FINALLY, even though we may have problems of always doing what is required of us, it is not at all difficult to comprehend what the life of a Christian is all about. Bonhoeffer gives us a very practical and down to earth orientation: "The mainspring of his life and work is the strength which comes from the fellowship with Jesus Christ. Jesus offers his disciples a simple rule of thumb which will enable even the least sophisticated of them to tell whether his intercourse with others is on the right track or not. All he need do is to say 'I' instead of 'Thou,' and put himself in the other man's place. 'All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also to them: for this is the law and the prophets' " (ibid. p.188). This golden rule does not require a great deal of sophistication. Bonhoeffer observes:"the moment he does that, the disciple forfeits all advantage over other men, and can no longer excuse in himself what he condemns in others. He is as strict in condemning evil in himself as he was before with others, and as lenient with the evil in others as he was before to himself. The evil in the other person is exactly the same evil as in ourselves. There is only one judgement, one law, and one grace. Henceforth the disciple will look upon other men as forgiven sinners who owe their lives to the love of God. 'This is the law and the prophets' - for this is none other than the supreme commandment: to love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves" (ibid. p. 188). The bottom line is this: Bonhoeffer presents us with a radical view of the Christian life which finds its central focus in the death and resurrection of Christ. He does not develop a general philosophy of life that is applicable to everyone. His reflections are singularly focused on those who follow Christ. At the same time, he claims to be a spokesperson for the theology of the Reformation, and particularly of Martin Luther.

6 Dr. Manfred K. Bahmann SALM 2 BONHOEFFER'S "RELIGIONLESS WORLD" Bonhoeffer became deeply involved with the ecumenical relations between the German church and the churches in other countries. This work intensified when his seminary in Finkenwalde was closed, and his license to teach at a university was withdrawn. In 1939 he went back to Union Theological Seminary for a short time. His American friends urged him to stay. But he insisted that he had to return to the fierce struggle of his church. As Hitler started World War II with the invasion of Poland in 1939, Bonhoeffer had to expect to be conscripted into the army. Some of his relatives were working for the "Abwehr" (Military Intelligence). They helped him to get a position in this operation. Admiral Canaris, the head of the "Abwehr," had secretly gathered under his command a number of officers and civilians who were increasingly opposed to Hitler and finally were ready to kill him. Bonhoeffer joined this group of conspirators. They planned several coups. These failed. But they attracted the attention of the Gestapo. He participated also in preparing for the big attempt on Hitler's life by Col. von Stauffenberg. A great number of military people like Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and prominent civilians took part in this. But Bonhoeffer was arrested long before this event. In 1943 he was jailed in the prison in Tegel outside of Berlin. So far we have watched Bonhoeffer and Luther operating more or less in the same theological frame of mind. We have found Bonhoeffer a faithful defender of the principal positions taken by Luther. But Bonhoeffer was not a parrot. He did not merely repeat the insights of the reformer. He also went beyond them. In a letter on July 21, 1944, one day after Stauffenberg's failed assassination attempt on Hitler's life, Bonhoeffer writes from his prison cell in Tegel to his friend Eberhard Bethge: "For a long time I didn't realize the depth of the contrast. I thought I should acquire faith by trying to live a holy life, or something like it. I suppose I wrote The Cost of Discipleship as the end of that path. Today I see the dangers of that book, though I still stand by what I wrote"( D. Bonhoeffer, "Letters & Papers from Prison," Macmillan, New York, 1971, p. 369). Bonhoeffer had come to another decisive crossroads in his life. In this letter he admits: "During the last year or so I've come to know and understand more and more the profound this-worldliness of Christianity. The Christian is not a homo religiosus (a religious man), but simply a man, as Jesus was a man - in contrast, shall we say, to John the Baptist." He makes it clear that he has no interest in the shallow and superficial worldliness of our contemporary culture with its comfortable, lazy, and uncommitted lifestyle. This is what we usually have in mind when we refer to "this world." Rather he is fascinated by a "profound thisworldliness that is characterized by discipline and the constant knowledge of death and

7 resurrection" (ibid.). Bonhoeffer thought that Luther lived a "this-worldly life" in this sense. Maybe so. But in fact Luther never gave a clear expression of this. In the "Abwehr," Bonhoeffer closely worked with responsible individuals who for a long time had given up on the church. In this sense they were fully secularized. But indeniably they were motivated by strong Christian impulses. They were both totally "this worldly" and completely dedicated to an ethical life. As a result of meeting these impressive people and intimately working with them, Bonhoeffer started to ask how faith in Jesus Christ can be interpreted for our days in order to reach these individuals with the central biblical message. From his prison cell in Tegel, Bonhoeffer wrote on April 30, 1944: "What is bothering me incessantly is the question what Christianity really is, or indeed who Christ really is, for us today. The time when people could be told everything by means of words, whether theological or pious, is over, and so is the time of inwardness and conscience - and that means the time of religion in general. We are moving towards a completely religionless time; people as they are now simply cannot be religious any more" (ibid., p.279). These are provocative thoughts. Definitely beyond Luther! This went even beyond the controversial attempts by Rudolf Bultmann, the scholar who "demythologized" the New Testament in an attempt to bring its message closer to our contemporaries. Bonhoeffer was aware of that. He realized that his concept of "religionlessness" is highly revolutionary. His view of Bultmann was "not that he went 'too far', as most people thought, but that he didn't go far enough" (ibid., p. 285). This is a challenge also for us. Do we share with Bonhoeffer this sense of urgency for reinterpreting our faith in Jesus Christ? Since we are not living in the same European cultural context as Bonhoeffer, we will most likely use several criteria that are different. But the question is still before us how we should fashion our faith message so that it reaches our contemporaries today. Make no mistake! Bonhoeffer is not interested in a "watering down" of our faith or in finding the lowest common denominator for all. Far from it! In the same letter of April 30, 1944, he asks: "If our final judgment must be that the western front of Christianity, too, was only a preliminary stage to a complete absence of religion, what kind of situation emerges for us, for the church? How can Christ become the Lord of the religionless as well?" (ibid., p. 280) Bonhoeffer comes up with answers which still unsettle some of us today. In an outline for a book which he composes in his Tegel prison cell, he reaches these conclusions: "The church is the church only when it exists for others. To make a start, it should give away all its property to those in need. The clergy must live solely on the free-will offerings of the congregations, or possibly engage in some secular calling. The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving" (ibid., p.382). For us the question is: Was Bonhoeffer a prophet who accurately assesses what is happening in our world today? The term which he coined for our contemporary life is a "world come of age" (eine mündig gewordene Welt). This is a world which is independent and autonomous enough

8 that it can operate without the intervention by God as a Father. In this new environment the church is no longer needed as the overall guardian of human behavior and morality. In this situation the church is called to follow the example of Christ and to be strictly the "church for others." Since Bonhoeffer, new philosophical models have emerged. Some characterize our present world as "postmodern." This is not exactly the same as the "religionless world" which Bonhoeffer proposed. However, both concepts point in the same direction with their claim that our contemporaries today have lost a lively interest in organized religion. Increasingly people turn away from institutionalized religion. But Bonhoeffer's assertion of a "religionless world" needs to be modified by us. As a matter of fact, we have seen the rise of a new spirituality throughout our world in most countries. To a large extent this is due to the influx of impulses from the Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism. This is a development which Bonhoeffer could not possibly have foreseen from his point of observation. Moreover, it must be pointed out that his observations of a "world come of age" and a "religionless" interpretation of the biblical message were not yet fully developed. They were highly hypothetical and still fragmentary. Bonhoeffer steers us away from the business of saving souls and directs us to issues of justice. In a letter of May 5, 1944, he asks us in a penetrating manner: "Does the question about saving one's soul appear in the Old Testament at all? Aren't righteousness and the Kingdom of God on earth the focus for everything?" (ibid., p. 286).. In this 21st century our world is becoming "smaller and smaller." We are all more intimately connected and interrelated in our "global village." This is bound also take place in our religious life. From our ecumenical cooperation with other Christians we will grow into interfaith cooperation with non-christians. As these encounters occur, we are not expected "to sell out" our faith. To the contrary! We will be called to affirm it with new formulations and new vigor. There again Bonhoeffer can be an excellent guide and teacher with his reinterpretation of Luther's basic theology of the cross. In a letter of July 16, 1944, from his prison cell, Bonhoeffer puts it in these words: "God lets himself be pushed out of the world on to the cross. He is weak and powerless in the world, and that is precisely the way, the only way, in which he is with us and helps us....here is the decisive difference between Christianity and all religions. Man's religiosity makes him look in his distress to the power of God in the world: God is the deus ex machina. The Bible directs man to God's powerlessness and suffering; only the suffering God can help....the God of the Bible wins power and space in the world by his weakness. This will probably be the starting-point for our 'secular interpretation"" (ibid., p. 360). The power of a transformed conscience is the power of a Ghandi, a Mandela, a Tutu, a Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a plugged-in conscience, a spontaneous will that is a servant, subject to fear but unfraid, because it has been freed by God.

9 BIBLIOGRAPHY Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "Gesammelte Werke", edited by Eberhard Bethge Christian Kaiser, München, "The Cost of Discipleship" Simon & Schuster, New York, "Letter & Papers from Prison" MacMillan, New York, 1973 Martin Luther: WA Philadelphia Edition American Edition "D. Martin Luthers Werke," Weimar Ausgabe Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, Weimar, 1908 "Works of Martin Luther" Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1943 "Luther's Works" Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1972 Roland H. Bainton: "Here I Stand," Abingdon Press, Nashville 1950 Alexander Hamilton in "The Federalist," The Heritage Press, New York, 1945

10 Dr. Manfred K. Bahmann THE LIFE OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER 1906 Born in Breslau, Germany 1912 Family moves to Berlin 1927 Ph.D. in Theology in Berlin with "Sanctorum Communio" 1928 First theological exam and Vicar in Barcelona, Spain 1930 Second theological exam and license to teach at a university with "Act and Being" 1931 Studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York 1933 Essay "The Church and the Problem of Jews" and flier "Arian Paragraph in the Church" Pastor in London 1935 Start of seminary in Finkenwalde 1936 License to teach at a university withdrawn 1937 "The Cost of Discipleship" ("Nachfolge") 1939 Back to Union Theological Seminary in New York, but he returns to Germany 1940 Employed by German Military Intelligence ("Abwehr") 1941 Deportations of Jews from Berlin start 1943 Engagement with Maria von Wedemeyer and arrest in Tegel prison 1944 Stauffenberg's attempt to assassinate Hitler 1945 Transfer to concentration camp Buchenwald and executed in Flossenbuerg on April 9.