Unknown From Nowhere Reveals Extraordinary Gift and Stuns World

In case the story of Susan Boyle has passed you by, it is worth 7 minutes, 7 seconds to watch this YouTube video of her moment on the television talent show, "Britain's Got Talent". It's just a little bright spot that lit up in the last week...one that every woman in your life should see!

Here is an article from the New York Times.  

Dietrich Boenhoeffer was hanged on this day in 1945

I first became acquainted with this German theologian because of my interest in Genesis 1-3. How could things have gone wrong, I wondered, so early in the story of Creation? His book, "Creation and Fall: an Exposition of Genesis 1-3" gave me some insights, but ultimately proved to be a bit beyond my grasp.

Only later did I learn that Bonhoeffer was a founding member of the Confessing Church in Germany - a group that split from the Lutheran church, taking a clear stance against Hitler's policies of anti-semitism and calling for the church to resist Nazi policies. In fact, I learned in the film "Bonhoeffer" that he went frightningly far along that path, to the point of becoming involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler - which failed. He was discovered, arrested and imprisoned, and finally hanged on April 9, 1945. The Wikipedia entry here is a good place to get an overview of Bonhoeffer's life, work, and influence.

If you have ever considered what it must have been like in that time - or going farther, to imagine being a German citizen, or a member of the German Church ...well, I have not known what to think about it. What could anyone do? I recently watched the movie Divided We Fall ( "In Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, a childless couple agree to hide a Jewish friend at great personal risk of discovery and execution.") These stories always challenge us, I think, to admit how difficult it is to make a significant sacrifice for others, and at the same time, to acknowledge that such sacrifice is the essence of our humanity.

A great quote from the Bonhoeffer movie home page makes the connection for me, at least:

"We have been the silent witnesses of evil deeds...Will our inward power of resistance be enough for us to find our way back?"

Finally - a shortcut (as I am on break, but still at work!) - the entry for "The Cost of Discipleship" from the Wikipedia article that I am leaning so heavily on here:

Bonhoeffer's most widely read book begins, "Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace." That was a sharp warning to his own church, which was engaged in bitter conflict with the official nazified state church, The book was first published in 1937 as Nachfolge (Discipleship). It soon became a classic exposition of what it means to follow Christ in a modern world beset by a dangerous and criminal government. At its center stands an interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount: what Jesus demanded of his followers—and how the life of discipleship is to be continued in all ages of the post- resurrection church.

All I can say is, wow-he really lived his faith. And we are called to do the same...each in the way that we are called. Clearly, there is much need for discernment, but I am challenged by this anniversary of Bonhoeffer's death, coming as it does in the Christian Holy Week, to consider what its message is for my life.