Category: history

Harry and Dagmar, our friends who have lived in Jerusalem the past twenty-three years, stayed with us this past week. They visited my classes one day and answered questions from high school students. We may reach conclusions on world politics or the conflict in the Middle East by reading the newspaper or watching the news, but when you visit with people who live there you get a whole new perspective. “If a person has love in his heart for the Jews but no love for the Arabs, he does not understand the love of God. Or if a person has love in his heart for the Arabs but no love for the Jews, he also does not understand the love of God.” Harry’s quote reminded me that we need to see things from God’s viewpoint.

Suppose Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Knox decided to write biographies of George Washington. Would they all write the same book? You might expect Thomas Jefferson to give clear insight on the political life of George Washington and his strength as an early leader in our nation. As Secretary of War and Revolutionary War general, Henry Knox might focus on the military exploits of our first president. And surely Martha would write a more personal volume about her husband. Each could give a true account of a man’s life, but the author’s perspective would produce three different books.

Peter, Paul, and John all knew Jesus. Two walked with him on earth for three years as disciples. Peter and John listened to his teaching and witnessed his miracles. Paul was called to be an apostle after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Though each knew Jesus as Savior and Lord, their experiences in life and the work of the Holy Spirit gave different viewpoints.

Peter failed miserably as a disciple and friend when he denied Jesus three times on the night of his betrayal. But after Jesus forgave and restored him and after the Holy Spirit empowered him, Peter proclaimed the Gospel the rest of his life.

John, ‘the disciple that Jesus loved’, was the only one of the Twelve to remain at the cross when his Savior died. He lived longer than any other apostle, constantly telling the story of Jesus.

Paul said he was not worthy to be an apostle, yet God chose him to write more of the New Testament than any other person. Paul had a burning desire to know Christ more and more. Through a multitude of trials and much suffering, Paul proclaimed the good news and the mystery of Christ until he died a martyr’s death.

So what about us? What viewpoint do I have? What viewpoint do you have? Can we humbly and boldly tell the story of Jesus in our lives? Your perspective may be quite different than mine, yet we know God’s love and Christ’s work in our hearts. Our message needs to line up with that of Peter, Paul, and John, but God’s work in a life is wonderfully unique. May we take time to remember, reflect, and recount the goodness of our King.

“I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.” Psalm 145:1-7

As a young man, Dietrich Bonhoeffer became a teacher and leader in the Confessing Church of Germany. With increased persecution of Jews and rumors of plans to eliminate all disabled ‘weak’ German citizens, Dietrich urged Christians to understand they were in a spiritual war and the only hope was to let God be the Center of everything. “It is a war that demands the commitment of one’s whole life. Is not God, our Lord, worthy of the struggle?”

Decisions faced every Christian. In April of 1938 an ordinance was issued requiring every pastor to pledge allegiance to the Fuehrer, Adolph Hitler. On September 11 of that year, synagogues and Jewish businesses and homes were destroyed on Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. Through Scripture, Bonhoeffer believed God showed him that when his people were being persecuted, He was being persecuted. But what could one do?

Early in 1939, Dietrich received the dreaded order to report for military duty. He had friends who declared themselves to be conscientious objectors, but they were quickly arrested and most died in prison. Other friends accepted the assignment of their government only to find themselves fighting in an unjust war. Dietrich knew too much of Hitler to even consider becoming a soldier. Christians with connections gave him a third option that involved an invitation to be a guest lecturer at a seminary in New York City. Bonhoeffer had been to America eight years earlier, and at the advice of his German brethren he accepted the invitation and gained a deferral from military assignment. Dietrich arrived in New York on June 12, 1939 but only stayed twenty-six days.

“I have had time to think and pray about my situation and that of my nation and to have God’s will for me clarified. I have come to the conclusion that I have made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period of our national history with the Christian people of Germany. I shall have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share in the trials of this time with my people. My brothers in the Confessing Synod wanted me to go. They may have been right in urging me to do so, but I was wrong in going. Such a decision a man must make for himself.”

The clue that led to Bonhoeffer’s arrest in April of 1943 dealt with money that had been spent to get Jews out of Germany. And while Hitler ordered Dietrich’s execution in 1945 for being involved in a conspiracy to overthrow his government, it could be argued that a pastor died because he attempted to save the innocent. Hitler committed suicide three weeks after Bonhoeffer was hanged.

From letters written in prison it was clear Dietrich was at peace with his decision… because he believed God led him. But he humbly admitted that decision-making is often difficult. “At the end of the day I can only ask God to give a merciful judgment on today and all its decisions,” he once wrote in his diary. Bonhoeffer taught that Jesus is the Way. Jesus taught that eternal life is knowing God. Maybe the best strategy for making decisions simply lies in knowing God on the Way. “Father, through your Son, help me to know You better. Amen.”

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24

All quotes taken from “Bonhoeffer” by Eric Metaxas, published in 2010 in Nashville , Tennessee by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

“I am tormented even now by the thought that I didn’t do as you asked me as a matter of course. To be frank, I can’t think what made me behave as I did. How could I have been so horribly afraid at the time? It must have seemed totally incomprehensible to you both, and yet you said nothing. But it preys on my mind, because it’s the kind of thing one can never make up for. So all I can do is ask you to forgive my weakness then. I know for certain that I ought to have behaved differently.”

If you’re alive you’ve probably had occasion to write or think such a statement of regret.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this note to his twin sister, Sabine, in 1933 after he declined the invitation to preach her father-in-law’s funeral. Hitler’s agenda against the Jews was just becoming known and Christians in Germany were having to decide where to stand. If the famous “Aryan Paragraph” were adopted by the new government, all pastors with Jewish blood would be forced to step down from the ministry. Dietrich saw clearly where such discrimination would lead and began calling the church to be the church. He wrote, “What is at stake is by no means whether our German members of congregations can still tolerate church fellowship with the Jews. It is rather the task of Christian preaching to say: here is the church, where Jew and German stand together under the Word of God, here is the proof of whether a church is still the church or not.”

Sabine’s husband, Gerhard, was a baptized Christian of Jewish descent. His father was not a Christian and when he died Dietrich was asked to preach the funeral. After trying to think through every angle and after listening to the council of others, Dietrich declined. In the biography “Bonhoeffer”, Eric Metaxas tells the story of the young theologian who learned to delve as deep into the mind of God as he possibly could to discern how to preach and live in an era of immense evil. “If you board the wrong train it is no use running along the corridor in the opposite direction.” Dietrich’s message was that Jesus Christ was the only right train and Christians had to live boldly no matter what resistance existed. He believed his decision not to stand and speak at a Jewish funeral was a failure to practice what he preached.

But moments of regret sometimes spur us to bolder living. At times we can only apologize, ask forgiveness, and ask God to help us learn from our mistakes. We all need his wisdom and his courage to speak out in our generation. We need eyes to see the devil’s work today that might not be quite as obvious as Satan’s strategies in Nazi Germany. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged three weeks before World War II ended for being a part of a plot to take the life of Adolph Hitler. The doctor at his prison at Flossenburg recalled this scene early on the morning of his execution: “Through the half-open door in one room of the huts I saw Pastor Bonhoeffer, before taking off his prison garb, kneeling on the floor praying fervently to his God. I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed, so devout and so certain that God heard his prayer. At the place of execution, he again said a short prayer and then climbed the steps to the gallows, brave and composed. His death ensued after a few seconds. In the almost fifty years that I worked as a doctor, I have hardly seen a man die so entirely submissive to the will of God.” No regrets…

Dietrich was 39 years old when he died. At a memorial service held in London on July 27, 1945, Matthew 10 was read which contains these verses: “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”

All quotes taken from “Bonhoeffer” by Eric Metaxas, published in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

A Charlie Brown Christmas came on television last week. You’ll remember in the story that Charlie Brown was so frustrated by the commercialism of Christmas that he wanted to take action. At Lucy’s advice, he tried to pull together a Christmas play, which brought even more frustration. Then he took his friend, Linus, to buy a Christmas tree. Bypassing the popular aluminum trees, Charlie found a scrawny ‘real’ tree and brought it to the play. “Do they still make wooden Christmas trees?” Linus asked. Of course, everyone made fun of the tree and Charlie, in great despair, asked the all-important question: “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus then walked to center stage and quoted Luke 2:8-14 from the King James version of the Bible. “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them… And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.’” “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” Linus concluded.

The head of CBS did not want to air the show. Those that previewed it gave horrible criticisms. The cartoon was too simplistic. The music wasn’t right. The voices weren’t right. (Children with no experience were chosen over veteran actors.) Even when producers Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez previewed the show, they moaned, “We’ve ruined Charlie Brown.” Several argued: “You can’t read the Bible on a television show!” But Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, was adamant. “If we don’t tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?”

The program first aired in 1965 and over 50% of American televisions tuned in. It won an Emmy and a Peabody Award and has been a Christmas classic for 45 years. Critics became fans. Harriet Van Horne of the New York World-Telegram wrote: “Linus’ reading of the story of the Nativity was, quite simply, the dramatic highlight of the season.” Many even credit the demise of the aluminum Christmas tree to this program.

God is so good. He sees people walking through the malls asking, “So this is Christmas?” and answers with a cartoon. He sees us confused about the meaning of life and permits a child to read His Word to remind a nation of the greatest Gift of all time. He sees war and hatred and serious arguments and petty squabbles and reminds us that He sent Peace to earth in the form of a Baby. He can use children; He can use cartoon characters; He can use an unlikely ex-Beatle; and He can use you and me to proclaim peace in a troubled world.

Of course outside of Jesus there is no true peace. Examine the life of John Lennon for a tragic example. Without the Prince of Peace no one has hope. Here’s the beautiful truth: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law and its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” Ephesians 2:13-18

May the peace of God be yours this Christmas!
(here’s verse two of John Lennon’s song: ‘So This Is Christmas’)

And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The road is so long.
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones,
Let’s stop all the fight.
A very merry Christmas
And a happy new year.
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear.

On March 20, 1815, the feared general Napoleon took power in Paris in what is known as the Hundred Days. Meanwhile 150,000 troops from five countries marched to end his rule. At the end of the hundred days, the famed Battle of Waterloo took place and a defeated French conqueror was sent into exile.

Stem cell transplant patients are taught to anticipate one hundred days after the transplant as the time to evaluate success. Of course, no one wants a Waterloo. Sunday is my hundredth day, so Monday afternoon I go back to Emory for all the medical tests (I’m studying hard).

Our nursing-school daughter, Kinsey, asked if I’m worried about it all. I asked her, “What good will it do?” I’m just so thankful I’m feeling better. My energy is returning, my appetite is back, I’m able to teach again, and I get to hang out with my family and many people I love. Don’t take ‘normal’ days for granted; treasure and use well the gift of ‘time’; tell people you love them; and give thanks to our Father in Heaven who loves us more than we can imagine.

It will be a couple of weeks before I can share results. Thanks for so many prayers and words of encouragement!

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?… So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 5:27-34