by Bishop Bill Gohl
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was martyred by the Nazi regime on April 9, 1945. As we enter into the fullness of Holy Week, I found this poem he penned in prison and it seemed apropos for the solemnity of these holy days while remembering his witness and faith.
By kindly powers surrounded, peaceful and true,
Wonderfully protected with consolation dear,
Safely, I dwell with you this whole day through,
And surely into another year.
Wonderfully protected with consolation dear,
Safely, I dwell with you this whole day through,
And surely into another year.
Though from the old our hearts are still in pain,
While evil days oppress with burdens still,
Lord, give to our frightened souls again,
Salvation and thy promises fulfill.
And shouldst thou offer us the bitter cup, resembling
Sorrow, filled to the brim and overflowing,
We will receive it thankfully, without trembling,
From thy hand, so good and ever-loving.
But if it be thy will again to give
Joy of this world and bright sunshine,
Then in our minds we will past times relive
And all our days will be wholly thine.
Let candles burn, both warm and bright,
Which to our darkness thou has brought,
And, if that can be, bring us together in the light,
Thy light shines in the night unsought.
When we are wrapped in silence most profound,
May we hear that song most fully raised
From all the unseen world that lies around
And thou art by all thy children praised.
By kindly powers protected wonderfully,
Confident, we wait for come what may.
Night and morning, God is by us, faithfully
And surely at each new born day.
In Von guten Mächten – By Kindly Powers Surrounded, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is writing of his own Gethsemane experience, his own funeral hymn. It is a resounding summation of what has been and it is a faithful facing of what is surely still to come. Written in the Prinz Albrecht Strasse Gestapo prison, Bonhoeffer finds himself surrounded by friends and strangers, all united by their common commitment to speaking and acting against the monstrous evil wrought by the Nazi regime and its leader, Adolf Hitler. As Bonhoeffer meets his end, he does so with faint hope that this cup would pass from him; yet willing to bear the martyrdom of his death, as well as what a biographer called a martyrdom at the hands his own Lutheran Church that failed to resist the Nazis for fear of being "too political."
Bonhoeffer tied his poetry to scripture, and for this poem cites the familiar words of Romans 8: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. ... Indeed, what then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The Romans text is often used for funerals to give the bereaved hope and encouragement in our Christian faith. The rubrics of Evangelical Lutheran Worship call for us to omit verse 36 in our reading, As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered," owing that it is not particularly comforting!
On the other hand, I think that verse speaks precisely to Bonhoeffer’s place and lot in life. He is in the slaughterhouse, day after day, month giving way to month, facing death all the day long.
What inspires me, in Bonhoeffer’s poetry, is that he still recognizes in the deepest darkness the presence of God:
Let candles burn, both warm and bright,
Which to our darkness thou has brought,
And, if that can be, bring us together in the light,
Thy light shine sin the night unsought.
He sees that in death, he will find freedom, too. That his life has not been lived – or given in vain. He has stood for something important, and even as he seemingly falls, he rises again:
When we are wrapped in silence most profound,
May we hear that song most fully raised
From all the unseen world that lies around
And thou art by all thy children praised.
Ultimately, in death, Bonhoeffer recognizes that which has sustained him along the way:
By kindly powers protected wonderfully,
Confident, we wait for come what may.
Night and morning, God is by us, faithfully
And surely at each new born day.
God is with him – and us, whenever we come to the emptying of ourselves. Be it in loss, suffering or the challenging ways in which we must live out our faith with integrity, God is with us. Bonhoeffer never succumbed to the easy way out – of captivity or life, he didn’t forfeit hope, he held on to faith even when that seemed lost, too.
Friends, as Lent gives way to Easter, let us be reminded daily as we die to sin, that by kindly powers protected wonderfully, confident, we wait for come what may. Night and morning, God is by us, faithfully and surely at each new born day.
In his willingness to put everything on the line for love of God and neighbor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us in his own life and death of the power of Jesus' resurrection: not anything can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And in that same strong faith, we have power to change the world – risking everything to love and serve God and neighbor.
While evil days oppress with burdens still,
Lord, give to our frightened souls again,
Salvation and thy promises fulfill.
And shouldst thou offer us the bitter cup, resembling
Sorrow, filled to the brim and overflowing,
We will receive it thankfully, without trembling,
From thy hand, so good and ever-loving.
But if it be thy will again to give
Joy of this world and bright sunshine,
Then in our minds we will past times relive
And all our days will be wholly thine.
Let candles burn, both warm and bright,
Which to our darkness thou has brought,
And, if that can be, bring us together in the light,
Thy light shines in the night unsought.
When we are wrapped in silence most profound,
May we hear that song most fully raised
From all the unseen world that lies around
And thou art by all thy children praised.
By kindly powers protected wonderfully,
Confident, we wait for come what may.
Night and morning, God is by us, faithfully
And surely at each new born day.
In Von guten Mächten – By Kindly Powers Surrounded, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is writing of his own Gethsemane experience, his own funeral hymn. It is a resounding summation of what has been and it is a faithful facing of what is surely still to come. Written in the Prinz Albrecht Strasse Gestapo prison, Bonhoeffer finds himself surrounded by friends and strangers, all united by their common commitment to speaking and acting against the monstrous evil wrought by the Nazi regime and its leader, Adolf Hitler. As Bonhoeffer meets his end, he does so with faint hope that this cup would pass from him; yet willing to bear the martyrdom of his death, as well as what a biographer called a martyrdom at the hands his own Lutheran Church that failed to resist the Nazis for fear of being "too political."
Bonhoeffer tied his poetry to scripture, and for this poem cites the familiar words of Romans 8: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. ... Indeed, what then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The Romans text is often used for funerals to give the bereaved hope and encouragement in our Christian faith. The rubrics of Evangelical Lutheran Worship call for us to omit verse 36 in our reading, As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered," owing that it is not particularly comforting!
On the other hand, I think that verse speaks precisely to Bonhoeffer’s place and lot in life. He is in the slaughterhouse, day after day, month giving way to month, facing death all the day long.
What inspires me, in Bonhoeffer’s poetry, is that he still recognizes in the deepest darkness the presence of God:
Let candles burn, both warm and bright,
Which to our darkness thou has brought,
And, if that can be, bring us together in the light,
Thy light shine sin the night unsought.
He sees that in death, he will find freedom, too. That his life has not been lived – or given in vain. He has stood for something important, and even as he seemingly falls, he rises again:
When we are wrapped in silence most profound,
May we hear that song most fully raised
From all the unseen world that lies around
And thou art by all thy children praised.
Ultimately, in death, Bonhoeffer recognizes that which has sustained him along the way:
By kindly powers protected wonderfully,
Confident, we wait for come what may.
Night and morning, God is by us, faithfully
And surely at each new born day.
God is with him – and us, whenever we come to the emptying of ourselves. Be it in loss, suffering or the challenging ways in which we must live out our faith with integrity, God is with us. Bonhoeffer never succumbed to the easy way out – of captivity or life, he didn’t forfeit hope, he held on to faith even when that seemed lost, too.
Friends, as Lent gives way to Easter, let us be reminded daily as we die to sin, that by kindly powers protected wonderfully, confident, we wait for come what may. Night and morning, God is by us, faithfully and surely at each new born day.
In his willingness to put everything on the line for love of God and neighbor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us in his own life and death of the power of Jesus' resurrection: not anything can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And in that same strong faith, we have power to change the world – risking everything to love and serve God and neighbor.