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The World War II era for Germany saw two different sorts of men. There was Adolf Hitler, grabbing for power and willing to use anything in his reach to cement that power, even symbols used previously by multitudes of religious groups as a sign of hope for well-being.
The other was trying to be true to the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ, even as he sometimes struggled with what that meant. He began by forming a community to train others to share the Good News removed from the conflict and strife that was growing in German society. This man was Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Eventually things grew worse and worse. Bonhoeffer could have stayed in his community, living almost akin to a monastic. He could have taken offers to continue in academia by those in other parts of the world who were desperate to keep him safe.
Instead, he chose to be part of the Valkyrie Project, a plot to put Adolf Hitler to death and free Germany from tyranny.
Unfortunately Dietrich Bonhoeffer would ultimately fail and be captured. There was a chance he might have been freed before the war ended. After all, he was put to death just shortly before the Allies were able to free his camp, an act of malicious intent meant for revenge by his captors.
All throughout his captivity, Bonhoeffer continued to try and do the work our Lord had given him to do. He kept teaching and showing kindness to others, even his captors.
He also struggled with his choices, particularly with his role in the plot to put a man, even a man like Hitler, to death. Due to those struggles, it is thought that if he had lived, while he would have continued to do God’s work, he would have held onto his integrity by resigning from his role as leader in the Confessing Church, the very church he founded.
One of Bonhoeffer’s most famous works is The Cost of Discipleship. It is something he would become intimately familiar with. It is also the theme of our readings today.
On one hand, we see the signs of Jesus’ rule. We see, in Job, God’s dominion over the entire world. In Hebrews, we see Jesus’ title as priest in the order of Melchizedek, a man who blessed Abraham in Genesis in his role as both a priest and a king. We see Jesus possessing enough power that the sons of Zebedee sought to sit at Jesus’ right and his left in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Yet in all those passages, Jesus shows us what that power and kingship really mean.
They mean death and dying. They mean sacrifice. Jesus will die for our sins as He suffers on the Cross. Following Him means we will go down the same path as well.
The rule of our Lord Jesus Christ isn’t one of power and majesty but one of servanthood. That is what Jesus tells us at the end of the Gospel today. It is what we even see in Job, for God doesn’t simply claim to own and have dominion over everything. God speaks of laying down the foundation, of doing the hard work to put everything in place while bringing it into being.
Following the Lord is not an easy journey. It doesn’t mean having power we lord over others. Jesus speaks of this with the Gentile rulers. He might as well include the past rulers of His own people as well, just as we witnessed in our journey with the Kings this summer.
Instead, following Jesus means we are baptized in His Baptism and drink from His same cup. It means we will suffer for our Lord Jesus’ sake. It means that, like Him, we may have to forfeit our lives even.
Yet the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus was made so that we might live. It was a gift out of love for us all, even though we did nothing to deserve it. We have often done the opposite, in fact.
While the way of Jesus may be hard, it is the only one that is worth it. It is the only path that can lead to Love. It is the only path that can lead to life. It is the only way which allows us to walk in the footsteps of the one Being who matters, the very Creator of the universe.
Following God maybe difficult, but it is the only way worth trodding. That is a truth worth holding onto until the end of our days in this life.