The Lonely Questions

Many people view Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a modern martyr of the Christian faith and, more expansively, of the cause of human freedom. Recognized as a gifted theologian while still a young man, Bonhoeffer could have chosen to pursue his career in the safety of one of the countless American seminaries and universities that would have delighted to include him among their faculty. Instead, he returned to Hitler’s Germany to join in the effort to resist fascism, knowing that he might never again see his family, friends, or fiancé.

Bonhoeffer was arrested in April of 1943 and executed two years later, shortly before the liberation of the prison camp where he was confined. While in prison, Bonhoeffer wrote a number of letters and papers that have been preserved, collected, and published. Together they make up one of the masterpieces of spiritual literature. In these documents, Bonhoeffer models a courage, faith, and uncompromising intellectual curiosity that must amaze and inspire us.

In a letter written to his friend Eberhard Bethge on July 16, 1944, Bonhoeffer says: “If you have to preach in the near future, I should suggest taking [one of the following] texts.” He then lists a number of passages for Bethge's consideration. The list is remarkable for at least three reasons.

First, he lists seven passages. The number eerily—and perhaps not coincidentally—corresponds to the number of passages traditionally known as "the last words of Christ."

Second, he lists six passages from the Hebrew Bible and only one from the New Testament. This is consistent with Bonhoeffer's deep interest in the Old Testament, particularly during his time of imprisonment.

And, finally, he offers Bethge almost no guidance whatsoever as to why these passages matter or what he should say about them when preaching. Because Bonhoeffer was not only a brilliant theologian but an inspired speaker and teacher, it seems fair to assume that he provides no instruction here for a simple reason: he thought it obvious.

These are the passages Bonhoeffer commends to his friend, in the order in which he lists them:

Psalm 62:1: “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.”

Psalm 119:94: “I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.”

Psalm 42:5: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”

Jeremiah 31:3: “[T]he Lord appeared to [Israel] from far away [and said] ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.’”

Isaiah 41:10: “[D]o not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Isaiah 43:1: “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Matthew 28:20: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We might gain some insight into Bonhoeffer's view of these passages if we put them in the context of a poem he had written shortly before he drafted this letter. The poem is called Who Am I? and it is stunning in its stark candor. In the poem, Bonhoeffer explored the doubts and conflicts that raged within him and asked:

“Who am I? This or the other?

Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?

Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,

And I before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?

Or is something within me still like a beaten army,

Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?”

But then he concludes:

         “Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.

         Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine.”

Probably as much as anyone who has ever lived, Bonhoeffer understood what it means to be plagued by the “lonely questions,” the uncertainties that hunt us down and seek to devour us, the unceasing and radical instabilities of the human condition. He found his answers in his confidence that God had called him by name, that he belonged to God, and that God would accompany him through his tribulations--the central themes of the seven passages he conveyed to his friend.

It seems to me that our answers to our own "lonely questions" lie where Bonhoeffer found his: in the recognition that God calls each of us, that each of us belongs to Him, and that He will never, ever leave us. On the days when anxieties bedevil us, we can find a saving grace in the knowledge that the most powerful and loving force in the universe summons us, embraces us, and stands with us--now and forever.

         To the end of the age.

         And to the end of the age. Amen.