“A heart made secure by grace” – An Advent Reflection

I recently watched an excellent film called The Book Thief. It was a story set in WWII Germany between the years of 1937 and 1945. The focus was on a young orphan named Liesel, played by a beautiful young young actress named Sophie Nelisse. The film demonstrated the devastation of war as well as the power of kindness, imagination and hope. It is a great movie for the season if you’ve not seen it.

During Advent I find myself turning toward the writings of Bonhoeffer. This is due no doubt to my own bent toward him. When I have some “extra” time I tend to read Bonhoeffer. But there seems to be something more with Advent. It is widely recognized that Advent was one of Bonhoeffer’s favorite times of the Christian year. What’s more, Advent seemed to have inspired his best prose – this is even in his letters from prison. It is surprising that one can find such deep inspiration from letters written and received from prison.

This morning I read three letters dating from December of 1943. One written by Bethge, one by Dietrich’s father Karl and one by Bonhoeffer himself. Having just watched the Book Thief, I was particularly moved by the passage in Karl’s letter where he described the bombings. Reporting to Bonhoeffer that a former employee of his clinic was killed in a bomb shelter. Noting that the man’s wife was spared because she was out of the shelter looking for their dog at the time of the bombing. Karl reports, “Overall it is pleasing and surprising to see how easily at least for the moment the loss of property is borne”.

In his letter to Bethge on the second Sunday of Advent, 1944, Bonhoeffer writes about the air-raids and the fear which they produced, on the one hand, but, on the other, the equally powerful effect of authentic joy in the face of all the destruction. To Bethge he said:

My wish for you is that you are successful during these Advent weeks in conveying some of the joy you always brought into the circle of brethren to your comrades [Bethge was in the military]. For it is only fear, so pervasively among the people here at every new air-raid alarm, that is contagious, but also the peace and joy with which we encounter what is laid upon us at any given time. In fact, I believe the strongest authority is created by such a stance–if it is not just put on for show but is authentic and un-sefl-consious. People are seeking a stable pole and orient themselves toward it. I don’t think either of us is a daredevil, but that also has nothing to do with the heart made secure by grace.

That last line is so moving: “a heart made secure by grace”. I have been reaching for a knowledge of God’s grace that goes below a “intellectual knowledge” to a “bodily knowledge” that gets down into my bones. It is when God’s grace reaches to this depth of me that I will truly be in the world a force more powerful than fear.