In the Lutheran (ELCA) list of commemorations, April 9 is the day of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian. On this date in 1945, he was executed by the Nazis for his role in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler two years prior.
Since I owe Bonhoeffer my long-time interest in baptism and the Christian life, today’s posting is a brief quote from his London baptismal homily on Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
“…From now on, your house shall have only one Lord, Jesus Christ, only one will, the will of God, only one spirit, the Holy Spirit…. There would be something wrong with this day if there would not be a real change in your homelife from now on. For Jesus has come to dwell with you and wherever Jesus comes he changes lives and houses….
Nobody can foretell the future, and it is no use doing it. But however dark it seems to be, there is only one man who is free from fear—the man who believes God is his help.”
– from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: London, 1933-1935, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Volume 13, p. 364.
Tags: Adolf Hitler, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, fear, Jesus
