Today is the 75th anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s death at the hand of the Nazis in the Flossenbürg concentration camp. As he was concluding a worship service for inmates, the guards took him, stripped him, burned the manuscript of the book he was writing, and hung him. He had been found guilty of treason, implicated in the plot to assassinate Hitler. He had also, however, been a vocal critic of the Nazis and the state church, publicly using his preaching and teaching to criticize the Führer movement. His execution was likely personal, in some way, to some of the more powerful German citizens.

Since his death, his legacy has been disputed and appropriated by both the Left and the Right. It’s certainly easy to understand why, given the nobility of his death. He is the unique historical character into whom we each love to read our "better angels,"canonizing him. It makes sense, of course. Each of us wants to believe, that in the moment, we would stand up to power, to put our own life on the line for the sake of truth.

It’s important to remember, however, that Bonhoeffer wasn’t perfect. While he did many courageous and admirable things, he had his demons. He was, by many accounts, somewhat of a diva. His first biographer notes that he was very particular about clothes and food. He didn't enjoy working more than a couple of hours a day. He certainly didn't enjoy sweating. His personal relationships were, at best, complicated. He annoyed many with his obstinate approach. Some have described him as a spoiled rich kid.

But God used him anyway. This fact, alone, ought to encourage many of us who struggle with our own demons. It certainly encourages me.

And yet, he had a vision of the church that lived honestly with Jesus as the true Lord. He saw this in Harlem, among the Black Church. He saw a people who had every reason to turn their backs on Jesus, and yet they chose not to. The Black Church allegiance to Jesus inspired him. He saw their joyful singing, their almost-stubborn insistence on Jesus, and he was encouraged. Their oppressors also called themselves Christian, but, almost miraculously, the Black Church had discovered the true gospel and lived it in plain sight in Harlem. In the pews of Abyssinian Baptist Church, Bonhoeffer heard the gospel preaching of Adam Clayton, Sr. In the streets of Harlem he saw the gospel living of the black community. Both of those factors, it seems, converted him to becoming a Christian. (This point is debated in Bonhoeffer scholarship. I find such a conversion reasonable. Others think he meant that he simply started embodying what he already believed intellectually. Bottom line: Harlem radically changed him.)

Yes, there were other influences. He also deeply appreciated the Bruderhof community (founded by Eberhard Arnold) and their radical adherence to the Sermon on the Mount. He loved the Daily Texts (Losungen) of Moravians. The Harlem church, the Moravians, and the Bruderhof all made him more “baptist,” pushing him away from state church allegiance and towards a more free expression of faith. Be it the Black Church, the Bruderhof, or the Moravians, Bonhoeffer’s central concern was the exaltation of Jesus to the place of true Lord in every interpretive action of the church. Jesus--and his church--was the be the lens by which reality was interpreted.

This is why the Nazi government applied pressure to him, going so far as to shut off one of his Berlin radio addresses mid-broadcast. This is why his seminary community in Finkenwalde had to be underground. The State Church of Germany had bought into an ideology that put politics and power higher than Jesus and His Kingdom. If you look, you’ll find pictures of the German bishop, Ludwig Mueller, giving a Heil. You’ll also find Nazi propaganda posters in which the cross of Christ is morphed into a swastika. Even worse, you’ll find church altars draped with the Nazi flag, with the Bread and the Cup placed atop.

Bonhoeffer dreamt of a church that wanted Jesus and the Kingdom at the center of proclamation and action, not political power or action. This meant that the New Testament (namely the Sermon on the Mount) and the radical love of enemies had to be first and foremost. The church needed to be different from the state, Bonhoeffer reasoned. The Kingdom needed to place itself in sharp relief to the Nazis. Meanwhile, many German church leaders believed that influence would come by cozying up to the Nazis, making friends with those in power. That, they reasoned, would protect the church.

Bonhoeffer knew that true influence came not by being friends with power, but by serving (timely, considering that today is Maundy Thursday).

While Bonhoeffer was in prison awaiting execution, he wrote a letter on the occasion of the baptism of his nephew stating that the church would have to regain legitimacy after aligning itself with politicians instead of the Kingdom. He argued that the post-war church would need to sell its property and rely on freewill offerings rather than be aligned with the state. In a sentence that has stuck with me know for over twenty years, he wrote that the church would now have to rely on "prayer and righteous action before men." Pray and serve. That's how you show Jesus and His Kingdom. Not by walking the corridors of power.

At his seminary, Bonhoeffer somewhat famously asked his students to spend each morning in silence, meditating on Scripture, often the Daily Texts of the Moravians. He thought the first word of the day and the last word of the day belonged to God.

Many his students complained about the practice. They found it too esoteric, too challenging. And while most of them eventually came to love the practice, there was something of a quiet mutiny in the initial implementation of this daily meditation. Supposedly, one day, one of the students asked Bonhoeffer why they needed to spend so much time reading the Scripture, praying, and meditating. He believed they needed more “practical” training.

Legend has it that they went to the beach and got in a boat. They went down the shoreline for a long distance. The student was perplexed but kept quiet, rocking back and forth in the waves, awaiting their destination. Finally, Bonhoeffer brought the boat ashore, near a hilly area. They walked some distance up one of the hills. And there, from that high perch, they could see a Nazi military base. Down below, Nazi soldiers were training.

Bonhoeffer and the students watched the soldiers training, marching, and drilling for some time. They watched the planes take off and land. They saw the preparations of the machines of violence and war firsthand.

They were silent for a while, taking in the sight.

Finally, Bonhoeffer said, "That's why."

Today, there are many who believe the church’s greatest influence comes in the corridors of power, lunching with lobbyists and praying over politicians. Jesus, however, said that the greatest influence comes through the washing of feet, through prayer, through "righteous acts before men."

Here's to a Jesus-centered Christianity. Here's to the Kingdom.

It’s our only hope.