The Preaching of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Lisa Corsino

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the most paradoxical, perhaps misunderstood, theological figures of the 20th century. It was said that ‘he was non-violent, but participated in a plot to kill Hitler. He was a cosmopolitan (he loved music, theatre, and literature of all kinds) and yet he was a monastic thinker who led students in solitude.’ Isabel Best, editor of ‘The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’, states that one cannot ‘understand Bonhoeffer the resistance figure or Bonhoeffer the theologian without understanding Bonhoeffer the preacher.’ In the following, Bonhoeffer’s background and historical context are introduced followed by an evaluation of the form and content of three of his sermons.

Germany was characterised by unemployment, poverty and social unrest when Hitler came to power. He began his ‘equalisation’ process and the church was recognised as an important tool in the attempt to control society. Therefore, very suddenly, former Jews were removed from church leadership and membership, an ‘Aryan’ Christ was introduced, uncompliant church leaders were replaced and the Old Testament in its entirety was abolished. Consequently, two Protestant churches developed in Germany – the Nazi-led ‘German Christian movement’ and the unofficial ‘Confessing Church’ which resisted the Nazi interference and emerged fully with the formulation of Karl Barth’s ‘Barmen Declaration’ in 1934, but was eventually forced underground.

In this context, Bonhoeffer completed his studies in the field of philosophy and theology and started a journey of personal commitment to God and ministry. His early years were characterised by teaching Sunday school classes, a church pastorate in Spain, some further studies in New York, a lecturing position at a Berlin university and the leadership of two German churches in London. Just when his ministerial career abroad started to be increasingly successful, Bonhoeffer returned to his home country to support the German church in the trying times of the 1930s. He quickly became one of the leading figures within the Confessing Church, took on the leadership of the Theological Seminary ‘Finkenwalde’ and engaged with diplomatic efforts to remove Hitler from power. When they failed, he became involved in a plot against the Fuhrer’s life – an offense he would eventually be executed for.

Bonhoeffer believed that preaching was the heart of Christian worship and with the takeover of the Nazis started to see his sermons as a way of prophetically calling the church to stand against the contemporary ideology. Though Bonhoeffer was the leading voice of those who opposed the views of the Nazi regime, for example in its antisemitic nature, it is important to note that his views are more specifically recorded in separate essays, books and personal letters while his sermons, though relevant to the situation of his hearers and influenced by his overall belief system, do not contain any direct political comments. Also, the influence of other theologians such as Barth, Kierkeraard and particularly Luther are perceptible in his sermons, for example regarding Luther’s view that all ethics and morality begin with God.

A Look at 3 of his sermons:

1.‘God is With Us’ – Barcelona, 1928
The first sermon discussed in this essay was delivered by Bonhoeffer while serving as a pastoral assistant in Barcelona. It was one of the first times he preached and therefore, rather than drawing from years of experience in personal ministry, he uses metaphors and examples familiar to him through his studies in the field of philosophy. These are centred around the ‘ancient world’ – which is also the world of the Old and New Testament.

The sermon is drawn from Matthew 28:20 and introduced with the affirmation that ‘Fairy tales and legends from the oldest of times tell of the days when God walked among human beings’. From the very beginning, the preacher’s choice of words is very poetic as, for example, he states that following the Fall and resulting separation from God, ‘humanity sank into the night’. This picturesque form of expression adds weight and clarity to what is being said and is bound to captivate an audience.

The congregation is then led to see how the crucifixion of Jesus is a manifestation of both the extent of the separation between man and God as well as the reconciliation brought about by Christ and how a deep search for God permeates the current generation - a longing which, as Bonhoeffer words it, can only be quenched as people ‘recognize the Lord God in the foreign wanderer’. The motif of the ‘foreign wanderer’ continues as the preacher expands on his three points: God’s presence is found in his word, God’s presence can be challenging and thirdly, God’s presence is in people. When expanding on those three sub-topics, Bonhoeffer makes an effort to involve everyone, for example by listing how the word of God comes to people of different age groups in different ways. This sermon is concluded with an application of how, to give themselves to God, people must give themselves to others, as ‘God’s claim is made on us in the wanderer on the street, the beggar at the door, the sick person at the door of the church, […] in every person with whom we are together daily’. Therefore, Bonhoeffer’s overall message is that the possibility of a walk with God still exists today as long as people recognise him in his word and in their own community.

2.‘Overcoming Fear’ – Berlin, 1933
Bonhoeffer delivered this sermon in the German capital a few days before Hitler came to power. It was a time of great tension and widespread fear as open street fights characterised life in Germany. Based on the story of Jesus calming a storm in Matthew 8:23-27, the topic of ‘overcoming fear' is introduced while the preacher lists its characteristics and using a personification recites its mocking words ‘Here we are all by ourselves, you and I, now I’m showing you my true face’. Perhaps most importantly, Bonhoeffer succeeds in his introduction to make a connection with his congregation, not only because the topic would have been so relevant to their present situation, but because he mentions all the different aspects of life that create fear, so that everyone listening could identify with at least one of them. The congregation is also addressed directly through the frequent use of rhetoric questions such as ‘Have you ever seen someone in the grip of fear?’ The introduction ends with the affirmation that Christ is Lord over fear through the words of a well-known hymn by Paul Gerhardt.

Throughout this sermon, Bonhoeffer draws from the Bible story as he uses the boat as an allegory for the nation of Germany and states that, ‘Fear is in the boat; […] all hope is lost, […] Fear is in the boat, in Germany, in our own lives, and in the nave of this church’. This point is then concluded with the thought that Christ is also in the boat and with a portrait of how people react differently when under the effect of fear in contrast to those who find peace in Christ.

In his second point, Bonhoeffer expands on the church being ‘the boat’ where Christ is and thus a ‘safe haven’ for those who are lost in the ‘storms’ of life. Here, he speaks to his congregation from the perspective of Jesus addressing his disciples with a call to have faith and overcome all obstacles, particularly the fear of sin and the belief that suffering is a sign of God’s abandonment.

In conclusion, the preacher summarises that the purpose of fear is to reveal that the structures people build their lives on create a false sense of security and that real safety can only be found in God as ‘This is faith: it does not rely on itself or favourable seas, favourable conditions […] but believes only and alone in God […].’


3.‘Loving our Enemies’ – Gross-Schlönwitz, 1938
This third sermon was delivered at a time when, along with the Confessing Church, Bonhoeffer’s theological seminary was forced to operate underground for which reason he took his students to a remote village to continue teaching. In this context, the talk consists of an exposition of Romans 12:16-21 and is delivered as a verse-by-verse analysis. Bonhoeffer’s development as a preacher is evident in this talk as, while in 1928 his sermon was more cautious, general and applicable to almost every context, this sermon portrays more confidence and is influenced by the theologian’s later conviction that even ‘secular life should and must be interpreted theologically’.19

The foundation of this sermon is laid with the words of hymn that had just been sung, ‘Mercy has befallen me’, and the statement that God loved people when they were still his enemies and hostile towards him.20

Bonhoeffer starts with an invitation not to claim to be wise or to understand mercy. This is explained with the story of Cain, who was born after Adam and Eve had eaten of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but had not acquired wisdom regarding mercy and even became a murderer.

Secondly, Bonhoeffer makes clear that God loves his enemies and wants his children to be among them as Jesus was. His thoughts on this, such as ‘Suffering injustice does not hurt any Christian, but the doing of injustice causes harm’ reflect Jesus’ teaching in the sermon on the mount which highly influenced Bonhoeffer’s theology and lifestyle as well as his books and visibly this very sermon. At the same time, in the context of the Nazi regime, this was a radical challenge and call to true, sacrificial discipleship which Bonhoeffer might not have expressed directly to a church congregation, but felt able to do with his smaller group of disciples.

Moving on, the preacher highlights that a Christian must let God take vengeance and never cause any trouble except in defence of God’s word or values. Again, this challenge is brought across very well by Bonhoeffer as he formulates his phrases using the ‘I’ perspective – ‘If I take revenge into my own hands […]’, whereby he makes the message personal, but puts the emphasis on himself and avoids sounding patronizing by telling others what they should do. This shows sensitivity towards what some of his students may already have gone through amidst the Nazi oppression. Yet, the call to uncompromising discipleship is repeated in the concluding application: Just as God gave everything to his enemies, so his followers must give their enemies what they have. As a result, according to Bonhoeffer, evil will be overcome with good as it ‘hits emptiness and finds nothing on which it can ignite.’

In his sermons, Bonhoeffer’s care for the spiritual life and health of the local church is evident and though he is mostly remembered for his radical discipleship and sacrifice in the resistance against Hitler, his motivation is revealed in his talks to be love for Christ and the German church. It is this love that drove him to minister, to act in brave yet unconventional ways and to leave a mark as an example of selfless devotion.