“When Christ calls a person, he bids that one to come and die.” These words were written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a well-known Lutheran pastor and theologian, in a book influential to many, The Cost of Discipleship, first published in 1937. Bonhoeffer lived his Christian call to holiness without counting the cost. He did what God asked of him; he was obedient to the call of God and the teachings of Christ. He followed Christ without qualification, reservation or question. He did not look over his shoulder and wonder why, but rather lived what he wrote. His discipleship, which he lived to the fullest, cost him his life.

Bonhoeffer was born in the state of Prussia in 1906 and grew up in an academic environment near the University of Berlin where his father was a professor of neurology and psychiatry. Later in his own study of theology he became interested in the historical-critical methods of Adolph von Harnack and was a disciple of Swiss theologian Karl Barth who promoted the new “theology of revelation.” After completing his doctorate, Bonhoeffer in 1931 spent one year at New York’s Union Theological Seminary in a post-doctorate fellowship and exchange program. Returning to Germany, he resumed duties which he had earlier begun as a pastor and writer.

In 1933, however, things changed for Bonhoeffer, the German people, and ultimately the world with the rise of the Nazi regime and Adolph Hitler. Bonhoeffer was one of the first and most vocal opponents of Hitler and his Nazi ideology of anti-Semitism. He realized that fidelity and obedience to God were paramount and he was willing to do what was necessary, even to the point of suffering, in order to maintain his obedience and fidelity to God. He knew he must oppose what was wrong. Between 1935 and 1940 Bonhoeffer headed an underground seminary for Germany’s “Confessing Church,” (even though it was proscribed in 1937) which led the German Protestant resistance to Hitler. He was able to continue his work as pastor and theologian in the early war years under cover as a member of the military intelligence community. Bonhoeffer believed that the root evil for many of society’s problems was a lax attitude toward morality which he said was fostered by the ready distribution of “cheap grace” to members of the church. He was an ecumenist and promoted his belief in his speeches and writings. Overall, he realized his need to be faithful to principles and obedient to God and the path the Lord set for him to follow.

In April 1943 Bonhoeffer’s books, essays, and talks led to his arrest for insurrection. He was ordered imprisoned, but this only strengthened his beliefs. It was at this time that he wrote his most famous work, Prisoner of God: Letters and Papers from Prison. Implicated in a failed July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, Bonhoeffer was transferred to a concentration camp in Flossenberg, Bavaria where on April 9, 1945, only days before the allied liberation of the prison, he was executed at the direct order of Hitler. Dietrich Bonhoeffer died for the Christian beliefs which formed his life; he was a martyr who never counted the cost of his discipleship and obedience to Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s willingness to suffer as a disciple of Jesus and to be obedient to the mission and message that Christ brought to the world provides an excellent example of the challenge presented by the author of the letter to the Hebrews in our second lesson today. In some ways the latter years of Bonhoeffer’s life, when he stood in opposition to Hitler and his regime, were one long period of Lent, the time when he was continually tested to see how committed he was to Christ. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus’ suffering, which we know was grave and prolonged in many ways, helped him to learn obedience. Certainly since he is God, Jesus did not need to be taught or learn anything, but as a human, like you and me, he came to realize how instructive suffering was.

When we think of the suffering of Jesus, we almost automatically turn to the crucifixion. Clearly Jesus’ physical suffering at that time was severe, but he suffered in many other ways as well. He must have suffered greatly on numerous occasions when the message he sought to proclaim was rejected by his own Jewish people. As Saint John reminds us in the prologue of his gospel: “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him” (John 1:11). Jesus certainly suffered at the death of his friend Lazarus. Again, Saint John tells us that upon arrival at his friend’s home, “Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ ” (John 11:35-36). Although he predicted it, Jesus must certainly have suffered when his chosen leader, Peter, denied him three times when he needed him the most (Luke 22:54-62). Can we imagine how Jesus suffered when Judas betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver? (Matthew 26:15). Yes, Jesus suffered physically, a painful and lingering death, but his psychological pain and disappointment may have been even greater. The Lord’s ability to endure is why we hear in the reading from Hebrews that Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. His willingness to continue on the road that his Father set out for him, to write the final chapter of salvation history, became the great example for all who would seek to follow in his footsteps. We, the contemporary disciples of Jesus, must take up the mantle and realize that through the various manifestations of suffering in our life we too will find a greater ability to be obedient to the will of God — and to do our share to build Christ’s kingdom in our world.

Through Jesus’ obedience to the will of his Father, the world was saved, but we, in imitation of Christ, have been commissioned through baptism to walk the Christian vocation in our time, and not looking back, but rather always continually moving forward, with the realization that suffering and pain will be part of the journey. This is certainly not an easy proposition, today especially, as contemporary society suggests that suffering should be avoided at all costs and obedience to a set of values and ideas opposed to an increasingly secular society is not a value widely sought. We certainly do not need to seek suffering, for as we all know it will come our way sooner or later. However, many today are unwilling to journey through the episodes of pain and suffering, whether physical or of another variety, because they find no value in the lessons they might learn. However, a moment of reflection will tell us that most of the important and significant lessons of life have been learned as a result of some form of suffering, whether that be failure, physical pain endured or pain given to others by our own actions or words, or even suffering humiliation before others. When things are going well we take little time to reflect upon our activities, but when suffering in its various forms comes our way, it prompts us to think more deeply and at greater length about our life, what caused the pain and what can be done to alleviate it in the future. People in the past often talked about “the school of hard knocks,” the idea of learning through enduring some failure. The veracity of that statement is just as true today as it was when it was first coined.

The season of Lent should be a period when Christians take the time that is often not set aside throughout the year, to truly evaluate our spiritual lives in every aspect. Christ has called each one of us by name to be a contemporary disciple in whatever vocation has been mapped out for us. Certainly this season of grace prompts us to think more about our life of prayer, our commitment to our community of faith, our service to our brothers and sisters in physical need, and how we can do a better job to live and promote the mission and message of Jesus Christ in our world. Jesus has shown us the way in every aspect of his life. Indeed, the example that the Lord demonstrated when he walked this earth may be his greatest legacy. Today, our reading from the letter to the Hebrews, an early Christian tract that sought to strengthen the faith of its recipients and appeal to them for perseverance despite harassment from forces outside the community, challenges us during this Lent to not fear the difficulties and hurdles of life, but rather to see them as opportunities to learn important lessons while growing closer to Christ. Even though he was the Son of God, Jesus willingly entered our world, experiencing the human condition in every way, excluding sin. His obedience to God, by going forward and never hesitating to carry out his mission, despite opposition on many fronts, must be the example we follow in our lives.

The Christian life will not be easy for those who truly live it to the fullest extent. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was only one disciple of Christ, but he serves as an excellent example of someone who despite severe opposition and much suffering, both personally and psychologically, never wavered in his commitment to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Few, if any, of us will ever be called upon to give our lives as martyrs as did Bonhoeffer, but if we are not suffering to some extent, especially these days by standing up for what we believe against the tide of secularism and in many ways anti-Christian sentiment, then we may need to rethink what we do, for we are not living the Christian vocation to its fullest. Bonhoeffer wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Let us, as Jesus says in the gospel numerous times, die at least somewhat to self during this Lenten season, so that we may learn the essential lessons of life, aid others, and most importantly bring ourselves closer to the source of life today and eternal life tomorrow.