by Dale Reeves

Story Pastor

 

While many people in our neighborhood were busy last weekend putting up outside Christmas lights on their houses, others decided to head to the movies to check out the big screen offerings this holiday season. I was among the latter group. On Saturday I treated our oldest grandson Luke to his first big-screen movie experience as we enjoyed Dallas Jenkins’ The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. If you are looking for a fun and inspirational family-friendly flick to take the whole crew to this season, this is your movie. I loved it, may have shed a tear or two, and Luke commented, “It was the best day ever, Pop Pop, I got to eat junk food for two hours!!” You can check out the trailer here. Jesus was born for all of us, including the Herdmans!

 

While Luke and I were enjoying our film, my wife and our two daughters were singing along with every tune in Wicked. Directed by Jon Chu, it is the first of a two-part adaptation of the Broadway musical, and it defied gravity at the box office for its opening weekend, bringing in $114 million at the box office domestically and $164 million globally. Set in the Land of Oz, largely before Dorothy Gale’s arrival from Kansas, it follows the story of Elphaba beginning her path to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West, and her unlikely friendship with her classmate Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good. If you like imagining the backstory to classic good vs. evil narratives, you might want to check this out this season.

 

A True Story of Good vs. Evil

But the most sobering and reflective movie this season for a Christ follower has to be Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. Last Thursday evening, I attended this movie with several friends from Christ’s Church. It is not your feel-good, popcorn-eating, thigh-slapping film that allows you to escape the reality of life for several hours. But it is one that I believe every disciple of Christ should experience. The incredible story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor and theologian, comes to life on the big screen, detailing his extraordinary conviction, courage, and sacrifice in the face of horrendous evil. Born in 1906, his involvement in a plot to overthrow Adolf Hitler, led to his imprisonment and his execution at the hands on the Nazis on April 9, 1945, just a month before Germany surrendered its military forces to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe. Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison, published posthumously in 1951, is perhaps the most profound document of Bonhoeffer’s convictions.

 

At one time Bonhoeffer served as a member of the Abwehr, the military-intelligence organization under Hitler. He was actually a double agent. While ostensibly working for the Abwehr, Bonhoeffer helped to smuggle some Jews into Switzerland—and do other underground tasks. He regretted that he could not save more of the six million Jewish people who were systematically murdered under Hitler’s Third Reich.

 

Martyred for his convictions at the young age of 39, today Dietrich Bonhoeffer still stands as a beacon of integrity, perseverance, tenacity, and love for Christ—no matter the personal cost! As one movie viewer commented,

“With antisemitism at an all-time high in the United States, our world needs more heroes like Bonhoeffer. May this theologian of ‘religionless Christianity’ always be remembered for his bravery, courage, and commitment to humanity.”

 

Another moviegoer shared,

“I saw a man who cared about the oppressed. He wanted to follow Jesus’ way of love and mercy and forgiveness. He modeled it. But he knew in this most horrific situation, he had to lay his life on the line and stand up courageously to power.”

 

A Message for the Church Today

A member of Christ’s Church, Jim Spicer, remarked,

“I believe this is a movie every Christ follower owes it to himself to see, whether he or she has heard of Bonhoeffer or not. His book, The Cost of Discipleship, is a classic, one on which I cut my spiritual teeth many years ago. Even though the events happened nearly a century ago, the lessons we can learn from his life are super relevant to our place in time. No one thought what happened in Germany could ever happen. But it did. Bonhoeffer stood against the grain. We who follow in Jesus’ steps today need to stay vigilant and alert to our surroundings and stand up against evil as did Bonhoeffer. We need to understand the times!”

 

Cindy Spicer shared these thoughts after viewing the film:

“God raised up Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church ‘for such a time as this.’ A challenging message for the church today. Very informative for how an ‘invasion from within’ can affect a country, the church, and individuals in such a devastating, soul-searching manner. Lauren Daigle’s song, ‘Then I Will’ plays during the closing credits, and its message is piercing!”

 

Another member and former elder of Christ’s Church, Courtenay Bythewood, reflected,

“Free speech and respect for open dialogue is the most powerful force for freedom. The Church of Jesus Christ must proclaim, stand for, and defend truth!”

 

You can check out the movie trailer here. And to study more about the courageous life and death of Bonhoeffer, I would recommend reading Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, by Eric Metaxas

 

Bonhoeffer himself said,

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

 

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.”

 

God chose a humble man of faith to confront the greatest evil of the 20th century. What evils is God calling you to stand against in our generation? May we be willing to be filled with courage through the Holy Spirit as we fight for souls on the battlefields to which we have been called today. And, may we be like the tribe of Issachar, about which is written, that they were . . .

 

“men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32, NIV).