Hello! This is Yuko Ozeki, JCFN North America Staff.
I just watched Bonhoeffer! It was even better than I expected!
What is God’s will? What does it mean to follow the Lord? What is the fight of faith?
I was challenged in so many ways, and I haven’t fully processed it all yet.
Many of you may already know, but Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian active during World War II. He participated in a plot to assassinate Hitler, was arrested, and was executed as a martyr two weeks before the end of the war.
His writings, including his book Life Together, continue to have a profound impact on us Christians even today.
However, I’d like to share one thought from the perspective of returnee ministry.
God has given returnees a special ministry.
Bonhoeffer, during his time studying in America, was invited into a living relationship with the Lord—not just Christianity as a national religion or cultural identity. He encountered American culture, like jazz and gospel music, faced the issue of racial discrimination, and was deeply influenced by both the good and bad aspects of America.
When he returned to Germany, he realized how the nation’s politics had distorted and were taking over the church.
Perhaps if he had stayed in Germany, he wouldn’t have been able to see through those societal lies. By stepping out of the country and then returning, he could immediately recognize, “Something is wrong here!”
Through him, even one of his former friends, who had been swallowed up by those lies, was changed and led to discover the truth.
Of course, I don’t think he had 100% clear answers about what was right or wrong. That might be why he returned to America for a time. But in the end, he went back to Germany, his battlefield, fully resolved to lay down his life.
He was martyred at the age of 39….
This is also the worship song that Bonhoeffer wrote.
The scene where Bonhoeffer, who had become fascinated with jazz while in America, returned to Germany and performed jazz in front of his family, only to leave them completely bewildered, was hilarious—it felt like a classic “returnee” moment. But at heart, he was quite classical.
If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend it!
Yuko Ozeki, North America staff
