The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Forgiveness

177 Forgiveness Finkenwalde, next-to-Last sunday of the Church Year, november 17, 1935 z Finkenwalde, the country estate where Bonhoeffer trained pastors for the Confessing Church from 1935 to 1937, had previously housed a school. In what had been the gym, the seminarians created a simple chapel, large enough to invite their neighbors to join them for Sunday morning worship. Usually, the preacher on Sunday mornings was a seminarian , gaining experience, while Bonhoeffer himself preached for vespers on Saturday evenings and at Communion services. However, when he had an urgent theme to emphasize, Bonhoeffer occasionally took the pulpit on a Sunday. That was the case for this sermon. For Bonhoeffer, forgiveness was absolutely central to the community life of Christians. We can see this in his book Life Together, which describes life in the Finkenwalde community. The last paragraph of the sermon refers to the practice he promoted of turning to a peer, a fellow seminarian, to hear one’s confession of sin and assure liberating forgiveness in God’s name. 178 • tHe CoLLeCted serMons oF dietriCH BonHoeFFer z Matthew 18:21–35: Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him. ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” z Right here at the beginning of this sermon, let us quietly and honestly ask whether we know anyone from our own circle of friends and family whom we have not forgiven for some wrong that person might have done us; a person from whom we once separated ourselves in anger—perhaps not even in open anger, but in quiet bitterness, thinking: I cannot stand it any longer, I can no longer associate with this person. Or are we really so inattentive that we say we do not know anyone like this? Are we so indifferent to other people that we do not even know ForGiVeness • 179 whether we are living in peace or at odds with them? Whether one after another may not someday stand up and accuse us, saying: “You separated yourself from me in discord—you could not tolerate me—you broke off fellowship with me—you found me unsympathetic and turned away from me—I once did you wrong, and you left me alone—I once wounded your honor, and you broke with me—and I could not find you again—I often looked for you, but you avoided me—and we never spoke frankly with each other again, but I wanted nothing more from you than your forgiveness , and yet you were never able to forgive me. Here I am now, and I am accusing you—do you still even...