A Hero or a Fool?
Born in Austria at the beginning of the 20th century, Franz Jägerstätter grew up with a reputation for being a bold, adventurous soul. He was the first man in his village to own a motorcycle. Given his competitive streak, he was no stranger to the odd fistfight. At the age of 26, he fathered an illegitimate child. At 29, he settled down and married, and he had three daughters. When the Nazis annexed Austria in 1938, he was identified as a natural leader and offered the position of town mayor, which he declined. Franz was no saint. But many of the townspeople respected him and even looked up to him. He was a man’s man, and his occasional missteps were just considered the collateral of a vivacious personality.
Apparently around the time of his marriage, Franz became curious about his faith. He had grown up in the church, but never taken it seriously. But his wife did. So he started asking questions about what it meant to follow Christ. And these questions ultimately set him on a collision course with the world, which would end in a fiery baptism. In 1943, with three daughters under the age of six, he was called to active duty in the Austrian military, which of course was under Nazi command. He refused to enlist on the grounds of his faith. He refused to take up the sword in a war machine that preyed on its neighbors and turned out death and poverty. For this, he was arrested and finally executed by beheading.
Was Franz a hero or a fool for living out his faith to the death? Opinion in his hometown and even within his family was sharply divided. Most people actually saw Franz as foolishly stubborn. In their eyes, this was a good, respectable family man who had gotten religion and gone too far. Was it worth risking his life for the sake of his faith? Would he deprive his family of a husband and a father? And what about his duty to his country? It was considered an obligation and an honor to serve one’s country when it called upon you. Even his priest and his bishop disapproved of his objection to military service. Citing Romans 13, they counseled him to submit to the governing authorities. When his body was returned to his hometown after his execution, many disapproved of the idea that he should receive a solemn funeral. Their sons, husbands, and brothers had fought courageously in the war. They were the heroes, not Franz, the man who had refused his duty. When his name was carved with other war casualties at a village memorial, it was defaced.[1]
In the eyes of the world, Franz was a fool. But in the eyes of God? Paul says that the wisdom of God is foolishness to the nations (1 Cor 1:23). Perhaps the foolishness of Franz was the wisdom of God. For his witness said “no” to the sin around him: “no” to the death camps where the Nazis sent all the undesirables; “no” to nationalism and the Nazi’s white supremacy; “no” to the sword of the aggressor that was ravaging the continent.
Change and Pain
Today’s gospel text is jarring for many of us. Jesus speaks in terms that seem antithetical to the gospel he had been proclaiming. Earlier in the story, he had rebuked James and John when they suggested calling down fire from heaven against unreceptive towns (9:54). But now he speaks about bringing fire to the earth (12:49). Earlier in the story, Zechariah had prophesied that Jesus would guide people “in to the way of peace” (1:79). Jesus himself instructs his followers to proclaim peace as they deliver the good news (10:5). But in today’s text, he insists he has come not to bring peace but rather division! (12:51). What’s going on? Is Jesus changing his message?
A closer look suggests that he is not changing his message, but rather that his message is all about change. Real peace—the peace that he brings—is like a fire and like a sword, because it says “no” to the judgment and violence that has become automatic in our lives. It burns and cuts at the sinful attitudes and practices that have become second nature. Blessing an enemy instead of retaliating? That is a real change. Giving to all who ask and not expecting anything in return? That is a real change. Not judging others or competing with them, but instead paying attention to our own spiritual condition? That is a real change (cf. Luke 6:27-38). Earlier in the gospel, John the Baptizer had proclaimed that Jesus would baptize people with “the Holy Spirit and fire” (3:16). Later in the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews refers to God’s word as “sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12). When Christ dwells within us, there are sure to be painful moments when it feels like a fire or a sword within. The good news, of course, is that this pain is purposeful. In the words of our Hebrews scripture today, God is transforming life into “something better.” Jesus says that he cannot wait until the fire is kindled and his baptism is complete, not because he loves pain, but because God’s changes are for the better. God’s changes are what bring about the kingdom of God.
A Gospel That Burns
and Cuts
It is hard for us to see it, but, according to Jesus, the life of Franz Jägerstätter was not in vain. True, he did not stop the Nazis. What he refused to do for them, someone else surely did. But he bore witness to a different way of life, and this witness was so strong that people couldn’t stop talking about it, even when they disagreed with it. That’s why his story is still told today. His story is kindling in God’s fire, a thrust of God’s sword, probing us as a society, asking us what really matters. National security? A political party’s triumph? The financial interests of the privileged? The preservation of our neighborhood’s demographic? Or…the wellbeing of the poor? The embrace of the marginalized? The welcome of strangers?
I heard the story once of a teenager who started going to church. At first, his parents were thrilled. They figured church could only benefit their son. But as it happens, the youth minister at this church was leading a study on the sermon on the mount, where Jesus boldly declares the values of the kingdom of God, such as simplicity, trust in God, and generosity. When the teenager graduated high school, he decided that he would move to an impoverished part of town to live there with a faith community that was working for better conditions in the neighborhood. His parents were surprised and deeply upset. Would he not go to college? Would he not get a job that paid him well? Would he really choose to live in this dangerous part of town? When they learned that their son had been inspired by his youth group’s study of Jesus’ teaching, their anger acquired a target. They took offense at the youth minister and clamored for his resignation. They had thought the youth group would provide their son with good friends and helpful advice for navigating life’s anxieties. They had not expected it to lead him into what they saw as harm’s way.
The prophetic Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero once said, “A church that doesn’t provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed—what gospel is that?” Well, today’s scripture confronts me with a gospel that burns and cuts. But it’s not a message of fire and brimstone, of punishment and condemnation. Rather, it is good news. Jesus really does take away the sin of our world. Only…it might feel like a fire or a sword, because the sinful attitudes and habits of our world are deeply ingrained and not easily removed. They do not fall away magically, but only as we follow Christ through flame and sword, and bear witness to a different, better way.
Prayer
Whose good news entails change:
Burn and cut within our soul
Where we still cling
To the violent, judgmental ways of our world
Instead of welcoming your kingdom
…
May we bear witness,
Like Christ, like Franz,
To your dream
Of abundant life for all. In Christ, crucified and risen: Amen.
[1]
Willard F. Jabusch, “Franz Jägerstätter: The Austrian Farmer Who Said No to
Hitler,” https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2007/08/27/franz-jagerstatter-austrian-farmer-who-said-no-hitler,
accessed August 9, 2022.
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