There was little he could do except pray and wield a powerful pen. There was a helplessness in his situation that he recognized as a parallel to Advent, Christians' time of waiting for redemption in Christ. 'Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent,' Bonhoeffer wrote his best friend Eberhard Bethge, as the holidays approached in 1943. 'One waits, hopes, and does this, that, or the other - things that are really of no consequence - the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.'

But the prison door never opened for Bonhoeffer, not in life at least. As the Third Reich crumbled in April 1945, Hitler ordered the execution of some political prisoners who had conspired to overthrow him. Since papers had recently been discovered that confirmed Bonhoeffer's involvement in this anti-Nazi plot, the theologian was among those scheduled to be executed in one of Hitler's final executive decrees. Bonhoeffer was hanged on April 8, 1945, just ten days before German forces began to surrender and less than three weeks before Hitler's own death by suicide. Bonhoeffer was just thirty-nine years old." (Jana Riess, editor: God Is In The Manger, ix,x)

Was Bonhoeffer's waiting in vain? He wrote this letter to his fiancée on December 13, 1943.

"Be brave for my sake, dearest Maria, even if this letter is your only token of my love this Christmas-tide. We shall both experience a few dark hours - why should we disguise that from each other? We shall ponder the incomprehensibility of our lot and be assailed by the question of why, over and above the darkness already enshrouding humanity, we should be subjected to the bitter anguish of a separation whose purpose we fail to understand... And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all. God is in the manger; wealth in poverty, light in darkness, succor in abandonment. No evil can befall us; whatever man can do to us, they cannot but serve God who is secretly revealed as love and rules the world and our lives." (p.5)

In prison he prayed: "O Holy Spirit, give me faith that will protect me from despair, from passions and from vice, give me such love for God as will blot out all hatred and bitterness, give me the hope that will deliver me from fear and faint heartedness. O merciful God, forgive me all the sins I have committed against you, and against my fellow men. I trust in your grace and commit my life wholly into your hands. So do with me as seems best to you and as is best for me. Whether I live or die, I am with you, and you are with me, my God. Lord, I wait for your salvation."

"Lord, I wait for your salvation." This is something all of us have to do, whatever our circumstances, however dire or desirable they may be. "Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:11,12)

Christians are characterized by St. Paul as "eagerly waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed." (1 Cor. 1:7) "We wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies....We wait for it patiently." (Romans 8:23,25) We live in between the times of Christ's first and second coming. "I will come back and take you to be with me." (John 14:3)

Waiting is built into the natural order. Waiting for seeds sown to grow and bear fruit. Waiting nine months for the baby to be born. Waiting for children to grow up and take responsibility for their own lives. Waiting for promotion and new opportunities. Waiting for investments to mature. Waiting for healing after surgery. Waiting for the recuperative powers of our bodies to work their magic. Waiting in old age for transitions to retirement communities, assisted living and nursing care. Waiting can be full of anticipation or dread according to our hopes. Are we waiting for oblivion or for the fulfillment of God's promises? If we believe, like Bonhoeffer, that God is in charge of history and our lives we will wait with hope. That was the case when Christ came the first time.

There was a righteous and devout man in Jerusalem called Simeon. "He was waiting for the consolation of Israel [the comfort the Messiah would bring to his people at his coming]. The Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ." (Luke 2:25,26) When Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus to the temple he took him in his arms and praised God.

Jesus has been brought to us by the Gospel. He wants to wake us up with truth to brace us, consolation to comfort us, strength to encourage us, hope to sustain us, and discernment to guide us, during our time of waiting for his coming for us, waiting for the last Advent, for the new heaven and the new earth. Jesus comes to you. Do you recognize Jesus? Do you welcome him and take him into your arms and into your hearts? If so, you will praise God and say with Simeon: "Lord, let now your servant depart in peace as you have promised; for my eyes have seen your great salvation."

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