Well, I am been thinking a lot about Endo’s Silence, and Bonhoeffer…I re-read his “Letters and Paper from Prison” and “The Cost of Descipleship”. Here are sort of my thoughts.
I am beginning to think that what we consider “silence” is not really silence. We pray asking God to grant our wishes: save the lost, heal the sick, make the gays straight (sorry that is a joke…I currently has a piss poor attitude towards MT’s homo-legislation laws), save ourself from persecution. Needless to say, we want results that we can see here and now.
What if this “silence” is really God’s activity in the world. For years blacks fought for their rights. Some died, some were beaten, but they could honestly say that although they were fighting for God’s people and God was not answering their prayer. For Bonhoeffer, his letters make it obvious that he wanted of that damn prision. And the fact that he died moments before he would have been saved makes God seem like an ass. Why the hell didn’t he save this man who was “wrongly” being persecuted for fighting against the enemies. For Rodrigues in silence he was set up after a long and prolonged struggle for the survival via running away from the xian persecution in Japan. Yet God did not hear their prayers. Or did he…
It seems rather simple to say that maybe God’s plan is not our own. Hell, we hear that all the time, and we are reminded that in this silence He is saying “not yet”. I think that maybe Endo and Bonhoeffer are suggesting that the work of God is beyond our expectations. That it takes persecution and suffering of others to bring us to him. To remind us of our responsibility to others. However, Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship says that we must endure suffering for Christ’s sake…because he did the same for us. It is our responsibility and perhaps even our purpose.
Also, they really made me think about what persecution is and if we should run towards it, let it come if it must, or flee. I am reminded of the second century martyrs and how important persecution was in expressing ones obedience to their faith. Bonhoeffer and Rodrigues were both trying to run from persecution. Bonhoeffer didn’t want to die and looked forward to the day he would be released. Rodrigues left town when things began getting shady, tried not . My question is are they running because they don’t want to face death or are they running so they can “finish” what they started out to do? By staying alive they will be able to continue their work and spread their message? Is spitting on the fumi acceptable as long as you do in order to stay alive and further your mission, or lie in order to get out of prison? If one betrays God in order to further his kingdom is that okay by God’s standards.
Why is God silent? Is suffering required of Christian in order to be followers of Christ? Bt Christians aren’t the only ones who suffer-so is it out of ministering? If anything why can’t his purpose for this silence be known..
