What We Can Do Now: Sacral Living
I love a good novel, especially a WWII novel. All The Light We Cannot See is one of my favorites. I knew from the title alone that it was a book worth picking up. This led to my friend, Jo, suggesting The Nightingale. Another favorite.
Whether saving masterpieces of art or hiding radios from the Nazis, the cultural history of WWII is so rich. Countless stories worth sharing, many still untold, provide so much inspiration.
Perhaps we are in the midst of watching in real time more inspiring stories of bravery and courage unfold. This past week we watched “the war shells of naked aggression” as my husband Tim put it in his Instagram post with the invasion of Ukraine. Tim urged us to “resolve to fight for humanity through the brazen act of living right now.”
His words inspired me and others and it brought to my mind a narrative I accidentally stumbled upon a few years ago. I found this story in Growing Together in Courage, and it recounts the beautiful life of Sophie Scholl.
Sophie grew up in Germany during the 1920s and 1930s when Hitler came to power. Her family faithfully attended church and diligently worked to provide her with a solid education. Times were changing in Germany, and not for the good.
Sophie watched her older brother, Hans, arrested for opposing the Third Reich when he realized what the German government was promoting. She even saw her teacher dragged out of school, beaten by the German police, and loaded on a train never to return again.
Growing up in such a tumultuous time, Sophie knew she had to do something but felt inadequate because she was so young. What can I do, she wondered?
She attended the University of Munich in 1942, and while there, she began making pamphlets highlighting the atrocities of the Final Solution Hitler was devising. She called her movement, the White Rose, as the white rose is a symbol of purity and truth.
Sophie, Hans, and several other friends secretly distributed these pamphlets. However, one day, while throwing her extra bundle over the balcony of her university, a janitor saw what she did and reported her to the Gestapo.
Sophie, Hans, and another member of the White Rose were all arrested and charged with treason before a judge. While standing before the judge, Sophie was questioned as to why she would do such a thing. Sophie’s reply can be summed up in four words,
“How can I not?”
“How can I stand here and do nothing when such evil is happening around me?”
Three days later she was beheaded.
The beautiful thing about this story is that it doesn’t end here. The next summer, one of the pamphlets Sophie created was smuggled out of Germany into England. The English printed millions of copies, and then British pilots flew over Germany dropping the pamphlets out of the sky. The pamphlets fell like white snow, littering the landscape of Germany with the truth of what Hitler was doing.
These pamphlets emboldened men and women to stand up against the Third Reich, fighting for what is pure, lovely, and right.
The truth that Sophie died for lived on.
Sophie Scholl embodies a life lived with purpose. She discovered her calling and lived it out to the fullest. Once she knew what she was called to do, she fought with all her being to fulfill her purpose.
How can I not? her life proclaimed.
There’s an inspiring verse in I Peter 4:10 that reminds us why we use the gifts God has given us:
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
Sophie Scholl used the gifts God gave her to serve others, to fight for those who were helpless, unwanted, and despised. And just as she questioned, “How can I not?” we should also ask ourselves the same question.
How can I not use the gifts He has so beautifully bestowed upon me?
These gifts we have been given are a gift of God’s grace. We are to steward those gifts. Not to make a name for ourselves but to build up the body of Christ. To fight for what is good, noble, true, and pure.
Tim continues in his IG post,
“There is an alternative: the mindful Christian. This approach digs in to the task at hand while keeping a wise eye on current events. It searches for ways to bring hope and the vision of God into the lives of friends and families. It searches out ways to ease the suffering of those most effected. It understands the fleeting nature of life—something the Psalmist reflects on often—and seizes the ‘now’ as glory moments, given to God through sacral living.”
This is why it is so important to know the gifts He has given us, the purpose He has called us to. Otherwise, we are chasing after lesser pursuits. This is stewarding: knowing what God has gifted you with and using those gifts for His glory. Sacral living.
Friends, He has gifted you uniquely with a calling. He wants you to use the gifts He has graciously bestowed upon you to serve others.
To fight for the helpless.
To speak truth amidst the lies.
To embody purity among the profane.
Become a steward of those gifts today. Look for the ways He is working to use you and don’t be afraid to stand up and say, “How Can I Not?”