By the Rev. Robert Blezard
Revised Common Lectionary reflection for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year C
April 6, 2025
Key verse: For Christ’s sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. -Philippians 3:8b
April 9 marks the 80th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the brilliant dissident theologian and pastor whose words and actions led the Nazis to execute him. He was hanged at Flossenbürg Concentration Camp on April 9, 1945.
Because Lent calls us to reflect honestly on our steward-disciple path, to see clearly where we are astray and to make changes, the anniversary of Bonhoeffer’s death occasions consideration of his searing critique of Christianity, comparing “cheap grace” with “costly grace.”
“Cheap grace,” he argues in The Cost of Discipleship, “is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”[i]
“Costly grace,” by contrast, “is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it costs God the life of His Son: ‘ye were bought at a price,’ and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.”[ii]
Certainly, walking the path of a steward-disciple requires us to turn from the lures and values of the world and make sacrifices. Paul talks about this in the Epistle lesson in which he first lists his religious achievements in the faith, only to put them in true context: “I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (Philippians 3:8).
The Gospel’s radical transformation led Paul to sacrifice gladly all those prideful achievements in which he once boasted, as costly grace compels us to do.
Referring to familiar parables in Matthew 13:44-46 and the call of the fishermen disciples in Matthew 4:18-22, Bonhoeffer explains: “Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye, which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows Him.”[iii]
The reading from John’s Gospel offers another example of costly sacrifice to honor and love Jesus. At the home of Martha, Lazarus and Mary, Jesus receives a costly gift from Mary, whose fierce devotion to the Lord’s teaching is told in Luke 10:38-42.
“Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:3). The perfume, which could have been sold for a year’s worth of wages, was an outward and visible sacrifice that mirrored the inward and spiritual riches that Mary experienced in Christ.
Preaching “costly grace” presents a challenge because many Christians have long been nourished on “cheap grace” – assured of God’s extravagant love and forgiveness but not taught that full repentance involves a change of heart, mind and life. As author and speaker Father Richard Rohr observes, “We could be warlike, greedy, racist, selfish and vain throughout most of Christian history and still believe that Jesus is our personal savior.”[iv]
Here are some preaching points:
Briefly review Bonhoeffer’s witness and martyrdom. Explain his idea of “cheap grace” vs “costly grace.”
Challenge congregants to look at their own beliefs and faith journey. Which kind of grace are they following? Invite them to pray for guidance on how to transition to “costly grace.”
Explore Paul’s story and teachings. What kind of grace was he experiencing? What did he have to give up? How did it make him feel?
Talk about the benefits of transitioning from “cheap grace” to “costly grace,” as well as the difficulties in doing so? Why is “cheap grace” so alluring and addictive?
Explore Bonhoeffer’s sacrifice for the faith. How was his discipleship journey authentic and integrated with his life and teachings? How did he embody his teaching that “costly grace … it costs a man his life”?
In worship
Public-domain photos of Dietrich Bonhoeffer are available on the Internet, as are quotations from his many published works. Download, print and post photos and quotations of Bonhoeffer around the church and worship space. Invite congregants to study and meditate on them in light of your sermon.
YouTube has many freely available videos about Bonhoeffer’s life and witness. Invite people to look at them. Choosing one or two that are particularly meaningful, post the URLs on your church website or Facebook Page. Alternatively, show the videos in Christian education classes or during a special fellowship time.
Encourage congregants to obtain and read The Cost of Discipleship and/or other of Bonhoeffer’s books, including Life Together, Spiritual Care or Letters and Papers from Prison.
With children and youth
In a class or children’s time, ask participants to identify their top two or three most prized possessions. When all have had a chance to respond, ask if they would give it to Jesus as a present if he came to their house one day. Explore their responses.
Then tell the story of Mary from this week’s Gospel lesson. She gave Jesus a present of expensive ointment, worth a sum equal to thousands of dollars today. Explore what that act of generosity said about Mary’s faith and devotion to Jesus. Explore what we can give to Jesus today and what Jesus really wants from us. End with prayer.
[i] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, McMillan Paperbacks Edition, 1966, p. 47.
[ii] Bonhoeffer, p. 48.
[iii] Bonhoeffer, p. 47.
[iv] Richard Rohr, Yes, and … Daily Meditations, Franciscan Media, 2019, p. 40.
Previous reflections for Lent 5C:
2019 – What really matters
2016 – Costly: A life poured out
2013 – Lavish
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