The Story of Sophie Scholl - Pt. 1

Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans were young, eager students in 1942 Germany. They had both been members of the Hitler Youth and were enthusiastic supporters of the German renewal promised by Hitler and the Nazi Party. 

But when they were confronted by the inhuman and barbaric way the Nazis were acting, and the widespread effects of fascism on their society, they became disillusioned, and then outraged.  

They formed a small group of like-minded friends, which included two medical students, a student of philosophy, and a fifty-year-old professor. 

They were all Christians from various traditions--Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox--and they called the name of their group The White Rose. 

They began printing eloquent and persuasive anti-Nazi leaflets, which they ingeniously spread throughout Germany but were finally apprehended by the Gestapo, tried in a mock trial, and then were executed moments after their trial ended.  

In a letter that she wrote before her trial, Sophie confessed the following: 

I'm still so remote from God that I don't even sense his presence when I pray. Sometimes when I utter God's name, in fact, I feel like sinking into a void. It isn't a frightening or dizzying sensation, it's nothing at all — and that's far more terrible. 

If that's all that she wrote, it would seem a terrible thing indeed.  But who among us hasn't felt that feeling---the feeling that our prayers more often than not seem to go unanswered and unacknowledged?  Almost as if there isn't anyone there. 

Sophie continued writing, however:  

But prayer is the only remedy for it, and however many devils scurry around inside me, I shall cling to the rope God has thrown me in Jesus Christ, even if my numb hands can no longer feel it.

How powerful is that?  In her moments of deepest despair, Sophie was able to not only stay connected to her faith but to realize that despite what she might be experiencing, Christ was with her.  

The stories of Jesus aren't just stories---they are also signs and symbols that we can experience even now through the world around us, the people in our lives, the circumstances we find ourselves in.  Christ truly is in all, through all and is all, as the Apostle Paul once wrote.  

And it is the universal, eternal Christ, who John calls the Logos or the Blueprint for everything, that truly is present with us always, even during the very worst moments of our lives.  

So whatever you might be feeling today... if you are wondering if your prayers are heard... if you feel as though you are lost and alone... don't be afraid.  You aren't alone.  You aren't lost.  And you are not only heard, but you also are cherished and held in a love that knows no bounds. 

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.