Written by The Revd Dr John McCabe

‘Many of us are in the way of using daily Bible notes of one form or another. It’s apparently the case that the world’s most enduring set of notes are the Moravian Daily Texts (Losungen) produced by the Herrnhuter brethren continuously and without interruption since 1731.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer used these Losungen on a daily basis. As the exigencies of war pressed in on his need to form and shape the many ordinands entrusted to him, he even made a fall-back plan. In a context of a desperate national shortage of paper – in addition to a spiralling set of restrictions placed on him personally – Bonhoeffer and all those connected with the Finkenwalde seminary (always illegal and closed by the Gestapo in 1937) would default to the somehow still available Losungen.

The story of the “somehow” is a remarkable one. It turns out that the printing of the texts was made possible thanks to an intervention by Sven Hedin, the internationally renowned Swedish explorer, author and scientist. He radiated an effusive enthusiasm for Hitler and Nazi Germany. In response, the delighted authorities hastened to bestow upon him every conceivable honour that Germany could muster. But it was not all “one-way traffic”.

A person of faith, Hedin used his access to Hitler to intercede with a modest series of protests and requests around people and themes which (notwithstanding his adulation) he found troublesome. Learning that the publication of the Moravian Daily Texts was imperilled, Hedin despatched missives to Himmler and Goebbels. Both responded with Führer-pleasing alacrity – the result being that the paper for the Losungen was thereafter flown into Germany in special consignments “on the highest authority” for the duration of the war. What seems to have escaped the regime’s attention is the fact that the Losungen include a daily passage from the Old Testament, a set of Hebrew texts towards which the Nazi government had only sentiments of contempt and loathing. No doubt party Secretary Martin Bormann could only look on and bite his lip in silent fury.

In their enforced diaspora, Bonhoeffer’s students had a silent awareness that others were sharing the same passages. Following the Losungen must have felt like a daily miracle.

In two Spring 2025 tours, John McCabe is offering the opportunity further to engage with the pattern of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s final days – including daily reflections from the 1945 Losungen. They are still in print.’

Text for Saturday, 7th September 2024

“The LORD said to Solomon, “Ask what you want me to give you.” Solomon said, “You will give your servant an obedient heart, that he may judge your people, and understand what is good and evil.” (1 Kings 3:5, 9)

“The devil took Jesus with him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said to him, “I will give you all these things if you fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan!” (Matthew 4:8-10)

Read more details about the 2025 tours with John McCabe here