I don’t know about you, but I am ready for a change – a change back to how things use to be.  I ‘m tired of waiting in lines, wearing masks and gloves, not seeing you (TCC), my family, other friends.  I am tired of not being permitted to visit our people in the hospital or in their homes.  I am tired of confining my travel to the grocery store (once a week), and going no further than the town next to mine.  I am tired of not being any closer to others than six feet (or is ten feet?).  I really can’t wait for all this to end and for things to get back to normal.  I expect you may feel the same way.  

But my attitude (and maybe yours) is not how Christ has called me to respond in the midst of challenging circumstances.  The following verses cause me to think and respond differently. 

Philippians 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

1 Timothy 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." 

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  A man reported – “I received a nice 3 page brochure from the IRS giving me an estimation of what I will have when I reach 67 or if I choose to work until 70. I was showing it to my wife and I began to think about the worries of not having enough even if I work until 70. The Lord checked me and said, “Are you going to live 30 years in the future and worry, or will you trust Me to take care of you right now?” (The enemy hates for a believer to live in the moment with Jesus Christ!) (Ill.) My wife called to check on a trip we had planned for this coming June, only to discover that the trip had been cancelled until next year.  When asked if she wanted the money returned or held for the trip next year, my wife responded, “We may not even be around next year.”  Please return the money.”  

But, we may be thinking, nothing like the present crisis has confronted Christians before.  How wrong we would be!  

“The Black Death, which from 1347 to 1350 swept put of China or India to Crimea and [then] into Europe and as far as Iceland, killed one-fourth of the population of Europe.  This traumatic experience left a deep emotional imprint on the religious life, outlook, art, literature, folk customs, and superstitions of medieval Europe.  Four great epidemics swept Germany in the fifteenth century and further ones occurred in the sixteenth.”  

“The bubonic plague, as we know it, is spread by infected rats and other vermin.  It is communicated to human beings by fleas, through infection in cuts and abrasions of the skin, even by breathing the air which has been polluted when the sick cough up germs, and by contact with the clothing and excrement of the ill.  The sickness, after a very short incubation period, manifests itself as a fever accompanied by rapid pulse and sometimes by spells of delirium, speech disorders, and loss of consciousness.  On the second day boils as large as hen’s eggs appear on the neck, legs, or in the armpits.  If the boils penetrate the lymph glands, they infect the bloodstream and lead to death within three or four days.  In cases where germs enter the bloodstream and multiply there, death can occur in a moment to an apparently healthy person.  At the height of an epidemic the mortality rate can range from 30 to 90 percent and even higher.” On August 2, 1527, this dreadful plague struck Wittenberg, Germany.  Luther remained behind to help the sick and frightened people.  Deaths were mounting up, including the wife of the mayor of the city.  The question had been raised by some clergy in other cities as to whether it was proper for a Christian to flee from such a deadly peril.   Some of the leaders of the Reformation wrote Luther and asked his advice on the matter.  After some delay, Luther finished the 14 page pamphlet and sent it off in November.  The pamphlet is titled: Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague.

–Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague,” Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II (ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann; vol. 43; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 43: 115-116.

 

This is the historical backdrop for a fascinating pamphlet written in 1527 by Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague.” In August 1527, the plague had struck Luther’s city of Wittenberg, and many of Luther’s fellow citizens ran for their lives. Luther’s prince, Elector John, ordered Luther to leave immediately to save his own life, but Luther chose to stay to minister to those stricken. Luther himself was surrounded by the disease and its suffering victims. The wife of mayor Tilo Dene virtually died in Luther’s arms. So Luther boldly stood in the gap along with many others to minister hope and the Word of God in a desperate situation.

Many Germans from other cities and towns mocked the Wittenbergers for fleeing. One German pastor named Johann Hess wrote Luther asking how a pastor should behave when facing such a plague. The pamphlet was Luther’s response, and its wisdom may prove helpful to many Christians even in our 21st-century crisis.

In this tract, Luther began by addressing those with the strong conviction that one should never flee because the plague is God’s judgment for our sins, and Christians should stand humbly and accept his will in repentance. While Luther considered such views praiseworthy, he acknowledged that not everyone is equally strong in the faith. Luther also asserted that it should be obvious that people with leadership roles (like pastors, mayors, judges, and physicians) should remain in the community until the crisis has passed. Especially pastors must be like the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). Just as strongly, Luther said it would be sinful for parents to abandon their children, or for any person to flee if a family member depends on them. The same applies to our neighbors, for loving our neighbor as ourselves includes being certain they are free from harm. Beyond this, however, seeking to save one’s life was natural and biblically allowable, as was using medicine. Luther was no fatalist.

Concerning one’s demeanor, Luther made it plain that fear of death was the Devil’s work, and that no Christian should yield to it. Christ’s resurrection should make all Christians fearless in the face of the grave. Yet Luther allowed that some are stronger in this faith than others, and may choose to go boldly into the fire of deadly danger, expecting great reward from the Lord for their service, while others are weaker and flee in the normal way. Luther said Christians who trust God and minister directly to the dying should not fear boils and infection, for in the end, caring for the sick is like caring for Christ. Jesus said, “I was sick, and you cared for me” (Matt. 25:36). John wrote that Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for others (1 John 3:16). On the other hand, Luther warned against the over-confident who underestimated the seriousness of the plague and were frivolous toward God.  Hear Luther’s’ own words: 

“Others sin on the right hand. They are much too rash and reckless, tempting God and disregarding everything which might counteract death and the plague. They disdain the use of medicines; they do not avoid places and persons infected by the plague, but lightheartedly make sport of it and wish to prove how independent they are. They say that it is God’s punishment; if He wants to protect them He can do so without medicines or our carefulness. This is not trusting God but tempting Him. God has created medicines and provided us with intelligence to guard and take good care of the body so that we can live in good health. If one makes no use of intelligence or medicine when he could do so without detriment to his neighbor, such a person injures his body and must beware lest he become a suicide in God’s eyes. By the same reasoning a person might forego eating and drinking, clothing and shelter, and boldly proclaim his faith that if God wanted to preserve him from starvation and cold, he could do so without food and clothing. Actually that would be suicide. It is even more shameful for a person to pay no heed to his own body and to fail to protect it against the plague the best he is able, and then to infect and poison others who might have remained alive if he had taken care of his body as he should have. He is thus responsible before God for his neighbor’s death and is a murderer many times over. Indeed, such people behave as though a house were burning in the city and nobody were trying to put the fire out. Instead they give leeway to the flames so that the whole city is consumed, saying that if God so willed, he could save the city without water to quench the fire. No, my dear friends, that is no good. Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate the house, yard, and street; shun persons and places wherever your neighbor does not need your presence or has recovered, and act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city. What else is the epidemic but a fire which instead of consuming wood and straw devours life and body? You ought to think this way: “Very well, by God’s decree the enemy has sent us poison and deadly offal. Therefore I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, He will surely find me and I have done what He has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely, as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God. Moreover, he who has contracted the disease and recovered should keep away from others and not admit them into his presence unless it be necessary. Though one should aid him in his time of need, as previously pointed out, he in turn should, after his recovery, so act toward others that no one becomes unnecessarily endangered on his account and so cause another’s death. ‘Whoever loves danger,’ says the wise man, ‘will perish by it.'”
–Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague,” Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II (ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann; vol. 43; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 43: 131–132.

 

Luther strongly urged those in the presence of the dying to pour into them the Word of God, teaching them both how to live and also how to die in faith. Anyone who is dying in unbelief should be urgently warned to repent while there’s still time, but they should call for a pastor while they can still understand his words.

Anyone who is aware of outstanding sins should do everything they can to make restitution and receive the Lord’s Supper if they are able. So also the dying should write a will as soon as possible.

Beyond that, Luther advocated practical steps to contain the spread of the disease. We who live after Louis Pasteur discovered his germ theory, and who benefit from the scientific development of medical research and modern hospitals, can hardly imagine how different conditions would have been in Wittenberg in Luther’s day.

Luther had to advocate for certain public buildings to be set aside as hospitals for the sick rather than allowing the sick to be in hundreds of private homes. He also urged Christians to fumigate their homes, yards, and streets to stop the spread of the plague. And Luther urged that the Wittenberg cemetery should be moved outside the city limits, with its walls decorated with biblical scenes to minister to the grieving.

 

Ultimately Luther left all personal decisions on whether to flee to each individual in light of the Word of God. Times like these are intense and serious, and everything we do should be in light of God’s Word and the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our journey with the coronavirus has just begun, and it may soon fizzle out into the dim memories of the medical history books. But it is also a God-ordained opportunity for many of us Christians to display the love of Christ in service to our neighbors, and to live out the fearlessness of death that Christ has won for his children.

–Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From a Deadly Plague,” Luther’s Works, Vol. 43: Devotional Writings II (ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann; vol. 43; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), Summary by Justin Taylor. www.thegospelcoalition.org.

 

Learning to live in the present, regardless of circumstances, is pleasing to God.  In essence, it says that we believe Him and trust Him.  Just a few weeks ago I encouraged you to reflect on these words of the Apostle Paul. 

 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)  And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) 

 

As we contemplate “Living In The Present By Trusting God And Serving Our Neighbor,” let us learn from these lessons from history and follow the wisdom of the ancients and especially the word of God.