On August 2nd, 1527, the bubonic plague (Black Death) returned to the German city of Wittenberg. Many of the town's residents fled (the students and faculty of the University were advised to flee the city), but Martin Luther stayed put. 1527 was 10 years after the posting of Luther's famous 95 thesis, 6 years after Luther was excommunicated in 1521, the same year that he defended his beliefs before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms.
The risk of staying to Luther and his family was not insubstantial. While his wife Katie survived a bout of the Plague while pregnant with the family's second child, the girl Elisabeth died in infancy before her eighth month (perhaps weakened by the Plague, perhaps not).
An English translation of the text of Luther's letter in its entirety may be read here: Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague - by Martin Luther. Relevant excerpts will appear below in italics with my commentary in bold. Three factors to consider when weighing Luther's words: (1) The way in which the plague spread was little understood, except that contact with those infected was dangerous. (2) There was little in the way of efficacious treatments with death rates as high as 30%, and (3) there was no system of hospitals to care for the sick, if family or friends could not help, the sick would die alone.
Grace and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Your letter, sent to me at Wittenberg, was received some time ago. You wish to know whether it is proper for a Christian to run away from a deadly plague. I should have answered long ago, but God has for some time disciplined and scourged me so severely that I have been unable to do much reading or writing. Furthermore, it occurred to me that God, the merciful Father, has endowed you so richly with wisdom and truth in Christ that you yourself should be well qualified to decide this matter or even weightier problems in his Spirit and grace without our assistance.
Luther wrote to Rev. Dr. Johann Hess, a fellow Lutheran pastor at Breslau. Before giving his own opinion on the matter, Luther expresses confidence that the wisdom of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit, should have made the answer to Hess' question apparent without Luther's insights. In our current situation, facing COVID-19, one would hope that Christians could arrive at God honoring positions through applying the wisdom that they already should posses as followers of Jesus Christ. Given the wide-range of responses, however, as well as the animosity that these various positions have brought with them toward those who hold differing views, it seems that we too need Luther's wisdom to help us see things more clearly.
Those who are engaged in a spiritual ministry such as preachers and pastors must likewise remain steadfast before the peril of death. We have a plain command from Christ, “A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep but the hireling sees the wolf coming and flees” [John 10:11]. For when people are dying, they most need a spiritual ministry which strengthens and comforts their consciences by word and sacrament and in faith overcomes death. However, where enough preachers are available in one locality and they agree to encourage the other clergy to leave in order not to expose themselves needlessly to danger, I do not consider such conduct sinful because spiritual services are provided for and because they would have been ready and willing to stay if it had been necessary. We read that St. Athanasius fled from his church that his life might be spared because many others were there to administer his office. Similarly, the brethren in Damascus lowered Paul in a basket over the wall to make it possible for him to escape, Acts 9 [:25]. And also in Acts 19 [:30] Paul allowed himself to be kept from risking danger in the marketplace because it was not essential for him to do so.
In Luther's view, the clergy were obligated to ensure that ministry continued among the people, even during times of plague. He did however, note an important caveat, only such as were needed should expose themselves to danger. This theme will be developed by Luther throughout the letter: to expose oneself unnecessarily to danger is to tempt God, and is thus immoral. This has relevance for the ongoing debate about 'reopening' churches. {update 8/21: The same principle applies regarding mask wearing and vaccinations, as those issue continue to be contested} We are blessed in this generation with the ability to worship remotely. In this way, we can both fulfill our obligation to continue to worship and teach the Word of God, and minimize the risk of spreading contagion.
Yes, no one should dare leave his neighbor unless there are others who will take care of the sick in their stead and nurse them. In such cases we must respect the word of Christ, “I was sick and you did not visit me …” [Matt. 25:41–46]. According to this passage we are bound to each other in such a way that no one may forsake the other in his distress but is obliged to assist and help him as he himself would like to be helped.
Given the lack of public medical care, one of Luther's primary concerns was that brotherly/neighborly love be maintained as a witness to Christ. Times of disaster do not put our obligations to each other on hold. {Update 8/21: This same passage is one reason why I have not kept silent in the face of anti-vax attitudes based upon non-factual (that is, lies) information. Should I turn a blind eye to those who if they continue on this path are likely to become sick, and some die?? No, for the same reason that I would caution against other choices that a Christian would make to harm his/her Temple, we are not our own, our bodies do not belong to us, Jesus paid the price for them.}
To flee from death and to save one’s life is a natural tendency, implanted by God and not forbidden unless it be against God and neighbor, as St. Paul says in Ephesians 4 [5:29], “No man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it.” It is even commanded that every man should as much as possible preserve body and life and not neglect them, as St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 [:21–26] that God has so ordered the members of the body that each one cares and works for the other...How much more appropriate it is therefore to seek to preserve life and avoid death if this can be done without harm to our neighbor, inasmuch as life is more than food and clothing, as Christ himself says in Matthew 5 [6:25]
Much has been said during this pandemic about 'living in fear', as if taking precautions is somehow against living by faith. Martin Luther disagreed, strongly. He saw fear of contagion and death as a natural, even God given, tendency. As a member of the body of Christ, we each have an obligation to protect our own health, as much as possible, "unless it be against God and neighbor". Rather than a sign of weakness, or of lack of faith, taking necessary precautions to protect own's own life is a sign of gratitude toward God (for the giving of that life in the first place).
Examples in Holy Scripture abundantly prove that to flee from death is not wrong in itself. Abraham was a great saint but he feared death and escaped it by pretending that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. Because he did so without neglecting or adversely affecting his neighbor, it was not counted as a sin against him. His son, Isaac, did likewise. Jacob also fled from his brother Esau to avoid death at his hands. Likewise, David fled from Saul, and from Absalom. The prophet Uriah escaped from King Jehoiakim and fled into Egypt. The valiant prophet, Elijah, 1 Kings 19 [:3], had destroyed all the prophets of Baal by his great faith, but afterward, when Queen Jezebel threatened him, he became afraid and fled into the desert. Before that, Moses fled into the land of Midian when the king searched for him in Egypt. Many others have done likewise. All of them fled from death when it was possible and saved their lives, yet without depriving their neighbors of anything but first meeting their obligations toward them. Yes, you may reply, but these examples do not refer to dying by pestilence but to death under persecution. Answer: Death is death, no matter how it occurs. According to Holy Scripture God sent his four scourges: pestilence, famine, sword, and wild beasts. If it is permissible to flee from one or the other in clear conscience, why not from all four? Our examples demonstrate how the holy fathers escaped from the sword; it is quite evident that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fled from the other scourge, namely, hunger and death, when they went to Egypt to escape famine, as we are told in Genesis [40–47]
Here Luther cites numerous examples from the Heroes of the Faith, that even men such as Abraham and David fled from danger. In Luther's mind, to wisely flee from the threat of violence is not different than protecting oneself against wild animals, famine, or in this case, pestilence. {Update 8/21: This line is so important, "Death is death, no matter how it occurs", Luther saw it as a Christian duty to avoid unnecessary risk, not a matter of personal choice or freedom at all}
By such reasoning, when a house is on fire, no one should run outside or rush to help because such a fire is also a punishment from God. Anyone who falls into deep water dare not save himself by swimming but must surrender to the water as to a divine punishment. Very well, do so if you can but do not tempt God
Here Luther counters the folly of fatalism from those who proclaim any misfortune to be God's punishment. When taken to its logical extreme, such people should not seek food or shelter either, trusting in God's providence. Today's version of this outlook is on display from those who ignore social distancing while yelling, "I'm covered by the blood of Jesus". To ignore the wisdom which God has given us, through modern medicine, as some sort of way of publicly proclaiming one's faith, is both an act of pride, and an attempt to tempt God into protecting us from our own folly. {Update 8/21: Likewise, those who proclaim that faith is the best defense, making a vaccination unnecessary are tempting God, to do so is BAD theology}.
We should then need no apothecaries or drugs or physicians because all illnesses are punishment from God. Hunger and thirst are also great punishments and torture. Why do you eat and drink instead of letting yourself be punished until hunger and thirst stop of themselves? Ultimately such talk will lead to the point where we abbreviate the Lord’s Prayer and no longer pray, “deliver us from evil, Amen,” since we would have to stop praying to be saved from hell and stop seeking to escape it. It, too, is God’s punishment as is every kind of evil. Where would all this end? From what has been said we derive this guidance: We must pray against every form of evil and guard against it to the best of our ability in order not to act contrary to God, as was previously explained. If it be God’s will that evil come upon us and destroy us, none of our precautions will help us.
The proper outcome of faith is not fatalism, but realism. If medicine exists, use it. If precautions can be taken, follow them. If, after having done this, it is still the will of God that we should become ill, and having done so, that we should die, so be it. The people of God were told to pray for deliverance for a reason. Luther was clear about whether or not we need to do our part to protect ourselves against the evil of the plague, "guard against it to the best of our ability". The important questions for much America's Christians: Why are small precautions, that cost us comparatively little, the cause of such anger and defiance?
In the same way we must and we owe it to our neighbor to accord him the same treatment in other troubles and perils, also. If his house is on fire, love compels me to run to help him extinguish the flames... A man who will not help or support others unless he can do so without affecting his safety or his property will never help his neighbor. He will always reckon with the possibility that doing so will bring some disadvantage and damage, danger and loss.
Once again, our obligation to our neighbor is no different when facing an invisible contagion than when facing visible flames. It will always cost us something to help our neighbor, and there will always be excuses to hand for those who want to find them. {Update 8/21: Love compels me to urge my family, friends, and neighbors to be vaccinated, Love compels me to 'run to help'. Don't tell me to ignore the Law of Love when God has commanded me to follow it!}
It would be well, where there is such an efficient government in cities and states, to maintain municipal homes and hospitals staffed with people to take care of the sick so that patients from private homes can be sent there — as was the intent and purpose of our forefathers with so many pious bequests, hospices, hospitals, and infirmaries so that it should not be necessary for every citizen to maintain a hospital in his own home. That would indeed be a fine, commendable, and Christian arrangement to which everyone should offer generous help and contributions, particularly the government. Where there are no such institutions — and they exist in only a few places — we must give hospital care and be nurses for one another in any extremity or risk the loss of salvation and the grace of God. Thus it is written in God’s word and command, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and in Matthew 7 [:12], “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.”
Public healthcare was almost nonexistent in Luther's day. We are so very much more blessed in that regard. Our response today? Continue to support those institutions, the workers who risk their lives there, and the politicians who ensure that they have the resources they need to help the sick. {Update 8/21: Having prayed with nurses and staff in our local hospital during the height here locally of the pandemic, this sentiment is only strengthened in me; they were (are) doing the Lord's work and require our support. Additionally, note that Luther was in favor of government's involvement in healthcare, he wanted them to help the people.}
Because we know that it is the devil’s game to induce such fear and dread, we should in turn minimize it, take such courage as to spite and annoy him, and send those terrors right back to him. And we should arm ourselves with this answer to the devil: “Get away, you devil, with your terrors! Just because you hate it, I’ll spite you by going the more quickly to help my sick neighbor
This is the balance that Luther is calling for: One the one hand, take necessary precautions to protect our own lives and not spread contagion, on the other, do what needs to be done to help those in need. Thanks to our much greater understanding about how disease is spread, we have the opportunity to do both of these things without compromise. We can make sure that our neighbors are not neglected during times of crisis like this pandemic without recklessly endangering them or us.
This I well know, that if it were Christ or his mother who were laid low by illness, everybody would be so solicitous and would gladly become a servant or helper. Everyone would want to be bold and fearless; nobody would flee but everyone would come running. And yet they don’t hear what Christ himself says, “As you did to one of the least, you did it to me” [Matt. 25:40].
Who is my neighbor? Luther imagines the throng of people willing to volunteer if Jesus or Mary were ill, but then reminds us that each of 'the least' among us should be treated the same way. By the way, Luther goes on to point out the folly of thinking you'd be willing to help Jesus if you aren't willing to help others in the here and now.
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.
{Update 8/21: Wow, rereading this section is a gut punch. So many within the Church today are 'proud' of not taking precautions, 'proud' to refuse vaccination, shouting slogans of 'freedom!' as they do so. Hear this, Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, calls this "not trusting God but tempting him."}
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.
{Update 8/21: Once again, these words hit far harder today than when I first published this. Martin Luther is telling you that refusal to take precautions against a pandemic (whether that be masks when necessary or vaccinations) is akin to suicide, and that if your prideful refusal results in the deaths of others you will stand before God as a murderer. Martin Luther wrote this, doesn't it have weight to you? As a minister of the Gospel, I consider it a sacred duty to try my best to prevent my brothers and sisters in Christ from, in Luther's words, committing suicide or murder. }
No, my dear friends, that is no good. Use medicine; take potions which can help you; fumigate 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.
A long section, but the heart of the matter as Christians today argue about how we should respond to things like government mask-wearing mandates. Notice that Luther compares the cavalier attitudes of those who take no precautions to that of a suicide. He also considers those who knowingly spread the contagion to be murderers. Even conceding that the Plague was 30x more deadly than COVID-19, Luther's moral premise remains. In this pandemic many more people will 'get away with' it because the results of our actions will not be readily apparent. The best phrase in the section, "act like a man who wants to help put out the burning city." That is the true test, do our actions help or hurt the spread of the pandemic? Are we helping our neighbors in need, or ignoring them?
" 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." Is your presence necessary? 500 years ago Martin Luther was considering the dictates of social distancing.
Perhaps it was foolish for Martin Luther to remain in Wittenberg, especially with a pregnant wife and young child to care for. Had there been ample public health facilities, and other ministers who could have taken his place, he may have followed his own advice and declared his presence there to be not 'necessary'. The point of examining Luther's words from five centuries ago during a far more deadly outbreak is simple: If the Christians of medieval Europe could find ways to care for their neighbors AND take the threat of contagion seriously, why can't we?
