{"id":47322,"date":"2020-01-31T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=47322"},"modified":"2020-01-30T18:08:03","modified_gmt":"2020-01-30T23:08:03","slug":"martin-luther-on-the-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2020\/01\/martin-luther-on-the-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Luther on the Coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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The World Health Organization has taken the rare step of declaring the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency<\/a>.\u00a0 The fast-spreading virus that originated in China has flu-like symptoms, but 20% of the cases develop into serious and potentially life-threatening conditions, such as pneumonia and respiratory failure.\u00a0 Though the mortality rate is not high\u2013so far, 171 people in China have died, out of some 8,000 cases\u2013the prospect of a pandemic has shaken the stock market, shut down a great deal of international travel, and imposed severe restrictions in China and other countries.<\/p>\n

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Medical professionals around the world are making plans for how they might deal with a coronavirus epidemic in their countries.\u00a0 Fear of the disease\u2013or others, like it, perhaps more deadly\u2013has Christians in many countries wondering how they should respond.\u00a0 Should they evacuate areas that are threatened by the disease?\u00a0 Should they find ways of helping the sick?\u00a0 If they do, won\u2019t that expose them to the virus?\u00a0 These are especially urgent questions for Christians in China.<\/p>\n

Medical student Emmy Yang has written an article for Christianity Today<\/em> entitled\u00a0 Is It Faithful to Flee an Epidemic? What Martin Luther Teaches Us About Coronavirus<\/a>, with this deck:\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe German reformer\u2019s pastoral reflection on the plague can guide both medical students like me and Christians in China\u2014and everywhere the Wuhan virus has spread.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1527, the black plague\u2013which had wiped out half the population of Europe two centuries earlier\u2013broke out in Wittenberg.\u00a0 The whole city, understandably, panicked.\u00a0 Luther wrote an open letter that would be entitled\u00a0\u201cWhether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague<\/a>\u201d\u00a0 (Luther\u2019s Works<\/em>\u00a043:119-38).\u00a0 It is a profound and practical reflection on the Christian\u2019s response to death and suffering, the obligations that come from loving one\u2019s neighbor, the legitimacy of self-preservation, and\u2013as one might expect\u2013vocation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here is Emmy Yang\u2019s summation of Luther\u2019s points:<\/p>\n

First, Luther argued that anyone who stands in a relationship of service to another has a vocational commitment not to flee. Those in ministry, he wrote, \u201cmust remain steadfast before the peril of death.\u201d The sick and dying need a good shepherd who will strengthen and comfort them and administer the sacraments\u2014lest they be denied the Eucharist before their passing. Public officials, including mayors and judges, are to stay and maintain civic order. Public servants, including city-sponsored physicians and police officers, must continue their professional duties. Even parents and guardians have vocational duties toward their children. . . .<\/p>\n

Luther challenges Christians to see opportunities to tend to the sick as tending to Christ himself (Matt. 25:41\u201346). Out of love for God emerges the practice of love for neighbor.<\/p>\n

But Luther does not encourage his readers to expose themselves recklessly to danger. His letter constantly straddles two competing goods: honoring the sanctity of one\u2019s own life, and honoring the sanctity of those in need. Luther makes it clear that God gives humans a tendency toward self-protection and trusts that they will take care of their bodies (Eph. 5:29; 1 Cor. 12:21\u201326). He defends public health measures such as quarantines and seeking medical attention when available. In fact, Luther proposes that not to do so is to act recklessly. Just as God has gifted humans with their bodies, so too he has gifted the medicines of the earth.<\/p>\n

What if a Christian still desires to flee? Luther affirms that this may, in fact, be the believer\u2019s faithful response, provided that no emergency exists and that they arrange substitutes who will \u201ctake care of the sick in their stead and nurse them.\u201d Notably, Luther also reminds readers that salvation is independent of these good works. He ultimately tasks them to decide whether to flee or to stay during plagues, trusting that they will arrive at a faithful decision through prayer and meditation on the Scriptures. Participation in aiding the sick arises out of grace, not obligation.<\/p>\n

However, Luther himself was not afraid. Despite the exhortations of his university colleagues, he stayed behind to minister to the sick and dying.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here is a brilliant quotation<\/a> from Luther\u2019s letter, drawing on Matthew 25:31-46:<\/p>\n

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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. . . .If you wish to serve Christ and to wait on him, very well, you have your sick neighbor close at hand. Go to him and serve him, and you will surely find Christ in him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u00a0Illustration:\u00a0 Plague in the house of Sir Jordan Fitz-Eisulf, Stained glass window, Canterbury Cathedral.\u00a0 Photo by\u00a0Julian P Guffogg<\/a>\u00a0and licensed for\u00a0reuse<\/a>\u00a0under this\u00a0Creative Commons<\/a> Licence<\/a>.\u00a0 No alterations were made.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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