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In addressing those who say, "We would meet for church regardless of COVID if we had faith," my pastor cited a quote written by Martin Luther during the bubonic plague in 1527. Because I always check sources, I went looking for the original context and discovered a gem.
The quote is as follows: "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...
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."
This comes from the middle of a pamphlet entitled "Whether one may flee from a deadly plague," which you can read in full here: https://blogs.lcms.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Plague-blogLW.pdf
Luther spends about 10 pages tackling the morality/theology of extreme reactions: those who run and abandon their fellows, spreading the plague elsewhere, and those who treat it like a joke and take no precautions, declaring that God will save them if he wills.
Luther takes a middle position that encourages duty to care for those around us (particularly those in authority over others - he has some scathing words for public officials who abandon their duties) while acting to preserve both one's own life and that of our weakest neighbors.
It's wild to read something written 500 years ago that so concisely sums up our experience here in 2020.
PS There's also a paragraph devoted to people who intentionally infect children and servants in hopes that it will protect/cure themselves and Luther CANNOT EVEN
