What Dead Men Say about How Christians Should Think about COVID-19 (Part 3): Francis Grimke

This is part three in a series (click here for part one and here for part two)

Francis Grimke, a pastor in Washington D.C. during the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918, preached a sermon entitled “Some Reflections, Growing out of The Recent Epidemic of Influenza That Afflicted Our City.” In this sermon, he reminds us that it is not wrong to suspend church gatherings in order to preserve life. He also reminds us that Christ’s people will intensely long for the gatherings to resume.

Suspending Gathering Is Not Necessarily Wrong

During the outbreak, the D.C. government wanted all gathering places, including churches, to suspend meeting. This “shut down” lasted for about 1 month. Grimke knew the priority of the church gathering. And if the government had just asked churches to close (and not theaters, etc.), he might have seen it as an effort to hinder religion. But since it was the government’s attempt to stop the spread of disease, and encompassed every area of life, it was proper for churches to help. Grimke said,

The fact that the churches were places of religious gathering, and the others not, would not affect in the least the health question involved. If avoiding crowds lessens the danger of being infected, it was wise to take the precaution and not needlessly run in danger, and expect God to protect us. [1]

Some may think that our current situation does not require this in every city, and that might be true. My point is not what the health policy should be. It is simply that suspending meeting is not wrong in very rare conditions.

God’s People Long to Gather Again

God’s true people love gathering, for they are, at a fundamental level, the people God has gathered into his family.

I imagine that for those with a shallow view of Christianity, the convenience of online “services” will tempt them not to return to church when the disease relents. Maybe they are not Christians and just attended out of habit. Now that the habit is broken, they will not return to it. However, for those who truly are God’s people, they desire to gather. That was the testimony of the church in D.C. in 1918. Grimke said,

The fact that for several weeks we have been shut out from the privileges of the sanctuary has brought home to us as never before what the church has really meant to us. We hadn't thought, perhaps, very much of the privilege while it lasted, but the moment it was taken away we saw at once how much it meant to us. One of the gratifying things to me, during this scourge, has been the sincere regrets that I have heard expressed all over the city by numbers of people at the closing of the churches. The theater goers, of course, have regretted the closing of the theaters. I do not know whether the children or the teachers have regretted the closing of the schools or not; I have heard no regrets expressed, but I do know that large numbers of people have regretted the closing of the churches. I hope that now that they are opened again, that we will all show our appreciation of their value by attending regularly upon their services.

While we find ways to connect digitally around the Word (and in small groups), let us humbly long to return to the privilege of corporate worship. Let’s pray that at the end of this, we will have the same attitude as the Christians had in D.C. in 1918, even if the kids are a bit sad to have to return to school.

(HT: Mark Dever and 9Marks.org for pointing me to this sermon)

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[1]Francis Grimke, “Some Reflections, Growing out of The Recent Epidemic of Influenza That Afflicted Our City,” delivered November 3, 1918, Accessed on 3/18/20 at: https://www.logcollegepress.com/authors-g#/francis-james-grimke/

What Dead Men Say about How Christians Should Think about COVID-19 (Part 2): Martin Luther

This is part of two in a series (the first post on CS Lewis is here).

Martin Luther, wrote a letter to Johann Hess entitled “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague.” He wrote this when an outbreak of the Black Plague was taking the lives of many. Here are four things we can glean.

1. People Can Have Different Opinions

First, he notes that some think there is no need to flee, and others think they should escape (or close down events in our context). He points out that not fleeing for the sake of loving one’s neighbor is an “excellent decision” and can reveal “strong faith.” But he also points out that “one simply cannot place the same burden on everyone.” So, I take that to mean, we should not judge one another (especially on issues where motives make the difference). If you think you are strong in faith, do not judge those you deem weaker in the faith.  Furthermore, if you stay in the path of danger, it should be to honor God and serve your neighbor.

2. We Must Care for Neighbors and Fulfill Our Calling

It is not wrong to seek to escape a dangerous situation. Luther points out that Paul did in Acts 9:25 (in fact, Jesus even walked past a crowd that wanted to throw him off a cliff at one point). However, there is a type of fleeing that is sinful. It is wrong to leave a neighbor in need or to abandon one’s God-given post in a crisis.

Those who are doing spiritual ministry must “remain steadfast before the peril of 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 it sinful” because the needs will still be met. The point is that we should not flee if we are needed. He applies the same thing to government officials.

When it comes to loving one’s neighbor, Luther writes,

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.

He goes on to say that you can arrange for others to help (so you don’t always do it all yourself). In summary, it is not forbidden to “avoid destruction and disaster whenever we can, as long as we do so without detracting from our love and duty toward our neighbor.” If, however, we forsake our neighbor in a time of need, we become “a murderer in the sight of God” (cf. 1 John 3:15-17).

3. We Must Not be Rash But Seek to Preserve Life

While some give into sinful fear, and fail to love their neighbor, others sin with a disregard for others in the guise of “faith.” Luther is clear that it is not right to do things that needlessly endanger others.  

They are 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 lightheardly make sport of it and wish to prove how independent they are. . . . This is not trusting God but tempting him.

He goes on to write that it is even “more shameful” when we pay no heed to how we might avoid the plague and “then infect and poison others who might have remained alive” if we had taken proper care. “He is thus responsible before God for his neighbor’s death.” Therefore, Luther says his own plan is to “avoid places and persons where [his] 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 [his] negligence.”

The point is not that we go into self-protection mode. The point is that we seek, as best we can, to protect ourselves and our neighbors while trusting God and loving others.

4. We Face Death and Danger with Confidence

There is one final point we can take from Luther’s letter. We have confidence in the face of danger. “If Christ shed his blood for me and died for me, why should I not expose myself to some small dangers for his sake and disregard this feeble plague?”

Next time, we'll look at Francis Grimke during the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918.

(HT to Beth Khazraee for sending me the Luther booklet)

What Dead Men Say about How Christians Should Think about COVID-19 (Part 1)

Learning From Those Who Went Before Us

We live in the midst of a pandemic and panicked people. Some are crying that the sky is falling and others are grumbling that life has had to change. How should we think as Christians? Our guiding principle is always bound up in the questions, “How do I love God with all my heart, mind, and soul?” and “How do I love my neighbor as myself?” Practically speaking, however, we must work out the details in the specific situation we are in. This is complicated by our own emotions and sin.

One way to mitigate the effects of being caught up in the cultural moment is to look to the past. Hearing from dead authors and speakers can correct our myopic view of the situation. They had their own blind spots (as we all do). However, those blindspots are not likely to be the same as our own. Therefore, they can offer us a helpful salve that enables us to see our own situation more clearly.

So, I want to briefly “hear” from three dead men on our present situation: CS Lewis, Francis Grimke, and Martin Luther (Note, I heard about these from various sources…so I didn’t know about them on my own).  Today, we’ll look at CS Lewis.

CS Lewis, in his article entitled “On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948), would remind us that death is always at our doorstep (Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays). 

CS Lewis faced a time when people were panicked over the potential destruction from new atomic weapons. While this is different in some ways, it can easily be adapted to fit our circumstances. In one section, he writes,

It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb [or a virus we might add], let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies but they need not dominate our minds.

Here is what I take from his thoughts as I try to apply it to our situation. As Christians, we should recognize that death is a certain reality, and live like people who trust in God rather than in a life dominated by fear. For us, death is a defeated foe. It is still a foe. We do not go about seeking death. However, death, by whatever means, will only serve to bring us to the presence of the Lord. That type of thinking clears our minds from the wearying work of worry so that we can engage in living. Trust in God enables us to live rather than panic.

Now, to be clear, this does not mean we live as those with no fear at all. Fear is at times a proper motivator. It can rightly motivate us to flee from danger and death. The point is that we are not controlled by fear but by a fear of the Lord.

One more thing to point out. Lewis mentions hanging out with friends. In our situation, that might not be the loving thing to do (a disease is different than a bomb in that respect). For some thoughts on this, we'll turn to Martin Luther in the next post.