6.4 Luther‟s response to the bubonic plague in relation to the HIV and AIDS
6.4.4 Prepare people for death
While Luther emphasised a theology of life by urging those who are sick to take medication and prevent diseases from spreading, he was at the same time very aware that death is a reality. Hence, for Luther, the need for physical care was of equal importance to the care of the soul, and he therefore gave advice on how an individual needs to prepare their soul before death. He thus highlighted five procedures which he thought were essential.609 First, an individual was obliged to attend church to listen to the word of God. Luther described worship as showing “complete trust in God.”610 In his view, a person who did not go to church had separated themselves from God, and was condemned as a pagan. For Luther, a Christian ought to be an active church member,
608 Luther, “Whether one may flee from a deadly plague,” p. 131.
609 Luther, “Whether one may flee from a deadly plague,” p. 134, 135. See also Brecht, Martin Luther:
Shaping and Defining the Reformation, p. 208.
610 Eric W. Gritsch, Fortress Introduction to Lutheranism, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994, p. 117.
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regularly attending church. Coupled with that was to the need to attend confession. This aspect is linked to the former in that if a person was not a regular church-goer, he/she missed the opportunity to confess their sins to God and to each other. This resonates with Luther‟s statement: “When I urge you to go to confession, I am simply urging you to be a Christian.”611 Christian life is intended to be a life of confession since we are sinners before God and we sometimes wrong our neighbours. In the time of Luther, confession was thoroughly part and parcel of the Christian tradition. As Eric Gritsch says, “Going to confession was like going to a trusted therapist today.”612 Since the church considered the plague as God‟s punishment for the sins of humanity,613 which were associated with immoral behaviour, excessive eating and drinking, this may also have motivated Luther‟s insistence on attending confession for the sick person.
The third step a sick person was to undergo was to take Holy Communion once a week.
As in the case of confession, partaking of the Eucharist was and is a way in which a Christian receives the forgiveness of sins.614 Emphasizing the importance of the sacrament, Luther says:
But those who feel their weakness, who are anxious to be rid of it and desire help, should regard and use the sacrament as a precious antidote against the poison in their systems…in the sacrament you receive from Christ‟s lips the forgiveness of sins, which contains and conveys God‟s grace and Spirit with all his gifts, protection, defence, and power against death and the devil and all evils.615
Luther regarded sin as a poison in the human body; therefore the partaking of the Holy Communion serves as remedy. It also acts as a protection against evil forces. The absolution through which an individual‟s sins are forgiven brings healing and peace.
611 Gritsch, Fortress Introduction to Lutheranism, p. 122.
612 Gritsch, Fortress Introduction to Lutheranism, p. 122.
613 Scriba, Martin Luther’s Reaction to the Ravishing Plague, p. 3.
614 Paul Althaus, The Theology of Martin Luther, Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966, p. 378. See also Martin Luther, Luther’s Large Catechism, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1935, p. 179. Martin Luther, “The Sacrament of the Altar,” in Theodore Tappert (ed), The Book of Concord, Philadelphia:
Fortress Press, 1959, p. 454.
615 Luther, “The Sacrament of the Altar,” p. 454.
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Even if the sick person has no hope of recovering, the assurance that they are in good relationship with God plays a significant role in their Christian life.
Reconciling a person with their neighbour was another advice given by Luther in terms of preparing for death. A neighbour here can be a spouse, a relative or another person outside the family. The ministry of reconciliation is centred in the proclamation of forgiveness; thus, through forgiveness comes reconciliation.616 This ministry also is vital for people living with HIV and AIDS because they tend to blame themselves, to feel angry towards the ones who infected them, and to feel responsible for their partners whom they have infected. They are also angry with other people and even towards God.617 Reconciliation will help them to come to terms with one another and with themselves. Although Luther insisted on this with regard to the sick, it is essential for Christians at all times since no one knows the hour of their death. Reconciliation restores relationships and brings healing for both parties. The final advice given by Luther was the importance of timely pastoral care when a sick person requests it. In this view, Luther is urging that a minister has to be called timeously while a person is still in a conscious state. In other words, it is meaningless and improper for a pastor to minister to someone who is no longer conscious. This advice falls particularly on the shoulders of the individuals who are nursing their sick relatives to ensure that everything is arranged in time.
Luther‟s pastoral instructions with regard to preparing someone for death are good Christian practice for spiritual growth, but they appear judgmental to a person who is already sick who may feel guilty for having failed to fulfil these requirements.
Nurnberger states that Luther was indeed critical of those who were not church goers while they were healthy, and who desire to utilize the services of the church only during their illness.618
616 Richard H. Bliese and Craig van Gelder, The Evangelizing Church: A Lutheran Contribution, p. 82.
617 Nicolson, God in AIDS? p. 171. See also Chauke, “Theological Challenges and Ecclesiological Response to Women Experiencing HIV/AIDS,” p. 142.
618 Nurnberger, Martin Luther’s message for us today, p. 294.
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To return to our present context, the diocese‟s HIV and AIDS team does not deal with just the physical needs of the sick persons, but also with their emotional and spiritual needs. The team provides counselling and comfort. Should a person request pastoral care during the visits of the HIV and AIDS team, they will communicate with their parish pastor so that this can be arranged. People suffering from any illness who are unable to go to church are visited and ministered to in their homes. This includes PLWHA, the elderly and others irrespective of their genders. In other words, no sick person is forced to go to church, to confess or to be reconciled to another person as Luther instructed.
Experience shows that people suffering from any disease are eager to review their lives and prepare for death. Some confess and others reconciled willingly with their neighbours or relatives.
During my parish ministry, I came across various cases of individuals who felt that they needed to confess in the course of their illness. I will illustrate this with examples of two young people. One of them sent his mother to call me as I was the pastor of the parish at that time. During the visit, the sick person shared that he was involved in drug abuse for a long time and wanted to confess this. The drugs had affected him to such an extent that he was unable to walk without being supported by someone. Before I left, I offered him absolution and a prayer as is expected by Christians when their pastors visit them in times of joy or sorrow. The second example is of another young man in his thirties who was unmarried. He was away from home for a long time and when he fell sick he returned.
His church elder informed me that he required pastoral care. When I visited him, he revealed his unfaithful life which he thought was the cause of his illness and to which he wanted to confess. The person had all the symptoms of HIV but he did not mention it.
Again I offered absolution and a prayer as indicated above. Both young men subsequently died some time after I had left the parish.
For someone who wants to be reconciled with another person, the procedure seems generally to follow the above examples. For instance, in 2008, a church member who was ailing sent a message to his pastor to come and help him become reconciled with his brother after their relationship had been bad for many years. The two brothers were
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reconciled and each had the opportunity to forgive the other. Not long after, the sick brother died. Unlike Luther, the church does not demand that its congregants confess or be reconciled with others, but people choose to do so voluntarily. In this regard, Luther‟s instructions in preparing someone for death are not compatible to our context. The need and desire for confession and reconciliation comes from individuals and not from the uppermost church authorities.