In the Midst of Dying Is Life

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:55–57

Luther lived close to death. Plague came to Wittenberg more than once. He lost two daughters, his parents, many friends and colleagues. He was often ill and several times thought himself dying. He was an outlaw under sentence of death for the last twenty-five years of his life. And the fear of death and judgement had driven him into the monastery in the first place. It is no surprise, then, that some of his most tender and practical writing is for the dying and those who care for them. The man who began his Christian life terrified of death ended it, by all accounts, at peace.

Looking at death in Christ

In 1519, at the request of a friend, Luther wrote a short Sermon on Preparing to Die. It is one of his most pastoral works, and its counsel is simple. When we are dying, he says in effect, we are assailed by three terrible pictures: death itself, our sins, and the fear of hell. The devil loves to hold these before our eyes. We must not stare at them. Instead, we should look at each of them in Christ. Look at death not in itself, but in Christ, who has overcome it. Look at sin not in yourself, but in Christ, who bore it away. Look at hell not in yourself, but in Christ, who suffered it for you and rose again. We should not dwell on these things during our dying, but look to the picture of Christ crucified and risen.

Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again. ROMANS 8:33–34

Luther’s sermon on the appearing of the grace of God makes the same argument about the day of judgement. The judge on that day, he says, will be Christ, who gave Himself for our sins. How can He condemn those for whom He died? He would first have to deny His own sacrifice:

“He would have to condemn himself before sin could condemn the souls for whom he died.”

For me

The heart of Luther’s comfort is, again, the two small words for me. It is not enough, he says in his Easter sermon, to know that Christ died and rose, as a fact of history. What makes the heart rejoice is to know that all of it was done for me. Then, he says, “when I come to understand the fact that all the works God does in Christ are done for me … the effect of his resurrection being that I also will arise and live with him; that will cause me to rejoice.”

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. ROMANS 4:25

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. JOHN 11:25–26

Life in the midst of death

A well-known medieval chant began, In the midst of life we are in death. Luther turned it into a German hymn, and in his preaching he loved to turn it around. The gospel says the opposite: in the midst of death we are in life. His Pentecost sermon, speaking of the peace the Holy Spirit gives, puts it in words that could be written over every Christian deathbed:

“Thus, in the midst of dying is life; and in the midst of trouble, peace and joy.”

And a little later in the same sermon he imagines Christ speaking to the fearful believer: “just pass down into the valley of death; there shall the Holy Spirit come to you and make you so courageous and joyful that you will not know death, yea, it will be sweet to you.”

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. PSALM 23:4

Honest about fear

Luther did not pretend that Christians never fear death. The same Pentecost sermon warns believers not to conclude that the Spirit has left them because they still shudder at it. Faith grows by degrees, and the Spirit comforts precisely those who are afraid. Luther himself confessed his fear of death many times. He was not a stoic. He knew that death is an enemy, the last enemy, and that it is right to grieve.

And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. HEBREWS 2:15

In 1527, when plague struck Wittenberg, he was asked whether a Christian may flee a deadly plague. His answer, in a letter later printed, was balanced and wise. Those with duties to the sick — pastors, officials, doctors, neighbours with no one else to care for them — should stay and serve. Others may leave without sin, for it is not wrong to preserve one’s life, and to rush into danger without need is to tempt God. He urged sensible precautions: cleansing the air, taking medicine, avoiding needless contact. Faith does not despise ordinary means. He and Katharina stayed, and nursed the sick in their home.

Beggars at the last

When his own father lay dying in 1530, Luther, unable to travel because he was an outlaw, wrote him a letter of comfort, urging him to cling to Christ and to see death as a sleep. When his daughter Magdalena died, he wept and gave her back to God. And when his own death came at Eisleben in 1546, he commended his spirit to God in the words of the Psalm, and answered his friend’s question with a clear yes: he died trusting the Christ he had preached. The note found beside him said that we are beggars, and that this is true. It is the right last word for a theologian of grace. At the end, no one comes to God with anything in his hands.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MATTHEW 5:3

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. LUKE 2:29–30

FOR REFLECTION AND ACTION

1. Think honestly about your own death. Pray Psalm 90:12, asking God to teach you to number your days.

2. When you think of death, practise Luther’s counsel: look not at death, your sins or judgement in themselves, but at each of them in Christ.

3. If someone you know is dying, visit them. Read them a promise such as John 11:25–26, and pray with them simply.

4. If you are afraid of death, do not be ashamed. Tell God so, and ask for the Spirit’s comfort in your fear.

5. Write a short statement of faith that you would want read at your funeral, beginning with the words: “I am a beggar, made rich in Christ.”

A PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, You tasted death for me and rose again, and You hold the keys of death and of the grave.

When my time comes, let me look not at death, nor at my sins, nor at judgement, but at You, crucified and risen for me.

Comfort me in my fear, and give me the peace that is life in the midst of dying.

Receive me at the last as a beggar made rich by Your grace, and raise me up to live with You for ever. Amen.