#193 - It started with a Vow

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The year 1617 was the centenary of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. At that time, hostilities between Catholics and Protestants were at their height and in 1633 they led to the 30 Years War when a Protestant backlash by Bohemian Nobles in Prague caused the death of two ministers and private secretary of the Catholic Emperor when they were flung out of a fortress window.

With the war came the plague, also known as ‘The Black Death’. The peaceful little village of Oberammergau remained relatively untouched, not only by the hostilities but also from the plague which killed thousands in the surrounding region. Oberammergau decided to declare a state of siege, preventing outsiders from entering the village. However, a man named Kaspar Schisler, a native of Oberammergau who was working in nearby Eschenlohe, was desperate to return home to be with his family again. So, one night, he slipped un-noticed into the village, bringing the plague with him. Schisler, along with his family and many villagers died.

In 1633, the Village councillors, known then as ‘The Six and Twelve Parish Councillors’ decided to act. While it was customary in those days to appeal to the saints for protection from such disasters, none of these requests were effective. So, the Council decided to make a vow to God. They organised a procession to the Parish Church and, before its great altar they vowed that, if God would rid them of the plague, they would from that moment forward stage a Passion Play depicting the last week of Christ’s earthly life. They have kept their vow and staged the Passion Play every ten years with the rare exception when wars interrupted normal life. This year we joined a packed audience of 5,000 attending a highly professional perfoemance by a cast of over 1,000 people, many from Oberammergau itself. The performance is repeated over 100 times throughout the season from April to October.

In 1 Samuel, we read of a woman named Hannah who, although married for many years, remained childless. Believing this to be a sign of divine disapproval, she too made a vow that if God would permit her to have a son, she would dedicate him back to God to serve him all the days of his life (1 Samuel 1:9-11). The vow was honoured and she gave birth to Samuel who grew up in the temple at Shiloh and became one of the most influential leaders of Israel, presiding over the inauguration of the monarchy and anointing both Saul and David as king. Throughout the biblical narrative we read of people like John the Baptist and St. Paul making similar vows accompanied by abstention from strong drink and cutting of their hair (see Footnote below).

But, what about today? If faced with the threat of a plague, would we turn to God for protection or look to the medical profession for salvation? Have the Enlightenment years demoted vow-making to superstitious nonsense? We make vows to God today when we get married, become a minister or preacher, have our children baptised or receive adult baptism. Do we expect some miraculous response or have we lost the sense of awe and wonder at what our great God can do in and through us?

It does us good to look back on the vows we have made and count the blessings we have received as a consequence. We might find that we have been blessed more richly than we could have expected at the time we made our vow.

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Footnote
The Nazarite Vow, usually taken by men, involved a period of abstinence from strong drink and cutting of the hair as these symbolised a settled existence. Instead they put themselves totally at the disposal of God for the period of the vow. See Luke 1:15 and Acts 21:20-26.