In 1665, the plague was killing thousands of people a week in London. The plague was a disease which had affected Europe for 300 years. Around the year 1350, it killed up to half the population of Europe. It was commonly spread by fleas, who passed the disease between rats and humans.
That year, some cloth arrived in the village of Eyam. The tailor hung the cloth out to dry by the fire. The fleas, revived by the warmth of the fire, jumped out and onto the tailor. They were infected with the plague. The tailor died within two days. The next month, 21 people died in a village. The population of the village was somewhere between 350 and 700 people. Over the next 9 months, 60 people would die of the plague. It was a hard and difficult time for the village. But much worse was to come. By the late spring of 1666, it seemed that the plague was nearly over. Only two people died in the village in May.
But in June it began to return, more deadly than ever. William Mompesson, the pastor of the church, had to take a hard decision. He knew that people would leave the village, probably spreading the disease through the county. He felt that this would make things worse. So he made plans. They should quarantine the village. This required people in the village accepting that many of them would die. They would protect their neighbours, but at a huge cost.
The villagers agreed, as we will see, but the pastor needed help to persuade the village. They decided to risk death to save others. Jesus says that the greatest love anyone could have is to die for their friends. This was the decision that the villagers took. They understood the risks, but they believed that God's love was stronger than death. Their actions were like the actions of Jesus. Jesus gave up his own life to save us. Even now, 360 years later, these actions remind us of Jesus and his death on the cross.
In order to persuade the villagers, William had to ask for help from the former pastor of the church, a man called Thomas Stanley. He lived in the village but he had resigned his job as pastor because of his conscience. He could not agree to changes which the government had imposed in the church four years earlier. He was a man of great integrity, and he was prepared to suffer for truth. The pastor's job in those days had a good salary and it was a prestigious job. Thomas Stanley was prepared to sacrifice that because of his conscience. We too face difficulties and hard choices. Sometimes we must choose between wealth and following Jesus. Thomas Stanley is an example of someone who valued his relationship with Jesus more than wealth or a good job.
William Mompesson might not have expected Thomas Stanley to help him. After all, William had taken Thomas' old job. They thought differently about the church. BUt Thomas Stanley agreed to help William Mompesson. Both men valued their love of God above personal disagreements, jealousies, and personal interests. They worked together for the good of their nieghbours. The Bible calls us to live at peace with people. We should seek reconciliation and work for the common good. We should love one another and not seek our own good alone.
The two men agreed on a course of action. They would ask the village to quarantine. No-one would leave, and no-one would enter. People would leave food at the edge of the village. Even coins for payment would be left in vinegar to sterilise them. That summer was hot. The fleas bred quickly. In the densely packed weaver's cottages, the plague hit with terrible force. One woman buried her husband and six children in a week. She dragged them one by one into the next field to bury them. Whole families died. Two hundred people died in the five months from June 1666. One of them was Catherine Mompesson, William's wife. She had the opportunity to leave earlier, but she stayed with her husband, serving the sick and poor. She is buried in the churchyard. She was 27 years old. On her grave there are two inscriptions from the Bible, in Latin. They are good reminders, even for today.
One says, 'you do not know the day or the time'. These are the words of Jesus from Matthew Chapter 25. This is a reminder to us. We do not know when we will die. This life is not permanent and it can be taken from us at any time. God will hold us to account. One day in the future, he will judge our lives. We do not know when that day is. We should be ready. Only Jesus can save us. The villagers believed that God could raise them from the dead. They believed that God could give them their lives back. He can. But we must be ready to face him. We do this by trusting completely in Jesus. He died to take away our sin. He rose again, and gives eternal life to all who trust in him. We should live by faith, loving other people, just as Catherine did.
The other inscription is from the letter to the Phillipians. It says that we live to serve Jesus. When we die, it is better for us, because we will be with Jesus. Catherine Mompesson, like her husband, and Thomas Stanley, and many of her neighbours, thought that the purpose of life was to serve Christ. We live to know, love and honour Jesus. Our lives do not belong to us. They belong to Jesus. But when we die, we gain, because we will be with Jesus. Catherine Mompesson lost her life, but she gained, because she was with Christ. Our lives too have the same purpose. Our death, when it comes, will be a victory, because we will be with God forever.
