Vaccinations

Pastor Dave Oddi Hope Lutheran Church

Everyone is fully aware that we are in the midst of a global pandemic. Everyone is also fully aware that there has been a great deal of controversy concerning what needs to be done and how we must deal with it. No one seems to be able to agree about anything when it comes to the pandemic. There are those who just do not believe that it is happening. They believe that the news reports and statistics are all fake news. Some people do not believe the issue is as serious as it is being made out to be. They say that many of the deaths that are attributed to COVID-19 should be attributed to other causes.

At the beginning of the pandemic the authorities along with most medical experts told us that there were various ways we could protect ourselves; masks, hand washing and physical distancing. Sporting events were canceled. Theaters were closed. Restaurants were either closed or restricted to carry out orders only. Hospitals and nursing homes barred visitors from entering. People could not visit loved ones for a year or more and they had to face the death of their loved ones while never being able to see them or hold their hands. We have not even been able to honor those who have been lost because of the restrictions which COVID-19 has forced upon all of us.

Now, we have started to see a light at the end of a long and dark tunnel. All the hard work and research has resulted in vaccines that promise relief and protection. Slowly but surely, people are being vaccinated and society is beginning to open-up once more. We are getting there, but we are not there yet, we have a long way to go if things can go back to pre-pandemic levels.

But, of course, just as there are those who do not agree with issues regarding the pandemic; there are those who do not agree with being vaccinated. Some people are afraid of the pandemic, and rightly so. There are also those who are just as fearful of the vaccine and so will instead take their chances.

As unfortunate or tragic as that might be, there is another issue, another pandemic that each one of us have been afflicted with whether you believe it or not. That is sin. Romans 3:23-24 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” We also read in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You can contract COVID-19 and survive. You can contract a mild case of it and become only slightly sick. You can even survive without receiving the vaccine. But sin is another matter altogether. There is no man-made vaccine you can receive to protect you against the payment of the wages, which is death. The only answer is Jesus. Jesus who lived a perfect life but went to the cross and suffered and died to pay the price for the sins of the world, your sins, and mine. If you chose not to receive a vaccine you may not get sick, you may be alright anyway. But if you do not have Jesus as your Savior and Lord will die in your sins.

There may be multiple vaccines to protect against COVID-19, but there is only one way to forgiveness of sins and eternal life: Jesus!