~I wrote and shared these words with someone via Instagram DMs back in August. With the surge in cases over the past couple of weeks, I feel called to share with others. Love thy neighbor & please get vaccinated (&/or get your boosters!!). I’d be happy to discuss further, share other resources, or answer any questions about getting the jab:) ~
Jesus may not berate those who don’t get the vaccine.
but to be clear, Jesus was not one who never rebuked (synonym of berating) or pronounced woes on his fellow Christians. you can find plenty of examples of Jesus using harsh words in the Bible:
http://www.jesuswalk.com/luke/039-rebuke.htm
“I react against forms of Christianity that employ haranguing to get people to repent. I prefer the power of love to the motivation of fear. But I am in danger of seeing only the Jesus who fits my preferences and filtering out the real Son of Man who, on occasion, strongly rebuked his disciples. This passage encompasses several of those rebukes, one after another.”
I think Jesus would encourage us as followers to get vaccinated. love your neighbor as yourself is the second greatest commandment Jesus said (found in the Gospel of Matthew 22:35-40). there are people who have been hit incredibly hard by this pandemic; as Christians, let us keep caring for our neighbors through the crisis. let us be wise in discerning science and be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of others, compassionate & caring for the sick. vaccination is a concrete way you can care for your family, your church, and your community.
in Philippians 2:5-7, God commands us to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus in our relationships with others by taking the very nature of a servant & “not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others”. I recognize that we must make decisions for ourselves & what that means to protect your body, a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), but we also need to recognize that we are created to be in community with others, loving and serving them as Christ would.
we haven’t addressed the question of vaccination from a fully Christian perspective if we don’t consider the effect our vaccination decisions have on others. there are still very young kids or those who are medically unable to get vaccinated who are at high risk. but if enough eligible individuals get vaccinated, we provide an umbrella of protection to those unable to be vaccinated. I would encourage everyone to read this article, written by Michael B. Curry, a presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, who discusses what Jesus would say about getting a COVID-19 vaccination and pretty much sums up my thoughts:
“Protecting and safeguarding the wellbeing of children is at the core of what it is to be human and humane. It’s at the heart of God’s intention for the human family. There is an often-sentimentalized story to this effect in the New Testament, but the story behind that story is not at all sentimental.
Jesus of Nazareth was teaching and healing people in the rural areas of first-century Galilee. Some local women brought their babies and children to him for him to bless them. Some of his followers prevented them from getting to Jesus, and when he realized this, the Bible says he became “indignant” – incensed, livid, upset, distressed, angry.
These women were likely impoverished peasant women whose lives were hard and whose children were the most vulnerable in the first-century world. These were children for whom disease and poverty were a constant threat. Their mothers were bringing them for prayer, blessing, and protection.
Jesus was furious when he saw the needs of children being pushed aside and ignored. For him, the way of unselfish, sacrificial love that seeks the good and wellbeing of others is at the heart of God’s law for human life and society. That way of love demanded attention to the most vulnerable and helpless – in this case, children.
Jesus then commanded his followers to let the children come to him. The old King James Version of the Bible translates his words this way: “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14) He took them in his arms – holding them, shielding them, protecting them – and blessed them.
We who can receive the COVID-19 vaccine are being asked not just to protect ourselves, but also to protect children. So even if you don’t want to get the vaccine for yourself, do it for the children.”