Jabbed for Jesus' Sake

Canadians experienced a largely muted Canada Day on July 1st in keeping with continued precautions due to COVID-19 and the decision of many municipalities and individuals to make the holiday a time of reflection because of the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves for Residential School Indigenous children.

The good news is that on this holiday weekend vaccinations are happening in the tens of thousands and more than a third of Canadians have now received two doses.

Today is the Fourth of July, which is Independence Day in the United States.  Years ago we visited some of our American cousins for this celebration and it was a huge deal, with many if not most homes displaying the Stars and Stripes and lots of public festivities. 

The goal of the Biden administration was to have 70% of Americans vaccinated with at least one jab by this date but this target won't be reached. The country is awash in supply but vaccine hesitancy is widespread, particularly in the South. The cousins we visit in Maryland are fully vaccinated but we won't even ask the Texas tribe because we have the feeling that they would be resistant. They are very conservative Evangelical Christians and their views are very different from ours on many subjects - that's putting in mildly. 

It was the hope that Christian pastors and priests would play a key role in encouraging their flocks to get vaccinated. In a recent interview of 14 pastors in Southern states they all admitted that they don't raise the subject because it is too controversial and they fear losing members. In many of those states there is a strong anti-science sentiment which is strongly connected to white, conservative Christians 

Supposedly our Christian faith is grounded in the promise of abundant life, of living beyond fear, and in the conviction that Jesus' encouragement to love our neighbour as ourselves applies to our practical choices in day-to-day life. How did this become a death wish, awash in suspicion and conspiracy theories for millions of Americans and for a fair number of Canadian Christians as well? It baffles me. This is selfishness, not "independence."

Thanks to the willingness of millions to get the jab here we will be heading to in-person worship this Fourth of July morning. We'll do so as two fully vaccinated adults who will exercise the appropriate precautions with our sisters and brothers in Christ. This is not "rocket science" as the expression goes. It is sound science and a desire to live faithfully with regard for others.