by Rev. Bishop Ib Meyer, Grace Lutheran Church and School, Woodlands
The deliberation of an issue that intersects theology, science and politics, begs for prayerful consideration and difficult decision making, all wrapped up in humility.
There is one governing principle in Christianity and it is love. Christ so eloquently distilled it for us with these words (Luke 10:27) “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, love your neighbour as yourself.”[1] This governing principle points Christians to submit their thoughts, actions and priorities to the loving of God and neighbour — not self. Consequently, there is no mandate in Christianity to love self. Rather, our self grows and is fulfilled in love directed to the LORD and to our neighbours. We are called to sacrifice. We are called to give.
We and our neighbours are currently facing a pandemic. The worldwide Covid-19 pandemic has caused the death of approximately 3.9 million people.[2] This far exceeds normal annual worldwide death rates from influenza which lies at around 500,000 per year[3] (high-end estimation). By the grace of God, we in Grenada, due to the past and present decisions and actions of government, have been spared the ravages of Covid-19 until recently. That bubble of security though has been punctured. We are now seeing the true savagery of Covid-19 which is taking the lives of some young and many older brothers and sisters.
Some in the church have determined that this pandemic is directly from Satan and a fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. Sadly, others have said the same of previous disasters and pandemics, and their words were proved false. No one knows (Matthew 24:36-39)[4] when our Lord will return. He simply wants us to be spiritually ready for his unknown return. This pandemic is one of many events in history that the Lord graciously uses to remind us to wake up, repent, and act in love. He is teaching you and me.
He is teaching you to love and not be bigoted. Already people are treating each other differently. If you are unvaccinated, you are ignorant, unloving and a danger to society. If you are vaccinated you are a thoughtless slave to government and science which have been proven wrong before. Why can I not respect and rejoice with my unvaccinated brother or sister, and they the same with their vaccinated brethren? This is an opportunity for us to sit, and in humility, converse with each other without prejudice, hatred, vitriol, and fear.
Our government, whose authority is from God (Romans 13),[5] has encouraged us, in consultation with medical professionals (science), to take care of ourselves and each other. How? Be vaccinated. Wear masks. Wash hands. Maintain social distancing and be tested and quarantine if exhibiting symptoms.
Other drugs have been used effectively in fighting the symptoms of Covid which are so often deadly and God willing those might become available in the future. Yes, drink bush. Exercise. Eat healthful foods. Take a sea bath. If your health is compromised in some way be that much more careful. This reminds me of an Oil Down. So many things go into it. More of some, less of others, but they all work together to create a wonderful goodness.
At the end of the day, the Christian response should be an attitude. The attitude of love to God and neighbour. Decisions should be made accordingly. I am an older man, and the science is still determining what the long-term effects of the vaccine will be. However, I have taken vaccines before. I have taken medications before. And, I am currently vaccinated.
The vaccine will not fend off Covid-19 as though it is an impenetrable shield around me. No. But it will mitigate the seriousness if I catch it and possibly prevent my death. I wear my mask. I social distance. I pray and read God’s Word. I encourage and fellowship with all my brothers and sisters, vaccinated or not. I refuse to fall victim to the attitude of hate by questioning their status and then treating them differently based on the response. This is how the atrocities of history began.
That is my personal decision — one that I arrived at after prayerful consideration based on fact, the Word of God and my personal conscience. That is my recommendation to you as you come to your own decision.
The Christian’s attitude at this time should be one of love, peace, and joy as God in his grace grants you another day of life, another day to rejoice in your forgiveness in him, another opportunity to marvel at the fact of eternal life, and another morning of new mercies. He is faithful.
Christians should not fear. Fear is nailed to the cross of Jesus and swallowed up in his empty tomb. Our Saviour Jesus is our living hope. The Christian response to this pandemic is not to resort to slander, selfishness, threats, anger, vexation and helplessness. No. Rather, our Christian response to this threat will be that of Paul, who while in prison and awaiting execution, stated in Philippians 4:4-7 4 Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[1] Luke 10:27 EHV – He replied, “Love the Lord your God – Bible Gateway
[2] Home – Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center (jhu.edu)
[3] Global mortality associated with seasonal influenza epidemics: New burden estimates and predictors from the GLaMOR Project (nih.gov)
[4] Matthew 24:36-39 EHV – Be Ready! – (see Mark 13:32-37; Luke – Bible Gateway
[5] Romans 13:1-7 EHV – Governments Are Established by God – Bible Gateway
Any religion that increases your risk of injury and death … is the WRONG religion to follow – live happy and safely – religion is making that very hard for some confused folks. Wake up and face reality or perish
When you look back in history religious wars and thinks have killed more people than you can imagine. Grenada is allowing the same misguided religious misinformation to kill their citizens. Actually pathetic when the cure is expiring in your fridges , when they do expire will anyone send more ??? Maybe not .. then what , Grenada’s population 2022-23 will be not where you are now ! Think GRENADA before you perish
So sad to see the massive state of confusion that exists in Grenada – unfortunately this could end up killing many Grenadians – because of skeptics and the lack of science knowledge . SGU is on the island speak to a counselor there ! The require all students and staff to be vaccinated for a reason !!!!
Whatever path leads you to take the vaccine, whether its religious or not
should be encouraged. The Rev. faith guided him to vaccinate. He wrote that he believes that it is in the best interest of every Grenadian to do so, and that our Government is leading the charge. Your country loves you, love it back and get vaccinated.
Pure GARBAGE is all this article spouts. Viruses don’t care about your religious beliefs and those beliefs certainly have no place in the current situation with covid. No wonder you are all dying now. Take the vaccine. Your prayers are not going to save you.
God gave Adam and Eve a choice in the Garden of Eden. God always give us a choice to choose he never force us to do his will. Our bodies are the temple of God, he or she should be the only one that decides what goes into it.
so sorry to see so many confused people – wake up – think for yourselves …. life is great if you allow science to help you , if not good luck
But God did give us a brain – its good to use it , especially now.
Rev.Bishop Meyer
Thank you so much for your thoughtful, enlightened, compassionate and loving words. It does not matter which branch of Christianity you belong to
or whether you are even a Christian at all, to be able to embrace and support your instruction. Wisdom should unite all faiths. As far as I’m concerned, your message here reflects the essence of Christianity.
Christian response? Which shade of Christian? Catholics are divided into at least Roman, Greek, Russian & Ethiopian Orthodox & Coptic. Protestants are divided into hundreds if not thousands of sects, too many to name here but Anglican are probably the biggest group. They all have different views on taking vaccines, Jehova’s Witnesses, 7th Day Adventists etc. Which response to believe?
Please vaccinate so that you can practice your religion safely.