A Christmas Story
Do you remember almost exactly a year ago? That’s when the first vaccines to prevent COVID-19 were delivered in the US. More effective than anyone expected them to be, the vaccines were heralded as a scientific miracle. We were watching the quickest development of a new vaccine ever. They were safe. They were effective. They made a big splash. Videos of health care providers ushering in the trucks filled our social media feeds. We saw PPE-clad people dancing in the streets. We could see the path out of the pandemic. We were saved!
Or, I thought we were saved, but I’ve heard the stories about the baby in the manger who came to teach us a path to salvation enough times that I should have known this is not how salvation comes—not with a splash, not with dancing in the street, not in a syringe.
The path out of the pandemic is a path that asks something of us. It calls us to love our neighbors. It calls us to put down our idols, to leave our wealth, and to follow. To wear masks. To feed His sheep. To get vaccinated. To take care of the community.
I am not at high risk for getting very sick from COVID; I love my neighbor by getting vaccinated anyway. I am vaccinated; I take care of my community by wearing a mask anyway.
I got my kids vaccinated as soon as they were eligible. Two weeks after their second shots, we visited family; we went back to restaurants; we went to the movies.
A month later, our youngest was sick. Positive for COVID. What happened? I wondered. What did I do? I thought I did everything I could to prevent this.
Photo, and sick child, by author
I touched her too-warm forehead, and I realized—I’m worried about her feeling poorly. I’m worried about our Christmas travel plans. But, I’m not worried that we’ll need to rush her to the hospital. I’m not worried about losing her. Because she is vaccinated.
What happened is that we are living in a world with a raging pandemic. I did everything I could, and she got sick anyway. Vaccines aren’t a savior, and they aren’t a guarantee that you will never get sick. They improve our odds, and they are a tangible way we can love our neighbors and care for our community.
And, if we get COVID anyway, vaccines keep us out of the hospital. Just like when we’ve done everything we can to love and care for each other, when we still fall short, grace fills in our gaps.