(Below is excerpted from my first midweek pastoral letter for the new year. I thought I would publish it here to share my hope and my thankfulness to God.)
As we begin another new year together, we yet hope for better things to come. Do we not? Of course, many hope this year proves to be a better year than the past two, hoping for an end to the COVID pandemic. And there may be a sign of the end to that, believe it or not with the Omicron variant. I have been reading some news reports of late that indicate, even though the Omicron variant is more infectious with record numbers of people getting COVID, it seems that the Omicron is not as harmful as the infamous Delta variant has been. There are less hospitalizations with Omicron. And, yes, even vaccinated individuals have been infected with Omicron, however, with much less severity of illness when compared to non-vaccinated individuals. And it turns out, that those infected with Omicron, seem to have a much higher protection against the more deadly Delta variant. Here is a January 3, new years headline from The Daily Wire: “The SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron is leading to the end of the worldwide pandemic, Denmark’s chief epidemiologist predicted, meaning ‘we will have our normal lives back in two months.'”
Wouldn’t that be great if that were to happen? Two months to what one health expert is calling a return to a “normal life.” Yes, we should take all such advice with a grain a salt, as my dad used to say, yet there is hope.
And, as Christians, and especially as Adventists, we know that no matter what life is like down here on this earth, there is a better day coming. That Day will come when Jesus appears in glory. We wait for it with eager expectation. We wait in hope. And we pray for God’s guidance and His many faceted ways to help us now, in this life. For physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual healing for those who need healing. Being thankful for the many ways in which God has provided for us.
I am thankful for food, shelter, clothing, and for medical help when needed. And, so I thank God for the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals that do provide their skills and sympathy to bring physical healing to those of us in need. Pray for them who God has led into the medical professions to help others.
But, I also thank God for the many other professionals and workers who provide services that make our lives more comfortable and bearable. Think, for example, of all those working to maintain cities and communities and households with electricity. My dad was one of those. He was a lineman. And often, he would be called in to restore electricity to whole neighborhoods, for example, when a vehicle crashed into a power pole and took out the power.
And there are many other kinds of workers for whom we should be grateful. Those who deliver mail. Those who maintain wireless, internet and telephone services. Those who educate our children in public and private schools. Those who drive the trucks that transport all our products and goods to markets and stores where we can easily purchase things like food, clothing, and materials to build with. And for those who run the stores, like food stores, hardware stores, and clothing stores at which we can shop. And for those who serve at the many kinds of restaurants to feed people like you and me.
Can you add to this list? Of course. I would like to suggest that we, God’s people should be foremost of all people in this world at being thankful and practicing thankfulness to others. For as Jesus said, “When you have done it to the least of these… you have done it unto Me” (Matthew 25:40).
Grace & Peace,Pastor Dean
Last Day's Grace 