No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying; no longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime. He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years, and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed. They shall live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant. (Isaiah 65:17-21)
Isaiah’s words uttered so many hundreds of years ago seem to speak to us today about our devastating pandemic and our hope on the horizon – vaccinations. However, for over ½ million families who have lost their loved ones to COVID-19, the past will be remembered or come to mind. The sound of weeping still will be heard as will be the sound of crying. Many have died “a mere youth” who reached but a hundred years, or less. Those have been our elderly, our grandparents – our parents.
Our memories of them and what they suffered will linger and keep us from rejoicing and happiness. Sorrow is a recurring part of the lives of those hit hard by the virus – sorrow made especially painful by the knowledge that it didn’t have to be so if only our nation’s leaders and far more of our nation’s citizens had adopted preventive measures.
Now we have entered a new phase of the pandemic with many vaccinations and hope for recovery of our nation’s economy and our everyday lives. America is to be a joy and its people to be a delight. If only men and women of both political parties would live peacefully and cooperatively in the house we and our ancestors built so we can continue to eat the fruit of the vineyards we (they) planted. That certainly would be a new heaven.
Deacon David Pierce
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