As the masks come off
In mid-May the CDC made what to many was a surprise announcement that changed their recommendations on mask wearing. Up until then the CDC had been encouraging even the fully vaccinated among us to wear face coverings for the sake of public health.
Some states have been mandating the wearing of masks indoors and in crowded outdoor settings, ours being one of them. Some states, left the decision to individuals and to places of business to determine whether to follow those CDC guidelines, Idaho being one of those. Living so close to the boarder between these two approaches to the CDC mask guidance' of course means that you have not escaped the vigorous debates that this has fueled in our community.
The new guidance invites fully vaccinated individuals to remove their masks, to visit without social distance, and to enjoy a level of normalcy we haven’t experienced in over a year. At Holy Cross we are operating by that new guidance from the CDC as is WA State which updated its Phase 3 Roadmap to Recovery to comply with that new CDC guidance. We are also looking forward to the COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalization numbers dropping to the point where masks will no longer be a required element in the apparel of anyone outside of a medical setting.
It’s a joy to be able to see people’s faces again, to see behind the masks. As you are vaccinated and begin to remove those masks, there’s another mask you may not realize you wear and I invite you to remove it too especially among your family, friends, neighbors and people you interact with; it’s the mask of God.
“It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). That is to say, when you act in loving ways toward those around you, when you put others before yourself, when you meet the needs of those in your life you are wearing the mask of God.
The “mask of God” is a phrase Martin Luther liked to use to describe God working through us. He said, “What else is all our work to God—whether in the fields, in the garden, in the city, in the house, in war, or in government—but just such a child’s performance, by which He wants to give His gifts in the fields, at home, and everywhere else. These are the masks of God, behind which He wants to remain concealed and do all things” (Luther’s Works, American Edition, Volume 14). He wrote that in his commentary on Psalm 147 verse 12-14 which says “Praise the Lord . . . He strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. He makes peace within your boarders; he fills you with the finest of wheat.”
God doesn’t regularly step out of heaven to do these things, he did in Jesus, but that was for a greater purpose, to bring salvation to all humanity. He instead sends his people into the world to do his work. So God is at work in us. We are the mask of God. Whatever we do to contribute to the well being of society and to the benefit of people around us is God blessing them through us. This isn’t a mask we’ve put on for public health, but wearing a mask for public health is a way we can be this mask of God to others and show love. Likewise, receiving a vaccine, if done for the sake of public health and to help bring a level of immunity to our society that lessens the spread of this disease can also be a way we wear the mask of God; it can be a way we love our neighbors. John 4:12 says, “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
This mask of God is actually not one we put on at all, it’s one God puts on us. When we are baptized in his name and sent to love others as he loved us we become the mask of God. Just like the masks that we wear for public health it’s such a joy when we can take them off so that others get to see our faces again, and we get to see behind their masks again. So as you experience that joy, as you get to remove your face coverings in the weeks and months to come, also consider giving people a glimpse behind the mask of God. I know above in the Luther quote he said that God “wants to remain hidden,” (he just meant that God wants to continue to use us to do his work). Honestly God is eager to have us remove that mask from time to time and tell others as Paul did, “It’s not I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Jesus said, “you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). An easy way to do that is to love people, and every now and then take off the mask and tell them whose really doing it; it’s God’s at work in you. That’s a surprise announcement we all get to make.
In Jesus name,
Pastor Mike