Our church is meeting in the building for the second time next Sunday since the Covid-19 restrictions, but our state governor had declared a law that all who attend 
must wear face masks or possibly face a misdemeanor citation (no pun intended).
All those who attend will now need to decide which mask to wear.
The obvious choices are surgical masks in various colors, industrial masks that builders, painters, and factory workers sometimes wear, 3-layer masks, 4-layer masks, full-face transparent plastic masks, cloth masks with designs or messages that cover your mouth and nose, colorful scarves, and we could go on but you get the idea.
As I contemplated this idea, it came to me that many people have probably worn masks to church for over 2,000 years. How is that, you ask?
I'm speaking of emotional masks, those that cover how we are feeling or what we are really thinking. For example, people who are sad or depressed may wear an imaginary mask that portrays a smiley face. Others might wear a face that demonstrates interest while their real inner face tries to declare that they are not interested nor involved in worship or personal interaction. Still others might be wearing a face that shows they are tough and perseverant, but when they leave the church building they show their real face of fear or insecurity.
These masks are especially used just before a worship service or class begins, during a turn and greet your neighbor time, and after the service or class is over and you feel you have to say something positive to another person. So the idea is to hide behind a mask.
As for me, I can't wait for the time when the requirement of wearing masks is over. And I also look forward to when we all can show up for worship or other church gatherings and feel like we can wear our true faces with no masks, even if we are feeling up, down, or side-ways that day. Masks are designed to protect us from something (e.g., a virus or bacteria) or someone. But do we really need something to protect us from someone? Do we really think that we can hide our true feelings and emotions from the God who created us?
Lord willing, we will soon be free of the requirement to wear a physical mask. With God's help and grace, may we feel like we can be ourselves and still share with others what is on our hearts. Let's envision a church where no masks are required or used, a church where we can just be ourselves.
Photo by Vera Davidova on Unsplash