Hi First Presbyterian,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! We held our first indoor, in-person worship service last Sunday, which went really well. We wore masks, sat distanced from one another, did not pass an offering plate, and refrained from congregational singing. It was different than any other worship service I’ve attended or led, but it truly was an experience of worship in God’s presence. As a result, I was uplifted and encouraged, and I hope those in attendance were, too.
I’ve been thinking a lot about mask-wearing lately and how strange it still feels for me. I’ve talked with many other Christians and clergy about this, and I’ve realized how uniquely Christian the act of wearing a mask is. The explanation from the CDC and other health organizations is that wearing a mask is mostly for the benefit of other people and not yourself. You may have seen some of the helpful illustrations that exist showing how the risk of transmitting the virus from an infected person to a healthy person changes depending on whether one, both, or none of them is wearing a mask. Wearing a mask works best at protecting others, not necessarily yourself.
In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul wrote: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:3-5). Over the last 6 months, my risk tolerance of being out in public or around groups of people has increased slightly. Every time I go out, I wear a clean mask. I find it inconvenient, annoying, and even frustrating to wear my mask. Although I have contact lenses, I prefer to wear glasses, which means my glasses are constantly fogging up. If I have to talk while wearing my mask, I’m constantly adjusting it from sliding above my chin or below my nose. I don’t like the feeling of my breath collecting on my face under my mask. Nevertheless, I always wear my mask. I’ve even left home without it, realizing my mistake halfway to my destination, and turned around to go back to get it. While I wear a mask for my own benefit, I primarily wear it for the benefit of others. It’s the Christian thing to do.
There may be people like me in our congregation whose risk tolerance has increased over the last six months. They may be willing to go out in public in limited ways, perhaps even to come to worship with us. Imagine with me a hypothetical woman in that situation who also has a loved one in hospice care. When I wear a mask to our worship service, it sends a clear message to her that she is welcome in our worship. It sends a clear message to her that I want her to be able to have an in-person worship experience with God and, at the same time, that I want her to be able to continue to safely visit her loved one in hospice care without worrying that she has been exposed to the virus in church. In that moment, my wearing a mask is not about me but about her. Wearing a mask is a way, as Paul put it, to “look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” In other words, wearing a mask is a unique way that Christians can obey what Jesus taught us: to love our neighbors as ourselves.
In this pandemic, God is helping me to encounter my faith in new and different ways. I hope that is true for you, too.
Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron