To my way of thinking, it’s the worst part of Coronavirus: wearing a face mask. No matter how it’s made—and despite claims to the contrary—a face mask is hot, confining and uncomfortable. It’s also one more thing you have to remember to take with you the second you leave home.
I’m intrigued by the creativity, though, that people have injected into this new tradition. You see all kinds of face masks—have you noticed? Some feature the logo of a favorite sports team. Or a sticker. Or the colors of a favorite university.
I’ve noticed that if you want to be trendy—way cooler than the crowd—you simply wear a bandanna, preferably hanging around your neck, as opposed to covering your face (go figure). Perhaps I’m the product of too many westerns, but all I can think of is how much these folks look like bandits and bank robbers of old.
At the airport this week, I was asked by a TSA security agent, “Please remove your mask. I need to see your face.” I happily obliged, gulping cool fresh air.
Know what? I wonder if Jesus is ever tempted to say the same thing to me, but for different reasons. “Please remove your mask, Jon. I heard those selfish (unconfessed!) words coming out of your mouth on the way to church. You think you’re fooling me with your plastic piety? Let’s make things right.”
I wonder if Jesus wants to say that a hundred times a day to you and me. Actually, He does. In fact, there’s a standing invitation in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Time to get clean.
Time to take the mask off!