As the service ended at church this past Sunday, I noticed most of the people putting on their mask before heading out to Sunday school and I thought about something. Long before Covid-19 became a word we’ve all grown to hate, many of us were already wearing masks to church. The virus just forced us to wear a visible one! If you think about it, I’m sure you will agree with the truth of this. Sunday after Sunday, many, if not most of us, put on our “mask” and head to church. You know which one I’m talking about, my dear friend.
I’m talking about the “I’m fine; everything’s fine” mask that we put on before we walk through the church doors. No matter what we are going through, we rarely have the courage to be real when we walk through the doors of the church. Instead, we walk in and pretend that everything is fine and that we’re all okay, when the truth is that many times we are not okay! Somehow, the mask makes us feel safer; it makes us feel protected. And yet, I can’t help but wonder, my friend, what is so wrong with being honest? What is wrong with being real?
Why are we so afraid to let people know what is really going on in our hearts, in our lives? Isn’t the church the place where we are supposed to come to share our burdens? Isn’t the church supposed to be the place we feel safe? Isn’t the church where we are supposed to come to get the help and hope we need? Why are we hiding behind the masks? Why are we afraid of letting down our guard? How can we help each other if we don’t know what the problem is? How can we help each other if we are too busy pretending and hiding behind masks?
I’m sorry, but I think we’ve somehow gotten things mixed up along the way. We go to church and we pretend that everything is wonderful. We go to church and we act like we’ve got it all together. We go to church and we pretend that our hearts aren’t broken. We put on our smiles, hide behind our masks, and do whatever it takes to “keep up appearances”. And somehow, in the midst of all our pretending and hiding behind masks, we sometimes make church a place where people feel like they don’t quite measure up, that they don’t fit in.
I can’t help but think of what “church” was like when Jesus was here, when He was teaching and preaching. Yes, He taught Truth, He preached Truth, but He also ministered to the people who came to Him. He welcomed them all. I think about how He would stop what He was doing to heal people, set people free, and always, always welcome them to His side, no matter what condition they were in. And oh, how they came to Him! Bruised and broken, hurting, sick, demon possessed, crazy, caught in the very act of sin, lame, blind, it didn’t matter; all were welcomed.
No matter how bad, no matter how broken, He welcomed them and helped them. In fact, the ironic thing is that the ones who were usually on the receiving end of His rebuke and criticism were the “religious” leaders of that day. The ones who were “pretending” to be so spiritual are the ones who missed it! What does this tell us? It tells us that we don’t need to pretend; we can come to Him just as we are! Beloved, you don’t have to have it all together to come to Jesus; you can come as you are. You can take off your mask; you are welcomed and loved, just as you are.
What if we had the courage, as the church to “take off the masks” and just be real? What if we stopped pretending to have it all together? What if we had the courage to share our troubles with one another? What if we determined to welcome people the way Jesus welcomed them? What if we made it our goal to love people the way Jesus loved them? What if we, as the church, the hands and feet of Jesus, decided to minister to the people that Jesus ministered to while He was here on earth? Take a look through the Gospels and you will see what I mean.
The crowds that surrounded Jesus, the people He touched and ministered to were not the greatest, best, or most beautiful by the world’s standards. But to Jesus, who looks at hearts, not faces, they were beautiful. To Him, they were important; they mattered to Him. Please realize as you read these words that I have repeatedly used the word “we”! I am including myself in these challenges; I am NOT trying to criticize or speak ill of anyone. Please hear my heart, friend. I am simply trying to say that as the church, the representative of Christ, I think we may need to prayerfully consider some things.
To represent Jesus, we need to act like Him, love like Him, and welcome people like Him. This means we are going to draw more people to Him by being real. Nothing is more intimidating that being around a group of people who seem to have it all together while you are falling apart! When we are brave enough to take off the mask and be transparent, we can share with others in a way we cannot do with the “mask” on. People need to know the truth; they need to know that we understand their struggles because we are in fact, struggling with some things as well.
I know because I used to be a card-carrying member of the “I’m fine; how are you” club. I was so good at pretending; I wore my mask so well. May I share a secret with you, dear heart? Pretending gets exhausting and wearing a mask gets old after a while. Jesus told us that the truth sets us free (John 8:32) and oh, how right He is! When you take off the mask, you find help, you find freedom. And another thing I have learned is that people need your truth. People don’t want to see how well you can pretend; they need your truth. They need to know how you made it through.
People are desperately needing us, the church, to be real and say, “Yes, I’ve been struggling. Yes, I am not okay. Yes, I have been hurting. But this is how I am making it through. Or… this is how I survived.” People need our hope. People need to know that there is a place they can come to, to find the answers they seek. People need to know Jesus! When I finally had the courage to take off my mask and share the struggles I have faced and how God has helped me, I was amazed at what happened. People responded to my transparency; they were encouraged by the truth.
I hope I have not come across as harsh or judgmental of the church because that is certainly not my intention. I just know that people are hurting, really hurting and they need to know that they can turn to us for the help, hope, and encouragement they are needing. They need to know they are welcome to come to Jesus in whatever condition they may be in. I know because I have seen some broken, hurting people, desperately in need of Jesus, and unfortunately, we have not always welcomed them or helped them like we should… sometimes we’ve even hurt them worse.
It breaks my heart, and I know it breaks Jesus’ heart too. After all, look who He spent most of His time ministering to. I look at Mary, demon-possessed… can you imagine how crazy she acted before Jesus transformed her? I think of the lepers, the outcasts of society that everyone avoided, and Jesus touched and healed them. The adulterous woman thrown at His feet, the woman at the well with her five ex-husbands and living with yet another man, and all the other misfits that came to Him, all were welcomed and then changed by their encounters with Him.
Maybe, just maybe, when we go to church next Sunday we can leave off our “masks” and just be real. Maybe we can be honest, real, and transparent with one another. Perhaps, with His help, we can find ourselves truly seeing one another, looking past faces, and seeing hearts. Perhaps when we look at the people, we will see them the way Jesus sees them; we will see how important they are to Him. Maybe, just maybe, instead of going to church this Sunday, we will find ourselves being the church. Who knows? We might just change the world my friend…
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Eph. 4:25
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them… Mark 6:34a
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Eph. 4:32
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Gal. 6:2
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Cor. 1:3-4
Katrina Douglas
9/29/20
