Just a Word Before We Go… Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

There we were, thinking we were on our way back to normal, and then, boom!...back to a mask mandate! The thing about the masks we are wearing is that they are designed to keep ourselves and others safe from the highly contagious Delta variant. But what of other masks? Aside from medical use, and those activities that are nefarious, masks are traditionally worn on Halloween, or to a costume party. When dressed up as someone else, it is easy to hide our true identity and pretend that we are someone else.

But not all masks are made of cloth; in fact, sometimes masks are invisible, and those who wear them appear to be mask-less. These are the people to whom Jesus is addressing his words in today’s gospel. The Pharisees were pretending to be something else...holy, upright followers of God, when the reality was that they did not understand the greater reality of God...the mercy, the compassion, the love. They mostly understood the LAW and how to follow it. On the outside, they said long prayers, wore the right robes, and kept all the rules (most of which were of their making). Inside, behind their invisible masks, they were empty, dependent on the esteem of others, on keeping others in their proper place. Jesus, however, is not condemning them, but feels sorry for them; if only they would realize their inner goodness, they wouldn’t have to rely so much on outward trappings.

These readings today are a warning, not only to religious authorities, but also to anyone who ministers, and that includes all of us here. If we take our baptismal commitment seriously, the responsibility to minister to others is laid squarely on our shoulders. We all find ourselves in situations where the call to minister beckons, whether from a family member, a friend, a coworker, or from a tragedy far away where we might use our resources to help another. What prevents us from responding as ministers? Perhaps we forget that we are to supposed to personify God’s mercy, compassion and love. Perhaps our invisible masks get in the way - why should I get involved? What can I do, anyway, when I am only one person? The poor, the refugees, the wars...the world has always been this way...how am I supposed to make a difference?

Jesus is not asking us for ritual purity, but he is asking us to follow his command to love our neighbor as ourselves, and that means acting justly, giving others their due, correcting wrongs when we see them, and reflecting God’s mercy, love and compassion. As for the part about loving ourselves, Jesus asks us to look inward and see that we are a holy, blessed and good people; tap into that goodness, rely on that goodness, believe in that goodness; then employ that goodness in ministry to others.

So keep the cloth mask that serves to protect, but lose the invisible mask that keeps us from recognizing our goodness, as well as our responsibility to use that goodness, to benefit others.