Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
Wearing Masks
Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve) is the eve of All Saints’ Day, when the church remembers the saints in heaven. Likewise, where I live, people celebrated Halloween in the secular sense. Children put on their disguise and were out hoping to fill their pumpkins with treats. As the doorbell rang, I couldn’t help but think about other times during the year (maybe not so obvious) when we all wear masks or costumes: when we are in a job interview; when meeting someone for the first time and trying to make a good impression; when we are really angry, sad, or hurting; when we are afraid or feel vulnerable. We all wear masks at one time or another.
In our faith communities also we see folks wearing all kinds of masks, some around politics, piety, or pride, others around fear and dysfunction.
Zacchaeus, the main character in the Gospel story this morning, had those same inclinations; he posed as a tax collector for Rome. He put on greed and dishonesty, and apparently no one liked him. His reputation can be understood when we recognize that during his day tax collectors were some of the most despised people in the community. They were despised because they took advantage of regular people through the mask of power and position.
However, as the gospel suggests, in the presence of the Lord, our deceptive exteriors fall away, and the truth of who we really are can shine forth. This is the moment when we have a profound choice: remain hidden behind the pretense of sin in fear, or embrace the light of forgiveness and faith and take off the façade once and for all!
Faith or Fear?
Chris Thore, pastor, Clemmons Moravian Church
Clemmons, North Carolina
