Be selfless: Wear a mask

Speakout

Posted

I was raised in the church. As a Norwegian-American from the area, I am almost genetically Lutheran whether I like it or not. Although my involvement level with the church has varied with the tides of life, some tenets have remained deeply rooted into my sensibilities. As is baptismal custom, I was handed a lit candle along with my first commission to: “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works…”

Before I was expected to gather with others in worship, study sacred texts, join voices in liturgy and hymns, or share Ole and Lena jokes over coffee, I was simply asked to share the light I was given.

“What does this mean?” as Luther would ask. This is that simple, universal core that religions and philosophies seek to distill. It is The Golden (and Platinum!) Rule, dying to the self to rise more selfless. It is the call to symbiotic living and love for the neighbor, the stranger, and the disenfranchised among us. It’s that do-no-harm thing, and the light in us honoring the light in others.

Lately, as I encourage my young daughters to live thoughtfully, our chats lean towards collective safety. We discuss respecting others’ space and considerate ways to prevent unknowingly spreading virus, especially to our most vulnerable loved ones. We talk about doing our part to reduce the degree of isolation our complacency might impose upon a third of our community.

My girls and I discuss gratitude for the guidance of those who help our community with their gifts and talents, especially local scientific and medical experts. In a way that 4- and 6-year-olds do, we celebrate how fortunate our little community is to have an unusual number of experts to guide us. When we feel discouraged, we look for the helpers and listen for messages of hope.

I’ve heard folks comparing safety measures to prison. We must also recognize the many who are forced into isolation because they cannot risk exposure to those not observing precautions. For the religious, loving the neighbor may mean worshipping or studying physically apart or together online, especially since outbreaks have been attributed to Brookings County church gatherings.

Hearing the idea that not gathering physically is essentially not “being the church,” let’s note the first “virtual church mission.” The books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are all attributed to the Apostle Paul, written during his imprisonment under guarded house arrest in Rome. These books of the Bible are known as “The Prison Epistles” or “The Captivity Letters.”

From the solitary confinement of his home, Saint Paul did the things churches do. He fellowshipped with his spiritual sisters and brothers, preached, admonished lovingly, confessed and forgave, advocated for justice, defined the importance of grace, and sought converts. From within his confines – his isolation Paul coined some of the Church’s most recited mantras and outlined fundamental precepts of Christian theology, and he didn’t even have the internet. Paul told the Church in Ephesus, “Be very careful [not reckless], then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise... do not be foolish.”

Fast forward to the three separate pestilences that Christian reformer Martin Luther (1493-1546) endured. Specifically addressing how one should behave during a pandemic, he said:

“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however; I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.”

Grace, mercy, and peace – especially in 2020.

Thanks for wearing a mask if you are able and for distancing out of love and care for others.