WHO IS THAT MASKED MAN? WOMAN?

“WHO IS THAT MASKED MAN? WOMAN?”

MATTHEW 23:1-12

23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,

2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,

3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, [1] and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long,

6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues

7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi [2] by others.

8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. [3]

9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.

11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Halloween isn’t just for kids anymore. These days Halloween is also for adults. Maybe it’s my imagination but it seems like more and more people are decorating their homes with lights and inflatable pumpkins and scary looking mannequins. Some people even wear costumes and masks to work on Halloween. I’ve seen bank tellers do it. I’ve seen school teachers do it. I’ve seen cashiers in the grocery stores do it. Maybe Halloween is a big deal for you. Then again maybe you’re not a big fan of Halloween at all. If you aren’t, you could always do what a dental hygienist did one year. While she was at work she suddenly remembered that she didn’t have any candy for the trick-or-treaters. She also knew that she wouldn’t have time to stop on her way home. So, she went to the supply cabinet in the office and grabbed a bag of free samples. Later that evening she gave the trick-or-treaters toothpaste, toothbrushes and dental floss and the next year she didn’t have a single child knock on her door.

Halloween is an interesting time of the year and it got me thinking about the masks that we wear. Some people wear masks for Halloween and some people wear masks all year round. They do that by pretending to be someone or something that they’re not. That’s what the Pharisees did. They wanted people to believe that they were good and honest men of God and it’s true that they were experts on the commandments. It’s also true that they preached about the virtues of humility and compassion. Behind their high and holy masks though they were really self righteous self serving hypocrites. That’s why Jesus told his followers not to be like them. Jesus said to his followers, “the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you – but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”

We all wear masks from time to time. One mask that surprised a lot of people awhile ago was the mask that Julia Child wore for much of her adult life. Did you see that story? Recently released documents reveal that Julia Child, the French chef who had her own television show, was a spy for the CIA during World War II.

Yes, we all wear masks from time to time. Take, for example, the father who wants his son to take over the family business, but the son wants to be an actor. Instead of doing what he wants to do though he plays the role of the dutiful son and takes over the family business. That’s a mask.

People who live beyond their means are also wearing a mask. They spend and spend and spend so they can impress their family, friends and their neighbors. I also wonder how many marriages fail because the husband and wife wore masks while they were dating.. Each one tries to be the person they think their true love wants them to be. It’s not really them though and after they’re married the masks eventually come off.

People with a drinking problem are also very good when it comes to wearing masks. They wear the mask of sobriety so that the people around them won’t discover their secret. Politicians are also very good when it comes to wearing masks. Take Diane Wilkerson for example. She’s the state senator who had a reputation for being an honest and hardworking advocate for the poor. Apparently though that didn’t stop her from accepting bribes and kickbacks from people who wanted political favors. She was arrested this past week.

Even ministers and priests wear masks from time to time. The clergy abuse scandal that erupted here in the Boston diocese a few years ago could be Exhibit A. Exhibit B could be Jimmy Swaggart’s tearful confession many years ago that he had sinned against God by committing of adultery. Yes, men and women of God do wears masks from time to time.

There’s another mask that a lot of us wear as we get older. It’s the mask that pretends that everything is fine. It’s the mask that pretends that we’re not slowing down. It’s the mask that says we don’t need any help from anybody. An elderly man wore that mask for many years. He finally decided to take it off though when a friend asked him a question. The friend asked him why he hadn’t seen him playing tennis recently at the club. “Well,” the elderly man said, “I realized one day that it was time to quit when my brain barked out a command to my body. My brain said, ‘Okay body. Hit the ball and run to the net.’ Then my brain said, ‘Hit the return volley to the far corner of the court.’ Then my brain said, ‘Jump back into position and hit the next return volley to the other corner of the court.” And my body said, ‘Who, me?’”

Jesus can always tell when we’re wearing a mask and he knows that there’s one more mask that we all wear from time to time. It’s the mask of innocence. It’s the mask that says “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t sin when I yelled at him. He had it coming to him” or “I didn’t sin when I told that little white lie. After all everyone does it” or “I didn’t sin when I took that pillow from the hotel. They figure stuff like that into the rate that you pay for the room” or “I didn’t sin when I parked in that handicap space. I’m only going to be a minute.

Larry Henning is the pastor at the All Saints Lutheran Church in Wales, Wisconsin. He tells a wonderful story about the mask of innocence. The story is about his fourth grade teacher and a classmate. This is what he writes, “Our teacher. Mrs. Cannon, would periodically leave the room and say, “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Just work quietly at your desks on your math...Now, my friends and I…would take turns going to the door to see if she was indeed making her return. Why this obsession about the exact timing of her return? Because in her absence, we were throwing chalkboard erasers around the room and didn’t want to get caught by her sudden and unexpected reappearance... Meanwhile, our classmate Elaine never worried about just when Mrs. Cannon might reappear. Why? Because Elaine would be at her desk the whole time faithfully doing her math -- faithfully doing what Mrs. Cannon asked her to do. Whenever Mrs. Cannon would return, she would find Elaine faithfully at work. Elaine was so good! (I wonder whatever happened to Elaine.)

That’s the mask of innocence that we all wear from time to time. Jesus, of course, didn’t wear any masks. That’s one of the things that made his so unique. He didn’t play games. He didn’t put on airs. He didn’t pull any punches with people. He didn’t say one thing and then do something else. His compassion was real. His willingness to speak the truth in love was real. His suffering on the Cross was real. The first words that he spoke from the Cross were also real. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Jesus found peace by being the person God created him to be.

Jesus knows that you and I will only find that peace by being the person God created us to be.

There’s a story in one of the Chicken Soup For the Soul books about a man who discovered the truth about wearing masks. The author in unknown, but this is what he wrote, “Ever since I was a little kid, I didn’t want to be me. I wanted to be like Billy Widdledon, and Billy Widdledon didn’t even like me. (Does that sound familiar?) I walked like he walked; I talked like he talked; I signed up for the high school he signed up for.

“Which is why Billy Widdledon changed. He began to hang around Herby Vandeman; he walked like Herby Vandeman; he talked like Herby Vandeman. He mixed me up! I began to walk and talk like Billy Widdledon, who was walking and talking like Herby Vandeman.

“And then it dawned on me that Herby Vandeman walked and talked like Joey Haverlin. And Joey Haverlin walked and talked like Corky Sabinson.

“So here I am walking and talking like Billy Widdledon’s imitation of Jerby Vandeman’s version of Joey Haverlin, trying to walk and talk like Corky Sabinson. And who do you think Corky Sabinson is always walking and talking like? Of all people, Dopey Wellington - that little pest who walks and talks like me.” (p.28)

That’s the problem when you wear a mask. Most of the time you end up with a trick instead of a treat. Peace comes when you take the mask off and simply be the person God created you to be. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes November 2, 2008