Unmasking Masks or No Masks
Trinity,
Much of the New Testament was written to address a whole variety of divisions that kept arising in the church's early decades. Divisions over which kinds of food one could eat, what day the sabbath should be celebrated, whether the ancient festivals were binding on worshippers of Jesus. There were even debates over whether or not gentile believers needed to be circumcised in order to be counted among God's covenant people. In other words, much - if not most - of Scripture, and therefore God's words to His people, are concerned with addressing our terrible propensity of dividing and building tribes around the wrong things. All of these divisions represent a terrible instance of unbelief - a failure to trust in the work of Jesus and therefore, love His people.
In the face of unbelieving divisions, the New Testament calls us to gather together as God's people in worship, to share communion, to show deference to one another, and to embody our unity in the face of worldly divisions. Doing these things are a kind of protest against those divisions and a confession of faith in the singular work of Jesus. So, before we address the recent mandate passed down by Governor Polis regarding mask-wearing, I want to call you to worship Jesus with His church on Sunday. I want to call you to avoid silly divisions and judgments and breaking fellowship with other Christians who choose to wear masks or not wear masks. I am consistently amazed by how different God's priorities are in Scripture as compared to our present day preoccupations with political ideologies. The Scriptures call us to worship Jesus, to love one another (which even looks like deferring to one another's weaknesses), and to hold fast to what is true. With this call, come worship in unity on Sunday.
Governor Polis has issued a statewide mandate requiring those of us, 11 and older, to wear a mask when inside a building for the next 30 days. Many of us see this as a simple way to love our neighbors and slow the spread of a disease that has led to the death of thousands of people. Many of us see this as a further example of unconstitutional over-reach by the magistrate issuing illegal edicts to gain political points. It’s okay if you see it both ways. Currently, we lease our space on Sundays from a church that has communicated that we need to abide by the Governor's edict while in their building.
We believe that the New Testament commands us, above all else, to worship Jesus, to express our unity and love for one another, particularly by sharing the word and communion together. Because we believe this, we must prioritize what the Scriptures prioritize and so we’re going to ask that you to wear a mask on Sunday when inside the building or outside if the 6 feet of social distancing cannot be maintained between households. It will be awkward and your singing will be muffled. But instead of focusing on the constitutional issues or the issues surrounding personal liberty or how mask-wearers love people better than non-mask-wearers, we want to call everyone to worship Jesus in the unity of the faith. We’d even ask for you to sit inside with us if at all possible. We have plenty of space with access to the balcony, and while it is nice to sit outside, it’s a great thing to see everyone together in the same room. Additionally, we’ll ask everyone to sing particularly loud! Don’t protest masks. Protest silly divisions and the refusal to love. Protest rugged individualism that refuses deference. Protest apathy in the face of God’s call to worship together and share communion together in person (barring personal sickness).
Come and gather with us this Sunday at 9am or 10:30am to worship, sing, eat together, and to hear God's word. I'll be preaching on Proverbs 6 and the things that God hates and how we find wisdom for living there. We'd also love for you to join us at 8:30am on Sunday to pray for the two worship services and our city.