Pastor's Message
September 2020
The Mask of God
I don’t know that there is anyone who enjoys wearing a mask these days, but it serves an important purpose. How-ever, for a long time, masks were more associated with deception. Perhaps it was a bandit trying to rob another and still hide his identity. Or maybe it was a vigilante—think Batman or the Lone Ranger—who wanted to help people anonymously. Actors often wear masks, of sorts, to change their appearance for a given part. In ancient Greece, actors often wore a happy face or sad face masks in order to cover their true expressions.
But now we wear masks for a different reason. Masks are worn to keep us or others safe. And while I understand the benefit that comes from wearing them, it saddens me a little. Even though the eyes are the window to the soul, it’s hard to see a smile through a mask. We lose out on so many non-verbal cues.
It’s interesting, though, that Martin Luther often spoke of “the mask of God.” It was a concept he used to indicate the hidden ways God works in the world. For example, in his lectures on Galatians, he said, “I ought to respect and honor the civil judge, who is the mask of God, for the sake of God.” In other words, we are to respect the civil authorities because God works through them to accomplish his greater work of justice within the community.
In his commentary on Psalm 147, Luther calls us the mask of God: “What else is all our work to God—whether in the fields, in the garden, in the city, in the house, in war, or in government—but just such a child’s performance, by which He wants to give His gifts in the fields, at home, and everywhere else? These are the masks of God, behind which he wants to remain concealed and do all things.” In other words, God wants to work hiddenly through you to do his good work.
He adds, “We have the saying: ‘God gives every good thing, but not just by waving a wand.’ God gives all good gifts; but you must lend a hand and take the bull by the horns; that is, you must work and thus give God good cause and a mask.”
We know very well that God could feed us like he fed the Israelites in the desert or like Jesus who fed the 5,000 and the 4,000 by miracles. But that’s not his regular course. Rather, he wants us to plow and plant. He wants us to work hard to earn and accomplish. Even as we do so, we are to acknowledge that God is behind it all, causing the seed to grow and produce, granting success to our work.
For we dare not confuse the mask with the power be-hind the mask. Much like in baptism, we know it is not the water which washes away sins, but the Word of God connected to the washing. In the same way, it is not the bread and wine which brings forgiveness, but the promises of Jesus in connection with the eating and the drinking. So also, we do good things, but God is the power and the source behind it all. To him be the glory!
… So, think about that the next time you put on a mask to go out in public. It is not to hide your identity, but to hide the work of God through you. You are God’s hands and feet. You are God’s mouthpiece. You are the mask of God.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch
The Mask of God
I don’t know that there is anyone who enjoys wearing a mask these days, but it serves an important purpose. How-ever, for a long time, masks were more associated with deception. Perhaps it was a bandit trying to rob another and still hide his identity. Or maybe it was a vigilante—think Batman or the Lone Ranger—who wanted to help people anonymously. Actors often wear masks, of sorts, to change their appearance for a given part. In ancient Greece, actors often wore a happy face or sad face masks in order to cover their true expressions.
But now we wear masks for a different reason. Masks are worn to keep us or others safe. And while I understand the benefit that comes from wearing them, it saddens me a little. Even though the eyes are the window to the soul, it’s hard to see a smile through a mask. We lose out on so many non-verbal cues.
It’s interesting, though, that Martin Luther often spoke of “the mask of God.” It was a concept he used to indicate the hidden ways God works in the world. For example, in his lectures on Galatians, he said, “I ought to respect and honor the civil judge, who is the mask of God, for the sake of God.” In other words, we are to respect the civil authorities because God works through them to accomplish his greater work of justice within the community.
In his commentary on Psalm 147, Luther calls us the mask of God: “What else is all our work to God—whether in the fields, in the garden, in the city, in the house, in war, or in government—but just such a child’s performance, by which He wants to give His gifts in the fields, at home, and everywhere else? These are the masks of God, behind which he wants to remain concealed and do all things.” In other words, God wants to work hiddenly through you to do his good work.
He adds, “We have the saying: ‘God gives every good thing, but not just by waving a wand.’ God gives all good gifts; but you must lend a hand and take the bull by the horns; that is, you must work and thus give God good cause and a mask.”
We know very well that God could feed us like he fed the Israelites in the desert or like Jesus who fed the 5,000 and the 4,000 by miracles. But that’s not his regular course. Rather, he wants us to plow and plant. He wants us to work hard to earn and accomplish. Even as we do so, we are to acknowledge that God is behind it all, causing the seed to grow and produce, granting success to our work.
For we dare not confuse the mask with the power be-hind the mask. Much like in baptism, we know it is not the water which washes away sins, but the Word of God connected to the washing. In the same way, it is not the bread and wine which brings forgiveness, but the promises of Jesus in connection with the eating and the drinking. So also, we do good things, but God is the power and the source behind it all. To him be the glory!
… So, think about that the next time you put on a mask to go out in public. It is not to hide your identity, but to hide the work of God through you. You are God’s hands and feet. You are God’s mouthpiece. You are the mask of God.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch