Imagine a small mask, shaped to cover your face from mid-forehead to your nose, shaped to fit your face. Then, attached are brightly colored feathers of blue and green, beading in black and silver. Velvety ribbon dangles over the rod used to hold the mask up to your face, delicately fringed in silver thread. If I am holding up the mask, all you can see is a bit of my forehead, tip of my nose, and from about lips down. The mask can be beautiful, but what does it cover?
Imagine another mask, this one is a soft cloth, woven together. Pulled over your head, it will leave a spot for my eyes to show and look out. Everything else is enveloped in a warm comfort. The mask is functional, what does it protect?
There are many different kinds of masks. Toy ones at Halloween, sports helmets can serve as a sort of mask, party masks, and others are all available. We can also wear masks that serve to protect us, like the ski mask from the severe cold or scuba mask providing air underneath the water. Other times we where masks of hiding who we are. Wanting to keep everyone’s perception this way or that, we can wear a mask to enforce those ideas. The problem with that kind of mask is that over time, it can be glued into our personality, making the removal difficult and painful.
As there are nine days left before the Great Banquet, I’m praying that my masks will be gone and that instead, I can present my whole-souled self to God in our time together.
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