Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61: 1-3 KJV)
These are the verses Jesus Christ read in the synagogue the day He began His formal ministry. They are the words He used to tell the people listening who He was and what He had come to do.
I’ve been thinking about these words lately in terms of the coronovirus pandemic and what is showing up in the words and actions of so many Christians–especially here in the part of Utah where I live, where a majority of my neighbors are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’ve been asking myself the favorite question of Christians, “What would Jesus do?,” as I have watched people scream at store clerks because they don’t want to wear a mask, people who claim being asked to wear a mask is a violation of their Constitutional rights (which is isn’t), people who not only ignore what our civic and religious leaders have asked them to do but seem to take a kind of glee is actively rebelling against it, turning a refusal to wear masks and social distance into some kind of political statement.
If you’ll permit me to digress for a moment, too many people have forgotten that freedom in the United States doesn’t mean the right to do whatever you want; it means the right to live as you choose while also accepting responsibility for the welfare of others. As long as you are in your own home or only among your close friends and family, you are free to choose not to wear a mask. When you go out in public, you have a responsibility to your fellow citizens not to put them at risk, even if it means sacrificing some of your own comfort, convenience, or favorite entertainment for a season. Just like you have a responsibility to drive the speed limit when you are in areas where other people are also driving, riding, and walking. Christ also taught us to “render unto Caesar.”
At the end of the day, wearing a mask shouldn’t be a political question. It should, however, be a moral one for any of us who claims citizenship and especially for those of us who claim fellowship with the Saints. I don’t know if my wearing a mask will save someone’s life. But it will help comfort those who are fearful of going out in public. It will help free those who are in high-risk groups from virtual imprisonment in their homes. It will allow businesses to re-open without fear that someone will contract the virus on their premises or infect their employees.
It will give those who are suffering hope that the rest of us care about what’s happening to them. To use the current vernacular of my faith, wearing a mask is a way of ministering to those who are most at risk, most fearful, most in need of connection with others right now.
So here’s how I choose to answer the question, What would Jesus do?” He would wear a mask.
Jesus would wear a mask, and he would respect a six-foot social distance, not for His own benefit or because the government was telling him to–He would do it for everyone else’s sake. That’s the thing most people who say they don’t care if they get sick are missing–the mask isn’t for you. It’s not going to keep you from getting sick. It’s only purpose is to help protect the people you interact with–even if your interaction is just passing them in the grocery store aisle–from getting infected because you may be carrying the virus without knowing it. And until we have a better system of testing and tracking in place, the only truly safe thing is to assume you may be a carrier.
This past week they released a study indicating that I belong to the group MOST likely to have the virus and not know it: white women of a certain age. This worries me because right now I am my elderly parents’ primary connection to the outside world. They belong to the group most likely to DIE if they contract the virus.
I go to the grocery store and the pharmacy for them. I take them to critical doctors appointments because people are still suffering from things like diabetic infections, congestive heart failure, and a host of other ailments while the coronavirus is wreaking havoc in the world. I take them for rides or walks around the neighborhood when they are exhausted from being cooped up in the house. I am fortunate that I am able to provide this support for my parents. Many in their situation do not have family living with them, so they have to face the added risk every time they need to purchase food or pick up medications. And I think about what could happen if I pick up the virus on one of my trips to the grocery store and bring it home to them despite washing my hands religiously and wiping down surfaces with sanitizer.
Think about the symbolism of it: an act of sacrifice that does nothing to benefit you; it can only benefit those around you. And then remember some more words Jesus taught: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these…ye have done it unto me.”
The Lord is not going to tell you that you have to wear a mask. He’s not going to issue a commandment from on high. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should know that He will ask us to do what is right, and then He will let us make our own decisions. Just over a week ago, our Area Authority signed a letter with leaders of dozens of other faiths in Utah asking people to love their neighbors by wearing masks and social distancing. I pray that soon we will not need the masks or the social distance, that we will be able to all go back to church, to work, to movie theaters and sporting events and concerts, without fear and without contention. Until then, though, I’ll continue to do what I believe Jesus would be doing if He were here: wearing a mask as a way of ministering to the needs of the least and most vulnerable among us.
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