October 25, 2020 – Reformation Text: Romans 3:19-28
Dear Friends in Christ,
Well, we’ve been at this for seven months now. What fashion accessory have you added to your wardrobe? If you said “mask” you just earned a reservation on the patio of your favorite restaurant in December – congratulations. How many masks do you own? I started with a hospital mask after a visit and now my collection numbers four. Two work masks – crosses on cloth and two others for shopping and a night on the town. The mask has become part of who we are.
Have you enjoyed hiding behind your mask? Head down, get what you need and get on with life. Or has the “law” coming down on you and requiring the aforementioned face covering annoyed you? Let’s take what we are experiencing and put it into our Reformation message.
“FREE TO LIVE UNMASKED”
I am not making any kind of political statement with our sermon title, I am just thankful for the Holy Spirit’s leading which should help us understand these passages from Romans.
The Jews hid behind masks of their own making. They needed to do the right things to merit the favor of a holy God, or so they thought. Paul unmasks the Jews when he writes, “so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world held accountable to God. For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (v. 19b-20)
We too are unmasked. Have you gone places without your mask and you get the disparaging look? That is what the law does, it leaves us exposed. We are naked before the judgment seat of God “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
We wear masks for our protection and the protection of others. That is why we have the Law. But if we think the mask can keep us safe with no chance for infection, then it has become our god. In the same way, if we think our own righteousness and good behavior can save us right into the safe arms of Jesus, we have let our sinful thoughts get the best of us. The Law uncovers who we are as less than perfect human beings. It cannot mask our need for the Gospel of Christ.
God has revealed a new righteousness. The proclamation is in the Law and the Prophets but it was “fleshed” out in Christ Jesus. Christ has covered our sin. We can stand bold and mask free before a gracious God.
We can do this through the Lord’s grace. It has always been about grace. God’s Old Testament people looked forward to the final Sacrifice that was better than any that took place on their altars. When Christ obediently gave his life on Good Friday, a literal mask was taken down when the temple curtain was torn in two and man and woman could come into the presence of a holy God. Up to this point the temple curtain had masked them from the mercy seat of their Creator.
It is still grace, the means of grace, the Word and the Sacrament that allow us to take away our masks and come into the Lord’s presence. He feeds us forgiveness and love and mercy and grace. He welcomes us with open arms and we don’t need to follow an arrow on the floor but we walk confidently into a gracious hug that gives us a glimpse of the eternal hug that awaits us as His children.
We are free to live unmasked before God. We have no need of fear or uncertainty. He even knows when the mask will no longer be part of our wardrobe. He sees us only in the righteousness of Jesus.
We are free to live unmasked before our neighbor. We don’t need to pretend to be somebody we are not. We simply boast in being God’s redeemed who know that the Lord is in control. We confidently maintain this to all – our children, our spouse, our co-workers, our fellow students, our neighbor, our brothers and sisters in Christ here at Good Shepherd Lutheran. It comes through in the way we worship and speak and serve. “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (v. 28)
Free to live unmasked . . . through Christ Jesus.
Amen.