A discouraged little girl named Ellen Harmon once had a dream of seeing the face of Jesus. The Lord was seeking to impress upon her heart the loving character of her Savior, to bring peace and to give her courage.
She later recounted that this dream “gave [her] hope” (CET 28.1). Particularly, it was the smile, the closeness, and the caring touch of Jesus that so comforted her:
He drew near with a smile, and laying His hand upon my head, said, “Fear not.” The sound of His sweet voice thrilled my heart with a happiness it had never before experienced. I was too joyful to utter a word, but, overcome with emotion, sank prostrate at His feet... His smile filled my soul with gladness. His presence awoke in me a holy reverence and an inexpressible love. {CET 27.1}
It was his “presence.” His touch. His non-muffled voice; His clear and lovely words.
“He drew near.”
And perhaps most important of all, repeated twice, it was His smile that so “filled her soul with gladness” and won her heart.
When Jesus walked this earth 2000 years ago it was the same; the children “loved to climb upon His knees and gaze into the pensive face, benignant with love” {SC 11.2}. And it goes without saying that it’s not just children that need smiles and physical touch. We all do.
Christ’s method alone is worthy of our highest devotion.
Only heaven can quantify the extent to which Jesus’ soul-winning effect would have been reduced if He, based on the recommendations of secular medical ‘authorities,’ would have covered his face in public and practiced social distancing in an effort to mitigate the hypothetical danger of His being a possible asymptomatic carrier of and vector for virus transmission.
This article is about masks and social distancing, but neither for the sake of argument nor for the sake of mere preference. It’s for the sake of the gospel work and the unity of the body of Christ.
This is not presented as an argument against mask-wearing (though the introduction above might have already taken the reader there); but the following is merely an appeal for tolerance of mask refusers.
This appeal has been a long time in the making, but was prompted to be put into print by a recent experience that my family encountered the past two Sabbaths while traveling, which we found to be very eye-opening.
DIVISION AND DISCORD
We should begin with stating the obvious and unfortunate reality that mask controversies are intensifying and don’t seem to be going away any time soon.
Official pronouncements seem to suggest that the direction in America is toward requiring a larger quantity of masks on your face… in more places… and for further into the future, than previously thought.
According to a recent survey, 72% of Americans even plan to keep wearing masks when the pandemic is over!
A grocery store in Naples, FL recently shocked the nation when it was exposed by the media that the store owners do not force their employees or customers to wear masks.
When the revelation surfaced, the angry faces on mainstream media and their followers were definitely not ‘benignant with love,’ but were indignant with scorn and hate.
In the days following the news report, store personnel received hundreds of angry phone calls, many threatening to literally come and murder the owners and staff. After all, the death threateners must have reasoned, the store management is murdering countless people by not forcing people to wear masks in their store!
The store owner replied that not a single maskless employee, young or old, has died of COVID-19; but 4.8 of his employees should’ve died according to national numbers applied proportionally to his staff.
His defense that literally nobody is dying went unheard by the unreasoning mob who are convinced that he is a serial killer.
So, with the cultural discord as the backdrop in the broader society, my prayer is that this article won’t just rile us up and into our corners to fight over masks, or have growing anger or contempt for one another. We can do the opposite of what the authoritarian and combative culture is doing – bring peace and unity among the willing and revive an effectual power in our gospel work.
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph 4:13).
UNITY OR UNIFORMITY?
Much of the reason for the present division over masks and social distancing is that some have sought to enforce uniformity, a contrived and counterfeit “unity” – i.e. everybody must do the same thing. And that has had a divisive effect, not a unifying effect.
All are told to wear a mask, social distance, refrain from foot washing, etc., because it’s what we, as a group, believe in and practice.
You enforce uniformity of practice and, voila, you’ve achieved Christian unity.
Or have you?
Maybe there have been a few conscientious, faithful, non-fanatical believers who’ve been marginalized through that process.
Maybe there’ve been many who find not just their love of freedom offended, but also their sincere Christian conscience troubled by what seems to be the ‘new normal’ in their worship experience.
It is true that most members will be nice and comply with church policy regarding masks and social distancing for the same reason most people in society comply with this new way of life. They would feel rude and confrontational to push against the policies. So they cooperate.
At that point the situation has the appearance of peace and unity, since the vast majority are on board; and the dissenters, being small in number (and sometimes prickly in personality or conduct), come off as mere trouble-makers who are then blamed for discord in the church.
The minority are told, “Just put a mask on; it’s not a matter of conscience; you’re selfish for wanting to assert your independence.”
Wait. Masks are “not a matter of conscience?” Who is to say?
“Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls” (Romans 14:4).
And what about seekers who are part of the growing group of citizens who support the grocery store owner and who, themselves, resist mask mandates? Is there no place for them to worship according to their convictions?
In a future article we will look at a number of valid reasons why some Christians object to masks for their families.
But it doesn’t even require agreement with their position to see that they have a sincere compulsion of conscience to stand against this ‘new normal.’ Simply reading Ellen White’s account of the smile and benignant face of Jesus is conviction enough for many of our solid, grounded and faithful members to oppose mask mandates.
So, how can we show respect to and make room for those who conscientiously object to putting masks on their kids?
MY FAMILY – ON THE ROAD…
No masking my identity here. Probably no surprise… I’m one of those stubborn mask resisters.
Again, I’ll share in a future article the reasons why – not to try to convince everybody to do the same, but to continue in the spirit of this article, which is simply an appeal for tolerance and unity for the purpose of peace and effective soul-winning.
So, quick story from my family from the past two Sabbaths.
I should preface this story with a sincere statement that I have no resentment or hurt feelings; this is not written with a spirit of criticism; and I believe a local church has the right to require masks if they’ve decided together that their policy is to accommodate members and/or seekers who would not otherwise attend church at all.
So, here’s the story. We’re on the road as a family. My wife and 3 kids and I (who worship without masks) took a risk and decided to spin the wheel and hope for the best.
We rolled into a small-town church, hoping it would likely be one of the many that do not enforce the mask mandates.
We quietly inquired with a church member in the parking lot about the church’s mask policy and were told, in no uncertain terms, that masks are absolutely required for our family to enter.
We smiled kindly, avoided any conflict, and drove 20 minutes to the next church down the road.
And… same thing happened in the parking lot there. With the addition of a very pleasant conversation about the different stances that different churches take on masks.
0 for 2.
Maybe we just happened upon the only 2 small town churches that have such a strict policy, but it did come as quite a surprise to us.
Undaunted in our worship of the Lord, we ended up worshipping as a family in a beautiful local park like Paul at the riverside in Acts 16. We had a wonderful Sabbath with absolutely no bitterness either then or now.
Again, local congregations can make that call. No criticism meant here.
But here’s an idea to consider. It would be helpful for seekers, for those traveling, and even for members looking for a less restrictive place to worship… if church members and greeters were prepared to point people to another place to worship.
“Yeah, we do follow the guidelines pretty strictly here, but about 15 minutes west of here in such-and-such-town, there’s a church that would probably love to have your family join them just as you are; they’re more relaxed on masks and social distancing.” (No virtue signaling; no offenses taken on either side; pure tolerance and understanding of different perspectives.)
Not ideal, I know. Under normal circumstances this is a very strange thing to suggest doing. I’d love to see everybody feel welcome at every church.
But for now, diffusing that awkward moment by pointing people to a place that suits their conscience, or even their preference, would be a practical way to not to lose souls while ‘saving lives.’
Well, praise God, the following Sabbath we found a lovely church to worship with. Joy-filled faces. Heart-felt singing. And a beautiful sermon. We even celebrated communion! What a blessing.
(Maybe some sort of underground list or database of churches like this would come in handy for those seeking such places to worship.)
COVID TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE FEET?
But one discordant note came to the fore at that more liberal church that we found that second Sabbath. (‘Liberal,’ meaning, tolerant and open to diversity; generous in freedoms allowed.)
The discordant note was that even though we worshipped mask-free and celebrated communion, foot washing was omitted.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the notion of refraining from foot washing “only for now and for safety reasons” doesn’t satisfy the conscience of many faithful Adventists.
It’s also not very rational. The proximity necessary to achieve a successful elbow bump is acceptable, as we obey the principle behind ‘greet each other with a holy kiss’ (2 Cor. 13:12), but the more distant proximity necessary to practice the ordinance of humility is deemed unsafe? As a people we can stand together to prevent the current of the culture around us from carrying us into a place where we betray both reason and conscience.
But maybe I’m missing something about feet and the transmission of COVID-19. (I’ve been admonished that I’m not a medical expert but am “laity” – apparently at a lower peg of intellectual acuity compared to what is presumably now asserting itself as a medical priesthood of some kind, declaring what is truth.)
But snarky comments aside, accepting that status quo for what it is, our family practiced foot washing on our own later that afternoon. (Great suggestion from the pulpit, Pastor! High five! Love you, brother.)
I suppose house-church foot washings are one solution to satisfy the conscience of those who feel bound by the word of God to practice the ordinance of humility. But we haven’t endorsed house churches generally, as a denomination. Is that where this is taking us?
Not everybody believes that they are saving lives by refraining from foot-washing.
So, another suggestion. Why not drop the ‘we don’t practice foot washing at this time’ thing and just make it optional? Open the fellowship hall to consenting individuals who are aware of and accept the risks.
And those whose conscience tells them to avoid the risk and remain in the sanctuary (or at home watching the livestream) are also tolerated since they really believe they are saving lives by doing that.
The pastor can lay out the optional foot washing ceremony in a careful way, so that nobody feels judged or forced in one direction or the other.
Here’s the point: on disputable matters, peace and unity are best achieved when we refrain from coercing a contrived uniformity.
Or said another way, enforced uniformity is often the enemy of unity, especially on non-essentials. It is counterproductive, producing resentment and division.
Strangely, as a church in North America we seem to have given wide space for believers and local churches to disregard many (or even most?) of our Adventist peculiarities and common convictions that make us who we are, and which are derived from inspired sources.
If we tolerate people’s preference for rock music in some churches, can’t we at least tolerate sincere convictions for smiling and foot-washing in others? That’s not asking a whole lot, really.
CONCLUSION
One could make the case for a much more zealous approach to obeying the Lord than these very mild suggestions.
In an olive branch of peacemaking, the appeal is to encourage church districts to try to offer a variety in mask policy among the area churches; be ready to point people to a local church that accommodates their convictions; and please at least allow foot-washing during the worship service for consenting individuals.
There are obvious problems and limitations with these suggestions, and I almost feel guilty stopping there; but really we’re just starting here, and these efforts would no doubt be an improvement on the status quo.
Much more can be said and done by those faithful pastors and church leaders who are wrestling with how to pursue peace and unity through respecting conscience, exploring the limits of unity in diversity, and above all, following the dictates of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I would love to hear about what some of you are doing out there. This little article is just one insight from one person’s experience and perspective. So now I pass the ball to those on the field.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NKJV).
Scott Ritsema is the founder and director of Belt of Truth Ministries and Media on the Brain. He lives in Lakeview Michigan with his wife Cami and three amazing children!
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