The Parable of the Masked Man

 

It came to pass that one day I took my journey upon the road that leadeth from Rustburg to Brookneal that some call Route 501, but others call “Brookneal Highway.” 

Though it beareth the name of Highway, a speedy turnpike it is not.  For there pass many Log Trucks and slow conveyances that make it anything but, swift passing for those In A Great Hurry to get to Brookneal.

As I was travelling in my Pickup Truck I came to a small rise in the road.  As I crested the top of that little hill, I discovered that which had remained hidden before.  For, lo, a car was travelling rapidly in my lane, directly toward me, passing a Log Truck. 

I gazed at the highway and behold, I saw there was a double yellow line which speaketh wordlessly to the wise, “Do Not Pass!”  The hair on my arms did stand up a bit straighter for several seconds and I pushed speedily upon my brake pedal to slow my Truck that we might not have a Meeting of the Minds at 55 miles per hour.

As this car got back into its lane, I looked and perceived that truly this driver was wearing a mask of the surgical type which protects its wearer from viruses of all types, even from that which the scientists have named COVID-19.  And I thought me that it would have been some consolation to this driver’s mother, had he been pulled from the flaming wreckage of his vehicle, after passing on a double line, to have been found wearing a mask and also, perhaps, wearing clean underwear.

While I traveled on to my destination without further mishap I could not leave from thinking about the message of the Masked Man in the Toyota.

Those who wear masks speak clearly that they do so for safety. Yet, although the multitudes may practice safety in one area of their lives, they do not do so Across the Board.

Mayhap it was this same sort of inconsistency that the Pharisees struggled with.  They were the servants of the law, following it down to the tiniest details and yet the Master saw something more that was missing.  He told them, “Ye pay tithe of mint and anise, and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law:  justice and mercy and faith.  These ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone.”

There are many who Rise Early on Sundays and travel to a House of Worship, thinking that they will earn Extra Credit with their Creator and do not realize that they are missing out on some really important stuff.  For the One who speaks to us through The Word says that He loves mercy and justice and humility, not simply Church Attendance and Good Singing.

These things you ought to have done and not to leave the other undone.

Lo, there are too many Christians who travel the highways and byways of this life quite unsafely, even as they wear their masks to the glory of God.