Trek Day Six

freedom from pretense
"Everyone ... had all things in common. They … ate their food with glad and generous hearts." - from Acts 2:43-47

In recent weeks we have talked a lot about masks, as we are becoming accustomed to wearing face coverings in public. For the health of others who could become sickened by a virus we are unaware we are carrying, we put on a mask -- because we love our neighbors. At the same time, it seems like our metaphorical masks are coming off.

This week I was watching an interview of a favorite actor who was on a video call from her parents' home. The setting was hardly glamorous. At the beginning of the crisis, the popular actor had gone to her parents' home to care for them, taking with her a minimal amount of clothing and personal items. Six weeks later, she was comfortably doing a video interview clean-faced, with hair pushed back by a headband. She's been wearing her elderly mother's cardigans and her own comfortable leisure wear. I found myself actually staring at her face and was overwhelmed with the sense I was seeing HER for the first time. She was simply a daughter concerned for her elderly parents and the mask of fame and glamour was gone.

In similar ways, we have been peering into one another's homes through church Zoom meetings and family video chats. The mask has come off for us, too. We no longer give much thought to the pets roaming through our meetings, the family members talking in the background, or the beeping coffee maker and gonging clock that insist on sounding mid-call. This is the "real" us in our real homes.

Another way we have been unmasked is the realization of how dependent we are upon others. We can remain holed up inside the house only as long as delivery workers, store clerks, restaurant workers, factory workers, truck drivers and more get out there and work while we stay inside. Many of us have experienced the unmasking of our financial independence, realizing that an interruption of paychecks for even six weeks can upend our ability to remain housed, fed and insured. Still others are unmasked regarding the confident assumption that "I can take care of my own body". As illness takes it toll, especially an illness as severe as Covid-19, we are awakened to our dependence on others for the most intimate kind of care when we are seriously ill.

Todays scripture from Acts, which we also heard in worship on Sunday, reminds us that the early Church was gladly and generously interdependent, not independent. They had all things in common so that everyone would have enough and no one would have too much. Today's writer, Linda Gehman Peachey says

I often ponder how our wealth affects us. 

While I enjoy the comfort of my home, have I given up the freedom to feel at home with others? 

While I cherish my independence, have I given up the freedom to admit my needs to others?

Questions for Today

If a change in my circumstances required it, who would I ask to give me emergency housing?
If I became very seriously ill, who would I want to take care of me?

What messages do I receive about the need or desirability of being independent?

Who tells me how well I am doing "taking care of myself"?