“Behind the Veil”

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

Rev. Martin C. Singley, III

“Who was that masked man?”

That’s what the townspeople wanted to know after their peace and security had been miraculously restored. The bad guys were brought to justice. The good guys had won the day. And when these two heroes rode away, the townspeople were left only with a silver bullet, the sound of a hearty “Hi-ho, Silver!” and the burning question:

“Who was that masked man?”

Why, it was the Lone Ranger, along with his Indian friend, Tonto.

When I was a boy, I never missed an episode of that ABC television western, and I can still remember the opening words, “A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hi Ho Silver! Hi Ho Silver, away!" With his faithful Indian companion Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early west. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The Lone Ranger rides again!” Da-da-dum-da-da-dum…..

Of course, we KNOW who the masked man was.

He was the fictional John Reid, one of six Texas Rangers bushwacked by the merciless Butch Cavendish Hole in the Wall Gang. Reid had been saved from death by the kindly Native American named Tonto, who said, 'You only Ranger left. You Lone Ranger now.' And by a tremendous coincidence, many years before, the Lone Ranger had actually saved the life of Tonto! 'You kemo sabe,' said Tonto. That means "trusty scout". ' And stopping only to don his mask, the Lone Ranger set off to avenge his comrades and right wrongs in nineteenth century Texas accompanied by Tonto and his horse, Silver.

Da-da-dum-da-da-dum…..

But wait. The man behind the Lone Ranger’s mask may have been the fictional Texas Ranger John Reid, but who was the man behind the mask of John Reid?

In the 1950’s TV series, it was an actor by the name of Clayton Moore.

But who was the person behind the mask of the actor Clayton Moore?

Jack Carlton Moore was born in 1914 in Chicago. At 8-years of age, he was a circus acrobat. Then he became a trapeze artist. And a model. He served in the Army Air Force during World War II. He moved to Hollywood and became a stunt man, and played bit roles in a few B movies. In 1949, he was “discovered” by George Trendle who was about to launch a television version of the popular radio show, “The Lone Ranger.” He was cast as the star.

So Jack Carlton Moore became Clayton Moore, and Clayton Moore became John Reid, and John Reid became the Lone Ranger.

Isn’t it interesting what you find behind the masks people wear!

Today’s scripture readings are about such things. In Exodus 34, we are told that when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments, his face was GLOWING! He had been in the presence of God, and his face was still shining with the glory of God! So he came down from the mountain, and people gathered around. But they were afraid of the radiant, glowing man!

No one can look at God and live, they believed! So they looked away, and hid their eyes, because they did not want to die by looking into the radiance of God!

Moses faced a dilemma! How could he teach the Law to people who were afraid to look at him because his face was glowing with the majesty of God?

So Moses put on a veil – or mask. Whenever he spoke to the people, he wore the mask. But when he spoke with God, he took off the mask.

Hundreds of years later, St. Paul told this story to the early Christians. I suspect that Paul knew something about the unhealthiness that comes when people live behind masks, and that one of the best things you can do for yourself and your well-being as a person is to take the mask off.

There was a man in my first church, very successful in his career, with a wonderful family, and a pillar of the church. He was the kind of guy we all wanted to be like, and he was the kind of guy most of our wives wanted us to be like! I hated him for that – but I didn’t let on because I was wearing that mask you put on when you don’t like someone but you have to pretend that you do.

One day we were talking about our upcoming Father’s Day service at the church. I was asking him if he would participate by talking a little bit about his dad and what his father meant to him. All of a sudden, a strange look came over his face, and a tear leaked out of an eye. He said, “Marty, I can’t do that. I know this is wrong to say, but I hated my father. I hated his guts. When he died, I was glad he died.”

Well, I wasn’t expecting that! On the surface, you see, his life seemed perfect! But underneath…well, there were demons there, not the least of which was a father whose approval he could never win. And all his life, even after his dad was long gone, he worked tirelessly to somehow prove himself worthy of his father’s love. But he could never get there! He wore the mask of success and achievement, but underneath was a great sadness – a great failure - the truth of a little boy who could not please his daddy. It was the one thing in life he wanted more than anything else, but he could not achieve it! And, outside the public view, it was eating him up. In fact, he told me that when we sometimes recited the Ten Commandments in worship, he could not even bring himself to say the words, “Honor your father…”

Masks. We all wear them. They are the “you” that you are willing to let others see. But they are not the real you.

The real Marty is a kind of scary creature – underneath my public faith, there is a lot of private doubt – the Marty you may see as an extrovert is really a closet introvert – I have a terminal case of stage fright – I truly believe in God and God’s love, but I wrestle with why and how a loving God can allow tragedies like child abuse and earthquakes that kill innocent people. I try to be strong for you and my family, but underneath I often feel weak and helpless, and sometimes I wish I could just take care of myself. I have a good life, but I sometimes wonder at my age where it all went to, and it feels kind of unfair that the vitality of youth soon fades into the frailty of age and sometimes I feel like I’m a “has been”.

How about you? What does the real you look like?

The Christian Faith has wonderful healing gifts, and one of the most powerful is the gift of facing yourself. And Paul, in 2^nd Corinthians, tells us that in coming to Christ, you receive the power to face yourself as you really are, and along with it the freedom to become the person God created you to be.

Now taking off the mask begins with taking it off before God. Exodus tells us that when Moses was with the people, he wore the mask, but when he met with God, he took it off. There’s a lesson in there for us.

Although some people in our day decry the practice of confession, confession is actually a very healthy practice. It is simply the act of being honest with God. Confession is the place where you can say, “Okay God, here’s the real me, ready or not.”

Here are my doubts. Here are my fears. Here are my failures, and secret thoughts, and hidden sins. Here is what I like about myself. Here is what I don’t like about myself. Here is what I like about You. Here is what I don’t like about You. And let me tell you about that supposed friend of mine Gertrude…

Confession is becoming honest with God about who you really are, and letting God see the real you.

The Christian Faith offers the gift of finding yourself as you really are.

Barbara Brown Taylor tells about a certain preacher who once preached a sermon about the rape of Tamar, a story told in the book of 2^nd Samuel. After the service, she learned that there had been a young woman in the congregation that day who had just experienced the violence of rape. The preacher felt terrible. She sought out the young woman. When she found her, she apologized if her message that day caused more hurt in the girl’s life.

“Oh no,” the girl said. “I wanted to thank you for telling that story. It’s helpful to me to know that my story is in the Bible.”

Our Bible is full of real life stories about real life people. People who hate their fathers - fathers who abuse their children - women who suffer under the tyranny of men. The Bible tells of people who are faithful, and then faithless - people who everybody thinks are strong, but turn out to be weak - people whose lives are messed up beyond measure. There’s even a story about a man named Jesus who once cried out, “My God! My God! Why hast Thou forsaken me?”

There is no pretending in the Bible.

So an important step that you and I can take toward health and happiness is to take off our masks before God. Confession should be a regular part of our lives as Christian people. It’s like going to a psychiatrist without having to pay!

And what happens when we do confess – when we let God in on the inside of story of our lives?

Well, when our veil is lifted, not only can God see us for who and what we are, but we begin to see God for who and what God is.

And that is…Love. God IS Love!

“Love divine, all loves excelling,” sings the hymn. There is no greater love than God’s Love.

And when you discover that God’s Love is big enough and deep enough to love you as you are, you become free – Paul says – to work through those things that harm you and keep you from being the person God created you to be.

When you become honest with God, there is nothing you have done, nothing you have experienced, nothing you are struggling with right now that you and God together can’t handle.

Who is that masked man? Who is that masked woman?

Who are You?

Spend time with God this week. And when you do, take off the mask.