Recently there has been a viral op-ed floating around the internet entitled "Would Jesus Wear a Mask". It is written by Pastor John Lestock of Bethel Lutheran Church in Wisconsin. In it, he claims that the Christian duty to imitate Christ compels Christians to mask up for the COVID-19 epidemic.
A friend of mine asked for my take on it. So... here we go.
The good pastor makes six claims about Jesus:
- Jesus wouldn't be vain and care about His appearance
- Jesus wouldn't mind the inconvenience
- Jesus wouldn't be guarded about His civil rights
- Jesus wouldn't make fun of people who fear for their lives
- Jesus would take the counsel of medical experts
- Jesus would be willing to do everything in his power to protect our well-being.
Together, these lead to the conclusion that Christians ought to be wearing masks whenever they are in a public setting.
Do these points make sense? Let's go through them.
Point 1: Vanity
The first one is just not accurate to the objections which anti-maskers have. I've never heard anyone say that it ruins their appearance.
Point 2: Inconvenience
Jesus does tell us to "go the extra mile" when asked, so the pastor is probably right here.
Point 3: Civil Rights
Would Jesus argue over His civil rights? We don't know. Jesus was a Jew living in Roman occupied territory. He had no civil rights from the Romans.
But you know who did insist on his civil rights? Saint Paul. In Acts 22, when Paul is about to be scourged by the Romans, he says:
“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?” - Acts 22:25
So Paul was willing to assert his rights as a Roman citizen. Also, in Acts 25, Paul insists on a trial before Caesar - forcing men to undergo a long, dangerous trip across the Mediterranean Sea.
So it is not unreasonable for Christians to be concerned for their civil rights. And at a time when folks in other countries are being arrested for protesting and even going outdoors, it behooves us to speak up before things get too far along.
Point 4: Teasing the Fearful
Would Jesus tease the fearful? Honestly, it's hard to say. Jesus, Paul, and the other Apostles have some pretty sardonic critiques of folks. For instance, Jesus had the following to say about people who are worrying about their mortality:
"Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" - Matthew 6:27
Now, Jesus obviously isn't saying we cannot have an ordinary concern for keeping ourselves alive. What Jesus is ridiculing here is an irrational obsession with preserving one's life.
So the core question here is: Are people's concerns about dying from COVID out of proportion? Is it driving people to do irrational things? If so, then Jesus and the Apostles may very well have teased them about it.
And here is might do well to remember that a person's risk of death from COVID - after vaccination - is very, very low.
Point 5: Listening to Experts
Would Jesus take the counsel of medical experts? He's omniscient, dude. He didn't need to take counsel from anyone.
As for us, it isn't as simple as dividing the population into:
- "Those who listen to experts"
- "Those dastardly people who don't."
If only it was so stark. There are tons of experts weighing in on what we're supposed to do. Many contradict one another, many contradict themselves. Some of the most trusted experts have been wrong repeatedly over the past year. Others have admitted to lying to the public.
Plus, after getting information from experts, not all Christians are going to take away the same conclusions about what they are supposed to do. It isn't black and white.
Point 6: Do Everything in His Power?
Would Jesus be willing to do everything in His power to ensure our well-being?
CLEARLY NOT.
Jesus is alive and still has the power to do this. He is the omnipotent God and King of the universe. If He wanted to do everything in His power to protect our well-being, He could do that right now. He could eliminate all diseases on the earth immediately. It's within His power. He doesn't do it. So that's clearly not the case.
Taking a Step Back:
Now I want to zoom out a little bit and examine an assertion at the core of his argument. His whole article hinges on the idea that masks have any significant impact on public health. If the odds of masks helping are really, really low - then its just unreasonable to say people are morally obligated to do it.
To that point, a recent study from the university of waterloo showed that the surgical blue masks people wear are only 10% effective. Cloth masks would be even less effective that that. In addition, the CDC itself says the following about spreading the virus outdoors:
"Current data suggest the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in outdoor settings is minimal. In general, fully vaccinated people do not need to wear a mask outdoors."
So yeah, the masks most folks wear don't do much. And when you combine that with the already low risks of spreading the virus outdoors, there is no practical difference between going masked or unmasked outdoors. Therefore it is pretty difficult to say Christians are obligated to do it.
WWJD?
If you asked Jesus whether we should wear masks, what would He say? Well, Jesus is presented with a bunch of questions about what we're supposed to do:
- Washing hands before meals
- Paying taxes
- Executing adulterers
- Sharing inheritances
Each time, Jesus turned the question around on the asker and used it as an opportunity to tell people to repent. He wasn't willing to play along.
So what would Jesus do?
Well, He might turn it around on a person who wants to shame the maskless. Jesus might tell that person that HE is putting on a show of being moral, blowing his trumpet as he does performative pious deeds. That HE is the one who is vain and need to repent. Jesus might tell people that showing their smiling faces to children is more important than clinging unreasonably to their precious, fragile lives.
In short: Jesus was a bit unpredictable, and we shouldn't pull Him out like a sock puppet and think He'd tell us how right we are.
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