I wear the mask as a person of faith, not as a person of politics.

I don’t wear it to make some statement or promote an agenda. I don’t wear it to tell you for whom I’m voting, how I “lean,” or whether I prefer blue or red.

I don’t wear it to judge you, to cast mental aspersions your way, or to think myself better than you.

I don’t care how you will judge me. I don’t care what assumptions you will make about me. I don’t care how you will decide it makes me look and I really don’t care if you hate me for it.

I still love you.

And so, I wear the mask.

I wear the mask because the divine in me recognizes the divine in you. I cannot respect God as God dwells inside of your body if I show a blatant disregard for your health and safety. I cannot show God the depth of my love for God and for God’s creation if I do not also show the depth of my love for you and your created being.

So, I wear the mask.

Because I love you.

Because I believe everything God made is touched by the divine and is good and beloved. Even if you do not share my belief, to me that means you are beloved and good and so, I wear the mask to protect you, to guard your being, to protect God’s creation.

I wear the mask because God has blessed us with bodies to work and rest and play, bodies that minister and love and show compassion to the world. I wear the mask because it is one small, effortless action that allows me to show my gratitude for these bodies God has put into the world – your body and my body. It is the smallest of ways that I can express my thanksgiving that God placed your body on this earth, a body through which God shows grace, a body through which God acts through your ministry of love and compassion, no matter how successful you are at executing that ministry.

So, I wear the mask, not as a political person but as a person of faith, a person of love, a person who is loved, and a person who can only show her love of God by loving you.