Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost

Actors of old wore masks
to hide their true selves,
with smiles and frowns
frozen into place.

They wore expressions,
not of who they really were,
but of who someone thought they should be.
We call our masks
by different names:
Facebook,
Twitter,
Social media;
still used to
project an image,
one that even we ourselves
can eventually come to believe.
Lord Jesus, you summed up the law and
the prophets in one simple statement:
do to others what you would
want them to do to you.
But how can I do that
if I cannot face who I really am?
Holy Spirit, cleanse me of
the sin of self-deception
and open my eyes to
who I truly am
and what I truly want,
that I may truly serve.

Amen