by Victoria Heinecke

Sharing joy requires more than a smile.

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
    and the light of my face they did not cast down.”
Job 29:24 English Standard Version

“Smile – it makes people wonder what you’re up to.”

I have lived by this maxim most of my life. I first read it on a plaque at a gift shop, and although I never purchased the plaque, I remembered the saying. The maxim has served me well over the years.

There is another saying: “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.”

We’ve often heard of people who say that their mood was lifted when another smiled at them. Even babies can elicit a positive reaction when they smile, and another person smiles back. We are so wired to react positively to a smile that, even when an animal appears to be smiling, we smile back.

Over the past few months, the public has been encouraged to wear masks when in public, to help prevent the spread of disease. It is more difficult to see a person’s overall expression behind a mask, and sometimes a group of people can appear to be emotionless and dour. Being out among others is not the enjoyable experience it used to be.

Masks hide our smiles. They enable us to blend into our surroundings. They create barriers of communication with others.

However, they must not hide our joy.

It takes more effort to communicate with those around us. We are learning to smile with our eyes, and to speak through our masks. Sharing the peace of God with those we encounter day to day requires more than a smile. Our whole being and manner has to adapt to this new challenge of life.

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”
Philippians 1:27 English Standard Version

May the peace of God, and the joy of the resurrection of Christ Jesus, shine beyond your mask every day.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado