It was an age of fear, when mistrust eroded the foundations of our faith. When we misplaced our trust with the faithless, and entrusted our hopes to those who have no hope. We took our council from snakes, who spoke comforting words to assure us of safety and who lulled us into complacency.
They whipped us up into a frenzy of fear, and a whirlwind of anxieties blew open the doors to our sacred spaces—the very doors that wisdom built eons ago, to protect us from the deceits of this world, and from the jaws of that roaming lion, who is always on the prowl seeking to devour us.
Then, masked invaders poured in through this breach, and despoiled the beauty of our sanctuary. These invisible foes whispered sweet deceits into our eager ears and we made ourselves into their image—we covered our own faces in fear, which relieved us of our anxieties, for the moment, and we were grateful for this strange new wisdom.
We willingly forfeited the noble beauty of our uncovered faces—which, from the beginning of time have reflected the image and beauty of our God and creator. Now, we masked our faces, concealing that divine glory and hiding each of us, one from the other. We formed a new alliance then, right there before the altar of our Lord; and we erected an idol to public safety.
It was a time of broken community, when we served two masters.
~FS
Prayerful Life 