A Homily for Carnival Sunday
by the Rev.
Melanie Morel-Ensminger
First Unitarian
Universalist Church of New Orleans
Sunday, February
3, 2013
David Gelfand was a devoted member
of this congregation and a distinguished professor of constitutional law at
Tulane Law School. Years
ago, he and his wife Mary bought elaborate matching pirate costumes
which they wore every Mardi Gras until David’s death during the evacuation after Katrina. For me, it was amazing to
watch David transform from his usual dignified, pedantic, professorial self into a roguish, daring
pirate.
During this year's Krewe du Vieux parade, I
encountered a man wearing an anonymous smirking Guy Fawkes mask, made famous in
the movie “V for Vendetta.” He and
I exchanged a few words, appropriate for the occasion, and I was amazed to
discover that I was talking with church member Robért Sullivan! Imagine that -- Robért as a revolutionary! Masks are like
that – it’s hard to wear one without taking on the qualities of that mask.
Masks are part of religious ritual
in many times and places and cultures:
Native American, African, Australian, Indonesian, Asian, medieval
European. Masks are used in
theater to disguise and enhance performance; think of Japanese kabuki, the gorgeous theater arts of Bali, and the famous Commedia dell’Arte of Italy. An actor in a mask is hidden from view, but emotions are
still clearly visible. At the
Juilliard School of Dramatic Arts in New York, young actors in training wear
masks to hide their faces while learning to convey feeling and affect through
their bodies, postures, and hand gestures.
In a mysterious way, a person in a
mask takes on the qualities of that mask, which of course they had all along,
perhaps without realizing – like David Gelfand as a pirate and Robért Sullivan
as the revolutionary Guy Fawkes.
Actor Kevin Kline has said in interviews that he feels more himself when
masked in a role. In some
cultures, a religious ritual is not complete without a priest or priestess
donning a mask of a deity, taking on that persona, in effect becoming that god
or goddess.
It happens all the time at Mardi
Gras. A dull boring person becomes
an alien while sporting the mask of ET; a shy person roars behind a monster
mask. A sedate grandmother acts
very bubbly in a Dolly Parton mask.
A wild and crazy guy who wears a mask of the pope suddenly feels like blessing
the crowds. One year at Mardi
Gras, a friend of mine, in a full devil costume and mask, gave an earnest interview
to the Christian Broadcasting Network.
The interviewer definitely found my friend devilish!
However, it is not necessary to wear
an actual mask to be in disguise.
Sometimes we speak of someone’s facial expression being a “mask.” All of us, everyday, in different
situations, wear “masks” of one kind or another; we play different roles
depending on our circumstances and situations.
Although most of us strive for an
optimum level of honesty and authenticity in our lives, it is not humanly
possible to be all of ourselves at every moment. Appropriateness and timing enter into the equation, limiting
our expression. For example, there’s
nothing wrong with wearing a ski mask on the street on a bitterly cold day, but
wearing one inside a bank might draw the attention of the police. In the same way, different parts of
ourselves are appropriate at different times.
The masks we wear vary
tremendously. Some we don for very
short periods of time; others belong to us a lot longer. Some we put on voluntarily; others are
thrust upon us. Some are
job-related; some are relationship-related; some have to do with our emotions; others have to do with our avocations
and hobbies. Being a parent, being
a child of our parents, a sibling, an employee/employer, minister/lay person, Board
member/committee chair, spouse/partner, friend, teacher/student, client,
computer geek, curmudgeon, fake-friendly, really welcoming, bridge player, knitter, gardener, Democrat,
Republican, southerner, European-American, African-American, male, female, gay,
straight, Unitarian Universalist.
Everything we do; every job or responsibility we hold; every
relationship we’re a part of; every group we belong to; every role we play in
life requires us to wear a slightly different mask.
There’s no such thing as living
without any mask at all. In life,
the best we can strive for is to take off the masks that we find limiting or
false or hurtful, and to keep on the ones that help us to have more courage and
hope and strength and humor. May
we choose to do that, every day.
Our children have been preparing for
this season and this service by making and decorating masks, which they will
wear for the parade that closes out this service. The children will be throwing beads, so watch out for flying
throws!
