Love thy neighbor — wear a mask!

“I love wearing my mask, even on hot days!” Said no one ever. I smiled at a friend the other day, then wondered why she didn’t respond. Then, duh, it hit me -- she couldn’t see my expression, nor could I detect her response, because we were masked.

Later, I was talking with someone, but sensed that a vital part of the interaction was missing. Then I realized his facial expressions were hidden, so it was impossible to decipher the emotional nuances usually accompanying a conversation.

Granted, masks can be a huge nuisance, especially during the summer -- and especially for folks who wear glasses, since they have a maddening way of fogging over.

Some people refuse to wear masks, because they balk at anyone telling them what to do. Oddly enough, these same folks obey the “no shirt, no shoes, no service” signs at restaurants.

Love for neighbor is emphasized in the Torah in the Book of Leviticus:

“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus said the greatest commandment is, “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, all your soul and all your mind.” And the next was “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

It seems masks should be second-nature for people embracing neighborly love, since they show our concern and respect for other people.

There was confusion in the early days of the pandemic about whether or not to wear face coverings. Still, the accepted wisdom today is masks protect others from the respiratory droplets we emit when we cough, sneeze and talk.

“But I don’t have COVID-19,” someone might protest, “so why wear a mask?”

Because some folks don’t experience symptoms -- but still can infect others.

People we encounter in the grocery store may be undergoing chemotherapy, which considerably weakens the immune system. Others may be living with folks in a highrisk population, such as elderly parents.

Wearing a mask sends a signal to others, which is I’m willing to sacrifice comfort to help protect your health.

For examples of sacrificial actions, ask the parents of a newborn, when they hear Johnny crying at 3 a.m. Ask the medical workers running themselves frantic in hospitals during the pandemic. Ask folks tending to residents in nursing homes.

Firefighters run toward a fire, even though their gut instinct is to flee. They’re willing to put their lives on the line to save others -- and their T-shirts could read, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

There are also selfless clergy who tamp down their own fears, so they can minister to people dying from COVID-19.

Wearing a mask is a small gesture that won’t win you the cover on Time magazine. Still, long ago, Christ said, “Greater love than this no man has, that he lay down his life for his friend.”

Some people actually die for others, such as the firefighters and police officers who ran into burning buildings on 9/11.

True, masks hide our facial expressions, and can be itchy and hot, which is annoying. Still, they are a small, simple way of practicing sacrificial love.