Dropping the Veil, Full On Into the Mirror

     From the veil that Moses wore to prevent the people from fearing him when he came down from the mountain of God, the glory of God literally showing on his face, Paul takes us, as a body, to being full on reflections, as from a mirror, of the glory of God. 
     The church once asked the question, and I will paraphrase a little to update the language, "What is the chief and highest end of humanity?  The answer that was given, true at the time of its writing during the Reformation and true today:

     Humanity's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy God forever.

     As Moses stood in the presence of God and had the reflection of that glory literally shine out from his pores, we have come to the place of the church where the Lord, who IS Spirit, come down upon each and everyone of us from the outpouring of Pentecost.  From that blessed moment, the glory of God can and shall come through every person called by our Lord Jesus Christ.

     The question is...will we?

Can We Follow This Parting?

     Paul talks of the parting of the veil, of the revelation of the glory of God, coming through Christ, coming through the Lord who is the Spirit in the context of what is happening in Corinth.  We don't have a real sense of the problems, but Paul gives us a couple of clues.
     At the end of the passage, he talks about how he and his colleagues have renounced the shameful things that one hides; how they refuse to practice cunning or falsify the word of God.  If they are NOT doing that, the implication is that somebody IS, which is why Paul writes to them in the first place.
     Lets be frank, our own church is not so much suffering from these so much as a malaise of falling away.  Attendance is in the basement.  Our purpose is...open.  What is next?  Paul gives us a good insight into that, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.
    As we approach the Lenten Season, grabbing hold of God's mercy is the path to stay true to the glory we are called upon to reflect to the world around us.

Parting of the Veil

In the book of Exodus, when Moses was up on Mt. Sinai receiving instructions from God, he was fully exposed to the glory of God.  And it affected him.  He would come down off the mountain, back into the camp of the Israelites, and his face would, quite literally, be lit up.  It was so powerful that Moses would put on a veil so as not to frighten his fellow Hebrews. 

This continued for some time as Moses would travel back and forth, receiving from God the plans for the tabernacle, the House of God among God's people.

Paul picks up on that in 2 Corinthians.  But his focus is not on the veil, but rather on the veil being removed.  Moses would hide the glory of God reflected in his face out of respect and toleration toward the rest of the Israelites in camp.  Paul talks about how, in Christ, the veil is removed and we stand before the world as mirrors, reflecting that same glory of God.

Except that glory is from the Lord who is Spirit.  That Spirit came upon us at Pentecost.  Step by step, we can be greater and greater revelations of the glory of God, when we give our lives over to Christ.  It is in that reflection that the ministries in which we engage will reach out and touch the world.

The passages for Sunday worship are Exodus 34: 29-35 and 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2.  I invite you to read ahead and reflect (pun intended) on what it means to demonstrate the glory of God in our lives.