A Veil Me Not!

13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3

I have been uplifted by the mighty words of Paul in his second (third?) letter to the Corinthians. Both this passage and the one that follows about the Jars of Clay have filled me with the sort of vital energy that one needs in life. That, and finishing my finals in Film Classes, and I am raring to go for the summer.

I chose this passage however because it reminds me of the fact that it wasn't only Moses that put a veil over his face. I think we all do that whenever we argue or bicker or gossip or talk behind others - especially when it comes to the Church. I know that I have been guilty, if nothing else, of having very negative thoughts about my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ. I have been sure that they were on the "wrong" side of an argument. If only they could see it my way, then they would see sense. This veil that I threw over my face kept them from seeing the Christ in me.

I've also been in a Church environment where the veil of tension has rested over the entire building - people and all. Dark times, where the light and the glory of Christ resurrected was very dim, as if at the end of a long dark tunnel. We struggled through those times, dragging ourselves kicking and screaming until we could lift that veil and be renewed by His powerful light.

I am starting to lose the light again. I am starting to feel the veil slip over my head and my eyes. I need to be out, to bask in God's glory again. I want to feel sunlight on my face, see the dust clouds disappear without a trace. I want to take shelter from the poisoned rain... where the streets have no name. And so, I am going back to nature. I am going back to God's country. I am going to taste the air and feel the burn and hear the birds and smell the flowers and touch the dirt. I am going hiking and God is coming along with me.

The veil will be lifted and my sight restored. Thanks be to God.