Lifting the Veil
(2 Corinthians 3-4:2)
I love those conversations that start with: “You know what it says in the Bible” because I know they’re about to go all Old Testament on me. And if they do go all Old Testament on me, it’s because they want to justify some opinion, belief, or talking point that would make Jesus roll his eyes or look down at the top of his sandals. When a friend or a relative starts a conversation in such a manner I bite my tongue and ask them if they could give me the book, chapter, and verse as I am not familiar with that interpretation of the Old Testament. Usually, the response is that they don’t know for sure, but they do know that it was said, or they remind me that I am a pastor and to look it up for myself. Or I see some Biblical scholar on social media espousing what the Bible says. I definitely try to avoid responding to those because a well-reasoned and factual response brings out the crazies.
Not long ago, Teresa got so outdone with one of these internet Bible experts she ordered what we call a “red word Bible” which is a version of the New Testament that only has what Jesus said. If you’ve ever looked at an older Bible, you see that whenever Jesus spoke what he actually said was in red print, hence, the red word Bible.
So, I know what some of you might be thinking. Am I saying that what was written and spoken by God through the prophets not relevant or even true? Good point. In spite of the fact that I am not seminary trained, what I have learned, especially over the past eight years, is that God took the form of a human being when he sent Jesus to earth to personally explain his words in a plain language that everyone could understand, bringing us his New Covenant from which our New Testament is based. Now that’s not to say that the New Testament can’t be misinterpreted because it can and it has, but it is really hard to twist the words of Jesus, which is why you rarely hear the internet experts quoting Jesus, if ever. He came to live among us, to give us a clearer vision of what God expects from us, and to help us see clearly what it means to be a child of God.
And that’s what the Apostle Paul is talking about in our scripture reading for today. He’s talking about lifting the veil that has obscured the vision of so many people. Paul was writing to the churches in Corinth that were struggling in making the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. Many of those in the Corinthian church, like Paul, were Jewish converts who were having a difficult time giving up the old ways and accepting the new way of doing things. They were having a difficult time grasping the new “user friendly” version of what God wanted and expected out of them which was complicated by the fact that God’s word was now available to Gentiles. I think that even Paul struggled with it as, in his former life, he was an up-and-coming Pharisee and a notorious hunter of followers of the way of Jesus Christ. He knew the Law of Moses and what the prophets spoke and foretold forwards and backwards.
In any event, the Apostle begins by stating: So, since we have such a hope, we act with great confidence. He’s beginning his argument by reminding his readers of the great hope they, and we, have in Jesus Christ, the bringer of God’s new covenant with his children and all those who profess Christ as Lord. He explains that they are no longer like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites couldn’t watch the end of what was fading away. This is a reference to the time when Moses made contact with God and came down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments, and his face shone brightly with the glory of God. Moses had to put on a veil to keep the people from being terrified by the brightness of his face. Paul, in the light of the glory of Christ, is putting forward that Moses wore a veil in order to conceal the fading of his glory. There was, so to speak, a transfer of God’s glory.
What Paul says next is very telling when he follows up that they, the new believers, aren’t like Moses, whose minds were closed to the new reality. He says: Right up to the present day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. The veil is not removed because it is taken away by Christ. Even today, he says, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. He’s saying that even in spite of the irrefutable evidence of Christ being the Messiah these folks are continuing to turn to the law of Moses for the interpretation of God’s word and guidance. They do not want to acknowledge what was seen and reported by so many and they refuse to allow the word of the New Covenant to be written upon their hearts. It’s as if they are stuck in the old way of doing things and only believing in what makes them feel comfortable or justifies their unbelief. It reminds me of what some folks, especially in long-established churches say when they are faced with change. They respond to the idea of change with comments like “That’s not how we do things around here”, or “We’ve never done it that way.” When I read this my mind immediately went to those discussions I mentioned at the beginning of my sermon. You have those folks who are resistant to change and want to stick to the Old Testament way of doing things because it suits their positions and what they want out of God and don’t like it when you point out what Jesus said about loving others as you want to be loved. They are willingly shackled to the past.
Paul then says: The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror. He’s saying that through the work of the Holy Spirit we are transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory. This, he explains, comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. I interpret this to mean that Paul is acknowledging the glory of Moses who received the Word of God and brought it to the people but now that glory is going to the next level, the glory of Jesus Christ. Paul is claiming that the New Covenant ministry is more effective than the Old Covenant mediated by Moses and written on stone tablets. The New Covenant is written upon the hearts of believers.
The Apostle concludes this portion of his letter by stating: This is why we don’t get discouraged, given that we received this ministry in the same way that we received God’s mercy. Instead, we reject secrecy and shameful actions. We don’t use deception, and we don’t tamper with God’s word. Yikes! Paul is really putting it to those who twist or misinterpret God’s word to deceive others to suit their own needs or to protect the way that they prefer things be done, to either maintain the status quo or go back to the way it used to be. Instead, he says, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God by the public announcement of the truth. That would be the truth of Jesus Christ, what he said and did, you know: the red words.
Since Paul has been granted this privilege and responsibility of being a minister of the New Covenant, he claims that he cannot afford to be discouraged. To him, it’s a matter of life or death, eternal life or a life lost to sin and bondage. He, along with his colleagues, conduct themselves transparently without being deceitful or exploiting God’s word to their own advantage. What he is trying to convey is that the New Covenant is greater in three ways. First, it is characterized by the Spirit of God who gives life, whereas the old covenant is characterized by death to those who violate the Law. Second, although the old covenant came with the glory of God’s presence that shined on Moses so brightly that he had to veil his face before fellow Israelites, it nonetheless brought condemnation. The ministry of the Spirit, on the other hand, shines with greater glory since it brings righteousness. And third, the ministry of the Spirit’s glory lasts forever, whereas the glory of the old covenant is being set aside in the new era inaugurated by Christ.
So, when anyone becomes a Christian, Christ removes the veil giving eternal life and freedom from trying to be saved by keeping laws. And, without the veil, they can be like mirrors reflecting God’s glory. This is why the Apostle condemns those who twist God’s Word whether they are a preacher, a teacher, or anyone else who talks about Jesus Christ or the Word of God. We must be on the lookout for any Christian ministers or leaders who purposely twist the Scripture in attempts to motivate their audiences into actions that are contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ or to promote their own distorted views like White Christian Nationalism for example. When we proclaim the truth of God’s Word, we, like John Wesley, profess to our listeners that there are liberties to be affirmed. That there is liberty from servile fear, liberty from the guilt and power of sin, and liberty to behold with an unveiled face the glory of the Lord.
Let us pray.
Gracious and loving God, we pray that you lift the veil from the eyes of those who refuse to see your truth, a truth that will set them free, that will free them from the bondage of sin and death. We pray that they come to know Christ as we know him and that they will cease looking for ways around his truth to suit their own needs and agendas. We pray that we reflect on our faces the brightness of your love and that we will mirror your image to those who look upon us. We pray that your words be written upon their hearts so that they may live as you would have them live. This we pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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We have in Jesus Christ the bringer of God’s new covenant with his children and all those who profess Christ as Lord.