(2 Corinthians 3: 7-4:2)
We have this innate tendency to make things more difficult than they need to be. In fact, we seem to be drawn to the more difficult even when the easier, less burdensome alternative is at our fingertips. I think this is partly due to the fact that we’re used to doing it that one way and change is scary, even if it does make your job much easier and more efficient. It was that way when I joined the Houston Police Department. My academy class represented a desire for the department to change from the old ways of doing things which wasn’t getting it done in a manner that met the growing needs of the citizens we were sworn to serve. The department was staffed by predominantly white males, many of whom had served in World War Two and the Korean War. They clearly understood rules and regulations and the attending mentality that that was the way it was always done, that’s the way it was going to be done, and that’s the way it would always be done. It was like they had a veil over their eyes that prevented them from seeing the future, from seeing a way of serving that was liberating and meaningful. Their heads were so focused on strictly following the rules and regulations, the law of the department, that their hearts were prevented from enacting the spirit of the law in a way that truly served the best interests of the people.
And it’s that vision obscuring veil of adhering to the Old Covenant that the Apostle Paul is referring to in our scripture reading for this morning. He’s talking about how the New Covenant removes the veil so that those who want to see can see clearly. Paul starts out by saying: The ministry that brought death was carved in letters on stone tablets. It came with such glory that the Israelites couldn’t look for long at Moses’ face because his face was shining with glory, even though it was a fading glory. Paul, a former Pharisee who was learned in the Law, was referring to what we know as the Ten Commandments that were given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The commandments of God that were etched onto two stone tablets instructing the people of Israel to have no other God, not to make false idols, not to misuse the Lord’s name, observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, honor your mother and father, not to murder anyone, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to give false testimony, and not to covet your neighbor’s wife or any of his other stuff, with the admonishment to be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you and not to turn aside to the right or the left. Walk in all the ways that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess. If you know what’s good for you then you will watch your step and walk the straight and narrow. Paul continues by asking: Won’t the ministry of the Spirit be much more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation has glory, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness? Paul’s not saying that the old covenant was bad. It wasn’t. It was glorious. The problem was that the people and their leaders were so obsessed with following the letter of the law that they couldn’t see clearly the intent and purpose of the law. The ministry of the Spirit would show them a way to live God’s law that would be much more glorious, meaningful, and impactful. This is a new and improved covenant, one with an additional ingredient that reveals a glory that lasts and does not fade.
Paul was speaking about the glory of the New Covenant ushered in by Jesus Christ in his transfiguration along with the gift of the Holy Spirit who would lead and guide us as we learned to do God’s will as it was always meant to be done. It was something new and radically different from the way it had always been done, and some people were opposed to this change, even if that change would be to their benefit and make their lives, and the lives of those around them, easier. A way of doing things that would bring them closer to God. Paul’s telling his readers, the Corinthians who were struggling with their Christian faith and lifestyle, to let go of the old ways of doing things and embrace the new way. Don’t allow yourself to be stuck in the past. The Spirit has a better way if you will only remove the veil. Paul is telling us that the Holy Spirit is the power behind the rebirth of every Christian and the one who helps us live the Christian life. And it’s by the power of the Spirit that we will be transformed into Christ’s perfect likeness. Paul says it is because of this that we have such a hope and can act with such great confidence in our freedom. He says: The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. All of us, he says, are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror. We are being transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. What he’s saying is that 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, we can be like mirrors reflecting God’s glory. When we trust Christ to save us, he removes our heavy burden of trying to please him and our guilt for failing to do so. By trusting Christ, we are loved, accepted, forgiven, and freed from sin to live for him.
For those hearing this for the first time, what Paul is telling you is that God wants you, his children, to be happy. He knows that life can seem unfair sometimes, that it can be hard, and that it can hurt. We live in an imperfect world where bad things happen to good people, where people get sick and die, where people are hungry and homeless, where people suffer needlessly. With all this bad stuff that surrounds and scares us God has given us his Spirit to help us, guide us, and pick us up when we trip and fall. Because this veil has been removed from our eyes we can see clearly and know the difference between right and wrong. And when we do something that we know is wrong we know we can stop and pray for guidance with the understanding that our prayers are heard and taken seriously. We can free ourselves up by asking for forgiveness, know that we are forgiven, and move on in the right direction. We can live free in the knowledge that God won’t hold it against us if we live by his Spirit.
And Paul says this is why he doesn’t get discouraged, given that he received this ministry in the same way that he received God’s mercy. As a zealous Pharisee, one who strictly adhered to the law of the Old Covenant, he was laser focused on strictly obeying the absolute letter of God’s law. But he was blinded by the law and couldn’t see clearly the Spirit of God’s law. It took his being blinded on the road to Damascus in order for him to have his sight restored literally and figuratively so he could see clearly what it was that God wanted him and others to see through his ministry. Instead, Paul says, we reject secrecy and shameful actions. We don’t use deception, and we don’t tamper with God’s word. Instead, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God by the public announcement of the truth.
God’s word is transparent and in the gospel of Jesus Christ we can see the truth and it transforms us morally as we understand and apply it. As our knowledge deepens, the Holy Spirit helps us to change, and we realize that becoming like Christ is a progressive experience where the more we grow in Him the clearer our vision gets as we see what it is that God wants for us in our lives here on earth in His service, and when we eventually get our rest in eternity.
Let us pray.