Piercing the Veil

           2 Corinthians 3: 12-4:4

 

 

          In the book of Exodus [Exo. 34], Moses goes up on the mountain and has an encounter with God. It is so intense that when Moses comes down the mountain, his face is literally shining. Moses has to cover himself with a veil to talk to his people, as they are blinded by his appearance. Every time Moses goes up the mountain to meet with God, he removes the veil and every time he comes down to the people, he wears the veil. The people cannot bear to come too close to the presence of the Lord, even when it is only the reflection given off from the face of Moses.

          In the book of 2 Corinthians, Paul is writing to the church about coming to Christ. He is talking about being ministers of the New Covenant, a covenant centered on Jesus and the Holy Spirit rather than the law. When Paul talks about the law, he is talking about the relationship created in the Old Testament between God and his people, the set of rules grounded in the Ten Commandments and everything that followed from that first set of laws.

          In order to explain what the Gospel is and what the New Commandment is all about, Paul chooses to contrast it with the Old Commandment, the Mosaic Law. Sometimes Paul gets so charged with enthusiasm for his cause that he goes overboard.  But there is a reason for him to be so commanding. In the church in Corinth, there are those who continue to see the Gospel through the lens of being Jewish, as opposed to being Christian. Paul continues to press them to see the new truth that has been revealed through Jesus, and the gospel is a new definition of who God’s people are.

          Paul reminds us that we are members of the New Covenant, that we have great hope, that such hope should make us bold. He talks about us not having to wear a veil when we turn to the Lord, because Jesus has bridged the gap between us and God.

          Over the life of my law practice, I have incorporated hundreds of organizations, from plumbers and electricians and builders to churches and chambers of commerce. The main reason most people incorporate is protection from personal liability. Provided they follow the rules and do not hold themselves out personally in the wrong way in what they say, they can enjoy the protections of personal liability afforded by the law. But if they step over the line, making promises and representations of a personal nature, then the result may be that they may become personally liable for their actions. The legal term for this is “piercing the corporate veil.”  The protection of incorporating is made void by our actions. The veil is torn away to expose us.

          In today’s passage, Paul uses this metaphor of the veil to describe how Moses hid his face from God’s people after encountering God. The plain reading from Exodus would seem to say that Moses’ face was so bright after such an encounter that the people couldn’t take such illumination. It was just too much for them to take in. But in this passage in 2 Corinthians, Paul is using that Old Testament encounter with God to illustrate that Moses covered his face in order for the people not to notice that the illumination was temporary, that it would fade over time. Paul wants us to understand that in the same way that Moses’ face faded in its brightness, so too does the Old Testament law. It is not a saving vehicle, but rather an exposing vehicle.  Paul then contrasts that to the saving grace of Jesus and to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. The law is not enough, but the gospel is.

          Now, it seems to me that Paul has stretched the veil metaphor about as far as it can stretch. His take on its use is really not very close to that of Exodus. But, as we have acknowledged, Paul had a different audience and he was dealing with Jewish issues that today we don’t even think about. He was spreading a gospel rooted in, but no longer bound by, the Old Testament law.

          Whether you are applying Old Testament law or American corporate law, the result is the same. The veil to which we refer is there to protect us. In Exodus, it protected the people from a God they were not prepared to see. In the law, it protects our personal assets.

          But Paul’s next point in this passage is worth any amount of stretching to get to, for he says: “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” Think about that in light of the reason why the veil is used in the first place. Remember ii is used to protect us, in one way from others hurting us and in another, from the presence of God consuming us. When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

          What does Paul mean? When we turn to the Lord, the veil is removed. But Moses himself could not look directly into the face of God. Although he removed the veil, the Bible says he stood in the presence of God, not looking at God’s countenance. What is Paul getting at?

          In his report of the death of Jesus, Luke tells us that darkness came about the sixth hour and stayed until the ninth hour. The light failed and the curtain, the veil, of the temple was torn in two. Jesus breathed his last. The veil of the temple, the curtain protecting the people from the Holy of Holies, was torn down. What is the significance of that report from Luke?

          When Paul writes about the Lord here, he is using the Greek word kurios, which means Lord. When Paul uses kurios, he is referring to Jesus. When he talks about God, Paul uses another word. So Paul is saying that when one turns to Jesus, the veil is removed. In the same way that Paul talks to the Corinthians about the power of Jesus, Luke talks about the veil of the temple coming down. That too is in response to Jesus.

The point that Paul is hammering home to us is that Jesus is the key, that Jesus is the reason, that Jesus is the way to God. Jesus lifts the veil, whether it is in the temple, where misguided religious leaders attempt to keep the Spirit of God hidden behind a man-made curtain, or on a mountain top, where we may encounter God one-on-one, or in the reading of the written Word, a privilege made available to us only in the last 5 centuries. Jesus lifts the veil and as Paul says, we can see him in all his glory. With the coming of Jesus, we who believe are all becoming transformed into the very image of him who saved us.  

Can all see it? Can all hear it, this gospel which unveils the very presence of Jesus to us? Paul says no, the gospel remains veiled to those who are perishing, to those who have been blinded by selfish and evil pursuits. No, the gospel will not be heard by everyone, says Paul. At least it will not be heard in a saving way. As Jesus said, he who has ears, let him hear.   Sometimes, the veil we wear for protection does us more harm than good. If it acts as a barrier for the truth, it protects us not only from intrusion but from illumination as well.

Paul says that the Lord (Jesus) is Spirit, that the presence of the Spirit brings us freedom, that through the Spirit, we believers can be transformed into that divine image. Paul is not only calling us to a deeper walk with God; he is trying to get us to acknowledge that deep abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives as Christians. As we are transformed, so can we transform others. We call it witness…putting the power of the Spirit to work in our lives and turning that energy loose on those who are around us. The Holy Spirit is not an idea. He is not a concept. He is a person, living in us.

And that’s what it means to be unveiled. Jesus pierced that veil of separation between us and God. If God lives in us…can we not look at God more clearly? If the Holy Spirit guides us, can we not do without other protection? Let the Holy Spirit pierce your earthly veil of protection and let yourself be vulnerable to the light. The light of Jesus! Not only will it not blind us—it will make us see!