Good morning -
It's a common wedding ritual. The bride wears a veil until the bride and groom kiss after the official pronouncement. I've found some personal amusement in thinking that another woman could theoretically substitute for the bride and it would be too late by the time the groom discovered her true identity (somewhat like the story of Rachel & Leah in Genesis).
The veil obscures the bride's face (and vice versa). The lifting of the veil near the end of the wedding ceremony represents the unobscured new relationship between husband and wife.
This imagery of a veil serves as a significant illustration in Paul's letter to the church at Corinth. He says,
"we ... are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:12-18)
Numerous people have commented on the difficulty of understanding the Bible. There are certainly difficult texts to understand but the Bible as a whole is literally an open book through Jesus. The purpose and meaning of the Old Testament in particular is a great mystery if one does not see its fulfillment through Christ. The Sermon On the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is where we most clearly see what Jesus has done in fulfilling the old covenant.
"whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away". Through Christ the veil is lifted and all can be clearly seen and understood. With unveiled faces we are given the opportunity, through Jesus, to see the glory of the Father even as we are being transformed into that glory ourselves. What an incredible, liberating privilege!
The key that unlocks all of the Bible is Jesus. it is only through personal knowledge of him and his mission that any of the Bible makes sense. That is why salvation is found in "the things concerning the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12). Without an intimate knowledge of the man and his mission we read the Bible as with a veil covering our faces.
Rejoicing today in the liberating, unveiled view of the plan of God through Christ,
Pastor Steve
It's a common wedding ritual. The bride wears a veil until the bride and groom kiss after the official pronouncement. I've found some personal amusement in thinking that another woman could theoretically substitute for the bride and it would be too late by the time the groom discovered her true identity (somewhat like the story of Rachel & Leah in Genesis).
The veil obscures the bride's face (and vice versa). The lifting of the veil near the end of the wedding ceremony represents the unobscured new relationship between husband and wife.
This imagery of a veil serves as a significant illustration in Paul's letter to the church at Corinth. He says,
"we ... are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:12-18)
Numerous people have commented on the difficulty of understanding the Bible. There are certainly difficult texts to understand but the Bible as a whole is literally an open book through Jesus. The purpose and meaning of the Old Testament in particular is a great mystery if one does not see its fulfillment through Christ. The Sermon On the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is where we most clearly see what Jesus has done in fulfilling the old covenant.
"whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away". Through Christ the veil is lifted and all can be clearly seen and understood. With unveiled faces we are given the opportunity, through Jesus, to see the glory of the Father even as we are being transformed into that glory ourselves. What an incredible, liberating privilege!
The key that unlocks all of the Bible is Jesus. it is only through personal knowledge of him and his mission that any of the Bible makes sense. That is why salvation is found in "the things concerning the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12). Without an intimate knowledge of the man and his mission we read the Bible as with a veil covering our faces.
Rejoicing today in the liberating, unveiled view of the plan of God through Christ,
Pastor Steve
posted by steve @ 10:14 AM
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