16 But whenever someone turns back to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom.
Reflection
In these verses, Paul is referring to Exodus when Moses went to the Mountain to see God, and his face was so bright he had to wear a veil because nobody could look at him. When we think of veils, we also think of the veil that was split in the temple when Jesus died – the Holy of Holies.
Our scripture reminds us of the difference Jesus made in people’s religious worldview. In ancient times, people often did not feel as if they had direct access to God. They had to go through the priest with their sacrifice to feel as if they were right with God. Before Jesus, most believed that only very special people got to have a direct relationship with God, and people came to those special people to help them make that connection.
We as Christians have been given the freedom to go directly to God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit without the intercession of a Holy Person because of Jesus’ living here on earth and then His sacrifice for us. There is a day-to-day consistency of knowing that God is with us and we just have to think a thought to feel God’s presence.
I tend to be a person that needs to have events planned as I get bored easily. I will admit I sometimes feel that way in my faith, but is that because of something God is not doing, or something I am not doing? I tend to think it is the latter. God is there but it is my job to keep learning, growing, and doing.
These seasons in the Christian calendar give us opportunities to learn new things and to and grow, but our faith shouldn’t just be about learning, it should also be about doing. We know that we have direct access to our Lord, but are we allowing others to see to God’s grace by being the people God wants us to be? Are we just listening to Joe’s or others’ sermons and gaining knowledge but not going out into the world to do anything about it? Are we doing as Joe said in his sermon – letting other people be our guide? Or are we using the freedom we are given as Christians to see what opportunities God may have to grow within ourselves and to also share with others? With our freedom comes responsibility – to share our experience with others.
by Jan Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
What kind of faith are we living? One that is always looking for something incredible to happen in our lives or a steady day-to-day faith? I think sometimes we need to be alert for those burning bushes if they happen, but the consistency of knowing God is always there is very helpful to me even in my restlessness.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Thank you for your willingness to come to us and not be a distant God. Help us to look to you and to live in freedom with what you are doing in our lives – to actively participate in what you would want us to do. Thank you for those who are willing to teach us and help us learn more about you, but guide us to be our own people for you. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.
