Paul calls himself a minister of the new covenant and his apostleship a ministry of the Spirit in glory. That I would allow the light of Christ to shine through me today, not veiling my face with pretence but letting God’s glory stream even in the hardest of times.In 2 Corinthians 3 the apostle Paul defends his apostolic ministry of Jesus Christ over against the critical questions voiced in the congregation at Corinth. My prayer is that I would not only know those things, but that they would be seen in my appearance. But in peace, hope, longing, life, strength and security found in Jesus Christ. I wonder if my encounter with the living God is visible on my face today? Not in a false facade: that is as much a mask or a veil as a physical piece of fabric. Yet even in sorrow and hardship, the light of the Lord can shine through in a Christian’s demeanour. Christians know sorrow, pain and struggle just as much anyone in this world. That doesn’t mean that Christians are always happy and smiling. This transformation that the Holy Spirit brings is made visible in our appearance. As we look on the Lord, our identity is changed, our life is turned upside down and our soul is made new. As we contemplate God’s glory we are transformed with glory. Through the Holy Spirit we encounter God ‘face to face’ without barriers, masks or veils. Moses wore a mask to protect others, not from a virus but from a vision of glory.Īs Christians, we get to gaze on the face of God in Jesus Christ. Moses had to put on a veil to hide the glory of God’s presence.
Too glorious, it turns out, for the people to look upon. In the Old Testament, when Moses met with God his face became glorious. One of the joys of the Christian life is that we have unveiled faces.
#With unveiled faces full#
Full knowledge needs the veil to be removed. You don’t really know what they are thinking or feeling your communication is at a distance. The emotional life of another person is seen in their face where there is a barrier, your interaction is restricted. To truly encounter someone, you need their face to be unveiled. You see clearly when someone is happy and full of joy, when they are sad and downcast, when a person is worried, anxious, confusion or concerned. But there is so much more that is communicated by someone’s face. There is a great deal that can be communicated by a person’s eyes (and perhaps we have gained a greater appreciation of that over recent years). Putting aside the pros and cons of continued mask wearing for the moment, it is lovely to see another person without a mask between us. Yet as restrictions have eased and the pressure of the pandemic has lessened, masks have been removed and we have seen one another face to face once more. Indeed, wearing a mask is still a helpful way to keep ourselves and others safe during a pandemic that is still very present. Wearing a mask is completely understandable given the situation we have found ourselves in. One way or another there have been barriers in place between us. When we haven’t been behind a mask we have been behind a computer screen, interacting with one another through video calls.
Isn’t it nice to see people’s faces again?įor the past two years during the Covid pandemic, we have seen each other behind masks.
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