"Unveiled" is yesterday's prompt. From here on I will write about the prompt for the day in my paper(!) journal, then edit and postthe next day if I come up with something worth publishing. I keep a copy of Amanda's prompts by my desks at home and at work; it gives me the opportunity to think about them throughout the day.
"Unveiled" brought to mind Paul's words from his second letter to the church at Corinth. Paul has been talking about the veil the people insisted Moses wear after he returned from the the presence of God on Mount Sinai. The reflected glory radiating from his face was too much for them to bear. A veil, says Paul, now covers the face of all who would meet God in the Jewish scriptures.
But whenever anyone 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 freedom. And we all who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (II Cor 3:16-18 NIV)
Christmas is a hidden holy day. The Lord's glory is hidden in plain sight, but our eyes are veiled the cares of the world and the weariness of our lives. The veil is lifted when we come to the Lord in first faith, but like repentance, lifting the veil is something that is done both once for all and over and over again as we turn again to the Jesus of Bethlehem and Golgotha, and as we contemplate the glory of his love revealed in the manger, seashore, cross, and empty tomb.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus