Veil-less
2 Corinthians 3:16-4:2, 6
Today is Valentine’s Day and of all the holidays in the year, this is the one that I think has been co-opted the most by strange customs and symbols. Take Cupid for example. How did that come to represent Valentine’s Day? Think about it. Does it make you feel romantic to think of a short, chubby toddler coming at you with a weapon?
The connection of love to Cupid makes about as much sense as the connection of our scripture to Valentine’s Day... until we know the rest of the story. The background of our scriptural text is steeped in Jewish history and thought. Paul was speaking to Jewish Christians for whom this history was readily accessible and familiar. They knew the story of Moses going up the mountain and being in the presence of God. That experience was so transformational that Moses was said to glow from the glory of God for days afterwards. But, over time, as the glory faded, Moses would wear a veil to hide the fading glow from the people. I get images of Gloria Swanson, for some reason. But I get it. I mean, who wants to have to explain every time you meet someone, “Yes, the glow is fading. Hey, it’s been a week! Give me a break!” But also, over time, – according to the story – the people wanted Moses to wear the veil so they wouldn’t have to be reminded that the glory had faded.
The Apostle Paul makes the jump to the idea that this is a common thing for all of us to place veils over our own eyes to prevent ourselves from seeing things we don’t want to see or to prevent others from seeing us as we are… which brings us to Valentine’s Day.
This past Thursday Rev. Robyn and I stood in the Minnesota state capitol rotunda with hundreds of other people of faith as we gathered to support marriage equality and celebrate love. It was a thrilling experience to stand in that historic space and speak the truth of our lives to the leaders of our state – to look around the rotunda and see all those couples and families who simply want to enjoy the same rights and privileges that are afforded other families through legal marriage. There was certainly the twinkle of fresh love in some eyes here and there in the crowd but what I also saw were couples who had endured years and decades having their families diminished and having their children without the full legal protections other children enjoy. Their love was tempered by the decision to live their lives openly and courageously even in the face of hostile and usually religious opposition. It spoke powerfully to me about the strength of love to see all those couples and families standing veil-less before the world.
Today is the day when lovers fall in love – at least in theory. Today is the day we celebrate looking into the eyes of our beloved and melting in each other’s passion. Yet, people who have been in love for years – decades – tell a very different story about the experience of love. First blush fades, evolves, deepens. All the chocolate and sugar-enhanced Hallmark moments of love’s bliss not withstanding, the deepest experience of love happens over time and through a shared journey together. There’s a great song Dan Fogelberg wrote entitled “Longer” that talks about the power of this love. It says,
Through the years as the fire starts to mellow
Burning lines in the book of our lives.
Though the binding cracks and the pages start to yellow,
I’ll be in love with you.
That kind of love isn’t easy or transient. It only happens when a relationship has endured time and stress and still the choice is love. Cracked binding is not considered “hot.” Mellow fires burn coolly at times. Yellowing pages don’t often turn heads. True love happens when we trust each other to let the veil drop and know the real person.
It is hard enough to learn these deeper truths of love when we’re talking about partners and spouses. What about when it comes to being in love with a community? The same dynamics apply. We get a constant flow of visitors to our worship services. Last year, we had over 400 people visit our church for the first time. Many of them find the experience of being a part of this community of faith to be exciting, thrilling, moving, magical. For some it feels like their “first crush” with God. Some of them join us and become a part of our on-going community and some become disillusioned when the glow begins to fade and the communal equivalent of morning-breath or dirty socks on the floor reveals that we are a human community with cracks in the book of our lives. I can tell you that just as in personal relationships that are only deepened when you have weathered a few storms together – the same is true with being in love with a community. It is in the working out of problems, the healing of hurts, the sharing of losses, the sitting together at hospitals, the caring about the future and the forgiving of transgressions that we discover a deeper love and bond. I can’t imagine going through life without Bill. Our love has only deepened as we have spent years together. I can’t imagine going through this journey of faith without all of you to love and be loved, to challenge and be challenged by, to care for and be cared for. It is not all roses and rainbows being community together. But let us not develop amnesia about what it was like being on the journey without community.
So on this Valentine’s Day I affirm my love for you. It is not a first blush of giddiness that I experience when I think of us together as community. It is a relationship tested by time, trial, strain, hope, care, passion, service and trust. As the mellow fires burn lines in our yellowing pages and cracked binding, the journey we are on together still gives me life and hope that we are making the world a better place simply because we are doing this journey together.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com Chains of Love, February 2010.