The Veil is Lifted

Homily for Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

St. Paul’s discussion of the veil that covers the Mosaic Law can be easily misunderstood. Of course, St. Paul is referring to the fact that Moses veiled his face, which had become radiant after speaking to God, because Aaron and the other Israelites were afraid to approach him.

St. Paul is making an attempt to convince the Corinthians that the Law of the covenant of Sinai was not meant to last forever. From the very beginning, it was meant to give way to a new Law initiated by Christ. The Law was meant to teach the Israelites that they needed a Savior. While they understood that the Law was difficult to uphold, they didn’t realize that God had imposed it upon them to make them turn to God for help. While deliberately making the Law difficult may seem counterproductive, God wanted them to recognize their weakness and their need for the strength that only God can provide.

We have reached the section of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus discusses a new interpretation for the commandments. In today’s passage, Jesus teaches that the new Law meant that they were to love one another in a radical new way. He provides an example of this radical love by dying on a cross for our sake.

The Eucharist we celebrate is a memorial of this radical new way to love. It is even more difficult to love as Jesus loved than the kind of love that was taught in the Mosaic Law. As St. Paul tells the Corinthians today, whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is lifted and the Law becomes a source of grace – the grace each of us need to fulfill the dictates of the New Covenant.