You don’t tug on superman’s cape.
You don’t spit into the wind.
You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger,
Or the veil over Moses’ skin.
– Jim Croce (and John Fischer)

…or something like that! (It actually sings pretty well!)

Of course we paid no heed to this warning yesterday when we reflected on Clark Kent saving people without his Superman getup. I remembered this song yesterday and it made me think of how we not only wear veils to hide our own fears and insecurities, we are expected to support everyone else’s attempt to do the same. Spiritual veildom is sacred ground not to be tread upon.

I’m referring here, for those of you who are new to this discussion, to Moses’ habit, as recorded in Exodus 34:29-35, of wearing a veil over his face at all times, and how Paul reveals in 2 Corinthians 3:12 that the purpose of wearing that veil changed dramatically over time, from protecting the people from the brightness on his face to protecting them from knowing that the brightness had faded away. Paul then goes on to point out how it is human nature for all of us to cover up our inadequacies when we are trusting in ourselves. “… for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read” (2 Corinthians 3:14).

There is one side of this that has to do with Moses trying to protect himself and the people he was leading from the truth, but there is also the angle of everyone else’s perpetuation of the lie. We don’t tug on the veils of those around us because it might threaten our own. It’s an unwritten rule to guard everyone’s tendency to hide. Who knows what horrible thing might happen if even one guy lets his guard down.

It’s the same thing in Christian circles today. When just one person in a group risks vulnerability, everybody is threatened. It makes you wonder if those closest to Moses knew that the glory on his face had long faded away, but God forbid they would be the one to divulge the secret.

But for the same reason no one wants to be revealed, everyone also wants to be free of the lie. If only one person comes clean, everyone else will be encouraged to follow suit, especially when we discover the liberty of being set free from trying to be something we are not, and the joy of discovering that God’s sufficiency is truly only found in and through the embracing of our own insufficiency.