The Lifted Curtain

A Reflection on the Second Reading for November 21st, 2021:
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

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Revelation
1.5-8

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will lament. So it is to be. Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
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ἀποκάλυψις.  apocalypse.  revelation.
ἀπό + καλύπτω.  away + cover




A revelation is an unveiling.


A caul being removed.
Every eye will see Him.




He is…


Faithful witness. His resurrection is His testimony.
Firstborn. The needle piercing through a cloth carrying the thread of the rest of us through.
Ruler. His kingship is complete, anchored not in a country, but in the cross.




He does…


Love us. Desire drew Him near, knowing the cost.
Free us. Sin, the slow death we chose. Each cord that crushes our heart, He cuts.
Make us. No longer what we became, but what we were meant to be.




We are…


A kingdom. Creation of His reign in each heart unfolding. Together a landscape of His love.
Priests. Carriers of His presence to covered eyes. Bringing others with us through the veil.
Children. Always. As He who is King is always Son, we are forever His little ones.




In His coming on the clouds we are cut open.
To lament is to tear apart a garment. Our hearts are finally revealed to ourselves.
The only way we can bear the sight is through His eyes, the lifted curtain of His love.




Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.




Noreen Smith

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