Last week in Barcelona I was part of a singalong choir with my daughter that involved over 500 singers from 39 countries. We were conducted by composer Eric Whittaker and sang several of his works in the programme. One work that we sang several movements from was The Sacred Veil. This is a work that he composed in collaboration with his best friend whose wife died of cancer at age 36 leaving 2 young children.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ1Ure22TnQ
The work explores the boundary (the veil) between life and death using a 2 note motif that repeats throughout the work. This portrayal of life and death separated by a veil is interesting and one that Paul alludes to in 1 Cor 13:12. Often when we are confronted with death of a loved one it seems like a very final or hard stop because it is the end of our physical experience with that person.
But as we have just been exploring in our recent series particularly in 1 Cor 15, the resurrection of Christ makes a huge difference to our understanding of death. Through Christ we have hope and know that we will continue to exist in a different form that we do not yet understand. Our bodily resurrection is certain and so we can see the line between life and death not as a fixed end point but as a veil that ushers us into a fuller and better place with Christ.
“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”
1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT
Lincoln Road Bible Chapel