The Lord will destroy the web...

On this mountain He will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations...

Actually, the English word “web” used in the Lectionary translation is not the most common choice for the original Hebrew word in this verse from today’s first reading (Isaiah 25:6-10a), although it is within the bounds of acceptability.

The sense is of a covering that drapes over the head, almost like something poured or melted, yet also something woven.

This covering or veil is not just the fear and the grief of death (the subject of the verse that follows): it is something created or woven by the accumulation and the interweaving of sinful action upon sinful action in our lives and in the world.

Sin piles on top of sin so much that the world seems to hesitate less and less before embracing yet another level of sinfulness and abomination.

Society and culture weave a web that blinds us to the truth, making us believe the sophisticated tapestry of what the world thinks and says rather than the eternal truth that exists beyond.

May we always pray for the grace to see beyond what the world covers us with and to know the Truth through our Lord Jesus Christ.