Exodus 34:29-35 ; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
We sometimes talk about “church business.” Which you might think is an oxymoron. I once heard a Presbyterian pastor describe the way we handle our business in church.
This pastor said, “This is how we do church meetings. We sit down at the meeting table and we say, ‘Good Evening, God. Welcome to our business meeting. We are so glad to have you here. Would you be so kind as to bless this gathering?’ There is an opening prayer…perhaps a brief devotion on a passage of scripture…then everyone says, ‘Amen.’ Then we say, ‘God, thank you so much for your assistance. I am afraid we have to ask you to leave now because we have some important business to attend to, business that, frankly, we don’t think you would be interested in and most likely you don’t have anything to offer in this regard. So thanks again, and let me show you the door. Oh, and God – if you would be so kind as to stay close by, in case we need you later to bless our work.’”
I think there is a lot of truth to that. We act as though God only has certain interests and as if God doesn’t have something to say to every part of our lives. We sort of compartmentalize – separating spiritual from practical.
Maybe we do it because it is easier to sort our lives out this way. I am sure it is easier to manage certain things if we keep God separate from them – if we put up the veil, so to speak.
Sometimes we put a veil between ourselves and God, thinking God doesn’t really care about certain aspects of our lives, as though God has limited interests or, worse yet, a limited skill set. When we put up the veil, we might think we are doing it to spare God the trouble. But let’s be honest; we are really only doing it to spare ourselves.
The story about Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness is a fantastic story full of strange and extraordinary things. This episode about Moses’ glowing face behind the veil is not the strangest one, but it is close.
Moses would travel up to the top of the mountain to converse with God – far away from everyone else. Moses was the only one given the privilege of seeing God. In another part of the story, we are told that God knows that Moses, although an exceptional human being, would not be able to stand looking at the face of God, because he is still a human being. No one could see the face of God and live, we are told. Arrangements were made to shield Moses from God’s face and only look upon the Lord indirectly – through a fog or in the periphery. Chapter 33 tells us that Moses was only allowed to look on the backside of God – for his own safety, of course.
But even that indirect exposure was enough to change Moses’ appearance. When he came down from the mountain he was shining. Some have suggested that it might be a bad sunburn from all that time spent up in the high altitude. Indeed, he might have been sunburnt; that’s entirely possible – but it’s not all there is going on. We are to understand that, somehow, there is something unearthly going on. In some inexplicable way, when Moses came down from the mountain he was different. Radiant. Whatever it was, it made the Israelites extremely uncomfortable. They were unable to hear his words because they were afraid.
So Moses figured out that the best thing to do was to veil his face from the people. The story tells us that he would go back and forth, between God and the people, taking the veil off before God and putting it back on before the people.
This story about the veil Moses wore is a way of telling us about the power of God’s presence. It is a way of telling us that Moses was somehow different after he has spent time with God. The Exodus saga has many ways of letting us know that the experience of the presence of God is absolutely unlike anything else in the world.
There is the pillar of fire that leads the people out of Egypt by night, and the pillar of cloud that leads them by day. Once they reached Mount Sinai, the fire and cloud had other functions. Fire and smoke covered the mountain and the mountain shook. The cloud would descend from the mountaintop when the Lord was summoning Moses.
Strange stuff. Modern minds search for ways to explain it all with science. This is certainly true that much of it can be and has been explained by science. But it is not the point. Pre-modern minds used whatever language and images they could find to describe something that defies words. What was true then and is still true today is that the presence of God is awesome and strange, wonderful and frightening.
And here’s the news I want to share with you: this awesome, strange, wonderful, and frighteningly present God wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives. Now, if that isn’t scary, I don’t know what is.
The apostle Paul picks up this image of the veil in his letter to the Corinthian church and uses it to try to explain the way God expects to have an intimate relationship with us, to know us fully and be known by us. We are invited to allow God into our lives, every aspect of our lives, and thus be transformed by the encounter just as Moses was transformed. We are not to be spared this experience.
Why is that? Are we somehow different from the people of Israel, that we don’t need the veil to protect us? Not at all. Paul says through Christ the veil is lifted and we are able to see God more fully than ever before. Like Moses in the company of the Lord, we may stand in the presence of Christ with unveiled faces, being transformed by this encounter. This is the work of the Spirit.
The Spirit that Jesus promised to his followers – to us; the Spirit that would guide us and allow us to continue to feel his presence; the Spirit that would gift us in ways that would enable us to do the work of his kingdom. This is the Spirit that is essential in our lives. To grow in the Spirit, to grow spiritually, this is our calling.
And so these are the words your session chose to begin our statement of purpose: We are a Christian community striving to grow spiritually.
There are many ways to do this. It involves the work of our bodies, our minds, and our hearts. The purpose statement goes on to say a bit about how we express this spirituality outwardly – by caring and sharing with one another, with all of God’s children; and by opening our arms and our hearts to any and all who walk through our doors. But this growth also requires some inward work.
I think the season of Lent, which begins this week, is the ideal time to focus on this inward work. It begins on Ash Wednesday, when we have a full encounter with our sin and mortality. We are then invited into a six-week period of contemplation and spiritual discipline as we prepare ourselves to remove the veil.
To remove the veil and look upon the glory of the Lord – and this is still indirectly; as Paul says, it is like looking at a reflection in a mirror – and be transformed by this glory.
Every one of us needs to do some of this inward work if we are to grow in the Spirit. Some find it easier than others do; some people seem to naturally gravitate toward the inward work. Others don’t. But everyone needs to do some of it.
In this approaching season of Lent, I encourage you to take some steps in this direction. Take up a discipline of daily devotions – we have some Lenten Devotional books you may use for this purpose. Consider taking on a Lenten fast of some kind – giving up something that you will miss. This kind of practice is not just for the sake of suffering, which many people consider useless. But in giving something up, it somehow creates an opening whereby you may draw closer to God.
There are other possibilities as well. Just try taking up some kind of practice that makes you feel closer to God – it could be writing a note of gratitude to someone every day or doing some charitable act that challenges you to be more compassionate. The possibilities are endless; you find the one thing that is right for you.
The inward work that we do will help us grow spiritually. And as we grow spiritually, we will see the outward benefits. We will grow further in our ability to care for one another, share with one another. And this love and generosity of spirit that blossoms will show itself when we open our hearts and minds to any and all who approach us – needing to see God.
In this season of Lent, may you take the inward journey. May you find and commit to one thing that will help you grow in the Spirit. And may the Spirit shine through us with God’s unending love.
