A Shining Face – Exodus 34

A text – Exodus 34:29-35

²⁹ Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. ³⁰ When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. ³² Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face, ³⁴ but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out, and when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, ³⁵ the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining, and Moses would put the veil on his face again until he went in to speak with him.

A reflection:

Our gospel lesson for this week is Jesus’s transfiguration, where the light enveloping Jesus (and everything else) in holy glory is seen and experienced by three disciples. In this lesson from the Old Testament for this week, we can see that Jesus was not the first person to be transfigured by the light of the glory of God. Moses, without even realizing it, shines, radiates holy light after he has spoken with God, and not just once but several times.

We know this shining face image already. It appears in Numbers 6:24-26, Aaron’s Blessing ²⁴ The Lord bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

It appears in the words to Silent Night: Radiant beams from thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

We have seen it in happy reactions of people, when we might say their faces were beaming, light streaming from them.

These images of light shining from a face show us the nature of God, that even when a human being comes near to the presence of God, the human takes on the light of God’s love, God’s generosity, God’s joy. Just hold that thought in your mind today – the God we often seek for help in our distress, the God we long to be near, the very God whose son Jesus came to us to demonstrate what God was like and point us to God time and time again, this God is light and love and joy. Light and love and joy that can’t help but rub off when we are nearby. Spend a little time in God’s presence this week and then bring that shining light out to your neighbors in a dark world and a dark time.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your shining light. Thank you that we know it radiates to human beings. Help us find the light of your presence and share it with our neighbors.. Amen.