Sermon preached on February 10, 2013 at St. David’s Episcopal Church,
Washington, DC
Last Sunday after the Epiphany: Exodus
34:29-35; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2; Luke 9:28-43
Finding the right
translation for an ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek word is often difficult.
And in today’s passage from Exodus, for centuries the Church got it
spectacularly wrong! According to the definitive Bible translation of the pre-Reformation
Western Church, the Latin Vulgate Bible, Moses “did not know that his face was horned
from the conversation of the Lord,” instead of “did not know that the skin of
his face shone.” This mistake had consequences. You will find many pictures
and statues of Moses showing him with two horns growing out of his forehead, most
famously on this statue by Michelangelo from the early 16th century, found
in the Vatican.
I also wonder whether this sort of illustration in some way contributed
to the demonization of the Jews by the Christian Church which had such tragic
consequences in the 20th century.
But as I said the
correct translation is that the skin of Moses’ face shone because he had been
talking with God. He was radiant or glowing, infused with God’s glory, we might
say, or reflecting it. So much so that the people were afraid to come near him
because they knew just how dangerous God’s immediate presence could be. Earlier
in Exodus, when Moses asks to be shown God’s glory, God tells him “no one shall
see my face and live” (Exodus 33:20) and only allows Moses a glimpse of his
back. So seeing Moses’ face shining was for the Israelites like a glimpse of
God. Moses kept his face hidden, behind a veil, except when he was speaking on
God’s behalf, when he passed on God’s commandments and pronouncements. His
radiance was a visible sign of his privileged position and authority as a
messenger of God.
The Gospel passage
about the event we call the Transfiguration picks up a lot of the themes from
the Exodus story. Just as Mount Sinai is shrouded in cloud when God is present,
so too the mountain Jesus, Peter, John, and James ascend is covered by a cloud
when God the Father is present. The very appearance of Jesus’ face changes and
his clothing becomes dazzling or shining white. This transformation also happens
when Jesus talks to his Father, because it is while he was praying, which is a good
reminder for us too that we are closest to God in prayer. Unlike Moses, Jesus’
glory is not reflected, it is his own: the glory of Jesus’ divine nature
“shining through.” Like Moses’ appearance it is a sign of Jesus’ role and
authority and of the divine origin of his teaching and commandments, but Jesus
is more than a messenger of God. The voice from heaven tells us, as it did at
Jesus’ Baptism, that he is “my Son, my Chosen.”
When Moses came down
from the mountain he brought the two tablets of the covenant with him: the tablets
engraved with the Ten Commandments. Traditionally these are divided into two
groups. Commandments that regulate how human beings are to relate to God – having
no other gods, not making a graven image, not taking God’s name in vain,
keeping the Sabbath holy – and those that regulate how we relate to each other
– honoring our parents, not murdering, committing adultery, stealing, bearing
false witness, or coveting. That’s why Jesus summarized them as the two Great
Commandments: to love God and love your neighbor.
Yet when Jesus comes down
from the mountain he seems to be empty handed – he has no stone tablets, no new
commandments. What Jesus brings with him however, what he had been praying for,
is his resolve to continue on to Jerusalem even though he knows just what
awaits him there. As one of our collects for Morning Prayer puts it, “he
entered not into glory before he was crucified.” (BCP, 99) Instead of giving us
new commandments, Jesus demonstrates what the “old” commandments mean. In his
journey to Jerusalem, to the cross, and in his willingness to sacrifice himself
in love for all of humanity we see the commandments in action. That journey stands
for doing the will of God, and that sacrifice stands for his love of us all. We
are given another sign of his compassion right after he comes down from the
mountain when he answers a father’s fervent cry and heals the boy who had been possessed
by an unclean spirit. The Cross is the physical sign of our renewed covenant with
God through Christ, just as the Tablets were, and still are, a sign of the
Covenant between God and Israel.
I’ve just spent some
time comparing Moses’ and Jesus’ transformation, but what about ours? Oh yes,
we too can be transformed to shine with the glory of God. We can see God and God’s
glory and live, though there is some risk involved for us too.
First of all we can see
God in Christ: “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who has made
him known” (John 1:18). We encounter Christ in Scripture, here at his Table in
the Eucharist, and when we make him part of our lives. Secondly we can all talk
with God when we pray, whether publicly or privately. That is our means of
conversation with God and it should be a regular one. As I mentioned earlier we
are closest to God in prayer. Last but
definitely not least let us not forget that we can also see God in other people,
not just in saints, but in all people, for every one of us, regardless of their
color or gender or age or ability, is made in God’s image. There is a risk involved
in seeing God this way, it is the risk that we will be changed and that we will
feel called to act in ways that the society we live in does not always
understand or accept.
As Christians we are
transformed through our imitation of the one we follow. If we take Christ’s
actions in today’s Gospel as examples for imitation then we are called to show compassion
to those in need. We are called to act as healers, which we can do even without
being miracle workers, for there is plenty of hurt in the world that we can
heal. And we are called to cast out the demons of this world, the demons of hate
and oppression, of greed and ignorance. These examples can help us transform
the world and transform ourselves; these actions are our way of keeping the
commandments that Moses brought down the mountain with him and that Jesus lived
out.
Being transformed this
way will allow us to shine with and radiate the glory of God that is God’s
goodness and love, a glory that does not need to be veiled or hidden. We don’t
want people to be afraid to come near us, instead we want to astound them with God’s
greatness and love as shown in our witness and our deeds.
I’m going to finish by
quoting from a modern hymn, “Shine Jesus, Shine.” It sums up a lot of what I have
just been saying – but more poetically. Here is the last verse and the refrain:
As we gaze on Your kingly
brightness.
So our faces display Your likeness.
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirrored here may our lives tell
Your story.
Shine on me. Shine on me.
Shine Jesus shine
Fill this land with the Father's
glory
Blaze, Spirit blaze,
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river flow
Flood the nations with grace and
mercy
Send forth Your word
Lord and let there be light.[1]
And let us be that
light in the world by shining with God’s glory.
Amen
