Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, March 3, 2019
Moses receives the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. He meets with God on the mountain. Moses basks in the light of God’s presence. He saturates his mind with God’s Word. And when he comes down he radiates God’s favor and presence. But Moses himself was not even aware of his glowing face. And why would he? He had spent hours and days with the Angel of the Lord—the luminous pillar of cloud by day and the blazing pillar of fire by night. This is Moses’ new normal—to speak to God daily as one would with a friend face to face. It shows his humility. When his brother Aaron and the rest of the Israelites see Moses, they are too afraid to come near him. Moses has to persuade his brother and the leaders to come closer so that they can find a solution to his fear inducing, beaming face. There solution was to cover it up—to put a veil over Moses’ face. As long as the people did not have to see the evidence of Moses’ interaction with God—as long as they did not have to witness the residual results of the presence of God’s glory they were okay. Moses has to live his life behind a veil.
In our Scripture from 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us that it is because of the hardness of their minds that Moses had to put the veil on. Their minds had become rigid, inflexible, calloused, and less absorbent to new ideas. So Moses accommodated their narrow-minded and closed-minded thinking by covering his face. The irony is that by Moses putting a veil on, the mask that is covering the faces of the Israelites comes off. Underneath their mask is a people who are easily frightened by the unfamiliar, the God who works in mysterious ways, and his glory revealed on the face of his humble servant. The veil protects them from fear and misunderstanding. It prevents them from having to deal with the glorious and miraculous—stuff that is out of our control. It keeps them where they are most comfortable—in the dark. It makes Moses have to live his life hidden behind their veil of ignorance and unbelief.
Last week I had the privilege of visiting Stateville Correctional Facility just outside of Joliet. Deaconess Lori Wilbert had been working for months so that I could go with her to visit her class called the House of Healing. I went to meet her students, hear their stories, and have a conversation. After a few short hours, I left those who had become a band of brothers in Christ. For those doing hard time, they have no time for phoniness or artificiality. “Pastor Tom, do you know that Illinois is a no-parole state?” “No, I don’t. What does that mean?” “It means that I will never be reviewed by a parole board until I serve 80% of my sentence.” “Pastor Tom, do you believe that we can be redeemed?” “Yes, that is what all of us should experience—not just you.” I witnessed the power of God at Stateville. These brothers were gracious enough to come out from behind their veil. I saw the glory of Christ radiating through the lives, stories, and faces of those brothers. And it occurred to me that they are not unlike Moses who have to live their transformed lives behind the veil.
You will remember that Moses was guilty of capital murder. He buried the body of the Egyptian in the sand. Pharaoh put a bounty on the life of Moses who went into exile and into hiding—on hard time—forty years. But Moses’ life was not hidden from God. God had a plan for Moses. God believed that Moses could be reformed and redeemed. Despite Moses’ violent past and decades of self-imposed exile, God calls him to be his prophet. God called him out of darkness into the light. Moses spent hours and days in prayer and conversation with God. He was so beautifully transformed inside and out that his face radiated with the glory of God. That is not something to be ashamed of or afraid of. That is something to be celebrated! Praise be to God that Egypt’s most wanted outlaw is now God’s treasured possession. The Apostle Paul was was known as Saul and an accessory to the murder of Stephen. He learned that only through the power of Jesus Christ is the veil that lies over our minds removed. Jesus’ transfiguration is a brief glimpse of Jesus’ normal—the eternal Son of God radiating his glory. When he comes down the mountain, his identity is veiled behind his flesh because of the weakness and unbelief of his day. In his death, the veil is torn in two. In his resurrection, we now radiate into eternity.
What is it about you or me that we cannot see—or that we will not see the glory of God in the face of someone who has experienced his redeeming grace? Is it envy, jealousy, unbelief, callousness, or some other hardness of the mind? In seeing in others we are encouraged: God’s light can also shine through us. We see in Moses that time with God—prayer—is not about changing God or his mind. It is about our transformation especially in our hearts and minds. In Christ, we go up into the mountain of prayer. Our faith is strengthened through the Word. We receive his true Body and Blood for the strengthening of our bodies and souls. We bask in the light of his grace. We now shine like the midday sun. Lifting the veil between us is a celebration of God’s power in our lives. It’s God’s promise to bless us and keep us—to make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us—to lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. We bear the glow of forgiveness. Our faces reflect the acceptance and love of God into all eternity.
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