Sermon at First Presbyterian
Church Lockhart
Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm
99, II Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Luke 9:28-36
February 14, 2010
by James Greene
There are times in our life where we have used terms to describe people, their personalities, and their effect
upon us. We use the phrase about
a woman who is pregnant that she
has a certain glow. There are successful people in the work place who are
described as a rising star. People who are known people, because of their
integrity or exemplary work ethic, are described as a shining example. It is about
their glory. It
is about their importance to
us.
In the reading in Exodus,
we see the experience of God’s
people described when Moses returns from Mount Sinai
with the testaments of the Lord. This was really scary to the Israelites at the bottom of the mountain. He could readily
be described, in modern terms, as a shining example to the people he was leading.
The Hebrew term for this glow, that come
from Moses, is called Shekhinah,
or Shekhinah Glory.
It is in the ”feminine” gender
in the Hebrew language. It represents
the feminine attributes of the presence of God. It is a word that means the ‘dwelling or settling’, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling presence of God, especially in
the Temple in Jerusalem. It can also mean “royalty” or dwelling place with the settling in of
God’s presence, where God is indwelling
in the Temple. In the Hebrew wedding the veil is worn by the bride because God’s presence is with the bride
during the wedding ceremony, and the veil, like Moses’ veil, covers
the bride’s glory. This is the history behind our modern tradition of the bride wearing a veil.
It is the Spirit of the
Lord being present like the cloud
or smoke described in Isaiah 6:4
where “the house was filled with smoke”, that filled the sanctuary, denoting the presence of God. It
is like the pillar of fire in the
desert, at night, that let the people know
that God was in their presence.
There is type of cloud structure called a Glory, in meteorology. A
Glory an optical phenomenon
produced by light reflected toward its source, by a cloud of uniformly-sized water droplets.
It gives off a series of rainbow
rings. The technical description, is
that this optical phenomenon, is
produced by light
backscattered (a combination of diffraction, reflection and refraction) towards its source
by these uniformly-sized water droplets.
Since it is seen in the direction opposite the sun, it is most commonly observed while airborne, with the Glory surrounding
the airplane's shadow on clouds.
There is a term associated with Glories called Brocken
spectre. This is named after the Brocken
peak in Germany. It is above the cloud level, and the area is frequently misty and, the peak’s shadow is cast onto the cloud layer.
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This is also when a large magnified shadow of
an observer is projected,
upon the upper surfaces of clouds, below
the mountain peak where they are
standing. The appearance of giant shadows that seemed to move by themselves
is due to the movement of the
cloud layer, and they are surrounded
by optical glory halos.
This
description of meteorology can help
us to see and understand the description
in Exodus 24:15-16 “When Moses went
up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six
days the cloud covered the
mountain… and the Lord called
Moses from within the
cloud.”
This concept
can be seen reflected in our call to
worship “Know that God is in this place and present with us”. We also
see in Luke 2:9 another example of God’s Glory,
with the appearance of the angel of
the Lord in Bethlehem, and “the glory of the Lord shone around them.” It represents God’s Glory and presence
to the shepherds. So, in the modern description of the Glory cloud reflecting the light, gives us a glimpse into the text as to how “the Glory of the Lord”
reflects God’s presence with His
people in the Old Testament and in
our modern worship. In the New Testament this glory is equated to the presence or indwelling of the Spirit of the Lord. We see
and refer to it as the Holy
Spirit.
In Psalm 99 is another aspect of glory. It is our personal praise in worship to a Holy God that is a reflection of His glory. The entire focus is of the Psalm is the praise
of the Lord, and in worship that the
Lord our God - “is Holy”. We see this in the Greek word Doxa which is the root for name of the Hymn from 1647: The Doxology. It is a praise of the Glory of the Lord. It
calls to mind, the history of
God’s people, how Moses, Aaron,
and the priests called upon God.
It reminds us how God
spoke from pillar of cloud in the wilderness. It recalls how Samuel called upon God’s Name, and how God, in his glory,
answered. It reminds them that even at a time when the people of
God were impure, God’s Divine Presence was still with them. It reflects upon Moses’ shining face and the Divine Presence that resided with Moses.
This brightness and glory are
also a reflection of the
individual. This Shekhinah is also what caused prophets to prophesy and King
David to compose his Psalms.
It was regarded as the source
of prophesy. “It manifests itself as a form of joy,
connected with prophesy and creativity.”
The term that comes to
mind is the word and the concept of inspiration. Like the way
music can inspire and move us to a higher level, and bringing
about creativity and harmony. So we see in both the use of God’s name, and God’s glory the subtly
of the abiding presence of God with
his people. This is not demonstrated with God’s voice,
but in God’s presence in the light
and in the cloud of his presence.
In
II Corinthians, Paul demonstrates
how we as Christians are not like
Moses, but we are to be bold
because of our hope in Christ. He shows how their minds were veiled
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by their dullness. It is a veil that covers their hearts.
Paul says, it is only in
Christ, that the veil, is taken
away. It is the Lord’s Spirit – like that represented by
the Shekhinah, in that inspired creativity, there is freedom, whenever anyone turns to the Lord.
We
are like a mirror that reflects God’s
glory, and God’s image, though that reflection is
imperfect. Our veiled
faces should reflect the Lord’s
glory in our walk as Christians. We are to reflect and are to be transformed into his likeness, just
like the Glory cloud effect. We in who are created in the image of God also called to reflect God’s image in the living of our
lives.
This is also an illustration
of how God's light shines through us, to be Christ to
those around us, and the impact,
upon all around us, in hearing and being apart of the Good
News. It is to be in our nature to inspire
and to bring that light to
the world. We are to be the living
example of Jesus. We are to be a witness and reflection to,
and of the light of Christ. We are committed
to be the living examples
of what it is to be in, and doing God's Will; living aware
of salvation, and the resurrection after this life.
In some of the tower tombs from about 400BC in Palmyra in eastern Syria,
there are carved images of the individuals
buried there. There were entire
family portraits in stone. What was
interesting, was the woman was shown
with her veil down, to reveal her face, symbolizing that in death her true image was revealed.
Today for us, it is like taking the risk of revealing ourselves. It is because the light, the Shekhinah glory
of God, shines through us to demonstrate
God’s love and presence to others.
What Good News we have,
that our greatest hope is realized
in the Light of the world that
has come into the world. Christ comes to us and calls us
by name, that we might have Hope, and Joy, and Confidence in
knowing that presence of Christ,
the Savior, is with us, and we
are to participate in God's Creation and sharing of that light. We are
to be both light and salt to those around us, so they
might have hope and believe. We must bear witness
and reflect God’s Light like the Glory cloud.
From Luke, we see the story of the transfiguration of Christ before Peter, James, and John on a
mountain. This is just before
Jesus sets out for Jerusalem and the
cross. We see again, the Shekhinah glory of the Lord
revealed in the brilliance of
Jesus. We also read, like in the Exodus, how a cloud encompasses them on the mountain and the voice of the Lord identifying Jesus as the Son
of God.
The
experience in the Marine Corps of climbing Mt. Fuji with a friend,
and how your are walking along and a cloud
come and envelopes everything and
you can only see 15-20 yards in any
direction around you.
The disciples see Moses and Elijah with Jesus. And there
is the Glory of the Lord revealing
the Son of God in his Shekhinah Glory. The only thing is, that they like the
Hebrews, have veils over their
faces, as seen by Peter’s
suggestion to build 3 booths. They are blinded to the significance of God’s intended Glory for them and
mankind.
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It reminds us
of the things that cause our perspectives to
be asleep (like the apostles) where we are closed to new ideas, we don’t face questions or doubts, or we are just apathetic to events around us.
We must remember friends in Christ that as
followers of the Lord, we are to be aware
of the inner glory, and inspiration that God has given us and
has revealed to us in the text.
We are required to act
in boldness, and to remove
the veil that separates our inner radiant glory, to reveal the love and intent of
God, and God’s Glory to all of those around us if we are to be in service to God’s will.
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