The Rev Mark Pendleton

February 27, 2022

Last Epiphany, Year C

The Rev. Mark Pendleton

Christ Church, Exeter

Time to Uncover and Unveil and See God’s Glory

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. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 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, 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. Exodus 34:29-35

12Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, 13not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. 14But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. 15Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; 16but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. 4:1Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. 2 Corinthians 3:12--4:2

28Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. 34While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. Luke 9:28-36

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Maps tell many stories. In recent days I have seen maps that shifts and projects the nation of Ukraine on top of Europe and only then one realizes how vast it is – the size of the state of Texas.

Maps also reveal how one sees the world and it is all about perspective. The globes I spun around from the days of my childhood offer particular northern views in both scale and size. Greenland looks much larger -- Africa does not look as large as it and should be. Maps, like history itself, are shaped by those who make them.

When news of war and violence reach us, I believe we are more likely to respond and react when we share common roots and stories. Wars in far off Myanmar and Ethiopia, however violent and tragic, may fail to register with many of us -- for many reasons -- but wars in Europe take on a different tone and reaction. I own my own cultural and historical bias up front – I confess when I have failed to be stirred to outrage -- so that I can wrap mind around what we are all seeing on television and online. The Cold War is not a distant history to many of us. Some of our parents and grandparents fought in WWII. Some of you remember those years.

So let us begin by praying for peace:

We pray to God for the people of Ukraine and the people of Russia; for their countries and their leaders.

We pray for all those who are afraid; that God’s everlasting arms hold them in this time of great fear.

We pray for all those who have the power over life and death; that they will choose for all people life, and life in all its fullness.

We pray for those who choose war; that they will remember that you direct your people to turn our swords into ploughshares and seek for peace.

We pray for leaders on the world stage; that they are inspired by the wisdom and courage of Christ.

Above all, Lord, today we pray for peace for Ukraine.

And we ask this in the name of your blessed Son.

Lord have mercy.

Amen.

A commentator once opined that preachers have essentially three sermons: they simply repeat them over and over through their ministries with subtle changes of people and place. I think there is some truth there. I don’t know if I can name my other two sermons, but I do return often to obstacles we create to living the kind of life God has called us to. The God in whom I believe is all-giving, all-loving and all-forgiving -- and grace is offered freely with no conditions again and again regardless of whether we accept or reject that grace – it still pours out – so why do I – why do we make it so hard? We can all be like that prodigal son who rejects and wanders off only to return to be embraced as if he never left.

That to me is what is happening throughout the Old Testament and much of the New. God creating, calling, gathering, protecting, blessing and the people far too often forgetting, wandering, betraying and rejecting. And still God’s keeps at it. Never gives up. That is the God in whom I believe and the God I have come to know in my life. Maybe that is one of my sermons in my series of three.

What gets in our way? For me, it is almost a daily exercise of reminding myself not to make life, my work, and my relationships with others harder than they need to be. How true is that true for you? How to know when the right moment is to step out of my own way and allow God – and others – to do some of the heavy lifting. To be more aware of how God is moving and most present in the now – instead of pining over the past that cannot be changed and worrying about the future not yet known.

This self-inventory can open up our readings today. The first image that comes to mind as I read through them is the image of a veil.

A veil, as we know, covers someone or something. A bride’s head, in many cases, on her wedding day. The fabric we use to cover the chalice and paten for Holy Communion at the altar – faithfully prepared for us each work by our dedicated Altar Guild (always open to new members) -- is also called a veil. Its color will change to purple this week to mark the beginning of Lent.

There was a veil in the Temple in Jerusalem that covered the entrance of the holy of holies. That same veil was torn (Mark 15:38) when Jesus died on the cross.

A veil is something that covers up and separates.

The great ancient Persian poet Rumi – who lived 800 years ago and is today the best-selling poet in the United States: wrote about another expression of a veil. He wrote that, “The Ego is a veil between humans and God. In prayer all are equal.”

In the Exodus passage Moses uses a veil. He was coming down from Mt. Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his arms. As he walked towards the others, they could see that the skin of his face was shining because he had spoken to God face to face. The parallel to the shining transfigured Jesus on another mountain in today’s gospel is clear. For Moses, the people were afraid to come near, so he covered up with a veil. When he had another one-on-one with God, Moses removed the veil.

When the Apostle writes a second letter to the Corinthians, Moses’ use of a veil is not a positive action for the people. He writes of the believers in Christ as having such a hope, that they act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people from gazing the end of glory. (2 Corinthians 3) In Paul’s eyes, Moses is hiding and covering up God’s glory. Paul’s whole life’s work after his conversation was to point to Christ as the one to liberate and set free all of humanity from what was.

There was no hiding from that glory or covering it up. He paints this beautiful image.

v. 18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

It is probably no accident that almost every reality show on television centers around a “before and after” – a person being remade or restyled, or a house being redesigned and improved. When it comes time for the sharing of that new house or person – that moment is called ‘the reveal.” The root of the word ‘reveal’ is ‘unveil.’

Mountaintop. Veils. Glory. Clouds. Dazzling faces and clothes. Much of what we hear today makes little sense to in a rational data driven world and mindset. And that perhaps is the point.

Our readings today, however mysterious and remote they can seem, can invite us to think about what it is that we try to veil or coverup – from God, from the world, from those close to us from ourselves. We can see how the veiling began out of fear – fear of the people that they were not in a place to see God’s glory so intensely. So let us cast of fear – or try again at least.

Kallistos Ware, an Orthodox theologian born and raised an Anglican in England, has written this: “It is not the task of Christianity to provide easy answers to every question, but to make us progressively aware of a mystery. God is not so much the object of our knowledge as the cause of our wonder.”

The weeks ahead can be a time to consider and bask in the wonder and mystery of God without any expectation of receiving answers for what ails or frightens us – for all that has gone wrong in our world and the pain that humanity inflicts.

We can use these weeks before Easter to do some needed soul searching, learning, and heart mending. We try to simplify, slow down, and shed some of what keeps us to seeing the full Glory that is God.

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.