The Gray Monk

Quinquagesima Sunday 2007
Sung Eucharist
Tewkesbury Abbey

+ May the Word be on my lips, and in my heart,
May he be on my mind and in my going out and my coming in,
Now and forever.
Amen

“When he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, his face was radiant.”

Encountering God is something we have all done at some stage in our journey through Faith. It would be fair to say that few of us have experienced the sort of encounter described in either the lesson from Exodus or in the Annunciation. I think it would be fair to say that very few of us have experienced the sort of encounter St Paul had on the Damascus road and perhaps we ought to be thankful for it, since each of these encounters marked the recipient and the witnesses indelibly. But I would suggest that we all encounter God in some way each and every day. Perhaps we don’t realise it at the time, but think carefully and you will realise that we encounter him in many different ways, in the unexpected meeting, the stranger who smiles and shares a pleasantry and in the child who greets us in a burst of love. And, of course, we meet him here, in the Eucharist and every time we pray.

There are several accounts in the Bible where we are told of specific individuals encountering God in the flesh. On at least three occasions we are also told that the people involved were changed in appearance as well. In Moses’ case his face became so radiant that it frightened the people he encountered on descending from the mountain. In Elijah’s case, the transfiguration had a slightly less frightening affect – but it alarmed those that saw it nonetheless. In our third encounter, Jesus himself is transfigured and his disciples see Moses and Elijah standing with him. Peter was so struck by this encounter that he even recalls it in his letters – and it is an event recorded in the Gospel of Mark as well. As you will probably be aware, Mark wrote his Gospel while living in Rome and in daily attendance on Peter himself, so this is a story he would have had first hand from the man himself.

St Paul in writing to the Corinthians makes the parallel with Moses’ veil between the manner in which the Jewish faith of that time followed to much the letter rather than the spirit of the Torah. Hence his statement:

“But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.”

The simple truth, which Paul again alludes to, is that you cannot truly encounter God and not be changed. The changes may not be as dramatic as that described in Exodus, but as Peter discovered, it certainly left its mark on him and his companions when they came down from the mountain with Jesus after his encounter. We are not told how it changed them, but we can surmise. Before this, they were unsure of who Jesus really was – or what he was. After this event they knew, all doubts vanished.

But what does this say to us as we stand at the beginning of the Lenten season? Have we really recognised Christ? Have we really been marked by Him? Do we show this in the way we have changed behaviour? Attitudes? Actions? Does it show, as it did in Peter and the others, that we have seen the glory of the Lord? Or are we so blinded by the realities of this world that we missed the vision?

We who have encountered God in our lives should, like Peter, like Paul and all the other Apostles and saints should be showing in our daily lives the joy that comes from knowing and encountering our God daily. We are not expected to achieve perfection, but we should be more conscious than ever of those moments when we are less than full of the grace of God. That is really what Lent is about, a season to seek ways to change our lives into what God demands; to put aside the cares and distractions around us and show the gospel in the way we live.

St Paul in his letter to the Corinthians makes a very interesting point on this subject. We have, in our encounters with God, been shown the perfection to come but we are still bound by the rules of this life. Called to be God’s ambassadors and subjects, we are still subject to all the frailties that go with being human. Paul frequently points to his own past and his own infirmity when making this point – his life has been transformed by the call to be an Apostle, yet he must still struggle with the day to day distractions of life.

The ancient Israelites found the radiance of Moses face so disturbing they ran away and in order to avoid alarming them, Moses hid behind a veil. As Paul says, the fear of encountering God leads some people to draw a veil over the revelation that comes from the Gospels as we encounter God in word and sacrament. It is truly in Jesus that the full meaning of the grace revealed in Christ’s transfiguration is revealed to us, with the promise that we too will share in that perfection in due time.

As we prepare ourselves to encounter the risen Christ yet again in the commemoration of his death and resurrection at Easter, let us use this lent to find ways to show in ourselves and in our daily lives, how our own encounters with God are transforming our lives. Let us draw aside the veil that we use to conceal that grace and show it to all those we encounter. Let us truly prepare to greet the Risen Christ as we go through the days ahead. We know that we meet him in prayer and in every day things, so let us show that to the world. Let us make this Lent a time for thoughtful and frequent prayer, let us make this Lent a time when we show others how we care for each other and for those outside our Church family. Let us show how God has transformed us. Let us show each other the true Peace of God that comes from encountering Him in all we do and say.
Let us pray ..
Almighty God, who has shown us in Moses, Elijah and Jesus the Christ, your Son and our Lord, the grace and perfection that is to come, give us the strength to hold fast to that vision, to cherish our encounters with you and not to shrink away from them, to acknowledge our shortcomings and to strive to do what you would have us do. We ask this in Jesus name,
Amen