[ Today's Readings ]
Advance, O LORD, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your majesty.
In Solomon's time the glory of the LORD is so great that when his cloud fills the temple the priests can no longer minister. This is the shekinah cloud of the presence of God's glory.
But there is a way in which this is problematic. God wants us to come into his presence. But with the glory turned up to 11 like this we are unable to do so. If we look at him directly we die.
"But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." (see Exodus 33:20)
Yet he does want to be seen. He makes compromise for Moses.
And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen (see Exodus 33:21-23).
Moses is allowed to see God's back. He comes so close to God's shekinah cloud that his face glows when he comes down from the mountain. People can't even look at him directly and he has to cover his face (see Exodus 34:45).
God's glory is overwhelming when it is too direct. Yet he does not wish to withdraw from us. He doesn't wish to keep us from his presence. His solution? Jesus.
Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (see John 14:9).
Jesus brings us the full presence of God without blinding us. His presence is powerful.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed.
His human face might confuse us. We may not fully realize the privilege of his presence. The species of the Eucharist might confuse us. We may not grasp the glory of his presence in the Sacrament. Perhaps incense helps us perceive it a little more. But the thing is, his glory is even more present in his own person than it ever was in Solomon's temple. His human face and the appearance of bread and wine are mercies that allow us to encounter him. But if we do not participate consciously and actively that encounter will always elude us. He allows us to come just as close as we are willing to come. So let's come as close as we can.
May your priests be clothed with justice;
let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.
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