Ex 34:29-35

22 February 2004

Transfiguration

“May Our Faces Shine”

            When Banu and I lived in Philadelphia, she met through a mutual acquaintance another young woman from Istanbul.  Her name is Nilgün, and she’s visited us since we moved to New York.  According to Banu, one time early on in their friendship, Nilgün made a comment about me to her.  She apparently said that my face has nur.  That’s a Turkish word which means “light,” but it’s light in the sense of celestial or heavenly light.  Obviously, that was a gross exaggeration!

            Actually, I think Nilgün was just being nice to Banu—or maybe, Banu was just being nice to me.  In relaying that our friend said my face has nur, Banu may have wanted to avoid including the syllable that was uttered right before that:  “ma.”  (Of course, I kid!  Nilgün would not say such a thing!)

            We do speak of people’s faces as shining, don’t we?  We think of someone’s face lighting up for a particular reason.  On this day, the Transfiguration of the Lord, we consider the appearance of actual nur, the true shining of heavenly light.  And we’ll consider what that means for us.

            The image on our bulletin cover is a photo of the sculpture by Michelangelo entitled “Moses.”  Does anything about it strike you as odd?  Could it possibly be…you never realized that Moses had horns?  What is that all about?

            There’s a word in Hebrew, @r'q; (qaran), that appears in verses 29, 30, and 35 of our Old Testament reading in Exodus.  The word for “shining,” it means to “send out rays.”  However, in other contexts, it can be translated, to “display horns.”  In fact, @r'q; (qaran) comes from a root word that literally means “horn,” (@r,q,, qeren).

            For centuries in Europe, the version of the Bible that most people read (that is, those who could read) was a Latin translation known as the Vulgate.  In this version, we have a different picture of Moses after he speaks with God.  Opting for the second definition I listed, we get, not beams of light being emitted, but horns.  Instead of something appropriate for Transfiguration, we get something we might expect on Halloween!  So, in his own way, the Italian master is paying his respects to the Moses of today’s scripture text.

            Horns or not, Moses is the first person in scripture to be transfigured by the light of God.  This is after his second trip up Mount Sinai.  Remember what happens after his first encounter with God on the mountain—when Moses receives the Ten Commandments the first time?  There’s the incident with the Golden Calf.  The people get tired of waiting for Moses, and they pressure Aaron into devising some physical symbol of the divine that they can use in worship.  Plus, I think they just want to have a really wild party!  Moses appeals to God to not wipe the people out, and he is summoned back up the mountain.

There’s some confusion earlier in chapter 34.  We’re told that God has Moses prepare two more stone tablets, just like the ones he broke in a fit of anger when he saw the Golden Calf.  It’s unclear, but it seems to be Moses who will do the writing this time.  And besides another version of the Ten Commandments, there’s another covenant that God makes with the people, starting with verse 10.

In any event, as we come to today’s reading, Moses is on the way back down the mountain, completely unaware that he is literally beaming.  But the looks of terror on the faces of Aaron and the others clue him in that something strange is going on!  How is it that the face of Moses is shining?  The scripture says, “because he had been talking with God” (v. 29).

Eliezer Segal, who teaches at the University of Calgary in Alberta, speaks of the Jewish legend which says that after God concluded the giving of the Torah, “Moses wiped the pen on his forehead, and it was this [celestial] ink stain that continued to radiate as he walked among the people.  Perhaps,” he continues, “we are justified in learning from this image that it was Moses' participation in the process of revelation that enhanced its value before God.”[1]

He’s speaking of the way Moses gets actively involved in this second trip up the mountain.  Remember, he’s already interceded on behalf of the people.  Now, as opposed to the first time, it’s Moses, not the Lord, who provides the stone tablets and then writes on them.

Segal sees a lesson to be learned here, as he wonders, what is it that can make our faces radiate light?  He speaks of the spiritual energy that flows from the face of Moses and looks for a comparison.  He says it’s “not to be compared to fire, but to electrical power, which can exist only in the form of a current that flows continuously to and from its source.”

The connection is also made to us.  Spiritual “inspiration must also be a continual dialogue and struggle between the Creator and [we] creatures.  When that current is interrupted, or even if it fails to return to its source, then the energy has no use, and we find ourselves [putting on] our [symbolic] veils.”[2]  In our epistle reading, the apostle Paul makes a similar connection.  He says that “when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed” (2 Co 3:16).

Of course, it’s our gospel reading (Lk 9:28-36) that provides the reason that Transfiguration appears on the calendar.  And for our Lord Jesus Christ, it’s not only his face, but his entire body that radiates with the light of God.  Peter suggests that dwellings be built for Jesus, as well as for Moses and Elijah, who also appear with the glory of God.  In effect, Peter wants to hold on to the experience—he wants to trap that light.  But as the scripture says, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  The power and energy of God can’t be treated as something static.  Like love, they increase the more we give them away.

Like Peter, we’re often guilty of trying to…trap the light.  How often do we avoid letting our own light shine?  I’m not talking about being obnoxious and shining light in people’s faces, like we’re interrogating them.  Rather, it’s about letting light shine onto their paths, so that they can see for themselves.  And it’s not like there’s some false choice between living the life and saying the words—they go together.  If letting our light shine is our heart’s desire—if we pray for it—the opportunities will arrive.  And by the way, we’ll very likely see fewer empty seats in this sanctuary.

It may be asked why Transfiguration is observed on the last Sunday before Lent.  Again, the gospel—actually Matthew, Mark, and Luke—have the answer.  Right before the Transfiguration story, Jesus has just predicted the passion, the suffering that’s headed right for him.  That is, unless he keeps his mouth shut, goes into hiding, and quits being a headache for the powers that be!

The light of Transfiguration helps to illumine the sometimes dark road of Lent.  During Lent, we at Westminster are invited to share that light.  I’ll mention briefly one way in which that invitation will be extended:  our Lenten luncheons.

Next week on the 29th, the First Sunday in Lent, our theme will be “Vessels for the Master’s Use.”  We’ll consider the word “vessel” as an acrostic:  “v” for virtuous, “e” for exceptional, “s” for selfless, the second “s” for separated, the second “e” for exemplary, and “l” for laboring.

The seventh of March, the Second Sunday in Lent, involves “Teapots with Character,” in which we’re asked, “What’s been pouring out your spout?”  The following week’s theme, “Apples of Gold,” is taken from Proverbs 25:11, which says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”  We’ll use “apples” as an acrostic for examining our words.  Are they appropriate? pleasant? pure? lovely? encouraging? soft?

The Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 21, will encourage us in prayer as we consider the theme, “Early will I Seek Thee.”  And on the last Sunday in March, we’ll look at the seven “I Am” sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of John:  “I am the bread of life,” “I am the light of the world,” “I am the gate,” “I am the good shepherd,” “I am the resurrection and the life,” “I am the way, and the truth, and the life,” and number seven, “I am the true vine.”  And as a bonus, John records Jesus as simply saying, “I am.”

So, along with some good food, our Lenten luncheons this year offer some good opportunities for spiritual growth.  So take time to attend these luncheons, and yes, we will have childcare.

There’s one more way I would like to mention:  I’ve noticed that only a few have signed up to pray during the 2004 Marathon of Prayer.  I know we can do better than that!  Friends, we need to commit to pray for our community—to pray for our world and for ourselves.  So, take a chance on God!  Sign up.  You don’t necessarily have to be in the sanctuary to pray.  And on Ash Wednesday, there will be a guide on prayer available to those who want it.  Lift up your hearts to God.

We need not wear our symbolic veils.  We can let our faces shine.

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