March 10, 2006 - Eric Strom, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Concord)

March 10, 2006

Exodus 34:10, 27-35
Eric Strom, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Concord)

Read the passage and respond to these questions:

1. Who was initiating and making the covenant spoken of here?
2. What was expected to be the other party’s response to the covenant?
3. What was the purpose of the veil (vs. 33-35)?
When I was young, I would go on skiing trips with my family. Each morning, part of our routine involved my father slapping some sunscreen on my face. I hated that part. Inevitably, the sunscreen had been sitting in the car all night, so it was really cold. Here I was already cold, it being winter in the mountains, and my dad is putting freezing goop on my face. Then one day – a sunny day, I might add – my father forgot the sunscreen. I didn’t say anything, since I hated it so much, and just hit the slopes. To call that a mistake is an understatement. Never before or since have I had such a sunburn in my life! I remember well the looks of mild horror on people’s faces when they saw how red I was. My burn practically glowed. It was not a good thing.
After Moses first spent some time alone with God up on Mount Sinai, his face radiated, too. Only in his case it was a good thing. His radiance came from spending time with God. Having never seen or experienced anything like it, the people were frightened by it. They had never been so close to God before.
Part of the good news of Jesus Christ is that we can now come near to God in prayer. We don’t need an intermediary to speak to God for us. In Christ, we have the privilege and joy of speaking to God, of basking in God’s presence.
prayer
Mighty God, as we bask in your presence even now, fill us with your Spirit, so that we radiate your love and grace to those around us, so that in us they see Christ. Amen.