Bible Text: Exodus 33:12-23, Matthew 22:15-22 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
In 1508 Michelangelo was invited by Pope Julius II to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling has various paintings and depict all kinds of stories from Scripture; from the Last Judgement to the story of Noah. Central to all of the works are nine scenes from Genesis the most famous of which is The Creation of Adam. You likely know what image I am talking about but here is a refresher (show slide of the Creation of Adam). In this painting, as you can see God is depicted as an elderly white-bearded man with a swirling cloak while Adam is depicted as a white young naked man. What is important is that while their hands are reaching out they are not touching- this reminds us that humanity and the divine are not on the same level but rather that the divine is the giver of human life. The image of the two fingers nearly touching is the second most reproduced piece of religious art, second only to Leonard Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. There is no doubt that Michelangelo and the other artists whose work can be found on the ceiling used artistic license while painting this masterpiece. Because if we are honest with each other God is not likely an old bearded white guy. More modern interpretations of God have included Morgan Freeman as in the movie Bruce Almighty and even the Muppets had Whoopi Goldberg playing God in a recent Christmas special. But again, God is not likely like any of those people- or perhaps God is all of those people. Humanity since the beginning has tried to pigeon hole what God looks like. Perhaps some of that stems from the early passages in Genesis in which it states that humanity was created in God’s likeness but a reminder that in Hebrew the word translates better as essence rather than a literal visual word like image. I think it would be a great activity for us to “Draw a picture of what God looks like to you” But since this is a Presbyterian congregation I’ll just preach about it instead.
Knowing what God looks like or craving to see God’s face is something that even some of God’s closest leaders, prophets, judges, kings and followers have desired throughout history and we find that Moses was no different. At the time that the story of Exodus was written the people of Israel were struggling to define who they were and who God was. This is another story that reveals much about that relationship and helps to define God. In fact, the book of Exodus, while it tells the story of the Israelites in the desert, it is also a book that is a series of new revelations on God’s identity and name. It begins with Moses asking God, and who shall I say sent me, and God responds with “I AM”. Then God’s name is expanded at the ten commandments in which God is, “The LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” Prior to our reading we have the story of the golden calf in which the people turn against God in their worship and it is Moses who appeals to God reminding God that the Israelites are “YOUR people”. Which brings us to the strange request which Moses now makes.
Earlier in Chapter 33 the covenant relationship was broken by the Israelites’ behaviour in worshipping the golden cow. Moses is now trying to rebuild the trust between both parties. Moses says, “If I am so special to you, let me in on your plans.” If Moses knows God’s plans than there can be no doubt about his leadership. But God replies, “My presence will go with you. I’ll see the journey to the end.” In the past this obscure answer would have been enough but things have become tense. Moses is really beginning to doubt whether he is prepared to see this through to the end and so Moses wants more. Eugene Petersen’s The Message helps us to understand this dialogue a little better. He paraphrases the conversation and writes, “Moses said, “If your presence doesn’t take the lead here, call this trip off right now. How else will it be known that you are with me in this, with me and your people?” Moses then appeals asking to see God’s glory. I think many of us can understand Moses’ desires. Like Moses we desire to have some visual evidence of God’s being. We want “hard evidence” that God is present with us. We want to sense God through sight, touch, sound maybe even smell or taste but instead faith is something more than our five senses.
Moses’ request does get a bit of an answer. It seems as if God compromises with Moses in stating that while Moses cannot see God face to face Moses can see God’s backside pass. God’s name and identity is expanded once again as God says, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” Essentially God chooses grace and mercy before anything else. Old Testament scholar Dennis Olson points out, “This is an amazing and unprecedented encounter between a human and God. But a part of God’s ways, glory, goodness, and face will remain unknown, unseen. Dimensions of God’s ways in the world will remain mysterious, elusive, and incomprehensible. What we do know of God’s supreme love and mercy, however, is sufficient for the journey to continue.” Our world tells us that we must see something to believe it but God is telling us that faith comes from belief in something much more profound than merely human senses.
Perhaps Jesus’ interaction with the religious leaders helps us to understand this a little better. When he is asked whether it is “lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not” the religious leaders think they are about trap Jesus. This is in part because it was a difficult balance between the civil responsibilities of paying taxes and the spiritual responsibility of paying tithes. It is a balance I am sure many of us have encountered in our life. There are certain things that our world and society expects of us and these expectations are not necessarily what our spiritual life expects of us. Martin Luther even wrote in one commentary that there were two kinds of righteousness, “civil righteousness” which managed how we acted in society and “alien righteousness” which is more commonly referred to now as “spiritual righteousness” which is determined not by our actions but by God’s act of love in Christ. Jesus is highlighting that there are differences between being citizens of the state and citizens of heaven. Much like how our world says we need proof from our senses that God exists Jesus is saying there are things that belong in this world and things that belong beyond it.
Moses was an exceptional leader for the Israelite people and had a very special and intimate relationship with God that comes as close as it can to the relationship that Adam and Eve had with God in the Garden of Eden but even Moses was not privy to see God face to face. But what God assures Moses ,and therefore us, is that the presence of God is not just a face to be seen but is in everything. While each one of us would have a different picture of who God is or what God looks like to us, we must remember that God is a God of the people and chooses grace and mercy first because God loves us and we all know how hard it is to describe love in one simple word or feeling or picture. It is not something that one of our five senses can explain rather it is something that is experienced. Amen