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The Lord would speak with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend
First Reading
Exodus 33:7-11,18-23,34:5-9,29-35 © |
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God reveals himself to Moses |
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Moses
used to take the Tent and pitch it outside the camp, at some distance
from the camp. He called it the Tent of Meeting. Anyone who had to
consult the Lord would go out to the Tent of Meeting, outside the camp.
Whenever Moses went out to the Tent, all the people would rise. Every
man would stand at the door of his tent and watch Moses until he reached
the Tent; the pillar of cloud would come down and station itself at the
entrance to the Tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. When they
saw the pillar of cloud stationed at the entrance to the Tent, all the
people would rise and bow low, each at the door of his tent. The Lord
would speak with Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.
Then Moses would turn back to the camp, but the young man who was his
servant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the Tent.
Moses said, ‘Show me your glory, I beg you.’ And he
said, ‘I will let all my splendour pass in front of you, and I will
pronounce before you the name, “The Lord.” I have compassion on whom I
will, and I show pity to whom I please. You cannot see my face,’ he
said, ‘for man cannot see me and live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Here is a
place beside me. You must stand on the rock, and when my glory passes
by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and shield you with my hand
while I pass by. Then I will take my hand away and you shall see the
back of me; but my face is not to be seen.’
And the Lord descended in the form of a cloud, and Moses stood with him there.
He called on the name of the Lord. The Lord passed
before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, a God of tenderness and
compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness; for
thousands he maintains his kindness, forgives faults, transgression,
sin; yet he lets nothing go unchecked, punishing the father’s fault in
the sons and in the grandsons to the third and fourth generation.’ And
Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshipped. ‘If I have indeed
won your favour, Lord,’ he said ‘let my Lord come with us, I beg. True,
they are a headstrong people, but forgive us our faults and our sins,
and adopt us as your heritage.’
When Moses came down from the mountain of Sinai – as
he came down from the mountain, Moses had the two tablets of the
Testimony in his hands – he did not know that the skin on his face was
radiant after speaking with the Lord. And when Aaron and all the sons of
Israel saw Moses, the skin on his face shone so much that they would
not venture near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron with all the
leaders of the community came back to him; and he spoke to them. Then
all the sons of Israel came closer, and he passed on to them all the
orders that the Lord had given him on the mountain of Sinai. And when
Moses had finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
Whenever he went into the Lord’s presence to speak with him, Moses would
remove the veil until he came out again. And when he came out, he would
tell the sons of Israel what he had been ordered to pass on to them,
and the sons of Israel would see the face of Moses radiant. Then Moses
would put the veil back over his face until he returned to speak with
the Lord.
Second Reading
From the book addressed to Autolycus by Saint Theophilus of Antioch, bishop |
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Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God |
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If
you say, “Show me your God,” I will say to you, “Show me what kind of
person you are, and I will show you my God.” Show me then whether the
eyes of your mind can see, and the ears of your heart hear.
It is like this. Those who can see with the eyes of
their bodies are aware of what is happening in this life on earth. They
get to know things that are different from each other. They distinguish
light and darkness, black and white, ugliness and beauty, elegance and
inelegance, proportion and lack of proportion, excess and defect. The
same is true of the sounds we hear: high or low or pleasant. So it is
with the ears of our heart and the eyes of our mind in their capacity to
hear or see God.
God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him,
provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes, but
some have eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the light
of the sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the
sun does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves
and their eyes. In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are
shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds.
A person’s soul should be clean, like a mirror
reflecting light. If there is rust on the mirror his face cannot be seen
in it. In the same way, no one who has sin within him can see God.
But if you will you can be healed. Hand yourself over
to the doctor, and he will open the eyes of your mind and heart. Who is
to be the doctor? It is God, who heals and gives life through his Word
and wisdom. Through his Word and wisdom he created the universe, for by his Word the heavens were established, and by his Spirit all their array. His wisdom is supreme. God by
wisdom founded the earth, by understanding he arranged the heavens, by
his knowledge the depths broke forth and the clouds poured out the dew.
If you understand this, and live in purity and
holiness and justice, you may see God. But, before all, faith and the
fear of God must take the first place in your heart, and then you will
understand all this. When you have laid aside mortality and been clothed
in immortality, then you will see God according to your merits. God
raises up your flesh to immortality along with your soul, and then, once
made immortal, you will see the immortal One, if you believe in him
now.
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