Exodus 33,18-33. Epiphany II

Exodus 33, (17b) 18-33  0923

2. Sonntag nach Epiphanias  16 

Maurus, Abbot at Glanfeuil (Saint-Maur-sur-Loire), France ✠ 584

15. Januar 2023

1. ℣ All the earth shall worship Thee: 

℟ And shall sing unto Thee, O God (Psalm 66,4). 

O blessed, Lord Jesus Christ, the God who heals and delivers; receive our thanks for Your steadfast merciful love, so that we receive the wondrous works You do for the children of Your Heavenly Father.  Amen. (Psalm 107,20-21 Gradual). 

2. »And Yahweh said to Moses: „You have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.“ Moses said: „Please show me Your Glory.“ And He said: „I will make all My Goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My Name ‘Yahweh.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But you cannot see My Face, for man shall not see Me and live. Behold, there is a place by Me where you will 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 will see My Back, but My Face shall not be seen.“« 

3. In the Scriptures, God appears to people at times. This is called a theophany (θεοφάνεια; θεο: god and φάνεια: to show) or an epiphany (θεοφάνεια). In Exodus 33, Yahweh shows Himself to Moses on Sinai. This epiphany involved: 1. Making all His beautiful goodness pass before Moses, and 2. proclaiming His Name: Yahweh. Moses had already beheld Yahweh in the Burning Bush, where God appeared as fire, and told him: »I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob« (Exodus 3,6). He then tells Moses His Name: »I am who I am«, in Hebrew this is Yahweh« (Exodus 3,14). In Exodus 33, Moses has a deeper manifestation of God’s presence: He sees God not as a pillar of fire but he sees God’s beautiful goodness; this glory however is too intense for a human being to see face to face, so God shows His back to Moses. Connected with this manifestation is God’s Name—Yahweh—I am who I am. 

4. Yahweh intended for His people to behold Him face to face, and this manifestation is fulfilled in God the Son becoming incarnate. John writes in his Gospel: »And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth« (John 1,14). Jesus later tells His disciples: »Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it« (Luke 10,23-24). And what did the disciples and the Jews see? A: They saw grace and truth that came through Jesus who has made known to them the Father (John 1,17.18). For Jesus will later tell His apostles: »Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father« (John 14,9b). What Moses longed to behold was revealed to the people of Jesus’ generation. 

5. Are we once again beholding God like Moses did? A: In one sense, yes. Jesus only walked this earth for 3 decades before He ascended to heaven. What the people beheld during those years is not for our eyes to see and ears to hear. A: But in another sense, no. Jesus has left His Church something those of His generation did not have. He had instituted the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Through these means of grace we behold the glory of God. „In baptism, the heavens open above us as it was at the baptism of Jesus. We hear the voice of the Father to us is: You are my dear child, in whom I am well pleased. And we receive the Holy Spirit who calls us by the gospel, enlightens and sanctifies with His gifts in the true faith. In, with and under the gifts of bread and wine Christ gives us  His body that was crucified for transgressors to make us both in body and soul into a dwelling place of God. Yes, the New Testament Christians are called the temple of God, and where His people gather is where the gifts of the Word and the Sacraments are given and received“ (Wenz p 33-34).  

6. Paul reminds us: »For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face« (1. Corinthians 13,12a). Moses now beholds God face to face. The disciples are already gone to the presence of God. They see the glory of Yahweh openly and fully manifested. We are still dependent on the Word and Sacraments that give us a glimpse of God’s glory, and they assure us that He is present among us and longs to bring us into the fellowship of His heavenly presence. 

7. Today we behold the Sacramental glory of Jesus. He gives us His true body and blood in the bread and the wine of His Supper. We behold the God-man who suffered, died and rose again for us in order to save and forgive us. 

8. Paul proclaims: »Μαρανα θα. Our Lord has come« (1. Corinthians 16,22). This is our confession of faith. We look forward with hope for our Lord will come again and manifest His full glory. 

9. Stay with us, Lord, do not leave us,

Through darkness to light lead us, 

Stay with us in this world’s evening 

As our Help and Refuge into morning. (Du Morgenstern, du Licht vom Licht elkg 396,4 2021  Richard Adelbert Lipsius 1878). 

This is most certainly true. 

12. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

13. Let us pray. O blessed Jesus, who didst dwell in Thy humble home at Nazareth, be with Thy servants in this our home, keep from it all pride, selfishness and impurity that it may be a dwelling place meet for Thy sacred presence; grant us to grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of Thee; guide us throughout our life on earth, comfort us in our troubles, strengthen us in our weakness and bring us at last to Thy home in heaven.  Amen. (The 2. Sunday after Epiphany, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover. 

The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House. 

Wenz, Armin. A sermon preached on 17. January 2011 (Epiphany 2) in Oberursel, Germany on Exodus 33,17b-23. Copyright © 2011 The Rev. Dr. Armin Wenz. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2012.