Face to Face with G*d (February 27, 2022)
Sermon title: Face to Face with G*d
Scripture:
Exodus 34:29-35 (cf. Luke 9:28-36, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2)
Location:
United Church of Hyde Park
Date:
February 27, 2022 (Transfiguration Sunday)
1. greetings
and opening
Today is Transfiguration
Sunday. Transfiguration Sunday also means the end of the season of Epiphany and
the preparation for the season of Lent.
In the US,
this is the last Sunday of African American History Month. Our church
integrates related messages in our services, newsletters, and social media
platforms. By doing so, we want to demonstrate the essence of systematic
discrimination against our African American siblings in the past, how we are
working collaboratively now, and the vision of an equality that we want to
provide in the near future.
In Taiwan
and around the world, today is the day some Taiwanese Christians will host
memorial services for those who were murdered on February 28, 1947, the so-called
“228 Massacre,” and the 43-year white terrorist period under the martial law,
which was ended in 1987 and 1992. Some of the victims’ families were forced to
leave for other countries for survival. Till today, we are still working on the
restorative justice and documentaries.
2. Exodus 34
– the renewed tablets and the emissary
The
scripture today, scholars agree that it belongs to the Priestly tradition. At
the beginning of Exodus chapter 34, God continued to talk to Moses, the
mediator, in the cloud, and in the mountain. God also asked Moses to make two
other tablets and have the same words written on them. Also in this chapter,
Moses witnesses the presence and glory of God. Moses also witnesses some of the
most important characteristics of God:
“The
Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth
generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means
clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children
and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
(Exodus 34:6-7)
Moses prayed
for those “stiff-necked” Israelites and requested the pardon and taken as God’s
inheritance. God and Moses continued their conversations and the “renewed
covenant”. Moses stayed with God for forty days and forty nights.
The
scripture today is right after those forty days. Moses returned to the
community with the renewed tablets, including the Ten Commandments and the
amended living and worshiping protocols.
We might be
curious about the role Moses plays here – covenant mediator (Exodus 19.9), or
emissary, the covenant is made with him, and through him, with Israelites. This
renewed covenant is revised after the failure of the first covenant, the
worshiping of the golden calf, and the death of 3 thousand Israelites killed by
Levites, led by Moses himself (Exodus 32). People were warned by Moses
regarding the danger of adopting the customs from non-Israelites and worshiping
other gods.
3. the face
that shone by God’s presence and glory
The sermon
title today is “Face to Face with G*d.” “G*d” this term was introduced by a
feminist theologian, Schüssler Fiorenza. Fiorenza reminds us that the
construction of “God” is always in favor of a particular group, in theological
development, in church practice, even in the texts and scriptures writings. By
investigating deeper and raising suspicions, we might uncover those institutionalized
protocols and installments, liberate “G*d” from kidnapping by a certain group,
and provide an alternative interpretation as the new ground for our future. I
believe it is a good try for Transfiguration Sunday.
What made
Moses’ face and skin shine?
The scripture implies that Moses himself has
no idea about it in the beginning. But Aaron and the Israelites were afraid to
come near him (Exodus 34:30). It was until Moses encouraged the community and
explained to them that people started to come closer to him. And the Israelites
received the renewed covenant with God, through Moses, the emissary.
The
scripture implies the “light” on Moses’ face, and skin is not from Moses
himself, but it was God’s radiance that was imparted to Moses. It is to say,
God is the one who delivered the shining light, and Moses’ face reflected on
that light. Moses’ face and skin were shone by God’s presence and glory.
It was a
sacred moment that a human, created by God, reflected on the creator’s glory.
It was also a sacred moment, that God choses a human to be the mediator and
emissary between the almighty and the mortals. Moses is the chosen one, and the
Israelites is the chosen people.
In this
context, the solid leadership of Moses and a clear boundary of right and just
worship and daily life were defined. This boundary also created and
differentiated US and the Others. What can and cannot do to Us and the Others.
For example, to our people, you shall not kill, but to the others, “I [YHWH,
myself] will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites,
the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” Make no covenant with
them, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods, take no wives from
them, for their gods and daughters will make your sons also prostitute
themselves to their gods (Exodus 34:11-16). But, the Israelites were allowed
and commended to occupy their lands, God promised the Israelites that God will
“cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet
your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the
year” (Exodus 34:24).
It seems to
me that this God, who spoke to Moses and made a renewed covenant with the
Israelites, only shows mercy, grace, steadfast love to a particular group of
people. Moses, as the emissary, could kill his own 3 thousand people, in the
name of God. Aaron, who built the golden calf, and other leaders, who actually
sent out this request of making a golden calf, in the community were pardoned,
but their followers and ordinary people were killed. The scripture today says,
Aaron and the Israelites were afraid when they saw Moses’ face and skin shine.
If I were one of them, I should have run away from that guy and wondered the
agent of death is now upgraded and coming back for me!
In this
sense, we can also realize that the ideology of a community, the Israelite, a proto
nationalism, the border and regulations, and a pure ethnicity and people that
God has chosen, and the almighty divine that all nations should pay respects to
and show their fears to, the God of Israelite. And, a determined leader who was
chosen by the almighty power who could kill 3 thousand siblings with assistance.
When Moses and Levites did it, they did it without a tear or tremble. I am
afraid that what “God’s presence and glory” that Moses witnesses in those forty
days and nights and finally reflected on his face and skin, is problematic to
our current context. We shall encounter this God and this glory, face to face.
4. the path
of dehumanization, the combination, inclusion and exclusion
However, the
Israelites or Jews are not always privileged from time to time, in human
history. Dehumanization that Exodus implied in the bible toward those
non-Israelites, also have been imported toward the Jews.
For example,
the key verb, qaran in Exodus 34:29, was understood as “ray, radiate, to
shine” in some translations. However, in Psalm 69:13, the same verb was
understood as “to have horn.” For some reason, when Jerome of Stridon
translated this version to Latin Bible Vulgate in the fourth century, Moses was
horned in the presence of God in his translation. This is not the only
incident. The images of Moses with horns in the medieval and Renaissance art
are coupled with the notion of Stan’s horns, afterward, it turns out that the
anti-Semitic belief that Jews have horns (The Jewish Study Bible, page 182). For
a long time, Jews were treated much better among non-Christians’ territories.
In the 2
Corinthians (Chapter 3), the editor argues that Moses’ veil is still there,
covered Israelites’ heart, and they could not “really” return to God, unless
through Christ, the Spirit of God. Moses’ sacred moment became one of the
barriers that Jews do not really know God. In some Christian circles today,
Jews are the still projected as murderers of their savior, Jesus the Christ.
They deserved to be the lost people from the redemption. This extreme denial leads
to the most dangerous ignorance of the tragic sufferings in human history. In
the US, one-third of Americans do not believe 6 million Jews were killed during
the Holocaust, nearly two-thirds of the young adults are unaware of Holocaust
at all. Dehumanization makes cruelness and ignorance easier than we could
imagine.
We shall
also ask, especially during the African American History Month, what are the
experiences of being an African American in our community, in this country?
What are the images received by and delivered to the public and history? How
does the combination of “nationalism, racism, economic privilege, the chosen leadership
of the country, and Christianity” undermine humanity and African Americans’
dignity?
We shall
also ask, especially on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the 228
Massacre, why Taiwanese was treated as “the Amorites, the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites” by the Chinese
Nationalist Party government? Why were the Taiwanese killed due to the excuse
of cultural misunderstanding? Why could a Methodist Christian dictator gain so
much support from the US politicians and religious people, which allowed this Methodist
Christian dictator to execute ordinary people for his own good?
5. the US
experience and the reflection
Before we go
there, there is one thing we shall talk about.
Wes
Granberg-Michaelson,
the former general secretary of The Reformed Church in America (RCA)[1],
an active member in the ecumenical circles, addresses his thoughts on Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine. The following are quoted from his thoughts.
--quotation
begins here-
As
Ukrainian soldiers and Russian soldiers are engaging one another in mortal
combat, in many cases, Orthodox Christians are killing Orthodox
Christians. John Paul II said, “War is
always a defeat for humanity.” But this
war is a defeat for Christianity, as baptized believers kill one another.
That
split mirrors the political conflict which has now erupted into war. And it’s important because of how Putin
envisions Russia’s identity and global role.
He’s committed to see the glories and geography of “Mother Russia”
restored. Religiously, he sees this as
preserving “Christian civilization” against the secular decadence of the
West. And for that, his transactional
alliance with the Russian Orthodox Church is essential. Like the Czars, he wants to see Moscow as the
center of political and military power over an Empire that is sanctified by the
blessing of the Russian Orthodox Church.
And he wants an Orthodox Church he can control to reign in Ukraine.
To be
honest, the versions of Christianity championed by those colleagues [from the
Russian Orthodox Church] often bears a strong resemblance to the white,
masculine, militarized versions of evangelical faith described with such
insightful analysis by Kristin DuMez in her best-selling [book] Jesus and
John Wayne. So, it makes sense that Steve
Bannon and voices of religious white nationalism look to Putin and other
autocratic “Christian” leaders with such admiration.
All this
underscores the grave dangers of wedding the church to nationalistic power and
perceived righteousness. The
possibilities of faithful prophetic witness are repressed and eliminated. Nationalism becomes idolatry. Belonging to a global Body of Christ which
transcends national boundaries is destroyed.
The possibility of the church acting within situations of conflict and
war as a channel of peacemaking vanishes.
And at times, the church even ends up blessing weapons of destruction.
--quotation
ends--
The World
Council of Churches also published a statement, titled: In Ukraine, “such a war
has no excuse, neither from God, nor from people”.[2]
I believe in
the US; people still remember the tragic civil war in the 19th century. Slavery
and economic development were part of the excuses that some believe it was
right to treat the other as “natural born slave,” and the Holy Bible was used
to justify their desires. I am afraid till today; there are still people having
the same concepts and utilizing the same means to fulfill their desires. It
must be stopped now. But, how?
6. the
resistance and non-violence movement
On March 4, 1865,
Abraham Lincoln gave an address, saying, “Both read the same Bible and pray
to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem
strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing
their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we
be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has
been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.” (Abraham Lincoln,
Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.) [3]
It was a
demonstration of resistance against kidnapping God for our own preference and
letting God be God. This could be the first step.
In the
common lectionary today, Gospel of Luke, chapter 9. Jesus, Moses, and Elijah
were talking to each other. Jesus’ face was changed and shone. Disciples saw
his glory and would like to make three dwellings for three of them. The glory
among Jesus, Moses and Elijah is from the conversation regarding what Jesus
will accomplish in Jerusalem. This “glory” is to turn the temple upside-down, bring
the good news to the poor, heal and take care of the wounded, set free those
who were captured, and eventually sacrifice on the cross in the end. The leader
of a Christian movement is to die to the privilege, die to the empire, die to
the boundary and segregation, and stand up for those who couldn’t fight for
themselves, if we have learnt from Jesus the Christ, who was driven by the
unconditional love.
From this
point, Jesus die to the “God” constructed by Pharisees, Jewish elites and the
Roman Empire. Jesus has “face to face with that God.” And, he is not alone. In
Book of Job, Job also faced the God, constructed by his friends. Job was
suffering from the loss of his families and properties without a reasonable
explanation. His friends became the prosecutors, challenged all Job’s doing,
and tried to prove he is wrong, and Job deserved it. Job kept asking for a
reasonable expiation and defend himself. Finally, God showed up and disclose
God, him/her/themselves in front of Job and his friends. Evantually, Job faced
this God, saying, “‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you
declare to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye
sees you;” (Job 42:3-4)
In the Book
of Acts, Steven stood in front of the Council ,Sanhedrin, assembled by elders, pharisees,
and other leaders, and addressed the story of Exodus, the story of the
liberation from slavery, and how the image of “God” that those “stiff-necked”
Council members have wrongly constructed and implemented. Steven saw the glory
of God, filled with Spirit, and then was stoned to death in that story.
I believe
deeply that not only Jesus’s face shone, but also Job’s and Steven’s. They
disclosed the fake God and let the true God be revealed. Their figures and
images were transformed. Their lives let us know what God and the kingdom of
God shall be. There are the images of a chosen leader.
7. the dream
This reminds
me of the civil right movement in the US, led by Martin Luther King Jr, in the
1960s. Dr. King encountered that God, face to face, just like Job and Steven,
and many followers of Jesus.
Before I
conclude the message today, I would like to contextualize Dr. King’s speech in 1963
to reflect on our situation today. How far away is the day that “when we allow
freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from
every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of
God's children, Black [people] and white [people and all people of color], Jews
and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, [Ukrainians and Russians, Ukrainian
Orthodox Church and Russian Orthodox Church] [native Taiwanese and Taiwanese
who came afterwards] [Chinese and Taiwanese] [native Americans and Americans to
be] will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual
[, which also resonates with our hearts in different cultures and different
languages]: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at
last.”[4]
We are
envisioning a critical transformation. That is the day the glory of God shines upon
us and transforms us. I hope that day is much near than we expected, starting
from us, starting here and now.
Amen.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/wgranbergmichaelson/posts/10224038999275927,
retrieved date, Feb 25, 2022
[2] https://www.oikoumene.org/news/in-ukraine-such-a-war-has-no-excuse-neither-from-god-nor-from-people,
retrieved date, Feb 25, 2022.
[3] https://inallthings.org/they-both-prayed-to-the-same-god/,
retrieved date, Feb 25, 2022.
[4] https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety,
retrieved date, Feb 25, 2022.
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