According to the book of Exodus, when Moses on Mt. Sinai asked to see the glory of God, he was told, “I will make all my goodness pass before you . . . But you cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live.” (Exodus 33:19-20)
Yet in the beautiful vision of the New Jerusalem described in the last chapter of the book of Revelation, it says, “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”(Revelation 22:3b-4)
In the sacred scriptures there are stories about encounters with messengers (angels) of God which are understood as communicating directly with God himself. For example:
– “The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre . . . he [Abraham] saw three men standing near him.” (Genesis 18:1-2)
– “Then a man wrestled with him [Jacob] until the break of dawn . . . Jacob named the place Peniel, ‘because I have seen God face to face’ . . .” (Genesis 32:25-31)
– “There the angel of the Lord appeared to him [Moses] as fire flaming out of a bush . . . God called out to him from the bush.” (Exodus 3:2-4)
– “While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes and saw one who stood facing him, drawn sword in hand . . . ‘I am the commander of the army of the Lord . . . Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy.’” (Joshua 5:13-15)
– “Philip said to him, ‘Master, show us the Father’ . . . Jesus said to him, . . . ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the father.’” (John 14:8-9)
The paradox is that there are many ways of our seeing God and yet the total vision, the total understanding of God is necessarily beyond our seeing.
When we see something of the cosmos, the whole universe, and all it contains—the sun, the moon, and the stars—we’re overwhelmed by the vastness, the power, the complexity, and the splendor of it all.
When we see the earth, the astounding diversity of all the living things that populate it—in the sea, on the land, and in the air—we’re overwhelmed also by the wonder, the variety, and the awful beauty of life.
In seeing creation, we’re seeing and learning a little of the creator—the source, the maker, the begetter of all that is.
For Jesus’ disciples, his life, his deeds, his teachings, his incredible display of love, his passion, his death, and his resurrection are a particular revelation of God and a pattern, a way of life, an icon of all that we human creatures are called to be.
In Christ Jesus, we’re seeing and learning much more of God who is revealed to us in a special way through him.
Through the outpouring of the divine power, vital force, and spirit into each of our lives we’re experiencing within ourselves—and in others—something more of what is necessarily always beyond our total understanding.
The one God, as actor in the drama of life, so to speak, plays many roles and has many guises (that’s the root sense of the word “person”). You could even say, shows many faces and self-reveals in myriad ways.
We celebrate three main ways especially: creation, Jesus, and the power within—God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Hey! Don’t forget this includes another way God self-reveals—others may be able to see something of God in you!
7 June 2019
(Available in
Spanish translation)