RBWords

     Scripture scholars tell us that the first five books of the Old Testament, known as the Pentateuch in Christian tradition and "Torah" in Jewish tradition show the work of a number of hands and traditions.  It would take too long to go into all of this right here, but we see an example in Exodus.  The line which I quoted above about Moses speaking to God "face to face as one man speaks to another," [v.11] seems contradicted a few lines later when God allows only an indirect glance at the divine "glory." : "But you cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live."  There seem to be two different attitudes here about intimacy with God!

 

     Spiritual traditions offer a vast number of options about intimacy with what is considered sacred!  Some offer a union with God that seems to obliterate any distance.  Others build on the difference [distance] to create a sense of awe and reverence.  Indeed, one experiences this in dealing with liturgical or architectural styles in different Catholic churches!  When I think of this past Sunday's first scripture from Genesis in which Abraham bargains with God, I wonder how that could happen if the very sight of God meant death!  On the other hand, part of the entire "covenant" experience in the Sinai desert included the vast display of cloud, fire and thunder that accompanied Moses' interaction with God in receiving the ten commandments, etc..  I wonder if that explains the well-known phenomenon of Catholics filling a church always from the back!

 

     Exodus may offer us an opportunity to reflect on how "close" we like to be to God.  How intimate would we like to be?  For further inspiration we might look in the Gospel of Luke at the story of the Pharisee and Tax Collector in prayer [Luke 18:9-14].  AMEN