Pinholes Vince Amlin God said, I will make all my goodness pass before you... But you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live...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 shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen. - Exodus 33: 19-23 I struggle with this passage. Like Moses, I long to know God face to face, to bask in the beam of the divine countenance. And I don’t understand why it’s not possible. Then I remember my second grade class preparing to watch a solar eclipse. We made viewers by poking pinholes into the ends of shoeboxes. Through an opening in the side, I could see a tiny eclipse projected on the opposite wall. What I remember more than the eclipse, is the repeated warnings not to look up, not to try to take it all in with my naked eye. Thats what God does for Moses. God tucks him safely into an opening with just a crack of light, like a loving father leaving the door to his child’s room open just enough to allow her to sleep. God shields Moses’ eyes with her hands like a lover preparing to unveil her surprise gift. God protects Moses from something that is too great to be grasped by one human being. And far from being disappointed, Moses is positively overwhelmed. The shoebox of his heart catches fire, and in that moment he bows down and worships. Prayer God, make me a pinhole, that through my brief and ordinary life others might glimpse a tiny ray of your goodness. Vince Amlin ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vince Amlin is Associate Minister at the United Church of Gainesville, Gainesville, Florida.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 11:42:44 +0000
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