Living in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
October 14, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Exodus 33:12-23

 The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’ Moses said, ‘Show me your glory, I pray.’ And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord”; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But’, he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.’ And the Lord continued, ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall 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 shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.’ — Exodus 33:17-23

This must be my week for remembering old songs for as I read this segment of scripture, I thought of the song, He Hideth my Soul (in the Cleft of the Rock) by Frances Crosby*. I must confess, I was surprised when I pulled the song up on the Internet and saw the author listed as Frances Crosby. I have never heard her called anything but Fanny. I was also surprised that I actually remembered most of the words to this song because I haven’t sung it for years. Maybe children really do learn something by overhearing the gospel in worship, but I digress.

In my reading of this scripture today the words that struck me the most were, I will make all my goodness pass before you. This is the heart of the matter isn’t it? God’s goodness can be reflected in each of us.  There is a lot of discourse among theologians making sense of the various references in the Bible regarding seeing God’s face, but I wonder if there is another level of meaning here also. In context this story is a part of a plea for mercy on the behalf of the Israelites for their worshiping the golden calf.  It involves repentance which literally means to turn around. In this scene is the gracious goodness of God informing Moses and us, “I’ve got your back.”? Is the knowledge that God has our backs the very thing that makes repentance possible? We must do the turning, but it is far easier to turn around, go a better way when we know that God has our backs. I cannot image any back that is stronger than God’s.

Our world is in tremendous turmoil with war and contagion fueled by discrimination and greed. Our children are the ones who will ultimately pay the price, if we do not turn around and find the better way. It is scary considering the changes that we face, but we need to remember: God’s got our backs.

Oklahoma Fact: Almost half of the world’s forcibly displaced people are children. Between January 1 and August 31, 2014, 284 unaccompanied child immigrants were released to Sponsors in Oklahoma. **

 Prayer: God we thank you for your gracious goodness and for never giving up on us. Strengthen us to turn around and follow your better way. Amen.

* http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/He_Hideth_My_Soul/

 ** http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/programs/ucs/state-by-state-uc-placed-sponsors

 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.