Epiphany

February 18, 2020

Scripture Reading: Exodus 24:12-18

Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. –Exodus 24:15-18

Lent begins next week, when we will observe Ash Wednesday. For the next 40 days we are called to self-reflection, spiritual renewal, and a deepening understanding of the meaning of the life death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  I must confess that God and Jesus and Christ and the Holy Spirit commingle in my mind. When I write I fall back on the title Lord often spelled in bibles with smaller capital letters: Lord that gathers all these facets of the Supreme Being as one. When I use Jesus, I am referring to something regarding his time spent on earth. I use Christ as a name which it is really a title but works to depict the post resurrection Jesus Christ the Messiah in a shorten term.  The Holy Spirit gets shortened to Spirit with a capital “S”. God is God creator, sustainer, the essence of love. Of course, until now no one else has known my naming practices regarding God. I think these names are helpful and important to me because they bring me closer to all aspects of God with whom I relate.

Moses is seen by the people he leads as disappearing into a cloud on a mountain where they also could see a devouring fire. That is so appropriate as Moses’ first calling involved a burning bush. My sense is that this trek up the mountain was Moses’ Lent, before we created Lent as a means of centering our pre-Easter worship. He came to the foot of the mountain in faith; he needed time to reflect and renew for the next phase of his journey and the journey of the peoples with whom he interacted. We all need to take time for reflection and renewal. Welcome to Lent.

Prayer: Lord, guide me as I examine myself and my actions. Grant me the courage to climb the mountain and enter your presence. Amen.

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.