Today’s first reading from the book of Exodus describes the appearance of Moses as he comes down from the presence of God on Mount Sinai: “…the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord.” Moses had been on Mount Sinai receiving the two tablets of the commandments. After being in the blazing presence of God the skin of his face reflects the light of God’s face so much so that they had to put a veil over his face after he left the presence of the Lord: “Whenever Moses entered the presence of the LORD to converse with him, he removed the veil until he came out again.”
Today’s reading helps us to understand a rather peculiar phrase in one of the Eucharistic Prayers as well as the Transfiguration of Jesus that we will celebrate this coming Sunday. In the Eucharistic Prayers we pray for those who have died both our relatives and friends and all those who have died:
“Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face.” (Eucharistic Prayer II).
In this Eucharistic Prayer we ask God to remember those who have died and to “welcome them into the light of your face.” Whereas Moses was in the light of God’s face for only forty days we pray that those who have died will be in the shinning presence of God forever. As the skin of Moses’ face became radiant while he conversed with the Lord, we pray for those who have fallen asleep that they may be radiant as they converse with God forever.
This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration. Matthew describes Jesus’ appearance on a mountain in similar language to Moses’ appearance on Mount Sinai: “Jesus’ face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” (Matthew 17:2). The key difference, of course, is that Moses’ face shone as a reflection of God’s glory whereas Jesus’ face shines as the “Son of God.” As we pray today God tells us that he does indeed remember those who have died, and he welcomes all the faithful into the light of his face.
Image: “The Sinai mountain skyline, viewed from the top of Mount Sinai” by markhorrell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.