The thirty-fourth chapter of the book of Exodus tells the story of Moses meeting with God on the mountain. By this time, Moses had met with God a few times for various reasons at the bidding of the Lord. Something remarkable happened after Moses met with the Lord. The Scripture states that Moses’ face was shining because he had been speaking with the Lord. Secondly, Moses was unaware that his face was beaming. Thirdly, people saw Moses’ face, noticed the unusual bright Light of his countenance, and stayed away from him. What can we glean from these events?
First, the Lord is the Light. In various places, God shows Himself as Light. He led His people by a pillar of Light by night and a cloud of Light by day (Ex 13:21-22). The Psalmist declares, “The Lord is my light, and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1). God’s Word is Light: “Your Word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Christ is not a mere light for us to see. He came to have humanity share His Light. John the Baptist prophetically exclaimed that he (John the Baptist) baptized with water, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and Fire (Matt 3:11). And Jesus called His followers “the light of the world” (Matt 5:14).
The Enlightenment Movement and Faith
The 17th and 18th-century Enlightenment movement tried to convince people that science and philosophy could offer more light than religion. The attempted shot at separating the human mind from his soul failed. The Light of God comes from various sources He established. Isn’t it interesting that Moses came down from the mountain with his face beaming with Light when the Lord wrote the commandments? The Divine writings reveal Light. Hence the act of learning leads to Light. Like everything on earth, the Light we experience here is quite limited compared to the Light of eternal life. The Book of Revelation reveals that we will not need a lamp or sunlight because the Lord God will be the Light (Rev 22:5). Thus, the Light of God is unique and powerful. It is not the same with, and not completely different from the Light that comes from learning, but it can lead to the fullness of the Light of God.
Interestingly, Moses was unaware that his face had changed after being with the Lord. Today we often hear people speak about the Faith dismissively or do not bother altogether. They often say they do not get anything from the Mass or Church. But in this story of Moses’ experience, we can see that when one begins to walk with the Lord, they begin to have effects beyond themselves (Cf. Gal 2:20). Could it be that a lot of positive changes are taking place every time you attend Mass, and you did not know it? Yes!
The third point is that people avoided Moses because his face became unusual. Effective interaction with the Divine changes your natural status quo — the way you speak, behavior, the way you love, your priorities, choices you make, et cetera. These changes will eliminate certain people from your life and attract others. Do not panic when that happens to you.
Why did Moses cover his face with a veil? The simple answer is that he does not want the people to feel uncomfortable with him. Hopefully, I will revisit this topic in the future. The veil of Moses can also be a metaphor for obstacles that prevent children of God from encountering His Light of Truth, Grace, Favors, and all-around Blessings.
In Christ, the veil is now removed (Matt 27:51 and Matt 28: 2-4). May the Light of God’s countenance shine upon us, and we shall be saved (Cf. Ps 4:6)!
