The Glory of God has been a recurring theme in the Bible. The very first time the people of Israel were exposed to the Glory of God was on Mount Sinai. We see this in Exodus 24:16: “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.’ The Glory of God is symbolised by “a cloud”, another recurring theme in the Bible. Have you ever wondered what this Glory of God is? In very simple, layman’s terms, the Glory of God is God’s very presence: the atmosphere transforms; something is no longer the same. There is awe, a sacred silence, and soon enough a docile soul realises that it is in the presence of its Creator, in the presence of God!
The Church Defines it:
The Church defines the Glory of God in CCC 294; this may sound a bit intense, but let’s endeavour to understand this by the help of the Holy Spirit:
“The glory of God consists in the realization of this manifestation and communication of his goodness, for which the world was created. God made us “to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace”, 138 for “the glory of God is man fully alive; moreover man’s life is the vision of God: if God’s revelation through creation has already obtained life for all the beings that dwell on earth, how much more will the Word’s manifestation of the Father obtain life for those who see God.” 139 The ultimate purpose of creation is that God “who is the creator of all things may at last become “all in all”, thus simultaneously assuring his own glory and our beatitude.”’
The Glory of God was first revealed in creation, specifically in the zenith of God’s work: ‘Adam’, who was made in the image of God, the full manifestation of the creator’s goodness. When God’s glorious creation, ‘mankind’, lost communion with its creator due to Sin, the Glory of God appeared in an even greater manifestation in the incarnation, ‘The New Adam – Jesus Christ’, through whom we not only regain the lost glory but also attain a more glorious life, in which, in Christ, we become God’s Children! This communion we have with God through Jesus is precisely what makes us truly alive, according to St Irenaeus, who famously said, ‘The glory of God is a human being fully alive!’
Fully Alive
How can you and I be fully alive, with the cloud always over us? Through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit continues to pour the life of Jesus into our hearts (Romans 5:5b, ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.’). In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells you and me the surest way to always experience the Glory of God. It’s in Matthew 23:12, ‘All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
Let’s look at two concreate examples. In the Old testament we have Moses who God called the most humble human being (Numbers 12:3’Now the man Moses was very humble,[a] more so than anyone else on the face of the earth) and what was the effect of his humility the Glory of God shone on him (Exodus 34:35’ the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him).
St Paul talks about the humility of Jesus in Philippians 2:8-9: “He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name”.
Do you and I want to be truly alive? Do you and I want to experience the Glory of God? Let’s practice this great virtue of Humility. Blessed Mother, teach us to be docile to the Holy Spirit so that we can instill and grow in this great virtue, one day at a time. In Jesus’ name! Amen
