Monday Morning Meditation #13: What the Face Shows

Moving forward by two chapters in Exodus, I found a description of how Moses's face shone so brightly after being with God that the Israelites became afraid of him. There are no less than three mentions of this inner light beaming outward.

Reading: Exodus 34: 29-35

Meditation: I cannot but wonder by comparison how much of the inner light that God gives to us when we come to Him in prayer that we afterward beam out onto those with whom we come into contact. Can, indeed, anyone tell that we have been with God? Or do we keep it all locked up inside?

Somehow, the reading of this passage brings to me Hawthorne's story, "The Great Stone Face," in which Ernest, who lived in Franconia Notch, NH, had one wish above all others: to live long enough to meet the man who looked like the great stone face. Those of us who grew up in New Hampshire (I did, at least, part-time) knew the saying that just as cobblers hang out a shingle with the imprint of a shoe to show that they make shoes in their shop, so, too, did God hang out His shingle to show that that He makes men in New Hampshire. The legend of the Old Man in the Mountains, the rock formation similar to a man's face "with the sunshine brightening all its features" (Hawthorne's words) that stood high above a small pond for centuries before it fell to erosion about five years ago, said that some day a great man would appear, one that looked like the great stone face. Throughout Ernest's life, one person after another was heralded as fulfilling that legend, but when he looked at them none did. People moved out; people moved in. Ernest grew up to minister to them. A very humble man, he asked for little and gave much in return. His riches were in his love for others. Always he watched and waited for the coming of the man who would look like the great stone face, but none did. Near the end of his life, as Ernest was delivering an outdoors sermon with the mountains in the background, a poet noticed that it was the face of Ernest that resembled the great stone face. While Hawthorne leaves some things to our imagination, I can easily see the light beaming from Ernest's face, light that came from a lifetime of doing God's bidding and gathering the inner light that none of the grand visitors had ever beamed upon the people of the valley; hence, Ernest's inability to see the likeness in their visages. His humility prevented him from seeing his own.

So what do our faces show? For that matter, what does our behavior show? And what do our words show? Do they shine with God's love?

Fr. Terry, a local priest about whom I have blogged before, asks, "If people know you, would they want to know your God?" Well, would they?

For me, that answer is, often yes but sometimes no. I am working hard, with God's help, to get those no's removed!

And that is far as I can go with you on this Monday morning. I must retire to prayer to ask God to shine through me more, to repent for all lost chances to share God's love with those who might really have needed it, to give thanks for all the inner light He has given me, and to offer praise for the sunshine of His love that is so grand that it can fill the whole world, were the world to let it, and still have spare.

After that, I will spend some time in contemplation, open to any inner light God cares to give me for the minute, the hour, or the day. Being with Him, surrounded by His light and love, is the most joyful start to the day that I can imagine.

I will now leave you to your prayer and contemplation, but first, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:

Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I hope you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation.

Have a good day and a spirit-filled week, and may you find the patience you need in dealing with others and the trust to wait for responses to prayers not yet answered.

If you pick this up as a weekly devotional activity, please share with me and others your own thoughts about the message of Exodus 34: 29-35 or any other scripture that you choose for meditation. Feel free to copy the image of the mission church; maybe some time in the near future my Internet-inept self will be able to figure out how to use the Mr. Linky buttons, but to date I remain incompetent at the more sophisticated blog stuff. Yes, I know it has been 13 weeks, but I am exceptionally computer-inept. In the interim, you are welcome to use the image and share the meme of Monday Morning Meditation for starting out the work week closer to God.