Shine, Jesus Shine!
Jane Denniston
October 14, 2024
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Listen to this daily worship
Psalm 67: 1-2 (NRSVA)
1
May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah2
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
This is an interesting couplet. At first sight the implication is that if God’s face shines upon us all will be well with us. We will be blessed, and others will come to know God because they see that all is well with us and they want that blessedness for themselves. There’s a sort of implication that good things happen to good people, which of course is not always the case.
But I wonder if there is another way of looking at it? Think of Moses when he came down the mountain after speaking with God: Exodus 34: 29 ‘Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.’
When we spend time with God, his face shines on us. When God’s face shines on ours, we reflect his glory, as the moon reflects the sun we shine in response — a holy glow from having spent time in his presence. And that glow is obvious and attractive. It draws others to us, and through us, to God, so that they too may enter in and be saved.
Prayer:
Lord God, shine on us we pray.
Help us to rest in your presence,
to bask in your glory
that our faces might glow
with the reflection of that glory
and others might be drawn to you
to savour the warmth of your love, Amen
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