"In Praise of the God who lies hidden".
It is a well known secret that Moses is one of Fr. Davids pin up boys. In the beginning Moses was just minding his own business, he naively turned aside to go and see what the problem is with the burning bush.Moses argues strenuously with God that he doesn’t want to deal with Pharaoh and his bully boys but eventually gives in.Then follows the 10 plagues. After each plague pharaoh relents and says that he will let the people go and each time he changes his mind.Then we finally get the escape through the Red Sea and you might have thought that was the end of Moses' troubles. But no... for 40 long, tortuous years the people whinge and bicker and complain. And just when the promised land is in sight, Moses is told that he doesn’t get to go over with his people, but rather he must stay on the wrong side of the border and there he dies.
Clearly there was no such thing as a decent workplace contract.In today's first lesson Moses is again going head to head toe to toe with God. “Well God” starts Moses. “I have asked for a work buddy but you haven’t given me one. You have said that I know your name and that I am good boy, but you haven’t shown me your ways and I don’t know your name. And furthermore,... How will I know if I have found favour in your sight. How do I really know that I got a gold star? Show me your glory. You are a God who lies hidden ...show yourself.”God does relent... sort of...“OK” says God .. “See, that place over there by the rock ... you go and stand there and while my glory passes by. I will put you in the cleft of the rock, but I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but you won’t see my face.”It is close, so tantalising close. God hides Moses in a rock and will walk past but Moses is not allowed to see his face. Moses can only see the back of God.
Mmm...This experience of Moses resonates strongly with me and perhaps it does with you. God comes close, and yet he seems so very far away. He speaks, but in an indiscernible whisper. He is the God who is revealed and yet he is the God who lies hidden.And it begs the question, Why? Would it not be a better marketing exercise for God to have a Facebook page, a twitter account, an instagram account, publish some memoirs and do video live zoom chats twice a week.
So if God is not doing any of those things, if he is still remaining frustratingly hidden, then where might we find him? Where might he reveal himself? I put it to you that God reveals himself chiefly in the little things. The little broken piece of broken bread and the sip of wine. God lies hidden in his blessed sacrament. You know how it goes ... This is my body, this is my blood. God lies hidden in the poor and the destitute, the sick and the dying. God lies hidden in those we don't particularly like very much. God lies hidden in that awful, agonising silence when we listen patiently, or perhaps not so patiently, for him to answer our prayer, or just say something.. anything would do. God lies hidden in the problem that just won’t go away.
He lies hidden behind the mask of the person you say hello to in the supermarket and He is the person who you think you might know behind the mask but you’re really not quite sure. God lies hidden on the other side of the screen of the TV, the laptop, the IPad and the phone. But perhaps most importantly he is the God who lies hidden in each and everyone of us. And it is our very privileged vocation to reveal him to everyone around us. We do this by what we say and most especially by what we consciously choose not to say. By what we do and most importantly by what we consciously choose not to do. And like Moses this work, this absolutely vital work, will seem tedious and boring and frustrating. We may well be misunderstood and misinterpreted and we will make mistakes and our work will often seem unrewarded and unheralded. And like Moses the very best we can hope to see of God is his back disappearing away from us.
But we do it not for the sneak peek of God. We do it not because we want a pat on the back from our chums, but we do it because He first loved us and it is the God who lies hidden, surrounded by angels and archangels who cheers us on even today, even now.
We do it to the praise of the Hidden God. And we will continue to do it until that day when we do not need a mask, not just because the whole COVID catastrophe will be over, but because He will be revealed to us as He truly is.
We shall see Him as He truly is and we shall ourselves as we truly are. Cherished and adored Children of God.