Exodus 33:12-23

Pentecost +19 or Community Practice ¹⁹

October 19, 2014

Exodus 33:12-23

Show me your coin. Show me your face.

What we show defines us. What has been staring us in the face all along is the face on the coin. Our imaginations are so limited. Coin of the realm will go to the realm. If not given willingly, no matter how grudgingly, it will be confiscated. So we play along with the figment that church and state are so intertwined that one is used as a trap for the other.

What has also been staring us in the face all along is the lack of a single face for G*D. Everywhere we look a different face appears. No wonder that, when push comes to shove, G*D pushes and shoves Moses into a crack so a face can't be claimed. Even as a chosen people there is an unknownness as to whether we can pick out whether we have one or more of G*D's features. A faceless G*D is the trade off of partnership and neighborliness. In this facelessness we can be partners and not just privileged heirs. In this facelessness everyone is Neighb*r.

Biblical koan alert:

Here is the sign that you are favored: You are not favored above all others.

Everyone can see where G*D has been. No one can predict or prophecy where G*D will next be seen. Try as we might, our best laid trap to capture G*D has been foiled again.