First Mennonite Church
December 29, 2024
An Icon of Christ’s Surpassing Splendor
Text: 2Corinthians 3:7-18
Today is the last Sunday in 2024. The cycle of holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays for this year is over, except if your birthday or anniversary is today or will take place in the next two days. This year brought us moments of joy and we rejoiced in them. Some celebrated the birth of their child or grandchild. We, as a family, had our share of moments and occasions of joy too.
It is by God’s grace that are here today despite the challenges, health issues, and losses we faced this year. As for me, I started this year with my father not doing well for months. But again, by the Lord’s grace my dad is doing well today.
Life is like a bag full of ups and downs. Fortunately, there are more ups than downs in the bag. Yet, when we look at our lives in retrospect, we end up feeling grateful for how God has taken us by the hand and led us through those difficult moments. We are also surprised at how God’s providence makes life so resilient, that despite the aches and pains and other illnesses we endured, we are still here kicking and laughing. We are glad and grateful to see the end of the year.
One undeniable effect of seeing the end of the year is that we are getting a little older. The passing of time for young children makes them happy and excited. They rejoice at seeing themselves growing up, getting stronger, and becoming more independent. But the passing of time for many of us pushes us a little farther away from our glory days, at least when speaking about our vitality and the level of engagement we could carry on. But there is something, as we will see, that with the passing of time it can only become better—the image of Christ in us.
Paul opens this chapter by declaring the Corinthian Christian community a living epistle—letter. They are a living letter that’s read by all who look at them. Their transformed lives demonstrate that God’s new covenant, executed in the life, message, death, and resurrection of Jesus, is truly effective in forming a new people for God. This is in contrast to God’s initial covenant with Israel, regardless of the glorious way it was given.
We read in Exodus 19, that the day God established his covenant with Israel, He did so with extraordinary splendor. There was lightning and a thick cloud surrounding the event. The Lord Himself spoke in accents of loud thunder. Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, and the whole mountain quaked at the presence of Israel’s Heavenly King. The sound of a trumpet grew louder and louder as God unveiled the conditions of His covenant. The Ten Commandments were engraved by God’s very own fingers. But they were engraved on tablets of stone. (Exodus 19:16-19.) Unfortunately, the first set of tablets containing God’s laws was broken when Moses, exasperated at the sight of Israel worshipping the Golden Calf, threw them to the ground.
In Exodus 33 Moses goes back to God and expresses his discouragement. He wants to give up the task of leading the people because of their rebelliousness. In verse 18, Moses pleads with Yahweh, saying, “Now, show me your glory.” And the Lord says to Moses, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence . . . . But you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:18-20). The Old Testament reading this morning reveals what happened to Moses after that encounter with God. God displayed his goodness and holiness before Moses. Later in verse 22, God refers to his goodness and holiness as his glory revealed to Moses. And Moses’ face begins to glow, but he does not know it. Aaron, the Israelite leaders, and the people saw Moses’ shining face and were terribly afraid to look at it, thus they asked Moses to cover his face with a veil.
It’s remarkable that only one quick glance at God’s glory made Moses’ face shine, although temporarily. Paul interprets that over time the glow in Moses’ face disappeared and that his keeping the veil on his face was only to prevent the Israelite people from seeing that the glow on his face had faded away. Paul argues that if the Commandments of God came with a fading glory, the new covenant, which came through Jesus Christ, would have much more lasting glory. In 2Corinthians 4, Paul says that God’s glory [is] displayed in the face of Christ (4:6). Therefore, Paul says, when we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Paul abides by God’s claim that no one can see his face and live. But Paul understands that Christ is the place/person where we can contemplate the glory of God. Therefore, all of those who have entered into God’s new covenant through His Son Jesus Christ can see God’s glory in the face of Christ. And all who gaze upon the glorious face of Jesus will be transformed into his image with an ever-increasing glory as well.
You and I have entered into God’s new covenant by believing in his Son as Lord and Savior. Thus, when we spend time looking at the glorious face of the Lord in worship our lives are molded into his likeness. When we seek his face in prayer, we feel the heart of God for us and the world. When we read, study, and meditate in His Holy Word, our minds and spirits are illuminated by his light and wisdom. Just as Moses’ face recovered its glow every time he met with the Lord, so our lives will be infused with the surpassing splendor of the Lord. Paul says this transformation will bring us closer to the image of Christ. The word “image” comes from the Greek “icon.”
In the world of computers and smartphones, we speak of icons. Icons are little images representing a feature or function our devices can perform. Paul says that by contemplating the glorious face of Jesus we are transformed into his icon—image. Taking from the world of computers, when someone clicks on me/you, the image of Christ should appear in our lives. When we do or say something, the spirit, character, or way of life of Christ should come out. Speaking of clicking, often when people are upset they say, “Please do not push me on the wrong button, because you will regret it.” That means the icon of Christ is not quite there yet.
This year, Sunday after Sunday we have gathered to contemplate the glory of Christ in this fellowship. So, what changes have occurred in us? Are we more loving and understanding to others? When we press the wrong button, what image comes out? Is it Christ-like patience, sacrificial love, or humility that shows? Is the glory of the Lord reflected in your life much more clearly than it did at the beginning of this year?
Let us remember that we are still God’s work in progress. Every time you show compassion, by giving up your place in the grocery store line to a mother whose baby is crying, God’s glory is reflected in you. When you send a card to a sick friend, the icon of Christ comes to the fore in your life. When instead of rolling your eyes at the mistake of another, but respond understandingly, the Christ-like patience is revealed. When you bring food items for Loaves and Fishes, Christ-like compassion shines. Every act of kindness, generosity, or forgiveness that you do reveals that you have been contemplating the face of the glorious Lord.
As we look on the horizon of a new year, let us continue gazing into the glorious face of Jesus, our Lord. Let us strive to become a true icon of Jesus, displaying Jesus’ surpassing splendor. Amen!
Pastor Romero