To See the Face of God

Hear these words from the Gospel of Luke: 

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[e] When he had said this, he breathed his last.

47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

On April 8th, 2024, just 10 days from now, in the middle of the day, the sun will disappear. At least, for those of us who still happen to be on this part of the continent. And the sun won’t really disappear; rather, it will be hidden from view by the moon, hence the name “solar eclipse.” And it won’t entirely disappear unless you find yourself in the “path of totality,” which cuts through the heart of the United States, up through Erie, PA and beyond. If you’re in that path of totality, the day will turn to night, and you’ll have the eerie experience of darkness when darkness isn’t supposed to be. 

Now there are all kinds of warnings out there about the dangers of this particular day. People might be so amazed by this phenomenon that they forget that staring at the sun can have dire consequences. In fact, according to NASA, “Except during the brief total phase of a total solar eclipse, when the Moon completely blocks the Sun’s bright face, it is not safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing. Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.” There will be one moment, and just one moment, when it will be safe to look directly at the sun, and that is precisely when it is completely hidden by the moon. Other than that on moment, we risk serious damage to our eyes.

How strange that we’ll be able to look at the sun only as soon as its light is blocked out.

Now according to the Gospel of Luke, it is precisely when Jesus dies that “darkness came over the whole land” and the sun stops shining. Some folks say, that it is at this precise moment that the astronomical phenomena of a solar eclipse also happened, although historians and scientists have yet to prove that this was the case. Nonetheless, Luke records a strange occurrence where the sun just disappears, something has blocked it, something has ceased its shine, something has blotted it out, precisely at the moment of Jesus’s death on the cross. And, precisely at the moment of Jesus’s death, precisely when the sun is blotted out, the centurion sees and understands what has happened, responding with praise to God. And, precisely at the moment of Jesus’s death, precisely when the sun is blotted out, “all the people who gathered to witness this sight saw what took place.” And precisely at the moment of Jesus’s death, precisely when the sun is blotted out, “all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching,” seeing. 

How strange the people are able to see as soon as the lights are turned out.

This reminds me of the story of Moses in Exodus 33. Moses has these meetings with God at the appropriately named “tent of meeting,” but the Israelites don’t get to go near it. In fact, they can’t even see it, for God is hidden by a “pillar of cloud.” Now when Moses asks God to show him God’s glory, God responds, in part, with “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” God then arranges it so that Moses is able to see God’s back, but God’s face “must not be seen.” And so, like the sun, the face of God cannot be seen without some dire consequences.

Another story, involving Moses, is one we’ve talked about recently. It’s that strange story of the poisonous snakes in the desert, and all these people who are getting bit and dying. So Moses erects a bronze image of a snake, puts it up high on a pole, and anyone who has been bitten and looks up at that image is instantly healed. Later, in John 3, Jesus brings up that story, and says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 

When the sun is blocked, it is then that we can look upon it.

When Jesus dies, it is then, in that darkness that we can see.

How strange it is that in order to find healing for ourselves, we must look upon the death of God. 

Can you hold all these stories together? Can you see the thread that connects them all?

When the sun’s rays are no longer seen, it is then that we can look upon it.

When the sun stops shining and Jesus dies, it is then that the centurion and the crowds and Jesus’s followers are able to see.

When God hides God’s face, revealing only God’s back, it is then that Moses can see a glimpse of who God is.

When we look upon the cross, when Jesus is lifted up, it is then that we can see eternal life.

It’s only in total darkness that we can bear to see the face of God.

This is what makes this Friday, “good.”

When we look upon the cross, we see the face of God.

In Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Prize winning masterpiece, Night, he tells the semi-autobiographic story of his experiences as a Jew during the Holocaust. He depicts horrific event after horrific event, almost to the point where you and the main character, become numb to them. The abuse is so terrible that you stop really seeing it. The stories are so horrifying that you must simply look away. Toward the end of the book, Wiesel is describing the hangings that would occur in the camp from time to time, often punishment for small infractions, but meant as a symbol to the rest of the prisoners of what happens when you do not toe the line. They would be be gathered into the courtyard for these hangings, forced to watch until the punished died, and then forced to line up and walk past their bodies as they hung from the gallows. One day, two men and one small boy were sentenced to death. The soldiers kicked out the chairs from under them, and the two men, being heavier, died within a few seconds. The boy, however, too light for the rope to fully snap his neck, hung there, struggling between life and death, for over a half an hour. As the prisoners marched in line to witness these deaths, one man calls out in despair, “Where is merciful God, where is he? For God’s sake, where is God?” And Eliezer looked to this small struggling boy and responds, “Where is he? Here he is. He is hanging here on the gallows.”

You want to see the face of God and live? You must enter the darkness. You must let your heart break. You must be taken to the edge of your faith. You must wait until the day turns into night before you can see. It’s only in total darkness that we can bear to see the face of God. Come to the cross. Enter the darkness. 

Today we are in the path of totality. 

Look directly at the Son. 

Thanks be to God.