The Lockhart Principle
In forensic science there is a principle known as the Lockhart principle states that wherever there is contact between two objects, there is a transfer of material between them.
The challenge for forensic scientists is to find that material and proved where it came from.
I used to be part of the Anglican Chaplaincy Team in the Wolds Prison in East Yorkshire.
One Sunday when leading the service, I asked the prisoners there if they had heard to the Lockhart principle.
"No" they said
So I proceeded to tell them that I had been to a Christian meeting in Marsham Street in London where one of the speakers was a Met. Police Sergeant.
He talked about this forensic principle that "Every touch leaves an impression".
"Have you really never heard of it" I asked.
"No" they replied, to which I replied "Hardly surprising you are all in here then!".
I hasten to add they all found highly amusing!
In our first reading today, we see the Lockhart principle applied to Moses when he comes into contact with the awesome majesty of God the Father.
Moses simply radiates the glory of God.
It is a bit like a young couple when they first go out – often they will radiate the joy of their new found love.
And you can see the difference
In Exodus 34, Moses went up to Mt. Sinai for the second time to bring down the 10 commendments.
The first time, recorded in Ex 32, he had flipped his lid and smashed the first two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them when he found the people had made a golden calf and were worshipping it.
And he didn’t even get a faculty!
The at the beginning of Exodus Chapter 34, God told him to go back up to the mountain and there God gave him the 10 commandments again.
And it is during this second trip to the mountain, that Moses spent 40 days in God’s presence.
And it rubbed off on him.
When Moses came down the mountain with the new tablets, "he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord" (Ex. 34:29).
He had a shine on his face that wouldn’t leave.
When the people saw him they were afraid to come near him.
They backed away from him as if he was "radioactive."
Even Aaron, Moses’ brother, was afraid.
STORY: On the TV show, "Friends," Ross wanted to impress his new girlfriend with his radiant smile.
So he applied some tooth whitener but left it on twice as long as he was supposed to.
His teeth were "noticeably" whiter as he showed off his smile to his friends.
He even went over to his girlfriend and asked, "Do you notice anything different about me?"
She said, "No, not really."
Later on that night, when they turned the lights down low, his teeth glowed in the dark AND his girlfriend was HORRIFIED!
Can you imagine the people’s reaction to Moses’ shine.
Moses played down the radiant glow he had because he didn’t want them to focus on that in itself but rather on what the Lord had to say to them.
He didn’t want people to focus on him and put him on a pedestal and so he "put a veil over his face" (v. 33) .
Moses wanted the people to focus on God--not on the glow.
Sometimes when God does something spectacular for us, we tend to focus on the experience rather than on God who did it.
We think too much of ourselves and become a little self righteous and arrogant.
What could a mysterious event on the top of a mountain far away in a distant country, Israel and about 4000 years ago possibly have to say to us today?
Well it tells me one thing – people can read your face
1. People can read your face
And wives are pretty good at that
Maddy knows when I have had a rough day or if I am in a bad mood, even if I try to cover it up.
Because she is my wife – she more than anyone else how to read my face!!
I can deny that I am grumpy till I am blue in the face - but she can read it in my face
Facial expressions reveal a lot of things.
Story I was watching the France vs Ireland rugby match on TV yesterday, and you could read the dejection in the Irish forwards faces when they went 30-10 behind
Moses’ shine revealed that he had been with the Lord.
God rubbed off on him!
Sometimes our expressions reveal things we would rather not reveal-
irritation,
anger,
hate,
guilt
Maddy knows when I have been in cookie jar or in the cupboard after her chocolate.
2. What does your face communicate to others about your faith?
Moses was completely oblivious to the look on his face--the shine--the radiance.
He wasn’t trying to look "holy."
The genuine shine was there because he had been in the presence of God.
It just rubbed off on him.
A spiritual “Lockhart principle.”
3. We too can shine if we spend time with God
We are standing at the beginning of Lent.
And Lent is about changing.
It goes back to the time when the early church monitored the changes taking place in the new Christians.
It was in this time of change that the adult baptismal candidates got ready for baptism on Easter Day.
So how can we change to experience more of God’s shine in our lives?
Because that shine will only come to us when we, too – like Moses, spend time with God.
We can SPEND TIME talking to the Lord daily about all kinds of things.
We can spend TIME soaking up Scripture allowing it to speak personally to us.
But we have to be committed enough to following the Lord that the "shine" will rub off.
It’s a work of God over a period of time.
It might be inconvenient at times.
His dealings in our life might be uncomfortable.
Maybe even painful.
We might have to put ourselves out a little bit.
We read in Luke 9:23 that Jesus said to his followers,
"If anyone would come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
That means total commitment to God
In our Gospel reading, Jesus goes up on the Mountain of Transfiguration not for his own benefit but to help Peter James and John in their faith.
We as Christians in the same way are called to seek God in order to bring God’s light to those in darkness.
Once you have soaked up the light of God by being in his presence, you need to go into the darkness where the needs are.
You can’t glow - simply by being in the presence of God because God will always outshine you.
You need to go to the world where it is dark and let God’s light radiate from you.
And you might not be aware of it even happening.
May I leave you with a story
STORY: It was a cold bitter evening in Northern Virginia many years ago.
The old man’s beard was glazed by winter’s frost while he waited for a ride across the river.
His body was getting numb from the freezing north wind.
He heard the hooves of horses galloping along the frozen pathway.
He anxiously watched as several horsemen rounded the bend.
He let the first pass on without an effort to get his attention.
Then another passed him and yet another.
Finally the last rider approached the old man, who by now sat like a frozen statue.
But as this rider drew near, the old man caught the his eye.
Then the old man said, "Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t seem to be a passageway over by foot.”
The rider replied, “Yes of course”
Seeing the old man was unable to lift his half frozen body from the ground, the rider helped the old man onto the horse.
The rider took the man not only across the river but to his destination a few miles away.
Just as they neared the tiny cottage, the horseman’s curiosity caused him to ask the old man.
“ I noticed that you let several other riders pass by without making any effort to stop them to try to get a ride across, yet when I came along and you immediately asked for a ride. “
“I am curious why on such a bitter night you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused?”
The old man looked the rider straight in the eyes and replied,
"I have been around these parts for a long time. I reckon I know people pretty well,” the old man replied.
“I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw that no one would be concerned about my situation.
It would have been useless to have asked for a ride, but when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were evident."
I knew then you would be willing to give me the assistance I needed.
Those heartwarming comments touched the rider deeply that he replied to the old man.
“I am most grateful for what you have said.
“I hope I will never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”
And with that, Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd US President turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.
May I leave you with a thought
What does our face tell people about us?
Does it radiate with the presence of God, because God has rubbed off on us?
A VERY SERIOUS THANK YOU TO
Ex 34:29-35 - The Radiant Face of Moses
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.
30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.
31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.
32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face.
34 But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.
Gospel Luke 9:28-36 - The Transfiguration
28About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.
29As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.
30Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
32Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
33As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)
34While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him."
36When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.
The Lockhart Principle
In forensic science there is a principle known as the Lockhart principle states that wherever there is contact between two objects, there is a transfer of material between them.
The challenge for forensic scientists is to find that material and proved where it came from.
I used to be part of the Anglican Chaplaincy Team in the Wolds Prison in East Yorkshire.
One Sunday when leading the service, I asked the prisoners there if they had heard to the Lockhart principle.
"No" they said
So I proceeded to tell them that I had been to a Christian meeting in Marsham Street in London where one of the speakers was a Met. Police Sergeant.
He talked about this forensic principle that "Every touch leaves an impression".
"Have you really never heard of it" I asked.
"No" they replied, to which I replied "Hardly surprising you are all in here then!".
I hasten to add they all found highly amusing!
In our first reading today, we see the Lockhart principle applied to Moses when he comes into contact with the awesome majesty of God the Father.
Moses simply radiates the glory of God.
It is a bit like a young couple when they first go out – often they will radiate the joy of their new found love.
And you can see the difference
In Exodus 34, Moses went up to Mt. Sinai for the second time to bring down the 10 commendments.
The first time, recorded in Ex 32, he had flipped his lid and smashed the first two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them when he found the people had made a golden calf and were worshipping it.
And he didn’t even get a faculty!
The at the beginning of Exodus Chapter 34, God told him to go back up to the mountain and there God gave him the 10 commandments again.
And it is during this second trip to the mountain, that Moses spent 40 days in God’s presence.
And it rubbed off on him.
When Moses came down the mountain with the new tablets, "he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord" (Ex. 34:29).
He had a shine on his face that wouldn’t leave.
When the people saw him they were afraid to come near him.
They backed away from him as if he was "radioactive."
Even Aaron, Moses’ brother, was afraid.
STORY: On the TV show, "Friends," Ross wanted to impress his new girlfriend with his radiant smile.
So he applied some tooth whitener but left it on twice as long as he was supposed to.
His teeth were "noticeably" whiter as he showed off his smile to his friends.
He even went over to his girlfriend and asked, "Do you notice anything different about me?"
She said, "No, not really."
Later on that night, when they turned the lights down low, his teeth glowed in the dark AND his girlfriend was HORRIFIED!
Can you imagine the people’s reaction to Moses’ shine.
Moses played down the radiant glow he had because he didn’t want them to focus on that in itself but rather on what the Lord had to say to them.
He didn’t want people to focus on him and put him on a pedestal and so he "put a veil over his face" (v. 33) .
Moses wanted the people to focus on God--not on the glow.
Sometimes when God does something spectacular for us, we tend to focus on the experience rather than on God who did it.
We think too much of ourselves and become a little self righteous and arrogant.
What could a mysterious event on the top of a mountain far away in a distant country, Israel and about 4000 years ago possibly have to say to us today?
Well it tells me one thing – people can read your face
1. People can read your face
And wives are pretty good at that
Maddy knows when I have had a rough day or if I am in a bad mood, even if I try to cover it up.
Because she is my wife – she more than anyone else how to read my face!!
I can deny that I am grumpy till I am blue in the face - but she can read it in my face
Facial expressions reveal a lot of things.
Story I was watching the France vs Ireland rugby match on TV yesterday, and you could read the dejection in the Irish forwards faces when they went 30-10 behind
Moses’ shine revealed that he had been with the Lord.
God rubbed off on him!
Sometimes our expressions reveal things we would rather not reveal-
irritation,
anger,
hate,
guilt
Maddy knows when I have been in cookie jar or in the cupboard after her chocolate.
2. What does your face communicate to others about your faith?
Moses was completely oblivious to the look on his face--the shine--the radiance.
He wasn’t trying to look "holy."
The genuine shine was there because he had been in the presence of God.
It just rubbed off on him.
A spiritual “Lockhart principle.”
3. We too can shine if we spend time with God
We are standing at the beginning of Lent.
And Lent is about changing.
It goes back to the time when the early church monitored the changes taking place in the new Christians.
It was in this time of change that the adult baptismal candidates got ready for baptism on Easter Day.
So how can we change to experience more of God’s shine in our lives?
Because that shine will only come to us when we, too – like Moses, spend time with God.
We can SPEND TIME talking to the Lord daily about all kinds of things.
We can spend TIME soaking up Scripture allowing it to speak personally to us.
But we have to be committed enough to following the Lord that the "shine" will rub off.
It’s a work of God over a period of time.
It might be inconvenient at times.
His dealings in our life might be uncomfortable.
Maybe even painful.
We might have to put ourselves out a little bit.
We read in Luke 9:23 that Jesus said to his followers,
"If anyone would come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
That means total commitment to God
In our Gospel reading, Jesus goes up on the Mountain of Transfiguration not for his own benefit but to help Peter James and John in their faith.
We as Christians in the same way are called to seek God in order to bring God’s light to those in darkness.
Once you have soaked up the light of God by being in his presence, you need to go into the darkness where the needs are.
You can’t glow - simply by being in the presence of God because God will always outshine you.
You need to go to the world where it is dark and let God’s light radiate from you.
And you might not be aware of it even happening.
May I leave you with a story
STORY: It was a cold bitter evening in Northern Virginia many years ago.
The old man’s beard was glazed by winter’s frost while he waited for a ride across the river.
His body was getting numb from the freezing north wind.
He heard the hooves of horses galloping along the frozen pathway.
He anxiously watched as several horsemen rounded the bend.
He let the first pass on without an effort to get his attention.
Then another passed him and yet another.
Finally the last rider approached the old man, who by now sat like a frozen statue.
But as this rider drew near, the old man caught the his eye.
Then the old man said, "Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn’t seem to be a passageway over by foot.”
The rider replied, “Yes of course”
Seeing the old man was unable to lift his half frozen body from the ground, the rider helped the old man onto the horse.
The rider took the man not only across the river but to his destination a few miles away.
Just as they neared the tiny cottage, the horseman’s curiosity caused him to ask the old man.
“ I noticed that you let several other riders pass by without making any effort to stop them to try to get a ride across, yet when I came along and you immediately asked for a ride. “
“I am curious why on such a bitter night you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused?”
The old man looked the rider straight in the eyes and replied,
"I have been around these parts for a long time. I reckon I know people pretty well,” the old man replied.
“I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw that no one would be concerned about my situation.
It would have been useless to have asked for a ride, but when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were evident."
I knew then you would be willing to give me the assistance I needed.
Those heartwarming comments touched the rider deeply that he replied to the old man.
“I am most grateful for what you have said.
“I hope I will never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”
And with that, Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd US President turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.
May I leave you with a thought
What does our face tell people about us?
Does it radiate with the presence of God, because God has rubbed off on us?
A really serious thank you to Marilynn Murphee for giving me ideas in her sermon "Experiencing our Shine" to help me to finish off the initial ideas I had myself and of course for her good illustrations that i have incorporated)
