Looking upon the Lord’s Face
One of the Biblical understandings that the modern man cannot seem to process is the notion that to look upon the Lord’s face means death to the human who does the looking. The patriarch Jacob, as Genesis 32 records, wrestled all night with God and then marveled that he had seen God’s face and survived. Moses asked to behold His Lord’s glory, but God did not permit him to gaze on the divine Face, lest Moses die. So he went before Moses in a kind of a parade, holding His almighty hand in front of the man’s face, and then allowing him to see His back. The Greek translators of the Hebrew OT when translating the Book of Nehemiah, even used the Greek word prosopon, or face, to render the idea of the respectful fear of God.
So in today’s Psalm 11, we see the words, “For the LORD is righteous, he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.” Looking upon the Lord’s Face, evidenced by righteous deeds, showing love of God without seeing Him, and active love of neighbors whom we can see is critical. About Moses, Exodus tells us “the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” This only appears to contradict the earlier passage about Moses not being able to view God’s face, because that was the face of glory, terrible and awesome. When the Lord spoke to Moses as a friend, He presented the face of friendship and alliance. It was really that intimate relationship that sustained Moses through forty years of Israelite betrayal and rebellion, and that snatched Moses away from his people as they stood poised to enter the land of promise.
When St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, perhaps his most unruly church, about the gifts of the Spirit, he focuses on faith, hope and charity (love) and shares these memorable words about our heavenly end: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” That is, we will see God face to face, because we have already passed from this life to the next, and when we are able to see God’s face, we will be, by the grace of Christ crucified, perfectly holy.
Recently we had an experience that may help us to understand what it means to relate to God face to face. Because of fear of illness and death, millions of humans, when they saw each other in public, they could not see the other’s face. The nose and mouth, and sometimes even more of the face, was completely covered. The entire world began to resemble an operating room, even though the good scientific studies testified that masks did little or nothing to mitigate disease.
May God grant we never have to go through that terrible time again. I don’t wonder that the marriage rate dropped, that violent crime increased, that suicides skyrocketed. Decades ago the song “The Look of Love” dominated the pop charts. You cannot see another person’s look, you cannot get the full measure of his or her communication, without seeing that face. You cannot love someone unconditionally without being able to gaze at the person’s face and see there the myriad nonverbal messages being shared. You might hear his words, but you aren’t privy to the full meaning of what is being said if you are thus deprived.
We should frequently reflect on the divine presence and imagine the smile on Christ’s face when we are aware of Him and tell Him of our love. Every day we ought to take the time for this, in a chapel, in a quiet place, or just anywhere. And we should share with others the longing we have to see God face to face, and know that as we do good and avoid evil in life, as we engage in loving acts of God and neighbor, we are preparing for that eternal joy, becoming more worthy of enjoying His presence.
