Where Your Face Shines Brightly
God Dwells Deepest In Our Acts Of Love
by Eric Elkin
Koinonia is a Greek word describing an intimate spiritual communion often gets translated as "community." Yet, the world community fails to fully explain the intimacy intended in koinonia and the presence of God in that bonding.
My formative years in ministry were spent at and in Koinonia. Koinonia is a camp located in the Delaware River Valley in New York. In those woods working with teens, I received my first inclination to pursue a life of Christian service. When I came home from that first summer, my inner being shone brightly. My soul was shining because I had spent the summer talking with God.
The conversation with God continued when my wife and I decided to begin our life together serving at Koinonia. Those were the most challenging and beautiful years of our lives. We worked long, hard hours for very little pay. Yet, we felt so rewarded. I still reference those experiences because a part of me misses them so much. Not the exhausting work, but that feeling of intimacy with God.
This morning reading about Moses' face shining because he had spoken with God reminded me of my own divine encounters. My conversations with God never happened on a mountain top. Instead, I heard God the most while serving others or when our community placed God in the center of our life together.
Reading about Moses this morning caused me to grieve a loss. What I am missing is the God I encountered in New York. This God is not the same one I meet in the news or sometimes in a congregation. The culture presents an image of God that seems more like a school principal. As a divine principal, God distributes suspensions and rewards based on behavior.
In my youth, the God who spoke to me was rooted in grace, mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The words were spoken in prayer and worship. Yet, I heard them most loudly in acts of love for my neighbors, friends, and enemies. Today, I struggle to hear God speaking when surrounded by anxieties and anger.
This morning's reading also reminded me of how Moses tried to run away from God. He looked for every excuse not to confront Pharaoh and remain with the sheep. Despite all the static noise penetrating my ears, the decision is still mine. I, and you as well, have the power to listen for the presence of God in acts of love. And, koinonia is not a place in New York. It is a decision to put God in the center of whatever community you find yourself in.
These two reminders also teach me that God does not rest in the past. Divine encounters, the ones which cause our souls to shine the brightest, dwell in some future place or relationship. They live where God is leading our hearts to go. So open your heart and your ears to the place where God is leading you. Then follow it, and you may discover your own face shine brightly.
Click to read Exodus 34: 29-35