God alone makes us radiant (today's homily)

Moses “went up” to meet the Lord;
he stepped away from the crowd, the noise,
the usual, daily agenda;
he went to be with the Lord.

Every one of us needs this;
but we can get along without it—
it’s not good for us, but the effects are gradual:
we get caught up in the daily stuff,
we forget what it’s like to be to be radiant.

We need to go be with the Lord for that.

The radiance of Moses’ face was so intense,
“they were afraid to come near him.”

Sometimes, we can be too intense about our faith.
We should not think a powerful spiritual experience
justifies our being a pain-in-the-neck!

Our Lord said, be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves.

This passage doesn’t say that Moses was in any way offensive;
Only that they took offense at him.
If we let God’s radiance in us speak for itself—
Then, if someone takes offense, it’s not about us;
It’s between that person, and God.
And that’s how it ought to be.

I pray that I never get in the way
of what God wants to do in others’ lives.
I am sure I do, however;
for that I ask God’s mercy on me,
and his help to the other person.

One more reason to be sure we do as Moses did:
to step out of our ordinary, daily grind,
to be with the Lord.