Bible Society: Pentecost Reflections Day 8
Hi Friend
Welcome to day eight of your Pentecost reflection series, unpacking the role of the Holy Spirit in Scripture and in our lives. Let’s seek God’s presence day by day …
Today’s Bible verses
2 Corinthians 3.7–18 (GNB) <https://biblesociety.cmail19.com/t/r-l-tyitjic-bilwlltil-r/>
‘If the Law, which brings death when it is in force, came with such glory, how much greater is the glory that belongs to the activity of the Spirit!’.
Today’s reflection
When I was a student, I used to earn my money in the long summers working for a builder. Sometimes the work would be nice and easy – glossing outdoor window frames in the sunshine with factor 15 and the radio on. Other times the work would be much harder. My least favourite job of all was fitting plasterboard ceilings. As the labourer, my job was to hold the board in position above my head while the fitter screwed in the fixings. Even now, I can still remember that feeling of a great weight above my head, pushing down on me while the muscles in my arms burned. I earned my minimum wage on those days!
This idea of a weight pushing down on us is unexpectedly relevant for today’s passage. You’ll have noticed that the key word is ‘glory’, or its variant ‘glorious’. But what is glory?
The original Old Testament word which the Greek ‘doxa’, used in this passage, copies is ‘kabod’ and it literally means ‘weight’. So when we talk about glory, what we mean is literally the ‘weight’ of God falling on us. Obviously, a spiritual being doesn’t weigh anything, but the sense is that when God’s glory appears it feels like a presence pushing down on us. You could say it pushes us to our knees in worship and adoration. On many occasions, when the glory of God ‘fell’ (significant word that), people often went further and fell on their faces in awe (e.g. Leviticus 9.23–24, 2 Chronicles 7.1–3). The weight of God has that effect.
In fact, the reference from Leviticus is helpful as this was the occasion when Moses dedicated the original tabernacle, and in this passage Paul describes how Moses wore a veil in the presence of the Israelites after he had been in God’s presence, receiving the law, so they could not see the glory of God fading from his face. But now – and what amazing news this is! – because of Christ and his indwelling Spirit, our access to God is no longer veiled. We can experience his manifest presence directly (verse 16) and not just occasionally, but on an ongoing basis (verse 11).
The tangible sense of God’s presence, or by extension anything that points to God’s presence, is how we use the word ‘glory’ now. And this is available to us! No wonder Paul gets excited and indicates the sort of effect this kind of realisation can have on us. It makes us bold (verse 12), we can approach God with confidence, knowing the Spirit of his Son is with us. It brings us freedom (verse 17), as we live with the truth in our hearts and with eternity as our future. And ultimately it transforms us (verse 18) – this ‘weight’ of God does not crush us, but shapes us.
Our task? Contemplation. To give our attention to what the Spirit reveals to us, to seek God’s presence – his glory – day by day. As we do that, we slowly become more and more the people we were made to be (verse 18) – with ‘ever-increasing glory’!
May God grant us grace to contemplate the Lord’s glory today.
These Pentecost reflections were written by Revd Matt Trendall, a minister working in Milton Keynes
Today’s prayer
I put my focus on you Lord – your loving nature, what you have done for me, and your great glory. Thank you that we can turn to you and experience you without any hindrance. Please transform me more each day to be the person you’ve made me to be. Spirit guide me today.
Today’s action
Take a moment today to stop, set aside time and simply contemplate God and his glory.