The More We Hide, the Less We Shine

Did I ever tell you about when I, being the pastor of our church, spoke 90% of my message with a paper bag over my head? As I recall, my congregation thought it was a good thing not to see my face. Visitors for that Sunday morning mentally fled from our church when I stood behind the podium. Can you imagine Fred telling Myrtle, who finally talked Fred into coming to church with her that Sunday, "We gotta' get out of this place if it's the last thing we ever do." 

Let me explain why I wore the bag over my head. A guy in the Bible named Moses wore a bag or veil over his head and face. God led Moses to Mount Sinai, where he gave Moses the Ten Commandments. The Bible records that when Moses descended from the mountain to meet the people, his face shone like a star with God's glory. Being in the presence of God for forty days and nights will do that to you. 

"So, when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him." Exodus 34:30. Moses had no idea that his face was shining. So, for the people to listen to him and not be distracted by his shining face, he would veil his face. Whenever Moses returned to Mt. Sinai and was face to face with God, he took the veil off. God wasn't as stunned by Moses' face as the people were. Exodus 34:34-35 

Let's talk about Moses. Moses had more encounters with God than many church leaders have had. Moses, being human and sometimes insecure, loved his new superstar status. His quest for significance and security was over. He was now a celebrity in his mind and with the people of God. He was the center of attention wherever he went. He was God's man of power for the hour. However, the veil containing God's glory kept others out, but it also kept Moses in. 

You might say, "Ed, how do you know this about Moses?" The Apostle Paul finishes Moses' story for us in the New Testament. "Unlike Moses, we (apostles) have nothing to hide. Everything is out in the open. Moses kept wearing the veil so the children of Israel wouldn't notice God's glory faded away." 2 Corinthians 3:13-14

Let me summarize this account for you. After Moses finished his time meeting with God face to face, the glory of God and the light began to fade away. But Moses kept wearing his veil. He didn't want people to know his borrowed glory from God was fading away. That threatened his superstar leadership status. So, what did he do? He pretended and misrepresented, keeping the veil on his face. Perhaps he felt ashamed, thinking maybe he had done something to cause the glory to fade away. Moses started performing and wouldn't let himself out of the bag. Lesson: Moses reflected God's glory, but he couldn't produce God's glory.

That is why I wore the bag over my head during my sermon. It was Biblical. I illustrated what Moses did, and we all do it occasionally. We hide when we fail, underachieve, make mistakes, or are ashamed. We manufacture a fake reality or 'truth' to cover our insecurities, inadequacies, and issues. Then, we put on a veil of performance and hide behind it. Why? Our public image. After all, if they knew this about us, they wouldn't like us, vote for us, listen to us, hire us, or accept us. Unfortunately, almost everything in our culture concerns performance, pretending, and hiding. 

Johnny Cash said, "Lies have to be covered up, but the truth can run around naked." He was referring to Adam and Eve in the Garden. After they did what God asked them not to do, they hid behind huge fig leaves to hide from themselves, each other, and God. Remember, when Moses turned to God, he removed his veil. And when we turn to God, we remove the veil. God accepts Moses and us as we are, without humiliation. Humiliation does not produce humility. The scriptures admonish us flawed people here. "But we all, with unveiled faces, can stand before God, face to face, our faces shining with the brightness of His face."   

Why not, as scripture says, be authentic, be honest with yourselves, and "renounce the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness…" 2 Corinthians 4:2 Let yourself out of the bag by turning to God. Take the veil of shame off. Take the veil of appearing to be perfect off. Remove that veil of fear of humiliation. Why? The more we hide, the less we shine with God's glory, not ours.  

I removed the veil or bag at the end of my message, much to my congregation's relief. By that time, the congregation was starting to worry about me. There was the real Ed Delph, imperfect, zits, and all, but also authentic; he is what he appears to be. My congregation will tell you that putting a bag or veil over your head is 'authentic, Ed.' I wasn't perfect, but just like Moses after he turned to God, I was 'flawsome.' What does 'flawsome' mean? It means you have some flaws, but know you're still awesome. 

Even though it has been many years since I spoke about Moses and his veil, I still imagine Fred saying to Myrtle on Sunday mornings, "No, Myrtle, I'm not going to church today."