In the Beholding by Allison Moore
After Exodus 33:12-21
You could have left us to wander
in the wilderness,
With neither flame by night,
nor cloud by day,
But at Moses’ pleading,
you chose to stay,
and he found favor in your sight,
the light of your presence
ever reaching into the shadows
where we stand trembling,
calling us by name.
And so, covered with your palm,
hidden in the cleft of the rock,
you allowed your Glory to pass by,
Revealing not your face
lest he might, in the beholding,
surely die.
But then you stretched out the
Hands of Christ, who called to us in
the fourth watch of the night,
saying, “do not be afraid, for it is I!”
This time, the glory of the Lord
Does not pass by, but
stops and stays
with us in the shadows of the storm
where we stand trembling,
Until at the ninth hour, in
Deepest darkness,
the Father turns his face away,
for he who bears the wrath
must surely die.
And as he dies,
the curtain tears in two,
and a glorious light comes
breaking through
Your Risen life now the one
In which we hide,
Our veils lifted
as we turn to you,
revealing your Glory
in ever increasing measure
Until the day we see you face
to face,
that we might, in the beholding,
not die,
but surely live.