'Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee

Every sermon that I preach in La Caramuca is more or less a children's sermon. Most of our flock is under 15 years of age, so I try to keep it simple and direct.

On Transfiguration Sunday, February 1, 2009, I recalled that when I was six or seven years old, I conceived a grand ambition to look directly into the sun. I observed that sunlight was good; it enabled plants to grow, gave warmth and allowed everyone to see where they were going. So could it be so difficult to look directly at the source of all that light and warmth? I decided I would try to look directly at the sun for as long as I could without blinking.

Try as I might, I could not stop blinking while looking at the sun. The end-result was that my eyelids became badly sunburned. It was really very painful, but I thank God now that I did not sustain any permanent injury to my eyes.

My point was that while sunlight brings us life and vision in a physical sense, and is therefore good, it is dangerous to gaze at the sun with unprotected eyes. How much more this is true of God, the Source of all things good, physical and spiritual, Who, as St. James reminds us, is the Father of lights with there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:17). We, with our human nature darkened by sin, cannot look directly at the splendor of God's pure light and live.Outside of Christ, we can only know the holiness of God as something that burns and destroys if we draw too close.

For that reason, even a reflection of the divine glory terrifies us, as emphasized in Exodus 34:29-35, the Old Testament lesson for Transfiguration Sunday. In the latter verses of chapter 33 and the opening verses of chapter 34, we read that Moses pleaded with the Lord for the opportunity to see the divine glory for himself It is in Exodus 33:20 that God says, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live”. But, as subsequent verses describe it, Moses is allowed to see God's back as he passes by. While this is happening, the Lord also “proclams His name”, that is to say, reveals to Moses something of His true nature and will.

According to Exodus 34, verses 29 to 35, even this indirect vision of God's glory leaves Moses' face literally glowing in a manner that frightens the Israelites when they see it. As I was trying to explain all of this in simple terms for the children, I was reminded of a hymn that used to be a favorite:

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above,
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.

First published in 1876, “Immortal, invisible, God only wise” was written by Walter Chalmers Smith, a Scottish evangelical preacher. It is supposed to be inspired mainly by 1 Timothy 1:17, although it also draws on Daniel 7:9 and Psalm 36:6. It is a majestic hymn, set to a beautiful, old Welsh melody.

Nevertheless, I do not like it as much as I once did. Now I recognize that the hymn is very Calvinistic, emphasizing the power and sovereignty of God the Father while saying nothing about the Incarnation, much less the Transfiguration of the Son, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Holy Communion. Even in the Old Testament, even in that very part of Exodus where the Lord says no man may see His face and live, He yet reveals Himself as a God of mercy as well as justice. As Exodus 34:6 reads, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Then, Moses, the Lawgiver, prefigures Christ by interceding for his people, begging the Lord to spare them His wrath (because of their worship of the golden calf).

This is how I explained it to the children: Because of our sin we would not be able to gaze directly at God in His glory, but because of Jesus we can. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw the light of God's holiness and lived, because the light was (quite literally) filtered through the humanity of Jesus. One day we all will do the same. For as St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18:

"Since we have such a hope, we are very bold,not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.And we will, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

After the sermon, Luz Maria taught them a song about the Transfiguration:

“Hagamos aqui tres pabellones,
Uno para Ti, y otro para Moisés”
Dijo San Pedro, “y otro para Elias,
Hasta que vengas en las nubes otra vez.”

Están hablando de lo sucedido
Y el Padre eterno desde los cielos los habló
Y ellos cayeron al suel conmovidos,
Y una luz gloriosa de repente los cubrió.

A rough translation:

"Let us make here three pavilions,
One for You and another for Moses”
Said St. Peter, “and another for Elijah,
Until You return in the clouds.”

They were talking of what was happening,
When the eternal Father spoke to them from heaven,
They fell to the earth shaken,
And a glorious light suddenly covered them.

Meeting with the parents

We plan this year to involve more adults in worship and confirmation classes. With that end in view, I extended just that invitation at our first meeting of the new year with the parents of
our preschool children. We received very positive feedback from one of the mothers. She said she had been worried because her small daughter hardly ever said a word. But now she is always singing one of the songs that we have taught the children, “El amor de Dios es maravilloso”. (“God's love is marvelous”). It's simple song for preschoolers with lots of hand gestures:

El amor de Dios es maravilloso, el amor de Dios es maravilloso,
El amor de Dios es maravilloso, cuan grande es el amor de Dios.

Es tan alto que no puedo ir arriba de el.
Tan profundo que no puedo ir abajo de el.
Es tan ancho que no puedo ir afuero de el.

Cuan grande es el amor de Dios.

The lyrics in English go something like this:

God's love is marvelous, God's love is marvelous,
God's love is marvelous, how grand is God's love.

It's so high that there's nothing above it,
So deep that there's nothing below it,
So wide that there's nothing outside of it.

How grand is God's love.

Vicar Alonso Franco was on hand to introduce himself to the parents. He also taught the children their Bible lesson and led them in song that day. Alonso preached his first sermon at Corpus Christi Lutheran Church on Transfiguration Sunday. He spoke on the Transfiguration story from an entirely different angle: The fact that the Transfiguration followed Jesus' first announcement to his disciples that he would be killed and then raised from the dead. The mountaintop experience prepared the disciples for some very deep valleys.

As St. Peter would write in the epistle for Transfiguration Sunday, 2 Peter 1:16-21, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”

By Salvation's Walls Surrounded

One of my favorite hymns is "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" by John Newton (he also wrote "Amazing Grace"). The first verse goes like this:

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God.
He whose Word cannot be broken,
Formed thee for His own abode.
On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
By salvation's walls surrounded,
Thou may'st smile at all thy foes.

Of course we are by salvation's walls surrounded in La Caramuca, but now by a wall of masonry as well. It lacks only metal gates, which we expect to have installed in the next couple of weeks. The entire mission is now enclosed.

Despite a generous donation toward this project, it has strained our budget to continue. This has been due to the steadily rising costs of materials and labor in this inflationary economy. Nevertheless, we have pressed on for three reasons:

• First, the more we improve the property, the more we must
  control access to prevent petty theft and vandalism (somebody stole our
  parrot a few weeks ago!).


• Second, for the sake of the children. We have encouraged
  them to visit us and use our property as a playground. But up to now we
  have not been able to prevent them from doing so when we are absent and
  therefore unable to supervise them. To avoid accidental injuries (and
  there have been some close calls), we must establish a physical barrier.


• Third, the wall gives the mission a more "institutional"
  appearance and helps convince the community of our intention to serve
  over the long term. Just down the block stands an empty building that
  had been a Pentecostal church. It did quite a few good works in the
  community for the two years that it was in operation, but the doors
  have been closed for seven years now. Pentecostal churches, especially
  the "house churches" rise and fall like mushrooms. One of our big
  challenges is to assure everyone that our mission (God willing) will
  not be like those of the past: here today, gone tomorrow.

Wedding of Ted and Rebecca Krey


On August 30, 2008, Luz María and
I attended the wedding of Pastor Ted Krey and his wife, Rebecca, at La Fortaleza Lutheran
Church in Maracay. They had been married in Canada, but this ceremony was for all their Venezuelan friends who could not attend the first one.

The service followed the common liturgy that has been adopted by the Lutheran Church of Venezuela. I might note that the closing hymn was a Spanish version of "Joyful, joyful, we adore
Thee", a hymn set to the fourth and final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, commonly known as the "Ode to Joy". This is a very popular piece of classical music in Venezuela. You frequently hear it on the radio and high school bands often play it.


"Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee", was written by Henry J. van Dyke, and first was published in the 1911 Presbyterian Hymnal. The first stanza in English goes like this:

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

This is the Spanish version:

Jubilosos, te adoramos, Dios de gloria y Salvador.
Nuestras vidas te entregamos como se abre al sol la flor.
Ahuyenta nuestras males y tristezas, oh Jesús.
Danos bienes celestiales. Llénanos de gozo y luz.

Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'arets

Really, it's:

בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ

But your mileage may vary in regard to Hebrew fonts and Web browsers. The more familiar English translation is, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
We dashed to Maracay for the wedding August 30, then returned to La Caramuca that evening so that I could preach in Corpus Christi Sunday
morning and we could lead our Sunday school in the afternoon. Then Sunday night we boarded the bus for Caracas to attend a week-long intensive study of Genesis. The course was taught by Pastor Mark Braden of Zion Lutheran Church, Cleghorn, Wisconsin. We studied the text word by word in the original language, which means we did not get that far even for an overview, only to chapter 17.

Luz María and I took the course together, which was a lot fun. But I had something of an advantage in pronouncing the guttural Hebrew, since Spanish does have many sounds made deep in the throat. I cannot roll my r's the way Venezuelans do, though.

We reviewed the many foundations of the New Testament in Genesis, starting with the original Messianic prophecy (Genesis 3:15).

We also looked at Noah's Flood as a prefiguring of holy baptism (1 Peter 3:21), and Pentecost and the Great Commission as reversals of the Tower of Babel (in the Genesis episode, humanity was cursed with a confusion of tongues and dispersed to many parts of the world; at Pentecost, people gathered from the far corners of the Roman Empire heard the Gospel proclaimed in their own language, and in the final verses of Matthew, chapter 28, Jesus sends his apostles out into the
world to gather all the nations into the church).

We talked quite a bit about the mysterious figure of Melchizedek, priest of "God Most High" and king of the city that one day would be called Jerusalem. In Genesis 14, it is written that Melchizedek "brought out bread and wine" and blessed God and Abraham. Not only did Abraham accept the blessing, he offered Melchizedek a tithe of all that he had taken from the petty kings that he defeated in the process of rescuing his wayward nephew, Lot.

Later the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews would call Jesus Christ "high priest after the order of Melchizedek", both high priest and king forever. In Psalm 110, King David wrote, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand...You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek". This psalm is referenced by our Lord Himself in Matthew 22: 41-46:

"Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did
anyone dare to ask him any more questions."

In Psalm 110, David refers to One who will be a king greater than himself, that is to say, the Messiah of Israel, seated at the right hand of Jehovah. As we learned in our course on the Psalms, taught by Pastor Rudy Blank, to be seated at the right hand of a Middle Eastern king meant to be entrusted with the full confidence and authority of that king. David also prophecies that the Messiah would be both a king and high priest, like Melchizedek.

In 2 Samuel 24:25 we read that David offered up sacrifices to God in the manner of a priest. When King Saul tried this, his sacrifices were not acceptable to God, because at that point God had withdrawn His favor from the faithless and disobedient Saul and would direct Samuel to anoint David as God's chosen king. The word "Messiah" means "anointed one". Thus, to Jewish believers in the first century, to call Jesus a high priest after the order of Melchizedek meant that although he was not a descendant of Aaron, according to the priesthood of the Old Testament, as the promised king of the lineage of David, he could offer sacrifices to God as did Melchizedek, priest of God and king of Jerusalem in Abraham's day, and as did King David himself. Like His ancestor, David, Jesus was both priest and king -- and prophet. Although David's identity as a prophet is not emphasized in the Old Testament, Psalm 110 and other psalms contain Messianic prophecies.

Congress of Lutheran Educators

Luz María took the final exam for the Genesis course early and left Thursday night with Elsy de Machado for the annual Congress of Lutheran
Educators in Barquisimeto. Luz María is national coordinator for Christian education for the Lutheran Church of Venezuela. In Barquisimeto she presented a slide show on the results of this year's vacation Bible school program. The highest levels of attendance were found in La Caramuca (92 children in total) and Tierra de Gracia
Lutheran Farm in Monagas (208 children). Volunteers from St. Louis,
Missouri, and several young men in the "seminarista" program were involved in VBS on the farm.

On Friday evening I returned to La Caramuca to prepare for preaching and leading the service at Corpus Christi on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008.

Do they all live here?

Every Thursday Egli, a local woman, comes by late in the afternoon to give me Spanish lessons. This last time we sat out on the patio while about a dozen enthusiastic children played loudly in the yard. After a few moments, Egli looked at me and said, "Do all these children live here?"

"No," I replied. "Most of them are children who attend our Sunday school. They are spending more and more time here." Almost every day, in fact. Having so many kids around all the time is often a great trial of one´s patience, but they have no other playground except the streets. We want them to think of our place as a shelter.

We had the children invite their fathers or some male relative for special Father´s Day festivities today. We talked about the importance of the father's role in the family as set forth in the Bible, then we had the men (and the two adult women who showed up) play games with the children.

We have been visited twice by teams of inspectors from the two state agencies which supervise preschools here. Both teams were favorably impressed by our existing facilities and the construction that is underway. It was gratifying to hear our site described the best-looking and most well-maintained of the preschools that they had visited.

Luz Maria and I are now visiting two families. In one case, the woman of the house was profoundly affected by the recent deaths by electrocution in this area (resulting from frequent power outages and unpredictable surges when the electricity comes back on-line). In the other case, a daughter was badly injured in an automobile accident and the cost of her medical treatments seems to be more than the family can afford. Like many Venezuelans, these families are struggling to find some spiritual foundation, something that will enable them to cope with hard times.

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