Glory Passing By
Pentecost 21; Exodus 33:12-23
There are times when God’s glory is best viewed behind,
lest it wipe out your vision and unhinge your mind.
There are times when you beg glory’s power to unlock,
and you need to be shielded in cleft of the rock.
So it was for this Moses, God wrangling alone,
who in horror had broken the tablets of stone
when he saw what the people had done with their gold:
how he soon was forgotten, God’s worship was sold.
For the one who is breaking, there’s healing in awe:
or perhaps some assurance that God knows the score.
Disillusionment melts when we feel God pass by:
though Gods’ face is still hidden, there’s infinite sky.
There we find inspiration to grow and stand tall:
yet there’s equal unveiling in things that are small,
for the lowly see glory in bird or in leaf:
there’s no need for a shield, tender joy in what’s brief.
Barbara Messner 14/10/2026
