April 10, 2024 

Today's Reading: Exodus 24:1-18

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 24:1-18, Luke 5:1-16

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. (Exodus 24:9-11)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There’s a lot going on in the Daily Lectionary’s reading from Exodus today. The Lord renews His covenant with His people. Moses heads up Mt. Sinai. And just before that, at Sinai’s base, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders join Moses in seeing God. That’s really cool! Don’t you wish you could see Jesus like they did? 

We must admit that we don’t see Jesus in the same way. Jesus Himself told Thomas in last Sunday’s Gospel lesson, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) And yet, our Lord has given us a place to go that’s very much like how they saw God in Exodus 24. 

When you’re in Church next Sunday, pay attention to the altar. What’s on it? You’ll find bread and wine. When Christ’s Word is spoken, that bread and wine are now also the body and blood of Christ. The same body that hung as a sacrifice on the cross. The same blood that was shed for your forgiveness. We see Jesus there. We behold God, and we eat and we drink. The same way they did at the foot of Mt. Sinai. 

The altar is the place where heaven and earth meet. It’s where God is seen. Maybe in a little different way than Moses, Thomas and the rest saw. But our Lord cares enough about you to rend the heavens and come down. He meets you where you are, down here in the dirt of your sin, and the grime of your fallenness. And He comes to cleanse you. Taking away your shame. Forgiving your sin. Comforting your grief. 

He doesn’t worry what will happen to Him, even when it’s a cross. You’re worth getting dirty for. You’re worth dying for. This is what Christ has done for you. And it’s what Christ continues to do for you. And we get to see it every time we’re in Church. We get to see Jesus. And not just see Him, but hear Him, taste Him, smell Him, touch Him. He engages all our senses so that we may know that He is here indeed, and here for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face; Here would I touch and handle things unseen;

Here grasp with firmer hand the eternal grace, And all my weariness upon Thee lean. (LSB 631:1)

- Pastor Eli Davis is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Grants Pass, Oregon.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

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