Elizabeth Robertson: the Mask

In class we talked about the concept of the mask of the holy, which is basically a way of masking a thing that is too holy for us to see. The mask reveals and conceals at the same time, but it is concealing holiness. The example we talked about in class was Moses and how God revealed himself to him. God made Moses hide behind a rock and then close his eyes and then God passed by the rock. But God only allowed Moses to take a peek, and not only that, but Moses only got to see God's back side. I thought this example was funny because it was as if God mooned Moses. In this way, God concealed himself, because he is far to holy for any man to look upon without dying.