A Face That Shone

He ate the bread of heaven

Drank water from the rock

And the grumbling children followed

Like a misbegotten flock

He climbed up on a mountain

They couldn't even touch

Who'd have known that one encounter

Could have ever meant so much

And up upon that high place

In a cleft of solid stone

His face was set on fire

As the God of Glory shone

He alone had seen it

And had lived to tell the tale

But because they feared the fire

He had to hide behind a veil

A face that shone with the radiance of the Father

Though it had known and endured dark desert days

A face that shone with the glory of Another

So the prophet would discover

As the glory was fading away

He was the Bread from Heaven

He would be the smitten Rock

He had twelve confused disciples

They were his bewildered flock

When he climbed upon the mountain

He took Peter, James and John

In the face of pending glory

They soon began to yawn

As he prayed while they were sleeping

He was transfigured into Light

His face a flash of lightning

His clothes so burning bright

So Moses finally saw the face

Before he'd hidden from

Then came a voice from heaven

This is my beloved Son

The face that shone is the Glory of the Father

And he had known from the start that it was so

The face that shone had let the light shine out of darkness

And we're changed into His likeness

As we gaze upon the Son

But you and me we tend to flee from shining faces

We see the glow and then we know that we're undone

They shine His light into out emptiest of spaces

With their bright and shining faces

Reflect the radiance of the Son

The face that shone is the Glory of the Father

And he had known from the start that it was so

The face that shone had let the light shine out of darkness

And we're changed into His likeness

As we gaze upon the Son