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| “Transfiguration of Christ”(detail) by Giovanni Bellini, c. 1455 |
Reading I: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18
The Lord God took Abram
outside and said,
“Look up at the sky and count
the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall
your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the
LORD,
who credited it to him as an
act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought
you from Ur
to give you this land as a
possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I
shall possess it?”
He answered him,
“Bring me a three-year-old
heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a
turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these,
split them in two,
and placed each half opposite
the other;
but the birds he did not cut
up.
Birds of prey swooped down on
the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set,
a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying
darkness enveloped him.
When the sun had set and it
was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire
pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those
pieces.
It was on that occasion that
the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants
I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great
River , the Euphrates .”
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Commentary on Gn 15:5-12, 17-18
We hear, in this reading, of the ritual formalization of the
covenant between God and Abram (before his name was changed to Abraham). A three year old animal was ritually mature,
and the animals being cut in half is preserved today as a sign of that
covenant. We see it in the sacrifice of
the Mass when the Priest breaks the large host in half and pronounces the
words; “This is the Lamb of God…” While
it is not explicit in this text, Abram probably walked between the halves of
the sacrifice to symbolize what happened to them would also happen to him if he
failed in his part of the agreement (see Jeremiah 34:18).
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14.
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my
salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my
call;
have pity on me, and answer
me.
Of you my heart speaks; you
my glance seeks.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Your presence, O LORD, I
seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your
servant.
You are my helper: cast me
not off.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see
the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with
courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for
the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
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Commentary on Ps 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14
Similar
in tenor to Psalm 23, we hear in this passage both a profession of faith (“The Lord is my light and my
salvation”)
and a plea for help (“Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call;”).
Taken in total it is a consolation for all who have faith.
Psalm 27 begins in the form of a
soliloquy asserting God’s role as refuge and savior. This passage continues
with a prayer as the psalmist yearns to see God’s face to obtain his
indulgence. “Commenting on this psalm, St. Augustine writes; ‘In the most
hidden place, where only you may hear it, my heart says to you: Lord, I seek
your face: and I will continue in this search, without ever taking rest, so
that I may love you freely, for I will never find anything more precious than
[your face]’ (Enarrationes in Psalmos, 26.8).[4]
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Reading II
Longer Form: Philippians 3:17—4:1
Join with others in being
imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus
conduct themselves
according to the model you
have in us.
For many, as I have often
told you
and now tell you even in
tears,
conduct themselves as enemies
of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their
“shame.”
Their minds are occupied with
earthly things.
But our citizenship is in
heaven,
and from it we also await a
savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified
body
by the power that enables him
also
to bring all things into
subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and
sisters,
whom I love and long for, my
joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the
Lord.
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Commentary on Phil 3:17—4:1
The longer form of this reading provides a contrast for the
faithful. St. Paul
first calls on the Christians at Philippi to
imitate the evangelist himself. He then
(Philippians 3:17-20) identifies those who “…conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.” They do so by focusing their efforts on
themselves (their stomach, their glory, earthly things). In contrast, the selection concludes, the
Christian should focus on spiritual gifts and the promise of the resurrection.
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Or
Shorter Form: Philippians 3:20---4:1
Brothers and sisters:
Our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a
savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified
body
by the power that enables him
also
to bring all things into
subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and
sisters,
whom I love and long for, my
joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the
Lord, beloved.
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Commentary on Phil 3:20---4:1
The shorter form of the reading omits the contrasting secular
values of the enemies of Christ but retains the promise to the faithful members
of the community. The promise is that,
in the end, they will be conformed to Christ in spirit and body.
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Gospel: Luke 9:28b-36
Jesus took Peter, John, and
James
and went up the mountain to
pray.
While he was praying his face
changed in appearance
and his clothing became
dazzling white.
And behold, two men were
conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and
spoke of his exodus
that he was going to
accomplish in Jerusalem
Peter and his companions had
been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the
two men standing with him.
As they were about to part
from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good that we
are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he
was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a
shadow over them,
and they became frightened
when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a
voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son;
listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken,
Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not
at that time
tell anyone what they had
seen.
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Commentary on Lk 9:28b-36
We are given St. Luke’s story about the Transfiguration. Jesus goes up a mountain (to a high place –
representative of Hebrew altars or places of worship; frequently identified as
“high places.”) with Peter James and John.
His appearance changed and the disciples observe him conversing about “his exodus” (Jesus’
exodus would be the Passion to which he was moving) with Moses and Elijah.
The disciples response to this vision was first to “make three tents” alluding to
the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles placing the Lord on the same plane as Moses and
Elijah. Before any response was made, a
cloud came and cast a shadow over them and God’s voice came from the cloud,
announcing “This is my chosen Son, listen to him.” Jesus is elevated above Moses and Elijah to a
place with God Himself.
It is clear from this story and the other Transfiguration accounts
that the event was kept secret until after Jesus death and resurrection. It was at that time that the true
significance of the event was understood by the Christian community and the experience
placed in its proper position chronologically.
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Reflection:
Lord, send forth your Holy Spirit and continue to guide and inspire our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI during these final days of his papacy. Be with the College of Cardinals for the next conclave and fill them with your grace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In professing our faith in
Christ we accept his sacrifice of atonement for our sins. In accepting his sacrifice we are bound by
our promise to accept his yoke and follow his commandments. That is our part of the covenant which Christ
seals with his sacrifice.
We can only imagine coming
before the judgment seat of Christ. He
will ask us; “Have you failed to love God in your earthly life?” We must answer – “I have.” He will ask us “have you failed to love your
brothers and sisters whom I also created?”
We must answer – “I have.” And
then will he ask; “And what sacrifice have you offered to atone for these
sins?” What answer will we have? We must look at the Risen Lord and profess
that it was his own sacrifice that freed us from this debt.
A jealous god or a vengeful
god would scoff at us and say you have created the filth of sin, now you must
live in it for all eternity. But our God
is love and mercy itself. Again we
imagine him on the judgment seat looking down upon us and in his eyes we do not
see anger, we do not see disappointment, we see the love of a parent whose
child has learned a difficult lesson.
With that look of love that follows the long period that is time out of
time in what we understand as Purgatory, we are invited into the heavenly
banquet that is the destination he discussed with Moses and Elijah at his
transfiguration.
We now look with renewed
respect at the Sacrifice of the Mass.
The rules of the ancient
covenant were these that in return for the promise of God, humankind must
demonstrate their love of God by following is commandments. Our Lenten journey is intended to provide us
with a time to check ourselves; to make sure we are fulfilling our vows to the
Lord and practicing our faith In a manner pleasing to him. That is what we promise when we accept his
covenant – when we say “Amen” to the Body and Blood of Christ.
Pax
[2]
The picture is “Transfiguration of
Christ” by Giovanni Bellini, c. 1455
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
The Navarre Bible: “Psalms”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp 109
[8] The Navarre Bible: “Psalms”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, pp.
89
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