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| “The Transfiguration” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1518-20 |
Catechism
Links
CCC 554-556. 568: the Transfiguration
CCC 59, 145-146, 2570-2572: the obedience of Abraham
CCC 153-159: characteristics of faith
CCC 2059: God manifests his glory to make known his will
CCC 603, 1373, 2634, 2852: Christ is for us
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Genesis
22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him,
"Abraham!"
"Here I am!" he
replied.
Then God said:
"Take your son Isaac,
your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah
There you shall offer him up
as a holocaust
on a height that I will point
out to you."
When they came to the place
of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there
and arranged the wood on it.
Then he reached out and took
the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD's messenger
called to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am!" he
answered.
"Do not lay your hand on
the boy," said the messenger.
"Do not do the least
thing to him.
I know now how devoted you
are to God,
since you did not withhold
from me your own beloved son."
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its
horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a
holocaust in place of his son.
Again the LORD's messenger
called to Abraham from heaven and said:
"I swear by myself,
declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you
did
in not withholding from me
your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as
countless
as the stars of the sky and
the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take
possession
of the gates of their
enemies,
and in your descendants all
the nations of the earth
shall find blessing—
all this because you obeyed
my command."
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Commentary on Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
In this passage Abraham is put to the test. He is to offer his son Isaac as
a holocaust – an offering completely burnt on the altar. Abraham, though
reluctant, is faithful to God and follows his instructions. At the last moment,
when God is sure that Abraham has greater love for God than even his beloved
son Isaac, he stops Abraham and “blesses him abundantly”, making him the father
of nations.
This example demonstrates that God expects those faithful to him to place
love and obedience to him above all other worldly interests and loves. In
return, those, like Abraham, who demonstrate that God is their first priority,
will be blessed as only God can.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
R. (116:9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land
of the living.
I believed, even when I said,
"I am greatly
afflicted."
Precious in the eyes of the
LORD
is the death of his faithful
ones.
R. I will walk before the
Lord, in the land of the living.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of
your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice
of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name
of the LORD.
R. I will walk before the
Lord, in the land of the living.
My vows to the LORD I will
pay
in the presence of all his
people,
In the courts of the house of
the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem
R. I will walk before the
Lord, in the land of the living.
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Commentary on Ps 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
Psalm 116 is a song of thanksgiving. This selection is an individual prayer
and promise to God. The singer understands that the Lord is his salvation. A
little confusing is -“Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.”- The meaning is that
the death of God's faithful is grievous to God, not that God is pleased with
the death.
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Reading II: Romans
8:31b-34
Brothers and sisters:
If God is for us, who can be
against us?
He who did not spare his own
Son
but handed him over for us
all,
how will he not also give us
everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge
against God's chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us, who
will condemn?
Christ Jesus it is who
died—or, rather, was raised—
who also is at the right hand
of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
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Commentary on Rom 8:31b-34
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Gospel: Mark
9:2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and
John
and led them up a high
mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured
before them,
and his clothes became
dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth
could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them
along with Moses,
and they were conversing with
Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in
reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that
we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses,
and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they
were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a
shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around,
they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from
the mountain,
he charged them not to relate
what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man
had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to
themselves,
questioning what rising from
the dead meant.
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Commentary on Mk 9:2-10
St. Mark’s account of the
Transfiguration varies only slightly from the account found in St. Matthew (Matthew 17:1-9). In St.
Mark’s account the event takes place six days after his first prediction (see
note below) of his own passion and resurrection (St. Luke has eight days Luke 9:28b-36). Jesus brings
Peter, James and John with him and, by their presence gives them a special
understanding that his death and resurrection (and their own) will lead to the
glory of the Kingdom of God, not to an end as they had feared.(see also 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Peter 1:16-19).
Shown as it is to the select
disciples, it prepares them to understand the necessary connection between the
passion and his rise to messianic glory. The imagery of this event provides a
recognizable reference to the greater mission of the Lord, as he comes to
fulfill both the Prophets (personified in Elijah) and the Law (represented by
Moses). Scholars agree that uniting and fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
represented in this tableau was a key message of this event.
The suggestion by St. Peter that
he erect three “booths” suggests the Jewish Feast of Booths which commemorates
the revelation of the Law by Moses at Mt. Sinai, a close parallel is emphasized
as the ultimate revelation of God in Christ is now played out.
The “bright cloud” is another Old
Testament symbol used to represent the immediate presence of Yahweh (see Exodus 19:9, 24:15-16 and 40:34-35). From within it
God speaks the same formula used at Jesus’ baptism (see Matthew 3:17) providing the
final absolute identity of Jesus as Christ.
A side note – the Lectionary for
Mass begins this reading with “Jesus took
Peter…”, omitting “After six days”.
This omission removes an interesting numerological reference to the event that
takes place. The Transfiguration is the revelation of Christ as God’s Son. It
completes the teaching referenced in the previous verses –After six days of
teaching Christ was revealed- seven representing the complete or perfect
number. The implication being that
Christ’s perfect revelation would come at the resurrection.
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Homily:
Have you ever stopped to ask
yourself why the transfiguration took place?
We hear about that spectacular event at least twice a year; how Jesus
takes three of his closest friends and goes up a mountain and there, he is
transfigured before them. They see him
in dazzling standing with the great forefathers of our faith Elijah, the great
prophet and Moses who gave the people God’s Law.
Yes, the image is clear. Jesus is transformed into something closer to
his essence as God. He came to fulfill
what was predicted by Elijah and all the prophets, so Elijah had to be
there. Moses was there because Jesus
also came to fulfill the Law handed to him on Mount Horeb
The event is truly amazing
and awe inspiring. Of that there is no
doubt, but why was it done? What purpose
did Jesus have in going up that mountain with only three of his disciples? It was not to show off. He even tells them in later verses not to
tell anyone about the episode. It was
done with only three of his closest friends.
He could have invited the whole entourage, all his disciples and the
crowd he had been teaching for the past six days to come up the mountain with
him to witness this unique event in which he was clearly revealed in his power
and majesty.
If he had done that with a
significant crowd of prominent scribes and Pharisees present (and we know there
were representative in the crowd that was with him), they would have announced
to the Sanhedrin that the Messiah had come and there would never have been any
doubt about his identity. A whole different set of events would have unfolded
at Jerusalem
So what do we know? We know that Jesus was transfigured on the
mountain; that he showed himself to his closest friends in all his
majesty. They witnessed this event after
Jesus had been teaching them for six days – an intense tutorial. We can only conclude that the purpose for
this miraculous demonstration was to be an exclamation point to what he came to
show us.
It is like the teacher in the
class room who uses a spectacular demonstration to get across a point. Jesus is transfigured so that we might be
paying special attention to the point he makes.
And what is that point? Why did
God feel it was necessary to send his only son in the first place? It was so we would be assured of His love for
us and to make clear what he wished for us; how we were to live in peace. Like any loving parent, God wants us be happy
and to do that we must follow the “house rules”, the biggest of them is Love
God and love one another.
This recognition, this
understanding, this conversion is something that happens gradually. Again using the example of the teacher in
school, the important lessons are repeated over and over again so they become
ingrained, second nature.
So now we have come to
realize why the Transfiguration was so important. It was the exclamation point that emphasizes
our need to follow the example Jesus gave us and the commandments he left
us. Now we must ask ourselves a second
question; what must we do to respond to what he taught us? How can we derive the benefit of this
teaching to achieve what God our loving Father wishes for us?
For the younger students,
this is like a story problem. We have
been taught over and over again the lessons Jesus teaches, now we are asked to
use what we have learned in a way we are likely to encounter in the real world. Because this is one in a series of lessons
during our Lenten season and as much as you would love to spend hours listening
to this wisdom, other things must be done, lets look only one of the ways we
can work at converting ourselves into the pupils (disciples) of which Jesus
would be proud.
We are called to be a people
of faith. The always pragmatic St Paul
This second week of Lent
let’s all make a pledge together.
Whatever amount of praying we normally do on a given day (and saying, “I
talk to God all the time” does not count) let’s pledge to set aside and
additional one half hour to be alone with God in prayer. Let’s pray together for all those who face
desperation during these difficult economic times. If we count ourselves in that number, pray
that God will give us peace so we can face the difficulty knowing in our hearts
that the Lord who transfigured himself, also loves us and will be a light in
the darkness. Let us offer our fears and
our bitterness to the Lord, begging his forgiveness because we know he wishes
only happiness for us. Be infused in
that half hour with the knowledge that God loves us and will stand with us when
we are put to the test.
Jesus came teaching us to be
a people of prayer. He punctuated his
teaching with the amazing event that unfolded before us in scripture as we
heard once more how he revealed his divinity to us. Let us each now pledge to be what he teaches
us to be and in doing so receive gratefully the gift of peace he gives us.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used is “The Transfiguration” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1518-20
[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.
