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“Transfiguration of Christ”
by Giovanni Bellini, c.1487 |
Readings for Saturday of the
Sixth Week in Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem
Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Hebrew 11:1-7
Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of
what is hoped for
and evidence of things not
seen.
Because of it the ancients
were well attested.
By faith we understand that
the universe was ordered by the word of God,
so that what is visible came
into being through the invisible.
By faith Abel offered to God
a sacrifice greater than Cain’s.
Through this, he was attested
to be righteous,
God bearing witness to his
gifts,
and through this, though
dead, he still speaks.
By faith Enoch was taken up
so that he should not see death,
and he was found no more because
God had taken him.
Before he was taken up, he
was attested to have pleased God.
But without faith it is
impossible to please him,
for anyone who approaches God
must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who
seek him.
By faith Noah, warned about
what was not yet seen,
with reverence built an ark
for the salvation of his household.
Through this, he condemned
the world
and inherited the
righteousness that comes through faith.
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Commentary on Heb 11:1-7
The beginning of this reading gives us a classic definition of
faith: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things
not seen.” We note that this definition describes what faith does rather
than being a pure theological description. “Through faith God guarantees the
blessings to be hoped for from him, providing evidence in the gift of faith
that what he promises will eventually come to pass." [5] Looking at the translation above it is
instructive to look at the same verse as translated in the Jerusalem Bible: “Only
faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of
the realities that at present remain unseen.”
The author goes on to applaud the faith of Old Testament figures.
“The 'Praise of the Ancestors,' in Sirach 44:1-50:21, gives a
similar list of heroes. The Cain and Abel narrative in Genesis 4:1-16 does
not mention Abel's faith. It says, however, that God 'looked with favor on
Abel and his offering' (Genesis 4, 4); in view
of v 6 the author probably understood God's favor to have been activated by
Abel's faith. Though dead, he still speaks, possibly because his blood 'cries
out to me from the soil' (Genesis 4:10), but more
probably a way of saying that the repeated story of Abel provides ongoing
witness to faith.” [6]
A critical point in this passage is that Christians must believe
not only that God exists, but that he wants behavior from them consistent with
his decrees. To fail in this is a denial of truth defined in the Hebrew
Scriptures as folly (see Psalm 53).
CCC: Heb 11:1 146; Heb
11:2 147; Heb
11:3 286; Heb
11:6 161,
848
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11
R. (see 1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name
forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly
to be praised;
his greatness is
unsearchable.
R. I will praise your name
for ever, Lord.
Generation after generation
praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of
your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous
works.
R. I will praise your name
for ever, Lord.
Let all your works give you
thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones
bless you.
Let them discourse of the
glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name
for ever, Lord.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11
Psalm 145 is a hymn of praise. This singer in these strophes pours
out his heart to God whose greatness is unknowable, and who, through his
creation, has demonstrated majesty beyond any human undertaking.
CCC: Ps 145:3 300
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Gospel: Mark 9:2-13
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;
then from the cloud came a
voice,
“This is my beloved Son.
Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, the
disciples 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.
Then they asked him,
“Why do the scribes say that
Elijah must come first?”
He told them, “Elijah will
indeed come first and restore all things,
yet how is it written
regarding the Son of Man
that he must suffer greatly
and be treated with contempt?
But I tell you that Elijah
has come
and they did to him whatever
they pleased,
as it is written of him.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 9:2-13
The Gospel gives us the story of the Transfiguration as told by
St. Mark. Present in all three of the synoptic Gospels, this event follows
Jesus’ prediction of the passion, and provides assurance of his divine nature.
Shown, as it is, to the Lord's closest 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). The cloud that
comes to rest over the disciples is reminiscent of the cloud that came to rest
over the meeting tent in the Old Testament (Exodus 40:34-35) that
signified the presence of Yahweh.
The question: “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come
first?” refers to the prediction in Malachi 3:23-24 that,
before the Messiah comes, the prophet will return. (Note: in many Protestant
Bible translations this citation is Malachi 4:1ff)
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. 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. In the Hebrew
tradition, seven represents the complete or perfect number. The revelation in
the passion of the Lord becomes the seventh day.
CCC: Mk 9:2 552; Mk
9:7 151,
459; Mk 9:9-31 649
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Reflection:
Jesus is revealed in Scripture
today by a means even more spectacular than when he came up out of the Jordan
after he was baptized by St. John. The
story of the Transfiguration marks a point in the Gospel story of St. Mark
where the reader, now led by inexorable logic, is brought to understand that
this man, Jesus, is also the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ.
This story has its own feast
day (August 6th), so instead of dwelling on what took place that
miraculous day, we look to the faith required to understand this event, and the
impact it has on our lives. In the
reading from Hebrews we are given that marvelous definition of faith as: “the realization of what is hoped for and
evidence of things not seen.”
When we consider what we as
Christians believe, it is crucial that we understand that there is a war going
on between what our faith tells us and the world’s logic, as we cling to our
beliefs. We believe that God, who
created us (this in itself is more than some can embrace), cares what we
do. We believe that it is his desire
that we live in harmony with his creation, and with one another. At a time in human history, after God had
sent numerous human messengers (and even some angelic ones), he saw that mankind
still did not grasp his will and desire.
We believe that God’s
response was to bring his message to us personally: to force us to see how much
he loves us, and how he wants us to behave as his adopted children. His presence among us in the person of Christ
Jesus was unparalleled in the history of creation. His words reach out to us through Scripture
on that high place: "This is my
beloved Son. Listen to him."
But we, Christians coming
over two thousand years later, were not with Peter and his friends on that
mountain. We are asked to accept the “evidence of things not seen” and act on
that belief. It is at times the most
difficult thing we do, acting on a “realization
of what is hoped for.”
Today we hear the story of
Christ transformed into his heavenly appearance once more, and are reminded
that, as improbable as it may seem to the rational, this Savior of ours came so
that we might find hope in salvation, and peace in our lives on earth. We pray in our hearts that this hope will
buoy us up, and our peace may invite others to the joy of our realization.
Pax
[1]
General
Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5
[2]
The picture used is “Transfiguration of Christ” by Giovanni Bellini, c.1487.
[3]
S.S. Commemoratio[4]
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 republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[5]
NAB footnote on Hebrews 11:1-40.
[6]
NAB footnote on Hebrews 11:4.
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