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| “The Transfiguration” by Marco Benefial c. 1730 |
The Lord said to Abram:
“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.
“I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”
Abram went as the Lord directed him.
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Commentary on Gn 12:1-4a
The genealogy of the Hebrew generations that ended with Abram and his wife migrating to the land of Ur (Genesis 11:27ff) sets this reading as a formal introduction. Abram (later Abraham) is chosen by God to become a great leader of people in holiness. "The universalism that marked Genesis chapters 1-11 having now failed, the Lord begins anew, singling out one Mesopotamian - in no way distinguished from his peers as yet - and promising to make of him a great nation, not numbered in the seventy nations of chapter 10. What the Lord promises Abram (his name is changed to "Abraham" only in Chapter 17) - land, numerous offspring, and blessing - constitutes to a large extent a reversal of some of the curses on Adam and Eve - exile, pain in childbirth, and uncooperative soil (Genesis 3:16-24)."[5]
The blessing provided here is discussed at some length in the notes on this section: “Shall find blessing in you: the sense of the Hebrew expression is probably reflexive, "shall bless themselves through you" (i.e., in giving a blessing they shall say, "May you be as blessed as Abraham"), rather than passive, "shall be blessed in you." Since the term is understood in a passive sense in the New Testament (Acts 3:25; Galatians 3:8), it is rendered here by a neutral expression that admits to both meanings; so also in the blessings given by God to Isaac (Genesis 26:4) and Jacob (Genesis 28:14).”[6]
CCC: Gn 12:1-4 145; Gn 12:1 59; Gn 12:2 762, 1669; Gn 12:3 706, 2676; Gn 12:3 LXX 59; Gn 12:4 2570
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the Lord,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the Lord,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
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Commentary on Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
Psalm 33 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. In this selection the emphasis is on faithfulness to God who has saving power combined with hope, a central component of faith in God. The sense of God’s adoption of his chosen ones is expressed as the singer rejoices in the interdependence of the people and God’s love.
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Reading 2: 2 Timothy 1:8b-10
Beloved:
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel.
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Commentary on 2 Tm 1:8b-10
St. Paul encourages Timothy to be outspoken for the sake of the Gospel which was entrusted to him through the “imposition of my hands”(1 Timothy 4:14). He also tells his protégé not to worry because redemption is a free gift of Christ, not won by personal deeds.
"Four essential aspects of salvation are identified: 1) God has already accomplished salvation for everyone; 2) it is God, too, who calls all men to avail of it; 3) it is entirely a gift: man cannot merit it (cf. Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9); and 4) God's plan is an eternal one (cf. Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:11)." [7]
CCC: 2 Tm 1:8 2471, 2506; 2 Tm 1:9-10 257, 1021
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Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Rise, and do not be afraid.”
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
“Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
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Commentary on Mt 17:1-9
In the opening paragraph of St. Matthew’s account of the transfiguration, James, John, and Peter see Jesus take on a majestic appearance, with imagery consistent with Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7:9-14) and then be joined by Moses the giver of the law, and Elijah first among the prophets. 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 God (see Exodus 19:9 and 24:15-16). From within it God speaks the same formula used at Jesus’ baptism (see Matthew 3:17) providing the final absolute identity of Jesus as the Christ.
This event is recounted in all three of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36) confirms that Jesus is the Son of God. While some scholars point to this as possibly inserted here as a post-resurrection redaction, modern thought is that, because of Old Testament images and Jewish non-canonical apocalyptic images expressed in the brilliant light, white garments and overshadowing cloud, the event is appropriately placed in Jesus' lifetime.
In this account especially we are reminded of the baptismal event as God’s proclamation is similar to that recounted as Jesus came up from the Jordan “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
CCC: Mt 17:1-8 & par. 554; Mt 17:5 444
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Reflection
Much like our journey through the Lenten season, our journey together, as a faith community, to become what our vision articulates, is also a journey we must follow. One in which we work diligently to help all of our brothers and sisters achieve our common goal – to get into heaven, our final destination.
Today is full of references to journeys. It begins with God announcing in the reading from the Book of Genesis that he has selected Abram (later Abraham) with whom he will begin anew to shape the people of God. Recall he had failed in all those generations from our first parents, Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God and brought sin into the world. God was forced to wash sin away in the baptism of the great flood. In the story heard today, he starts afresh calling Abram to foster his chosen people. And in our psalm response: “Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you,” we expressed our trust in God’s mercy as we continue our journey together as a people of God.
It is worthy of note that we sing this hope and trust together! We cannot achieve what we hope to accomplish (the gates of heaven) alone.
We next hear St. Paul reminding his young protégé, St. Timothy, of four central truths:
1) God has already accomplished salvation for everyone;
2) it is God, too, who calls all people to avail of it;
3) it is entirely a gift: we cannot merit it (cf. Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9); and
As always, St. Paul gives us practical teachings that we need to take with us as we walk our own path to Golgotha.
And finally, St. Matthew’s Gospel recounts the Transfiguration! The event on Mt. Tabor was in modern language a “trailer” for those select disciples Peter, James, and John. It gave them a preview of what was going to come very quickly as they were about to enter Jerusalem with the Lord for the last time.
I call it a “trailer” based upon what the disciples reported, well after the Lord had gone through his passion and resurrection. (Recall the final words of the Gospel passage – “Jesus charged them, ‘Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’”) Those lucky disciples saw the Lord, not as the man, their teacher and friend, they had been following as he ministered to the people over the previous three years, but as the divine person who, as St. Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave.” (Philippians 2:7b) Peter, James, and John saw the Son of God in his divine form. Recall also the words later recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel when the “two Marys” came to the tomb after Christ’s passion. There they encountered another divine person, whose appearance was also described: “like lightning and his clothing was white as snow.” (Matthew 28:3)
We can only imagine the events that immediately followed. Jesus and his three friends coming back down the mountain to collect the other nine disciples, with Peter, James, and John looking as if “they had seen a ghost.” The others would have immediately pulled them aside. They would have been intensely curious: “What happened?” They would have asked. “What did you see?”
And Peter would have shaken his head, with that stunned look on his face and said to them: “Later, we can only tell you later.”
And “later” recall that these same three disciples would have been with him at Gethsemane. And again, Jesus would ask them to come apart from the others to “watch and pray.” Their true test was just about to come, and they would be found wanting.
So, fair notice to all of us. This path we see unfolding, this journey that ends at another mountain called Calvary, is the one we also walk as we follow the Lord along our own Lenten path. This proof of the Lord’s divine identity is given to us again so we might take heart and have hope. We will encounter the risen Lord in the Eucharist we will share, and while the host may not flash like lightning or look to be as white as snow, it is no less than that glorified body he shared with us, our food for the journey. Let us walk that path with hope and faith.
Pax.
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is “The Transfiguration” by Marco Benefial c. 1730.
[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] The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, © 2004 p. 30.
[6] NAB footnote on Genesis 12:1-4.
[7] The Navarre Bible: “Letters of St. Paul,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 591.
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