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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.
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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.”
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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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