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| Transfiguration, Assumption Church Fairfield CT* |
The gospel account of the
Transfiguration is always used on the second Sunday in Lent, but the actual
feast, the Transfiguration of the Lord, is celebrated on August 6. The morning
prayer taken from Psalm 76 sets out the theme of the day.
God is made known in Judah, In Israel his name is great.
The morning prayers also
include the account from Exodus of God’s appearance to Moses on Mt. Sinai, as
well as the famous Canticle of Zechariah from Luke’s gospel.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
He has come to his peole and set them free
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
Born of the house of his servant David
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
He has come to his peole and set them free
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
Born of the house of his servant David
In the Mass itself the first
reading is from the Book of the Prophet Daniel and Daniel’s vision has always
been seen to prefigure Jesus. Daniel saw:
One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the ancient One and was presented before him, The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory and kingship...
This reading reminds us of
St. Mark’s account today of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Jesus is far along in His
mission when the event occurs. He has given the Sermon on the Mount,
healed the sick, driven out devils, and raised the daughter of Jairus Earlier
Jesus had fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes. After this
incredible miracle, He asks the disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I
am?" Peter answers, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living
God." Our Lord commends Peter and says, "thou art Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my Church. But then He reveals the mission of the
Christ:
From
that time Jesus began to show his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem
and
suffer many things...and be put to death, and on the third day rise again.
Characteristically, Peter
cannot accept this shocking news and our Lord rebukes him--"get behind me
Satan"
Immediately after this
prophecy of our Lord's suffering and death, we go to the scene of the
Transfiguration where we get a
glimpse of the Resurrection. "Jesus took Peter, James, and his
brother John. and led them up a high mountain by themselves," just as He
would later do in the Garden of Gethsemane. On the mountain,
he
was transfigured before them,
and
his clothes became dazzling white,
such
as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then two great figures from
the history of Israel appear to Jesus and converse with Him. In his account St.
Luke tells us that Jesus was speaking with them of the "exodus" that
He was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. The word "exodus" is full of
meaning. Moses led the Israelites out of slavery to the promised land--Jesus
was about to do the same for us. Older translations say that Jesus was speaking
of "his death, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem." But what does death and rising from the dead have to do with this glorious event?
Mark tells us that
as they were coming down from the mountain Jesus told the there Apostles not to tell the
vision to anyone until “the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” They were
obviously confused but Mark tells us that “they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.” Of course, Mark wasn’t present at
the Transfiguration but he must have gotten his information from his mentor,
Peter.
Today's second reading is
from Peter’s second letter where he specifically recalls the event of the
Transfiguration, and relates it to all that followed.
We
did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique
declaration came to him from the majestic glory, “this is my Son, my beloved,
with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven
while we were with him on the holy mountain. .
Nevertheless they could not
stay on the mountain. Jesus came down to continue his mission, his own exodus,
and so too did Peter. It is our mission as well. Right
before the Transfiguration, after Jesus had spoken of his crucifixion, He told
the disciples and us that we must also bear our cross.
###
If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For he who would save his life will lose it; but he who loses his life for my sake will save it. for what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but ruin or lose himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory...The morning prayer for today's feast includes this little hymn.
'Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Your glory fils the night;
Your face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.
'Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Your beauty to behold,
where Moses and Elijah stand,
Your messengers of old.
'Tis good, Lord, to be here!
Yet we may not remain;
But since you bid us leave the mount,
Come with us to the plain.
###
*Image by Melissa DeStefano
Reading II. 2 Peter 1:16-19
Gospel. Mark 9:2-10 (Transfiguration)
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