Gn 12:1-4a
Ps 33
2 Tm 1:8b-10
Mt 17:1-9
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."
The opening verse of the first reading draws us into the beginning of God's covenant with Abram whose name God later changed to Abraham which means The Father of Many Nations. It is a foundational statement for the Jewish people. Thus, it is a foundational statement for us. It is a vocational mandate to Abram who was told "Go forth and I will show you." It is a vocational mandate for us when Jesus said: "Follow me." And just as Abram chose to go as the Lord directed him, we are faced with choosing whether or not to heed Jesus’ mandate.
The commentary on this passage in the Jewish Study Bible is fascinating. It tells us the Lord singled out "one Mesopotamian who was in no way distinguished from his peers. So it is for those called to follow Christ.
Consider Mary and Joseph. Neither was distinguishable from any other Ancient Near Easterner of the time. Neither was distinguished by birth or any other rank. It would be reasonable to call them peasants. And yet, they were chosen by God to go into unknown realms in obedience to His will, just as Abram did many generations earlier.
The narrative of Jesus' Transfiguration is proclaimed twice a year: August 6 on the Feast of the Transfiguration, and on the second Sunday of Lent. The Transfiguration appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke with relatively little difference among the three accounts. Despite this commonality it remains within the realm of mystery. The Transfiguration can never be less than a mystery of faith. It is difficult to comprehend, at least in part, because it pulls us outside of normal daily life. It pulls us away from what we know and can understand. Today's Gospel forces us to confront an event that cannot be explained beyond the words luminous mystery. Jesus’ transfiguration simultaneously points us towards a mystery and draws us into a different mystery. It is disorienting. The Transfiguration is beyond historical reconstruction, scientific explanation, or even geographic specificity. Like many of the mysteries of our faith, the Transfiguration, offends the sensibilities of many "modern" people because it appears irrational, impossible, and supernatural. It is all of the above. It must be.
Create the scene in your mind. Enter into the action as if you were stepping into a movie. Join the three apostles as a fourth witness. Observe how Jesus is speaking with Moses and Elijah. Where are you standing? What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? Do you collapse with the apostles when you hear God’s voice saying, "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."
Stay in the scene and turn your attention to Peter. Peter began to speak without thinking what he was saying. Was it fear, anxiety, awe, excitement, all, some, or none of the above? For any of us to claim that we would have responded differently, that we never would have behaved like Peter, would be absurd, dishonest, and breathtakingly arrogant. Despite the popular sport of apostle bashing, a sport that is enthusiastically played in academic theological circles, none of us would have responded differently than the babbling Peter. Most likely, we would have acted worse. Perhaps by pulling out a cell phone equivalent and tweeting selfies to the guys down the mountain. (Yo', Elijah, squinch in a tad. Lighten up guys. C'mon, smile.)
As the tension increased the voice of God the Father confirmed Jesus' identity: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." After confirming Jesus' identity God the Father gave the apostles, and by extension each of us, a mission: "Listen to Him."
Interpreters do not agree on the meaning of God’s command to listen to His beloved Son. Does it refer to the earlier prediction of His passion and death? Does it refer to living in accordance with His teaching? Does it refer to something else? Today the command is unmistakably clear. We know that Jesus suffered and died. That historical reality removes ambiguity and uncertainty. We are to listen to His teaching. We are to listen to the teaching that was given to us through His words and actions.
Jesus' words and actions, His teachings and miracles, and His mode of life can never be separated to create our own version of who Jesus was and is. Any, “theology,” that understands Jesus as a sort of nice guy and itinerant wisdom teacher who said some radical things but discounts or denies the miracle narratives gives us an inauthentic two-dimensional Jesus who is not worth paying attention to. A theology that focuses only on the miracles and the supernatural does the same thing. Both are equally useless.
As we listen to Jesus and take His teaching to heart we allow it to transform us through His triple presence: in the assembly of people, in the proclamation of scripture and, most critically and palpably, in the reception of the True Body and Blood of Our Lord. As we allow that transformation we move that much closer to sharing in the glory manifest in the radiantly transfigured Jesus, with whom the Father is well-pleased.
______________________________________________________
Fresh out the camera photos. Taken at St. Joseph Trappist Abbey in Spencer, MA. I visit there monthly. Today was glorious. Was scheduled for last weekend but the weather was iffy. Turns out it was good decision to cancel. The road were fine until making the turn to the Abbey at 8:30. The word needed work. It would have been a real challenge last week.
A small stone structure. No idea what it is for. Is empty but photogenic. One of the many fields. The sun is behind that tree trunk. Otherwise it would have been blindingly bright. Looking out from near the infirmary A very small medallion embedded in stained glass. Looks much larger in this shot than it actually is. The room I use as my office. The sun was intense such that mid-afternoon the temp was intolerable and I had to open one of the windows. The view from that office.
Fr. Jack, SJ, MD
No comments:
Post a Comment