First reading from the book of Daniel 7:9-10.13-14.
(This
is where we get most of our childhood images of what God looks like.)
As I watched : Thrones were set up and the Ancient
One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head
as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.
A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.
Ps 97(96):1-2.5-6.9.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
Before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
And all peoples see his glory.
You, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
Luke 9:28b-36.
Let the many islands be glad
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
Before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
And all peoples see his glory.
You, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
Luke 9:28b-36.
About eight days after he said this, he took Peter,
John, and James and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him."
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him."
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.
Commentary of the day :
Old man Sam was a witness in a burglary
case. The defense lawyer asked Sam, "Did you see my client commit this
burglary?" "Yes," said Sam, "I saw him plainly take the
goods." The lawyer asks Sam again, "Sam, this happened at night. Are
you sure you saw my client commit this crime?" "Yes," says Sam,
"I saw him do it." Then the lawyer asks Sam, "Sam, listen, you
are 80 years old and your eye sight is probably bad. Just how far can you see
at night?" Sam says, "I can see the moon, how far is that?"
In a trial, a small-town prosecuting
attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand.
He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?" She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you,
Mr. Smith. I've known you since you were a young boy, and frankly, you've been
a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate
people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when
you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a
two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you."
The lawyer was stunned! Not knowing what
else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know
the defense attorney?" She again replied, "Why, yes, I do. I've known
Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a
drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law
practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on
his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know
him."
The defense attorney almost died.
The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very
quiet voice, said, "If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll
send you to the electric chair."
Anecdote
1: “Lord,
give me the grace to change the world! The word transfiguration means a change in form or appearance. Biologists
call it metamorphosis, a modification of the Greek word metamorphooma used
in Mark’s gospel to describe Christ’s transfiguration. Biologists use it to describe
the change that occurs when a caterpillar turns into a chrysalis and then bursts into a beautiful
Monarch butterfly. Fr.
Anthony De Mello tells the funny story of a metamorphosis in the prayer life of
an old man. “I was a revolutionary when I was young and all my prayer to
God was: “Lord, give me the grace to change the world.” As I approached middle
age and realized that half of my life was gone without changing a single soul,
I changed my prayer to: “Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come
in contact with me; just my family and friends and I shall be satisfied.” Now
that I am old and my days are numbered, I have begun to see how foolish I have
been. My one prayer now is: “Lord, give me the grace to change myself.”
If I had prayed for this right from the start I should not have wasted my
life.'
Introduction: The common
theme of today’s readings is metamorphosis or transformation. The readings
invite us to transform our lives by renewing it on a daily basis, radiating
the grace of the transfigured Lord around us by our Spirit-filled lives.
The first reading from the book of Daniel explains how the “Son of man” coming on the clouds of heaven, gets
transformed by receiving dominion, glory
and kingship from the Ancient One
seated on the throne of heavenly glory. In the second reading, St. Peter
explains to his Christian community how he was an eye witness to the
transfiguration scene when Jesus received
honour and glory from God the Father.
Exegesis: The primary purpose of Jesus’
transfiguration was to consult His heavenly Father and ascertain His plan for Our
Lord’s suffering, death and resurrection. The secondary aim was to make
his chosen disciples aware of his divine glory so that they might discard their
worldly ambitions about a conquering political Messiah and not to get
discouraged at his suffering and humiliating death. The Transfiguration
took place in late summer, just prior to the Feast of Tabernacles. Hence
the Orthodox tradition celebrates the Transfiguration at about the time of the
year when it actually occurred, in order to connect it with the Old Testament
Feast of Tabernacles. The Western tradition normally celebrates the Feast
of Transfiguration at the beginning of Lent.
The location of
transfiguration was probably Mount Hermon in North Galilee , near Caesarea Philippi,
where Jesus camped a week before the transfiguration. It was a desolate
mountain, 9200 feet high. The traditional oriental belief that transfiguration
took place on Mount Tabor Mount Tabor
was a small mountain, in the south of Galilee ,
less than 1000 feet high and with a Roman fort built on it. Hence it
would have been an unlikely place for solitude and prayer.
The scene of heavenly glory: While praying, Jesus was
transformed into a shining figure, full of heavenly
glory. This reminds us of Moses and Elijah who had also experienced the Lord in all His glory. Moses had
met the Lord in the burning bush at Mount Horeb Mt. Horeb Mt. Horeb 2:11 -15).
These
representatives of the Law and the Prophets foreshadowed Jesus who is the culmination of the Law and the Prophets. Both prophets were
initially rejected by the people but vindicated by God. The Jews believed that
Elijah did not die because he was carried to heaven in a whirl wind (II
Kings 2:11 ). When Moses died
God himself buried him in a secret place in the valley of Moab
God the Father’s voice
from the cloud: The book of Exodus describes how God spoke
to Moses at Mount Sinai from the cloud. God often made appearances in a cloud (Exodus
24:15-17; 13:21 -22;
34:5; 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10 -11). The First Book of Kings, 8: 10,
tells us how by the cover of a cloud, God revealed His presence in
the Ark of the Covenant and in the temple of Jerusalem on the day of its
dedication. The Jews generally believed that the phenomenon of the cloud
would be repeated when the Messiah arrived. God the Father, Moses and
Elijah approve the plan regarding Jesus' suffering, death and
resurrection. God’s words from the cloud: “This is
my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him,” are
the same words used by God at Jesus' baptism (3:17 ).
They summarize the meaning of the Transfiguration: on this mountain, God reveals Jesus
as His son -- His beloved -- the one in whom He is well
pleased and to whom we must listen.
Life
messages:
(1) The
transfiguration in the Holy Mass as a source of our strength. In each Holy
Mass the bread and wine the priests offer, get transfigured into the body
and blood of Jesus. In other words, our Divine Lord is transfigured
before our eyes taking the form of bread and wine. Hence, just as the
transfiguration strengthened the apostles in their time of trial, each Holy
Mass should be the source of heavenly strength against our own temptations,
and a source of renewal of our lives every day. In
addition, communion with Jesus should be a source of daily
transfiguration of both our minds and hearts. We must also be transformed
into Christ by becoming more humble and selfless, sharing our love, compassion
and forgiveness with others.
(2) Each sacrament
that we receive transforms us. Baptism, for example, transforms us
into sons and daughters of God and heirs of heaven. Confirmation makes us
the temples of the Holy Spirit and warriors for Him. By the sacrament of
reconciliation, God brings back the sinner to the path of holiness. The Holy Eucharist
enables us to share the life of God in this world.
(3) A message of hope
and encouragement. In moments of doubts and
during feelings of despair, the expectation and assurance of our
transfiguration in heavenly glory helps us to reach out to God and listen
to His consoling words: “This is my beloved son / daughter in whom I am well
pleased.”
(4) We need 'mountain top experiences’ in our own lives. We can
share such experiences as those of Peter, James and John when we spend
some extra time in prayer every day, talking to God and listening to Him.
The meditative reading of the Bible daily enables
us to hear God speaking to us and directing our lives as the three apostles
experienced on the mountain of transfiguration. We have also other moments when we see and feel the glory of God
surrounding us. Every Sunday we are invited by God to come to His table and to
partake of the heavenly banquet. We are called to come forward like Peter,
James and John to be in the presence of Christ. Perhaps when we come to this
table we have an opportunity for a theophany. Perhaps God is inviting us in
order to help us see the identity of Christ more clearly. Perhaps God is
calling us to help us experience the miracle of the cross and the resurrection
more deeply. Whatever be the result, there is one thing of which we can be
assured. God always calls us to join in the journey. God calls us to have 'mountain top
experiences’ in our own
I am amazed how
many people answer the question: “Why do Catholics consider going to Mass
important to them?” With the answer: “To make them a better person” or “To
forgive their sins” and then still see no reason to actually make Mass-going
part of their own spiritual life..
Saint Leo the Great (?-c.461), Pope and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 51, 2-6 ; SC 74 bis
"The glory to be revealed in us”
(Rm 8,18)
“Jesus took Peter, James and John his brother” and, taking them up a
high mountain apart, he revealed to them the radiance of his glory. For, even
if they had understood that God's majesty dwelt within him, they did not
realize that his body, veiling his divinity, shared in God's power. This is
why, only a few days before, our Lord had expressly promised that “some of
those here” among his disciples, “will not taste death before they have seen the
Son of Man coming in his Kingdom” (Mt 16,28), that is to say in the kingly
splendor... particularly suited to the human nature he had assumed...This
transfiguration had as its first purpose to remove the scandal of the cross
from the disciples' hearts, so that the humiliation of his Passion, voluntarily
suffered, would not disturb the faith of those who had witnessed the greatness
of his hidden dignity. But, with the same foresight, the transfiguration fixed
in Jesus' Church the hope intended to sustain it so that the members of
Christ's Body might understand what sort of change would one day be brought
about also in them. For they were called to share the same glory they had seen
shining in their Leader and Head. Our Lord himself had said in this regard, speaking
of the majesty of his coming: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in
the Kingdom of their Father” (Mt 13,43). And the apostle Paul stated the same
thing when he said: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as
nothing compared with the glory to be revealed in us” (Rm 8,18). And elsewhere:
“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ you
life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory” (Col 3,3-4).
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