Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION (Cycle B)
Readings:
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14
Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9
2 Peter 1:16-19
Mark 9:2-10
All Scripture passages are from the New American Bible unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments. That is the reason we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of this Sunday's Readings: The Messiah-King Revealed in Glory
This Sunday we celebrate the day Jesus revealed Himself in
His Divine Glory to the Apostles Peter, James, and John before His Crucifixion and
Resurrection. In the celebration of this feast, we are also acknowledging
Jesus' kingship over all creation and the promise of our future resurrection
with Him in glory.
In the First Reading, the prophet Daniel receives a vision of the Messiah, with the appearance of a man, ascending in glory on a cloud to God in Heaven. Daniel's vision, seen from the vantage point of the heavenly court, was also witnessed by Jesus' Apostles and disciples from an earthly perspective on the day Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, forty days after His Resurrection: ... as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight (Acts 1:9). What they couldn't see that took place next in the Prophet Daniel's vision was the presentation of God the Son to God the Father who gave Him kingship over all nations and peoples on the earth. Jesus, the Messiah-King, fulfilled Daniel's vision in His Ascension when He received as a reward, for His victory over sin and death, dominion over the earth and its nations and peoples.
The Responsorial Psalm is a liturgical hymn calling for the covenant people to rejoice in proclaiming God their Divine King. The psalmist describes God's awesome revelation of Himself in His Divine Glory, recalling Israel's theophany of God at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:16-20). The psalmist then proclaims God's sovereignty over the cosmos and His reign as the Divine King over the earth's nations, peoples, and over all other powers.
The sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ restored the Kingdom of God on earth. His faithful subjects, those redeemed by the sacrificial Blood of the Lamb, share in His victory over sin and death. The Church reads from this psalm on the Feast of Transfiguration because it recalls the vision of the glorified Messiah-King seen by the Prophet Daniel and three of Jesus' Apostles during their Transfiguration experience, described in each of the Synoptic Gospels and retold by St. Peter in his eyewitness account (Second Reading). The Psalm Reading response is "The Lord is King, the most high over all the earth." We have the hope that one day we will sing this response the company of angels in the presence of the Divine Messiah who is our King of glory!
Our Gospel Reading recounts the experience of the three of the Apostles, Peter, James, and John as they witnessed Jesus transformed from His human form into His Divine Glory in the presence of two Old Testament prophets, Moses and Elijah. The experience was not only a revelation of the Divine Messiah, but a revelation of the Most Holy Trinity as God the Holy Spirit overshadowed God the Son in a bright cloud, and God the Father's voice was heard from Heaven, acknowledging Jesus as His Divine Son.
The Transfiguration event was a vision of Christ's glory that St. Peter later wrote about in his second letter to the universal Church (Second Reading). St. Peter's Transformation experience was the fulfillment of the vision of the glorified Messianic King witnessed centuries earlier (in the sixth century BC) by the prophet Daniel (First Reading). The experience of the Transfiguration changed Peter's life. It was a vision he must have clung to in the dark hours of Christ's Passion and death, during his years as the Vicar of Christ's earthly Kingdom of the universal Church, and during his martyrdom by the Romans in AD 67.
Jesus' Kingdom of the Church on earth and in Heaven is an everlasting and indestructible Kingdom (prophesied in Dan 2:44; 7:14). Those in covenant with Jesus in the Sacrament of Baptism and who serve His earthly Kingdom of the Church are the Messiah-King's subjects who receive a revelation of the Living Christ in every Eucharistic celebration and who faithfully and obediently await His glorious return.
The First Reading Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 ~ The Vision of the Messianic King
9 As Daniel watched:
Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was snow
bright, and the hair on his head as white as wool; his throne was flames of
fire, with wheels of burning fire. 10 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. [...] 13
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, 14 the one
like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations,
and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall
not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.
Daniel received a prophetic vision of the divine judicial proceeding convened against humanity in the heavenly Sanctuary when the Book of Life and the Book of Deeds were opened to present evidence for and against humanity (also see Rev 20:12). The "Ancient One" is God the Father, and the "one like a Son of man" is the Messianic King who looks like a human being. Daniel received his vision in the 6th century BC, but the event in the vision did not take place until the Messianic Age when Jesus, the victorious Messiah-King, received divine rule over all the earth after His glorious Ascension (Acts 1:9). The vision of God the Father that Daniel witnesses in verses 9-10 is reminiscent of Israel's theophany of God in His glory on Mount Sinai (Ex 19:18-19; also see Ps 50:3 and Rev 5:11).
13a I saw one like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven
The title "son of man" in Scripture usually means a human
being, as often applied to the prophet Ezekiel (see for example Ez 2:2-3). "Son
of Man" was Jesus' favorite title for Himself. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus
uses the title "Son of Man" for Himself thirty-two times. In the Gospels of
Mark and John, He uses the title for Himself fourteen times and in the Gospel
of Luke twenty-five times. However, when Jesus uses the title for Himself, He
uses it not only in the sense of His humanity but the sense of the Messiah-King
of Daniel's vision. His intentional use of the title in this way becomes clear
in Jesus' trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin when He uses the title "Son of Man"
for Himself the last time (see Mt 26:64; Mk 14:62; Lk 22:69). It was Jesus'
use of the title "Son of Man" in answer to the High Priest's question if He was
the Messiah when He quoted from Daniel 7:13 that caused the High Priest and the
Sanhedrin to condemn Jesus to death for blasphemy. They understood that He was
claiming to be the Divine Messianic king of Daniel's vision (Mt 26:65-66; Mk 14:63-64; Lk 22:70-71).
13b when he reached
the Ancient One and was presented before him, 14 the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.
This part of Daniel's vision, seen from the vantage point of
the heavenly court, was also witnessed by Jesus' Apostles and disciples from an
earthly perspective. On the day Jesus ascended into Heaven from the Mount of
Olives, forty days after His Resurrection, the Apostles and disciples stood
with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, and as they were looking on, he was
lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight (Acts 1:9). What they
couldn't see was what took place next in Jesus' presentation to God the Father
in verse 14 of Daniel's vision. Jesus, the Messiah-King, received as a reward for
His victory over sin and death, dominion over all the earth. His Kingdom of
the Church on earth and in Heaven is one everlasting kingdom that will stand
forever (prophesied by Daniel in Dan 2:44), and we are the Messiah-King's
faithful subjects who serve His Kingdom and await His glorious return.
Responsorial Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9 ~ The Lord is King
The response is: "The Lord is King, the most high over all
the earth."
1 The LORD is king;
let the earth rejoice; let the many islands be glad. 2 Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
Response:
5 The mountains melt
like wax before the LORD, before the LORD of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his justice, and all
peoples see his glory.
Response:
9 Because you, O
LORD, are the Most High over all the earth, exalted far above all gods [above
the angels]. [...] = Old Testament Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation; also
see the quote in Hebrews 1:6b.
Response:
The title of this liturgical hymn is A call to rejoice: the Lord reigns and reveals himself as king. The title gives us the theme of the psalm, calling for the covenant people to acclaim the Lord God as the King of "all the earth." The psalm opens with a proclamation of the Lord as King and an invitation to all peoples of the earth to rejoice (verse 1). Then, the psalmist describes God's awesome revelation of Himself and the glory that precedes Him (verses 2 and 5-6). The reference to "many islands" (also translated "coastlines") in verse 1 is a reference to distant countries over which the Divine King also has sovereignty (see Is 42:4, 10, 12). The theophany described in verses 2 and 5-6 recalls Israel's awesome experience of God at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:16-20) and proclaims God's sovereignty over the earth and the cosmos.
Verse 9 is Israel's acclaim to the Lord God who reigns as the only God and Divine King over the entire earth: over its nations, its peoples, and all spiritual powers. The Masoretic Hebrew text and our translation have the word "gods," in verse 9. However, the Greek Septuagint translation (used in Jesus' time) has "angels" instead of "gods" as does the quote of verse 9 in Hebrews 1:6b. Using the word "angels" makes more sense because there is no other God but Yahweh, and He is above the angels who are His servants.
In His death and resurrection, Christ the King proclaims His victory over Satan and restores the Kingdom of God on earth. He defeated the power of Satan over humanity by destroying sin and death that separated humanity from eternal fellowship with God. His faithful subjects, those redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb, share in His victory. The Church reads from this psalm on the Feast of Transfiguration because it recalls the vision of the glorified Messiah-King seen by the Apostles in their transfiguration experience described in each of the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 17:1-8; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36).
The Second Reading 2 Peter 1:16-19 ~ Peter's Eyewitness
Testimony of Jesus in His Glory
16 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. 17 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." 18 We ourselves heard this voice come from
heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 Moreover, we possess the prophetic message
that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a
lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in
your hearts.
St. Peter begins this passage by assuring Christians that the Gospel message of salvation and the story of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection are not myths like those about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses worshiped by the majority of the population in the Roman world. The "we" in verse 16 refers to Peter and Jesus' other Apostles and disciples. Peter writes that people can have confidence that the testimony the Apostles and disciples give concerning Jesus Christ and His teachings and works are true because it is eyewitness testimony.
17 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." 18 We ourselves heard
this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain.
St. Peter bears witness to the reliability of the apostolic
message by testifying to hearing the Divine Voice of God from heaven,
identifying Jesus as His Divine Son who has God's full approval (Mt 17:5; Mk 9:7;
Lk 9:35). The "we" Peter mentions in verses 18 and 19 refers to his companions
at the Transfiguration event: the Apostles James and John Zebedee (Mt 17:1; Mk 9:2; Lk 9:28).
19a Moreover, we
possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
In addition to witnessing the Transfiguration event and the
other works of Jesus, Peter declares that he and the other Apostles possess the
"prophetic message." Jesus gave them the authority to teach, to forgive sins,
to guide, and to discipline His Church in the apostolic power to "bind and
loose." Peter first received this power and authority from Jesus in Matthew 16:16-19, then Jesus gave the same power all the Apostles in Matthew 18:18.
Jesus repeated the Apostles' authority over His Kingdom of the Church after His
Resurrection when He breathed the Holy Spirit upon them and restated their
power "to bind and loose" (Jn 20:22-23). The prophetic message is also
equivalent to the Scriptures since the Old Testament spoke prophetically about
the coming of the Messiah and His Kingdom (Lk 24:44-49). St. Peter's message
is that the teachings of Christ, like the Scriptures themselves, are completely
trustworthy because the Scriptures are the word of God and Jesus is the Living
Word.
19b You will do well
to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns
and the morning star rises in your hearts.
The poetic imagery in Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp
for my feet, a light for my path, may have inspired Peter in verse 19. Using
similar poetic language, Peter reminds his audience that the teachings Jesus
passed on to the Apostles and disciples, and the same teachings the Apostles and
disciples have passed on to the faithful, are like a "lamp shining in a dark
place." The Word of God entrusted to them will guide the Church and her
children on the journey to eternal salvation. The prophetic message that the
Church passes on to every generation of believers will serve as a lamp,
lighting the path to salvation in Jesus Christ, until "day dawns." The promise
of day dawning is probably a reference to the Second Advent of the Lord and the
dawn of the new Heaven and earth (Rev 21:1-4).
and the morning star rises
The image of the "morning star" can have three interpretations:
In Revelation 2:28, the "morning star" symbolized Jesus' resurrection victory over death, and in Revelation 22:16, Jesus identifies Himself as the "morning star": I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. "I am the root and offspring of David, the bright morning star" (Rev 22:16).
... in your hearts.
The phrase refers to the light of the prophetic word coming
into receptive hearts that will give way to a deeper and more complete
understanding when the Lord Jesus returns. The First Advent of Christ and His Gospel
message of the gift of salvation has Let light shine out of darkness, and
has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God
on the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6). But, so too will the Second
Advent of Jesus Christ, the "Morning Star," cause the light of the eternal day
to shine in our hearts and souls forever.
The Gospel Reading Mark 9:2-10 ~ The Transfiguration of
the Christ
2 And
after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up
a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as
no fuller on earth could bleach them. 4 Then
Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.
5 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." 6
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. 7 Then a cloud came casting a shadow over them;
then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." 8 Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw
anyone but Jesus alone with them. 9 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. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
The Transfiguration of the Christ is an encounter with the Divine that reveals the true nature of Jesus's identity to three of the Apostles. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke record the same event (Mt 17:1-8 and Lk 9:28-36). The disciples and Apostles must have been frightened and discouraged after Jesus predicted His death (Mk 8:31-33). To give them a vision to grasp in their darkest hour when evil men will fulfill His prophecy, Jesus took three Apostles, Peter, and the brothers James and John Zebedee, up a "high mountain" to let them witness a manifestation of His glory. What they saw confirmed that Jesus is the Son of God and that He will come in glory when He fulfills His mission and "all things have taken place" (Mt 5:18).
That Jesus only took three Apostles with Him is not a demonstration of favoritism. God does not have favorites. Instead, it establishes a hierarchy in the future administration of Christ's Kingdom. These three were also set apart from the others to witness the miracle of the synagogue official's daughter returning to life (Mk 5:37). And they were selected to accompany Him again when He faced His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mk 14:33).
and led them up a high mountain
Significantly, the location of the Transfiguration took
place on a mountain (verse 2). Mighty works/revelations of God often took place
on mountains, including the Theophany of God on Mount Sinai (also see
Gen 22:2, 11;
Ex 19:16-20;
1 Kng 18:19-39; 19:11-18;
1 Chr 21:15-17; 2 Chr 3:1; and
Mt 5:1-2). Two traditions identify the mountain. One favors Mount Hermon at
Caesarea Philippi. However, the more popular tradition places the
Transfiguration event on Mount Tabor, an isolated mountain about six days
journey from Caesarea Philippi, west of the Sea of Galilee and in the northeast
portion of the Esdraelon Plain that rises to a height of 1,843 feet. Christians
have celebrated Mount Tabor as the site of the Transfiguration since the 4th-century
AD. Jesus intended that their assent to the "high mountain" of the
Transfiguration experience would give the three Apostles the spiritual strength
they would need for the future ascent to Calvary.
Jesus ascended the mountain like Moses at Mount Sinai. He did this not to find a revelation of God but to give a revelation of God the Son to His three Apostles. This narrative is one of the few places in the Gospels containing a chronological time marker. Verse 2 discloses it was "after six days" that Jesus led the three Apostles up "a high mountain." Some of the Fathers of the Church interpret the "after six days" to suggest they ascended the mountain on the seventh day like Moses went up the mountain to meet God on the seventh day in Exodus 24:15-16.
However, St. Augustine and others taught that the other Gospels left out of their calculation the day Peter gave his confession of faith (Mk 8:27-30) and when Jesus spoke concerning His Kingdom in Mark 9:1 and did not include the day they ascended the mountain. They suggest the Gospels of Matthew and Mark have only counted the intermediate days between these two events and therefore used the expression "after six days." St. Augustine and others believed it was on the seventh day that they arrived and the eighth day after they set out that they ascended in agreement with Luke's Gospel (Lk 9:28). Augustine wrote: Leaving out of their calculation the day on which Jesus spoke these words, and the day on which he exhibited that memorable spectacle on the mount, they have regarded simply the intermediate days, and have used the expression, "after six days." But Luke, reckoning in the extreme day at either end, that is to say, the first day and the last day has made it "after eight days," in accordance with that mode of speech in which the part is put for the whole (St. Augustine, Harmony of the Gospels, 2.5).
2b And he was transfigured before them
Suddenly, Jesus transformed into His Divine Glory. In Greek,
the word "transfigured" is "metamorphoo," from which derives the word
metamorphosis. St. Mark records His clothes became dazzling white, more so than
any laundryman on earth could bleach them (verse 3). The Gospels
of Matthew and Luke add that Jesus's face changed and became radiant like the
sun (Mt 17:2l; Lk 9:29).
Jesus's radiant appearance and His white garment recall the prophet Daniel's vision of the Divine Messiah. Daniel saw a "man" (perhaps the pre-Incarnate Christ) "dressed in linen with a belt of fine gold around his waist, whose body was like chrysolite, his face shone like lightning, his eyes were like fiery torches, his arms and feet looked like burnished bronze, and his voice sounded like the roar of a multitude (Dan 10:5-6). Jesus's appearance is also similar to St. John's vision of the glorified Christ in the Book of Revelation: and in the midst of the lampstands one like a Son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest. The hair of his head was as white as white wool or as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame. His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing water (Rev 1:13-15).
4 Then Elijah
appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.
In St. Luke's account of the Transfiguration, he wrote that
Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and discussed with Jesus the coming hour of
His "exodus" (departure) "from Jerusalem," referring to His Passion (Lk 9:30-31).
The disciples and Apostles knew Jesus in His human form, but on the Mount
of Transfiguration, Jesus revealed Himself in His divine glory. It was an
epiphany that allowed the three Apostles to witness the coming together of the
Old and New Covenants with Christ as the beginning and the end of divine
revelation. Moses and Elijah represented the Old Covenant Church and embodied
the Law and the prophets of the old Israel. Peter, James, and John represented
the New Covenant people of Christ and embodied the hierarchy of the new Israel of
the people of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (CCC 751-52, 877). It was a vision
of the supernatural the Apostles would need to strengthen themselves and their
brother Apostles in the covenant ordeal they would face in the climax of Jesus's
final journey to Jerusalem.
5 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." 6 He hardly knew what to say; they were
so terrified.
St. Peter addressed Jesus as "teacher" (Rabbi) and made a
request that seems bizarre unless one takes into consideration the seven God-ordained
annual holy feast days of the Old Covenant (see, Seven Sacred Feasts of the Old Covenant).
Significantly, Jesus did not rebuke Peter. The Gospel of John does not mention
the Transfiguration. St. John rarely repeated what the Synoptic Gospels sufficiently
covered. He did, however, mention in the second year of Jesus's ministry that
He went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Sukkoth, known in English as the Feast of
Booths/Shelters/Tabernacles (Jn 7:1-2, 10).
The covenant requirements for this
Holy Day of Obligation, known as a "pilgrim feast" (Dt 16:16),
are in Leviticus 23:33-43 and Numbers 29:12-38.
The pilgrim feasts required every man of the
covenant to appear before God's holy sacrificial altar at His Sanctuary. Concerning
this feast, God commanded the Israelites: During this week every native
Israelite among you shall dwell in booths, that your descendants may realize
that, when I led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, I made them dwell in
booths, I, the LORD am your God (Lev 23:42-43).
If the Transfiguration took place near the time for the pilgrim feast of Booths, Peter's suggestion that they should build booths/tents on the mountain is reasonable. Perhaps Peter had realized that the old covenant order was no longer binding. They did not need to keep the Old Covenant feast in Jerusalem to offer worship in the presence of God when they could worship God the Son on the mountain in the company of the great prophets. He may have begun to grasp that the Old Covenant order was coming to an end with its commands and ritual prohibitions replaced by the prophet Jeremiah's prophecy of a new and eternal Covenant which Jesus would confirm at the Last Supper (Jer 31:31-34; 32:40; 50:5; Lk 22:20).
7 Then a cloud
came casting a shadow [episkiazo] over them...
The Greek word for the shadow of the cloud is episkiazo,
the same word found in the account of the Holy Spirit overshadowing the Virgin
Mary in the Incarnation (Lk 1:35), and the same word in the Greek translation
of Exodus when God's Spirit overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant (Ex 40:34). A
cloud was a frequent vehicle for God's Divine Presence in Scripture (see
Ex 16:10; 19:9; 24:15-16; 33:9, 34:5; 2; 40:34;
Dan 7:13;
2 Mac 2:8;
Acts 1:9;
Rev 11:12; 14:14). Some examples in Scripture of the presence of God the Holy
Spirit manifested in a cloud:
For some additional examples see Ex 16:10; 19:9; 24:15-16; 33:9, 34:5; 2 Mac 2:8; Acts 1:9; and Rev 11:12; 14:14.
then from the cloud came a voice, "This is my
beloved Son. Listen to him."
This event is the second of three manifestations of the
Divine Voice of the Father coming from Heaven:
The significance of Jesus's Transfiguration into His Divine Glory is tied both in time and meaning to two events concerning St. Peter:
The pronouncement of the Divine Voice, "this is my beloved Son," confirms Peter's confession of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God at Caesarea Philippi. And the words of the Divine Voice, "Listen to Him," are a rebuke of Peter's refusal to listen to Jesus's prophecy concerning His coming Passion a short time later (Mt 17:5; Mk 9:7; Lk 9:35).
The command of the Divine Voice of God from Heaven, "Listen to Him," is not only a rebuke of Peter dispute with Jesus when He predicted His death (Mk 8:31-33), but it also confirms that Jesus is the prophet like Moses that God promised the people in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. In that passage, God commanded that the people listen to the supreme prophet He would send in the future. That prophecy ends with a promise and a command as God says, "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command. If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it" (Dt 18:18-19; emphasis added). In Acts 3:19-23, Peter will quote this passage to the Jewish crowd, telling them Jesus is the supreme prophet of God's promise.
8 Suddenly,
looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.
Like the children of Israel who heard the voice of God in
the Theophany at Sinai (Ex 20:18), and like the prophet Daniel who saw divine visions
(Dan 7:13-14; 9:15-18; 10:7-9), the three Apostles are amazed at what they
experienced.
9 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. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
They were obedient to Jesus's command not to tell anyone
until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. However, they probably
could not comprehend His reference to rising from death when He gave them this
command. Later, they spoke of their experience, and Peter wrote about his
eyewitness account in a letter to the universal Church that we read in our
Second Reading.
Not only for the Apostles but for the readers of this passage in every generation, the event of the Transfiguration of the Christ presents a revelation of the mystery of Jesus's identity. The miraculous transformation of the human Jesus into the glorified Divine Son puts the coming of His Passion and death into perspective. The experience would assure the Apostles that God ordained Jesus's suffering and death to end in the triumph of His glorious Resurrection on the third day, as He has tried to tell them (Mt 16:21-23; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). The memory of His glory that they witnessed would sustain Sts. Peter, James, and John when they faced their private ordeals during the events of the Passion. And sharing their vision of the glorified Jesus would encourage the other Apostles and disciples to remain faithful. Their vision of the miracle of the Transfiguration is also intended to inspire us. If we remain faithful and obedient to the commands of Jesus, then one day, we too will see Him in His glory, and we will also hear the voice of God.
Catechism References (*indicates the quoting of the Scripture
reference in the citation):
Deuteronomy 18:19 (CCC 436, 783, 873, 904)
Daniel 7:10 (CCC 678),
7:13 (CCC 440);
7:14 (CCC 664)
2 Peter 1:16-19 (CCC 154)
Mark 9:2 (CCC 552*);
9:7 (CCC 151*, 459)
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2018 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.