6th August 2014 Daily Reading & Meditation. Transfiguration of the Lord (Feast) Reading : Dan 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 97:1-2,5-6,9; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Matthew 17:1-9 This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. Gospel : Matthew 17:1-9 1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. 5 He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, Rise, and have no fear. 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead. 1st reading : Dan 7:9-10, 13-14: 9 As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One* took his throne; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and flowed out from his presence. A thousand thousand served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgement, and the books were opened. 13As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being* coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One* and was presented before him. 4 To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away,and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed. 2nd reading : 2 Peter 1:16-19: 16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Reflection : The Transfiguration of the Lord commemorates an event in the life of Jesus as recorded by the Synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is not recorded in John’s gospel. However, it is also referred to in the Second Reading, which is from the Second Letter of Peter. In all three Synoptic gospels the story of the Transfiguration occurs in the same context and that context is significant. We are in the middle of the Gospel account and things have been building up to a climax. As the disciples spend more time with Jesus, as they hear what he is saying and see what he is doing, they must have been asking, “Who is this Rabbi to whom we have attached ourselves; who is this Jesus?” Strangely, the answer comes from their own mouths. One day, when Jesus was with them, he asked them, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (He was using this strange title of himself.) Based on what they must have been hearing from people around them, they said there were various speculative answers – John the Baptist (resurrected from the dead), Elijah or some other of the prophets. Jesus then pressed them further: “But who do you say I am?” It is then that Peter speaks up: “You are the Messiah, the Christ.” It was a peak moment in their relationship with Jesus. And an exciting one. How their imaginations must have begun to work on what it meant to be so closely associated with the Messiah, the King who would be the Saviour and Liberator of Israel! What glories and privileges awaited them! But almost immediately Jesus begins to speak in a very different way. For the first time (it will happen three times altogether) he tells them what is future is going to be. And it must have come as a terrible shock. Jesus told them he was going to suffer greatly, be rejected by the leaders of their own people, be killed and then rise again after three days. They could not believe their ears. How could this happen to the Messiah? How could their own leaders do such a thing? And what would it mean for the dazzling future they saw dangling before their eyes? The impetuous Peter immediately stepped forward: “This cannot happen to you!” he cried. He can hardly have expected the reaction of Jesus: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me!” And while they are recovering from this, Jesus continues by saying that not only will he himself suffer but, if they want to be his disciples, they will have to be ready to walk the same road. “Those who wish to follow me must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.” We are told that six days later (eight days in Luke) Jesus took Peter, James and his brother John up a high mountain by themselves. The identity of the mountain is not given and it is not important. In the Scriptures, mountains are holy places and special things always happen there – we think for instance of Mount Sinai (Moses), Mount Carmel (Elijah), the Sermon on the Mountain, the Feeding of the 5,000, and Calvary (Golgotha) was a hill outside Jerusalem. There before them Jesus is suddenly transformed, dazzlingly bright. They can hardly look on him. Suddenly there appear with him Moses and Elijah. They represent the whole Jewish tradition of the Law and the Prophets. They are seen talking with Jesus. The message is clear. They fully endorse what Jesus is doing and saying and the future he has foretold about himself. Peter becomes utterly confused. He suggests the building of three shelters – one each for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. As Mark comments, “He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.” But that was not all. Just then, a cloud came down and covered them. This was not just a change in the weather. To the biblical mind it spoke of only one thing – the presence of Yahweh himself. And then out of the cloud came a voice; it could only be the voice of One Being. “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” Here now is the supreme endorsement of the Son by his Father. “Listen to him.” Yes, listen, even when he says things that you don’t like, things that you do not yet understand. It is a confirmation of all that has gone on before – the real identity of who Jesus is and the reliability of everything that he says will happen to him and what is expected of them. It is a special moment of encouragement which will help carry them through the difficult days ahead. They already have the answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” But now they have to learn the answer to a more important question, “What kind of Messiah is Jesus going to be?” They will not fully appropriate that until after the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus when they will boldly continue his mission and not hesitate to carry their cross in doing so. The First Reading is from the Book of Daniel and records a vision that Daniel had of God in glory and it echoes the scene that is described in the Gospel. “…The Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was snow bright and the hair on his head as white as wool… a surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat…” The Second Reading is from the Second Letter of Peter where he says he and his companions are not dispensing clever myths but claims to be a first-hand witness of the glory that was behind Jesus. Referring to the Transfiguration experience he says they had been “eye-witnesses of his majesty”. He and his companions heard the words of confirmation coming from God in his glory: “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” They heard this voice which came “from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain”. Hence, the message that he and his companions are now proclaiming is “altogether reliable”. Hence, we should take it very seriously. Because, he says in a lovely phrase, this message is a light shining in a dark place “until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts”. The Lord Jesus not only wants us to see his glory - he wants to share this glory with us. And Jesus shows us the way to the Fathers glory: follow me - obey my words - take the path I have chosen for you and you will receive the blessings of my Fathers kingdom - your name will be written in heaven. Jesus succeeded in his mission because he went to Calvary so that Paradise would be restored to us once again. He embraced the cross to obtain the crown of glory that awaits each one of us, if we will follow in his footsteps. Origen, the great 3rd century bible scholar, shows us how the transfiguration can change our lives: When he is transfigured, his face also shines as the sun that he may be manifested to the children of light who have put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, and are no longer the children of darkness or night but have become the sons of day, and walk honestly as in the day. Being manifest, he will shine unto them not simply as the sun, but as demonstrated to be the sun of righteousness. How much do we miss of Gods glory and action because we are asleep spiritually? There are many things which can keep our minds asleep to the things of God: Mental lethargy and the unexamined life can keep us from thinking things through and facing our doubts and questions. The life of ease can also hinder us from considering the challenging or disturbing demands of Christ. Prejudice can make us blind to something new the Lord may have for us. Even sorrow can be a block until we can see past it to the glory of God. We, too, as disciples of Christ are called to be witnesses of his glory. We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Lord wants to reveal his glory to us, his beloved disciples. Lord Jesus, keep me always alert and awake to you, to your word, your action, and your daily presence in my life. Let me see your glory. Psalm 97:1-2,5-6,9 1 The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! 2 Clouds and thick darkness are round about him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. 9 For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you art exalted far above all gods. ________________________________________
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 02:05:45 +0000
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