February 28: Study and Meditations on the Scripture Readings for this Coming Sunday's Mass

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To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Lent and in the Gospel Reading, we hear about the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mt. Tabor.

:bible1:Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

:bible1:My own weekly study (along with Don Schwager’s meditation) can be found here under "Current Study.

:bible1:"Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures to share with the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

:bible1:Here also are links to audio reflections on the Gospel reading by Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

:bible1:The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

:bible1:Further study resources for the Readings: *St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study *can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

:bible1:Here are trio of recorded weekly Bible studies, each about an hour long:
– St. Martha Catholic Church Adult Faith Formation
– Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother
– Sunday Gospel Scripture Study

Discussion and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lent!

http://www.antiochianarch.org.au/Re...Feasts of the Church/Transfiguration-icon.jpg

 

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This Sunday’s First Reading is from Genesis 15. It is a critical point in the story of Abraham (first called Abram), our father in faith, than spans from Genesis 12 to Genesis 24 where the story of his son Isaac is picked up. Here are a couple of introductions to this section; the first is from the Navarre Bible Commentary on Genesis, and the second is from Catholic Matters, both linked in the first post:

15:1-21. God rewards Abraham for his generosity towards Mechizedek and for his renouncing of the riches offered him by the king of Sodom . He appears to him in a vision and promises his help, many descendants and the land of Canaan. Here all that is required of Abraham is that he believe in the promise that God himself, through a rite of covenant, undertakes to fulfill. This passage emphasizes the gravity of God’s promise and speaks of the faithfulness of God, who will keep his word.

God made a Covenant or pact with Abram (name later changed to Abraham) in which he promised to make Abram the father of a great race to which he would give the land of Canaan as their territory. The faith of Abram is praised because he believed God’s promise, i.e. that he would have descendants even though his wife Sarah was barren.

This Sunday’s reading is preceded by a conversation that Abram has with God in verses 1 through 4. Abram complains to God that the promises of land will do him no good if he does not also receive a promised heir (he would have been about 85 years old at this time, his wife Sarai not much younger). In the culture of the time, if a man died without a son, the inheritance could go to his servant, in this case Eliezer:

After these things the defeat of the four kings and the meeting with Melchizedek] the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “0 Lord God, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir.”

The Navarre comments as follows on verses 1-4:

**15:2-3. **Abraham does not understand how God can keep the promise he made to him in Haran (cf. chap. 12). The fact that he has no children is a severe test of his faith; and anything else God may give him means little by comparison. This is the first time Abraham speaks to God, and their conversation shows the deep intimacy between them. He makes his concerns known to God: because Lot [his nephew, who traveled with him from Haran] has left him and Abraham has no son of his own, he needs to appoint an heir who will take over leadership of the clan in return for serving Abraham in his lifetime. This is the first friendly dialogue the Bible records between God and a man since the dialogue God had with Adam in paradise (cf. 3:9-12). It is a conversation between friends and the first example, therefore, of a prayer of friendship and filiation, for to pray is to speak to God…

Here, then is the text of this Sunday’s First Reading as we will hear it at Mass:

Reading I
Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

The Lord God took Abram outside and said,
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.
He then said to him,
“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
“how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered him,
“Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
and placed each half opposite the other;
but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.

When the sun had set and it was dark,
there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”

 

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Using this week’s *Catholic Matters *as a template, here are some thoughts on this reading with my comments (if any) in green, and the Navarre Bible Commentary notes in blue:​

[5] **count the stars: **God promises Abram that his descendants would be as the stars in the sky: a poetic way of saying very numerous.

Too numerous to count, similar to the imagery of “grains of sands on the seashore.”
Another way of looking at it is by looking at verse 12 and recognize that it’s possible that Abram was looking at the sky in the daytime! If that were the case, that would mean he would not have been able to see any stars at all-- unless you count the sun. Thus, Abram was being called to place his faith in God in something that he could know was there (though not while he was looking for it) but just couldn’t see it at the time.

[6] **Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited to him as righteousness: **Abram’s acceptance of God’s word was a meritorious act of faith for which God rewarded him.

As the St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study remarks, many non-Catholic Christians "point to this [passage] as proof of justification by faith, not works. Abram’s actions 10-11 years earlier [however] shows obedience (works) long before any declaration of faith. Justification * is not a legal declaration, but sonship. The justified must live the obedient life of a son.

The Navarre also adds:*

**15:4-6. **

Once more Abraham is asked to make an act of faith in the word of God, and he does so. This pleases God and is reckoned righteous. This makes Abraham the father of all those who believe in God and his saving word.

In the light of this passage St Paul sees Abraham as the model of how a person becomes righteous in God’s eyes–through faith in his word, the definitive word being the announcement that God saves us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. In this way, Abraham not only becomes the father of the Jewish people according to the flesh, but also the father of those who without being Jews have become members of the new people of God through faith in Jesus: “We say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he was circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received circumcision as
a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but also follow the example of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised” (Rom 4:9-12).

Abraham’s faith revealed itself in his obedience to God when he left his homeland (cf. 12:4), and later on when he was ready to sacrifice his son (cf 22:1-4). This is the aspect of Abraham’s obedience which is given special emphasis in the Letter of St James, inviting Christians to prove the genuineness of their faith with obedience to God and good works: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’; and he was called the friend of God” (Jas 2:21-23).
[7] **“I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.”: **God now promises Abram the land of Canaan in which he was already living.

The St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study notes that "this is the same formula used in Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6; Leviticus 25:38 where it refers to the bringing out of Egypt. God did the bringing; Abram acted in obedience.

[8] **“O God”, he asked, “how am I to know”: **Abram had accepted a promise more difficult of fulfillment, namely to have children with a barren wife. Now he asks for confirmation because the ancient ritual for handing over property demanded a covenant.

In asking God for confirmation of the promise of land, Abraham is not exhibiting doubt, but is actually using the covenant language of his time. when two parties were to enter into a solemn covenant, there was specific language that had to be used that consisted of set questions and answers (see Genesis 21:25-32).

Continued on next post.

 

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Continued from previous post.

[9-10] **He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Abram brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up.: **God grants Abram’s request and makes a covenant with him, thus sealing the handing over of the land…The animals offered in sacrifice to seal a pact were split in two and placed apart. The contracting parties walked between the split animals thus signifying that the same fate would befall them, namely they would be divided in two halves, if they did not keep their part of the pact.

*The men who violated my covenant and did not observe the terms of the agreement which they made before me, I will make like the calf which they cut in two, between whose two parts they passed. The princes of Judah and of Jerusalem, the courtiers, the priests, and the common people, who passed between the parts of the calf, I will hand over, all of them, to their enemies, to those who seek their lives: their corpses shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. *(Jeremiah 34:18-20)

[11] Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them: Symbols of the dangers that will threaten the covenant. Abram defends the covenant by chasing them away, (St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study)

[12] **As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him: **A sign of divine intervention. Adam was also put into a deep sleep when Eve was created (Genesis 2:21)

Verse 13-17 are not included in this Sunday’s reading. They consist of an important vision given to Abram by God in which he foretells the time that Abrams descendants would be enslaved in Egypt for 400 years, but would eventually take possesion of the very land Abram was standing on. This amazing vision took place around 500 years before it happened!

Then the LORD said to Abram: “Know for certain that your descendants shall be aliens in a land not their own, where they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation they must serve, and in the end they will depart with great wealth. You, however, shall join your forefathers in peace; you shall be buried at a contented old age. In the fourth time-span the others shall come back here; the wickedness of the Amorites will not have reached its full measure until then.”

[17] a smoking brazier . . . flaming torch: When darkness had fallen God walked between the divided animals under the symbol of a pillar of fire and a cloud of smoke, as he often appeared later to Abram’s descendants. As it was a unilateral pact or covenant on the part of God, Abram did not walk between the sacrifices.

Not that Abram was not a party to the covenant, but on his own power (or that of his descendants) the covenant could not be kept. Only with the help of God was this possible.

It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram:

According to Dr. Scott Hahn, “a covenant formed a sacred flesh-and- blood bond between Yahweh and Israel, making them one family. This family bond was expressed in relational terms of father and son (Ex. 4:22; Deut. 1:31; 8:5; 14:1) as well as husband and wife (Jer. 31:32; Ezek. 16:8; Hos. 2:18-20). Liturgical feasts and rituals were to signify and strengthen the family communion that existed by covenant between Yahweh and Israel.”

This was the covenant by which God promised the land of Canaan from one extremity to the other to Abram’s descendants. It was only centuries later that the Israelites took possession of this land (see the book of Joshua).

From the Navarre:

**15:7-21. **The strength of God’s resolve to give the land of Canaan is vividly demonstrated by his ordaining a rite of covenant to externalize the commitment undertaken by both parties. According to this ancient rite (cf. Jer 34:18), the action of the two parties–“passing between” the pieces of the victims-indicated a readiness to be similarly cut in pieces if one were guilty of breaking the pact. The text makes the point that God (represented by the flaming torch: cf Ex 3:2; 13:21; 19:18) “passes between” the bloody limbs of the victims, to ratify his promise.

This is how the book of Genesis portrays the people of Israel’s right to the land of Canaan and explains how the land came to belong to it only in recent times, after the Exodus. During the ceremony Abraham is given advance information about the afflictions the people will suffer before the promise is fulfilled. An explanation is also given as to why God will take the land away from the Canaanites (here described as Amorites): their evil-doing will have gone too far. God emerges here as the Lord of the earth and of nations. On the sojourn of the people of Israel in Egypt, cf. the [Navarre] note on 37:2-50:25.

 

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church references for the First Reading this Sunday include:

Abraham - "father of all who believe"

145 The Letter to the Hebrews, in its great eulogy of the faith of Israel’s ancestors, lays special emphasis on Abraham’s faith: “By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.”[4] By faith, he lived as a stranger and pilgrim in the promised land.[5] By faith, Sarah was given to conceive the son of the promise. And by faith Abraham offered his only son in sacrifice.[6]

**146 **Abraham thus fulfills the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”:[7] “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”[8] Because he was “strong in his faith”, Abraham became the “father of all who believe”.[9]

147 The Old Testament is rich in witnesses to this faith. The Letter to the Hebrews proclaims its eulogy of the exemplary faith of the ancestors who “received divine approval”.[10] Yet “God had foreseen something better for us”: the grace of believing in his Son Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith”.[11]

** 4** Heb 11:8; cf. Gen 12:1-4.
5 Cf. Gen 23:4.
6 Cf. Heb 11:17.
7 Heb 11:1.
**8 **Rom 4:3; cf. Gen 15:6.
9 Rom 4:11,18; 4:20; cf. Gen 15:5.
10 Heb 11:2, 39.
11 Heb 11:40; 12:2.

762 The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when he calls Abraham and promises that he will become the father of a great people…[157]

**157 Cf. Gen **12:2; 15:5-6.

**God’s promise and the prayer of Faith **

2570 When God calls him, Abraham goes forth “as the Lord had told him”;[8] Abraham’s heart is entirely submissive to the Word and so he obeys. Such attentiveness of the heart, whose decisions are made according to God’s will, is essential to prayer, while the words used count only in relation to it. Abraham’s prayer is expressed first by deeds: a man of silence, he constructs an altar to the Lord at each stage of his journey. Only later does Abraham’s first prayer in words appear: a veiled complaint reminding God of his promises which seem unfulfilled.[9] Thus one aspect of the drama of prayer appears from the beginning: the test of faith in the fidelity of God.

2571 Because Abraham believed in God and walked in his presence and in covenant with him,[10] the patriarch is ready to welcome a mysterious Guest into his tent. Abraham’s remarkable hospitality at Mamre foreshadows the annunciation of the true Son of the promise.[11] After that, once God had confided his plan, Abraham’s heart is attuned to his Lord’s compassion for men and he dares to intercede for them with bold confidence. [12]

2572 As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham, “who had received the promises,”[13] is asked to sacrifice the son God had given him. Abraham’s faith does not weaken (“God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering.”), for he “considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead.”[14] And so the father of believers is conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own Son but will deliver him up for us all.[15] Prayer restores man to God’s likeness and enables him to share in the power of God’s love that saves the multitude.[16]

8 Gen 12:4.
9 Cf. Gen 15:2 f.
10 **Cf. Gen 15:6; **17:1 f.
11 Cf. Gen 18:1-15; Lk 1:26-38.
12 Cf. Gen 18:16-33.
13 Heb 11:17.
14 Gen 22:8; Heb 11:19
15 Rom 8:32.
16 Cf. Rom 8:16-21.

 

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Finally, here are some questions for personal reflection on this reading:

1. What does Abram fear fear most (verses 1-3, 8)? What’s wrong with wanting reassurance?
2. In adopting a servant-heir (verse 3), is Abram faithless of faithful? What does God think (verses 4-7, 9-21)?
3. Where in your life do you need God to say, “Fear not! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great” (verse 1)?
4. The Lord speaks frequently to Abram. Does God speak to you? How?
5. Where in your life are you, like Abram, longing for some certainty? How can you begin to rely on God’s promises to you?

(Questions adapted from The Catholic Serendipity Bible for Personal and Small Group Study, New American Bible; Zondervan, 1999)

 

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Finally, a reflection for application on the First Reading from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **The lesson we are to learn from these verses of the book of Genesis is that we should imitate the faith of Abram and trust in God’s word. He promised Abram what seemed the impossible, namely that he would have a numerous progeny even though his wife was barren. Abram trusted God’s word and God then goes on to confirm it by promising to give a large territory to those descendants yet to come. This promise is ratified with a solemn pact, as was then the custom, God pledging his word with his life, as it were.

Now Abram had a very limited knowledge of God. He had a vague idea that he was God of the whole world for he could dispose of any part of it as he wished, and also that he was interested in the welfare of all men, for he was using Abram as the means through which he would bless all nations (see Gen. 12: 1-3). He knew little more than that. Yet he believed God’s promise and continued to believe it even when its fulfillment was postponed for years.

How much greater should be our faith in God’s word, our trust in his promises? We have seen the fulfillment of his promise to Abram—we have seen the blessing that was sent to all nations. We have that blessing in the New Covenant that Christ made with us. He has not only made us his Chosen People, he has also raised us up, through his Incarnation, to the supernatural status of sons of God. It is not the land of Canaan that is promised to us but the mansions of heaven to be our home for all eternity.

But to profit by all this we have our part to play. We must not only accept the faith, and the truths which Christ has revealed to us, but we must live by these truths, and put our faith into daily practice. It is only by doing this that we can receive the promises that he has made to us. There is no sane man alive who does not want eternal happiness. There is no Christian who does not want to rise with Christ because he knows that this is the way to reach it. But not every Christian is willing to follow Christ first to Calvary. Am I following Christ to Calvary in my daily living? It is through the daily carrying of the Christian cross that an eternal crown is earned. What I do in life will determine what kind of resurrection is in store for me.

 

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The Second Reading for this Sunday’s Mass is from chapter three of St. Paul’s epistle to the Philippians. Here is a little background on the letter as a whole:

In Philippi, a city north of the Aegean Sea named after Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great (360 B.c.), Paul founded the first Christian church in Europe around the year 51, during his second apostolic journey. He lived in Philippi for some years and had special affection for the Philippians, which they reciprocated.

He suffered imprisonment and the lash on their account, as Luke records in Acts 16:40, and the Philippians for their part sent Epaphroditus to Rome to look after Paul when he was imprisoned there for the Lord. The apostle, typically, was very appreciative of this affection. However, Epaphroditus, who was a great help at first, soon became seriously ill, and once he was on the way to recovery Paul decided to send him back home.

When he left, Epaphroditus carried with him a letter from Paul to the Philippians, a letter written during his imprisonment in 61-63. This letter is not didactic or apologetic in purpose: Paul simply expresses his gratitude to the Father of all consolation and to the Philippians for the kindness and attention they showed him and for never being a source of worry to him but rather of consolation.

The letter, which overflows with joy, is an intimate conversation of a father and his children. Full of tenderness, it encourages and exhorts the Philippians to be ever better athletes of Christ until they reach their final goal-holiness.

Paul uses a simile taken from the games, which enjoyed great popularity during this period. He compares the virtues a Christian has to live, with athletic competitions: just as an athlete does not look behind but has his eyes always on the goal, so a Christian should forget himself, his past life, and trust in God’s grace, but, like a good athlete, he should never feel satisfied until he has reached his goal.
(Source: Catholic Answers)

The St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study provides the following introduction to help place the reading in it’s immediate context…

Our epistle reading [this Sunday] comes from Paul’s warning against false teachers. The adversaries would seem to be Judaizers-- itinerant preachers, who in the name of a higher perfection seek to impose on Gentile converts the Levitical practices which were outdated (abrogated) by the new covenant; the covenant by which we were made children of God and were no longer his slaves.

*Catholic Matters *adds:

In the preceding verses St. Paul has been telling his converts that he has given up all earthly things for the sake of the Christian faith and promise. He admits he is far from perfect but he continues to press forward on the road to heaven.

Here, then, is the Second Reading as we will hear it at Mass this Sunday:

Reading II
Philippians 3:17—4:1

Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus conduct themselves
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
and now tell you even in tears,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord.

 

[Fidelis]

Using this week’s Catholic Matters as a template, here are some thoughts on this reading with my comments (if any) in green, and the Navarre Bible Commentary notes in blue:

---

[3:17] **Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers: ** Paul doesn’t hesitate to propose himself for imitation since he himself is an imitator of Christ (4:9; 1 Corinthians 11:1).

17. The Apostle’s teaching goes further than to list a series of truths and rules for moral behavior: he backs this up with his own life in the service of the Gospel, and, through it, all men; this is what makes his preaching arresting and convincing.

There is no better teaching than the teacher’s own example," St John Chrysostom exclaims, commenting on this passage; “by taking this course the teacher is sure of getting his disciple to follow him. Speak wisely, instruct as eloquently as you can …, but your example will make a greater impression, will be more decisive… When your actions are in line with your words, nobody will be able to find fault with you” (“Hom. on Phil, ad loc.”).

This, then, is the standard Christians should aim at. It will help those they come in contact with to learn how to be hard-working, noble, loyal and sincere people, or at least to tend in that direction.

One can see from this verse, as from many other passages in his letters, that St Paul refers to himself now as “me”, now as “us”. In the second case he is probably also referring to his co-workers; these they should also imitate, for like him they are imitators of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 4:17). it is quite likely that he is thinking particularly of Timothy, whose name he put alongside his own at the head of this letter–and whom he praised in glorious terms in the previous chapter (cf. Phil 2:19, 22).

Imitation of the saints is a very good way to equip oneself to serve others. “Most earnestly, then, we exhort you”, Pius XII says, “be very solicitous for the salvation of those whom Providence has entrusted to your apostolic labors, maintaining throughout the closest union with our divine Redeemer, by whose strength we can do all things (cf. Phil 4:13). It is our ardent desire, beloved sons, that you may emulate those saintly men of old who, by the immensity of their achievement, bore witness to the power of divine grace. Would that each of you could on the evidence of the faithful attribute to himself in humble sincerity the words of the Apostle: ‘I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls’ (2 Cor 12:15)” (“Menti Nostrae”, 31).

**and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us: ** He asks them to follow his example [and that of other faithful saints]. He knows he is not a saint yet, but he is one in the making. As their Apostle, he was, by his very vocation, their model and exemplar.

Imitation of the saints is a practice long revered in the spiritual tradition of the Church. The heroism of holy men and women can inspire a deeper commitment in others who contemplate their exraordinary faith and generosity of life (Ignatius Study Bible, Philippians)

[18] many . . . conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ: There is real need that they should have a true Christian model to lead them, for there are, to the Apostle’s grief, others trying to lead them away from Christ. These enemies of the cross of Christ were probably not only the Judaizers who taught that the precepts of the Old Law were still obligatory on Christians, but also other recent converts who did not live up to their new faith.

We see an emptying of the cross in our own day with easy believism, watered-down teachings, an anti-supernaturalist approach to Scripture, and in the “health and wealth gospel.” Bishop Fulton Sheen used to say that any doctrine that takes you away from the Cross is from the devil. Fr. John Corapi also often says, “No pain no gain; no guts, no glory; no Cross, no crown.”

Continued on next post.

 

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Continued from last post.

[19] **Their end is destruction, their God is their stomach: **These people who are given to their own comforts, their bodily pleasures, their earthly treasures will end in ruin.

When the end times come, these people will be ruined; cast forever from heaven…the charge that “their god is their stomach” is either a reference to Jewish dietary laws or a concern for keeping themselves fed. (St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study)

Paul attacks unidentified opponents. Whoever they are, they are slaves of gluttony, shamelessness, and worldly ways of thinking. Paul weeps because their indulgence in earthly pleasures is holding them back from heaven and hastening their doom (1 Cor 6:9-10) (Ignatius Study Bible, Philippians)

Their glory is their shame: To boast of circumcision is to glory in something that one otherwise modestly covers.(St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study)

18-19. St Paul points to the bad example given by those (cf. v. 2) who, by upholding false doctrines or abusing their Christian freedom, lead a life steeped in vice; they let themselves be controlled by their sensual appetites and they set their hearts on things which enslave them, which should rather make them blush. They are enemies of Christ’s cross.

“They glory in their own shame”: they take pride in behavior which is shameful. This may also be an allusion to circumcision, for Judaizers were proud of a mark which decency keeps covered.

But our citizenship is in heaven: Our true fatherland in heaven. This earth is an exile, not our home.

We are sons of God, co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)

Many residents of Philippi are honored recipients of Roman citizenship. Civil privileges such as these are only a dim reflection of the benefitsthey possess as Christians. Believers are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, enrolled among the angels and saints in the family of God (Heb 12:23) (CCC 2796) (Ignatius Study Bible, Philippians)

**and from it we also await a Savior: **Christ is in heaven and he will come on earth once more to bring all his true followers to their real home [the *parousia, or Second Coming]

the Lord Jesus Christ: “Lord” applied to Christ in St. Paul means God.

[21] **He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself: **Our resurrected bodies will be different from the earthly bodies we now have. “Spiritual bodies” St. Paul calls them in 1 Cor. 15: 45. But we shall still be ourselves…Our risen bodies will be glorified bodies like to the risen body of Christ, no longer subject to change or weakness, no longer subject to death or corruption.

Christ will complete his work of salvation in us when he transforms our frail and mortal bodies into glorious immortal ones like his own (CCC 999). (Ignatius Study Bible, Philippians)

20-21. “It is nature, flawed by sin, that begets all the citizens of the earthly city, whereas it is grace alone which frees nature from
sin, which begets citizens of the heavenly city” (“De Civitate Dei”, 15, 2). Christians are “citizens of heaven” and therefore are called to live a life that is joyful and full of hope, as befits children of God.

The effort to live in a manner worthy of members of the commonwealth of heaven is aided by hope in the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in glory. The Parousia, as well as the passion and death of Christ and his subsequent resurrection, are constant themes in the Apostle’s preaching. Reflection on these mysteries helps us to have hope and gives us encouragement in our everyday struggle.

Christ’s resurrection is the cause of our resurrection, for “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor 15:20-21). An essential prerequisite for attaining resurrection in glory is the effort to identify with Christ, in both joy and suffering, in both life and death. “If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim 2:12). Christ is the Lord of all creation; his authority extends over the entire universe (cf. Col 1:15-20). If we make the effort that fidelity requires, he will take our body, which is weak and subject to illness, death and decay, and transform it into a glorious body.

[4:1] Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.: Persevere in the true faith and hope that be has preached to them. He calls the faithful followers of Christ his joy and his crown, and his beloved and longed-for brothers.

 

[Fidelis]

The Catechism references for the Second Reading include:

**Risen with Christ **

1002 Christ will raise us up “on the last day”; but it is also true that, in a certain way, we have already risen with Christ. For, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christian life is already now on earth a participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ:

And you were buried with him in Baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead . . . . If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.[559]

1003 United with Christ by Baptism, believers already truly participate in the heavenly life of the risen Christ, but this life remains “hidden with Christ in God.”[560] The Father has already “raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”[561] Nourished with his body in the Eucharist, we already belong to the Body of Christ. When we rise on the last day we “also will appear with him in glory.”[562]

**1004 **In expectation of that day, the believer’s body and soul already participate in the dignity of belonging to Christ. This dignity entails the demand that he should treat with respect his own body, but also the body of every other person, especially the suffering:

The body [is meant] for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? . . . . You are not your own; . . . . So glorify God in your body.[563]

559 Col 2:12; 3:1.
560 Col 3:3; cf. Phil 3:20.
561 Eph 2:6.
562 Col 3:4.
563 1 Cor 6:13-15,19-20.

2796 When the Church prays “our Father who art in heaven,” she is professing that we are the People of God, already seated “with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” and “hidden with Christ in God;”[60] yet at the same time, “here indeed we groan, and long to put on our heavenly dwelling.”[61]

[Christians] are in the flesh, but do not live according to the flesh. They spend their lives on earth, but are citizens of heaven.[62]

60 Eph 2:6; Col 3:3.
61 2 Cor 5:2; cf. Phil 3:20; Heb 13:14.
62 Ad Diognetum 5G 2,1173.

**999 ***How? *Christ is raised with his own body: “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself”;[553] but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in him, “all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear,” but Christ “will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body,” into a “spiritual body”:[554]

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel. . . . What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. . . . The dead will be raised imperishable. . . . For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.[555]

553 Lk 24:39.
554 Lateran Council IV (1215): DS 801; Phil 3:21; 1 Cor 15:44.
555 1 Cor 15:35-37,42,52,53.

 

[Fidelis]

For the Second Reading, here are some “Questions for Application.” The first question is from The Ignatius Study Bible; The Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, Colossians & Philemon (Ignatius Press, 2004):

1. How comfortable would you feel asking someone else to imitate your Christian commitment? If you feel uncomfortable, how would you speak to those to whom Paul refers in verses 19-19?
2. What messages do you hear today that seem to be opposed to the Cross of Christ? Do you think you could recognize them if they were presented to you? How careful are you to learn what the Scriptures and the Church actually teach so that you could recognize a counterfiet gospel when you heard it?
3. What does it mean to you to be a citizen of heaven? How is that citizenship fulfilled now? How will it be completed in the future?
4. How would you explain to someone your faith in the resurrection and your hope in a future glory–including receiving a glorified body?

 

[Fidelis]

Finally, here is a brief meditation for application on the Second Reading from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **The season of Lent, the six weeks that precede Easter, is a period which long tradition has set apart as a time to prepare for the crowning event of our salvation, the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. Christ came on earth to reveal to men by his teaching, and especially by his life, God’s infinite love for the human race. God has shown that love down through the centuries, to the Chosen People especially, but also to others. He showed it by the words sent through the prophets, and by his deeds. But it was in Christ that he gave men the full revelation of his divine love for us.

God’s plan for man in creation was to raise him up to an intimate union with the divinity. The masterpiece of creation was to become an adopted son of God, a member of the divine family. This was done in the Incarnation. The Son of God became a man, one of us, so that we, through and in him, could become sons of God. Christ, representing us, gave perfect human respect and obedience to God the Father in every action of his life. This perfect homage and obedience led him to his death on the cross : he gave him human life in fulfillment of it.

And, because he did, God raised him up again from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heaven. Christ, one of us, has the principal place in heaven next to God the Father—as God, he is equal to the Father. Ever since this plan of God’s love for us was carried out, ever since the day of Christ’s Resurrection, our home, our permanent abode, is heaven. Our time on earth is only a period of exile. It is a period in which, if we try to imitate Christ, giving true reverence and obedience to God our Father, we can secure for ourselves a place in the eternal home which he has planned for us, and which Christ has won for us.

The true Christian should be aware of what God’s love has planned for us, and of what humiliations and sufferings this loving plan caused our Savior. How could a person with such an awareness ever forget his supernatural vocation and purpose in life? There are too many who do just this, too many who attach themselves to the fleeting, passing things of this world, and neglect the everlasting possessions which are theirs for the taking.

Let us not be among their number. Let us pay heed today to St. Paul’s advice to the Philippians and strive to imitate him who was the true lover and follower of Christ. While using thankfully the gifts that God has given us in this life to help us on our journey let us never forget our journey’s end, our heritage in heaven, of which Christ our brother has made us co-heirs.

 

[Fidelis]

We now come to this Sunday’s Gospel Reading, the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor. This event is related in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and may be alluded to in John’s Gospel as we will see. This liturgical cycle (Cycle C, of A,B and C), we will be hearing Luke’s version. (BTW, if you have access to a copy, I highly recommend you read the meditations on the Transfiguration found in Fulton Sheen’s “Life of Christ.” Frank Sheed’s “To Know Christ Jesus,” and Pope Benedict XVI’s “Jesus of Nazareth” — they are are all wonderful.

In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus, having just made his first prediction of his Passion (Luke 9:22), takes three of his Apostles (Peter, John, and James) up to Mt. Tabor to pray. Jesus often prays at momentous times in his life (see Luke 6:12; 9:18; 11:1; 22:41; 23:46), and these same three Apostles are often present at crucial times (see Luke 5:37; 14:33).

During Jesus’ prayer, he is transfigured so that his divine glory (usually veiled by his human flesh) is revealed, in a limited way, to these three Apostles. Their experience recalls the experience of Israel at another mountain (Sinai) where in a similar way God’s glory was seen and his voice heard (see Exodus 20:18-21 and Deuteronomy 5:24).

The presence of Moses and Elijah represent, respectively, the Jewish Law and Prophets whose voices Israel had always been urged to heed. Jesus, who is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, is God’s chosen Son; God’s voice tells us to “listen to him” (verses 35-36).

The Catholic Matters Bible study introduces the reading in this way:

Luke here describes an incident in Christ’s life of which only Peter, James and John were witnesses. It took place on a mountain (Mount Thabor near Nazareth according to tradition). Some days previously Peter had confessed that Christ was the “Messiah of God.” Christ had then foretold his passion and death at the hands of his enemies, to be followed by his resurrection. He had encouraged his disciples not to fear sufferings but to carry their cross and so reach their glory as he was about to do.

The Navarre Bible Commentary on the Gospel of Luke notes the following:

28-36. By His transfiguration Jesus strengthens His disciples’ faith, revealing a trace of the glory His body will have after the Resurrection. He wants them to realize that His passion will not be the end but rather the route He will take to reach His glorification. “For a person to go straight along the road, he must have some knowledge of the end–just as an archer will not shoot an arrow straight unless he first sees the target …]. This is particularly necessary if the road is hard and rough, the going heavy, and the end delightful” (St. Thomas Aquinas, “Summa Theologiae”, III, q. 45, a. 1).

Here, then, is the Gospel Reading for this Sunday as we will hear it at Mass:

Gospel
Luke 9:28b-36

Jesus 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.

 

[Fidelis]

Again, using *Catholic Matters *as a template, here are some thoughts on this reading with my comments (if any) in green, and the Navarre Bible Commentary notes in blue. I’m using the text from the New American Bible, which differs slightly from the liturgical version:

[26] Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. [27] Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.": These verses, which come right before the Gospel Reading, are not part of this week’s reading. They are often used by some to charge that Jesus mistakenly thought the end of the world would come very soon after his death. However, seen in the context of this week’s reading, it can be seen to be referring to the Apostles (who were “standing there” when Jesus said these words) getting a glimpse of the Kingdom when they see Jesus’ glory.

[28] **About eight days after he said this: **This also is not included in this week’s reading. There was only one Jewish festival that had eight days (all the rest having seven) and that was the Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles) commemorating the wandering of the Hebrews in the the wilderness when they made their exodus (literally, their “going out” or “departure” from Egypt). The eighth day was the greatest day of the feast.

**he took Peter, John, and James: **The usual inner circle of Jesus. They were also the only disciples present at the raising of the daughter of Jairus, and during the Agony in the Garden. As usual in the Gospels and Acts, Peter is mentioned first, not only does he have primacy of place, but of importance. When Moses went up to Mt. Sinai, he also took three men with him (Exodus 24).

and went up the mountain to pray: Jesus often prayed before momentous decisions and events: election of the Twelve (6:12); Peter’s confession of faith (9:18); his instruction on prayer (11:1); the agony in the garden (22:41); and on the cross (23:46). The setting of a mountain also recalls the appearance of mountains in other important biblical scenes, especially Moses meeting with God on Mt. Sinai, and Elijah on Mt. Horeb.

[29] While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white: He was giving his disciples a glimpse of what his glorified humanity would become after his ascension. “His face shone as the sun,” Matthew says. His garments also became a brilliant white.

The various translations of the Bible describe this in various ways: “white and glistening” (KJV); “bright as a flash of lightning” (NIV); “sparkling white” (Jerusalem Bible)

Through the miracle of the Transfiguration Jesus shows one of the qualities of glorified bodies–brightness, “by which the bodies of the saints shall shine like the sun, according to the words of our Lord recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew: The righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father' (Matthew 13:43). To remove the possibility of doubt on the subject, He exemplifies this in His transfiguration. This quality the Apostle (St. Paul) sometimes calls glory, sometimes brightness: *He will change our lowly body to be like His glorious body’* (Philippians 3:21); and again, It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory' (1 Corinthians 15:43). Of this glory the Israelites beheld some image in the desert, when the face of Moses, after he had enjoyed the presence and conversation of God, shone with such luster that they could not look on it (Exodus 34:29; 2 Corinthians 3:7). This brightness is a sort of radiance reflected by the body from the supreme happiness of the soul. It is a participation in that bliss which the soul enjoys ...]. This quality is not common to all in the same degree. All the bodies of the saints will be equally impassible; but the brightness of all will not be the same, for, according to the Apostle, There is one glory of the sun, and another of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead’ (1 Corinthians 15:4f)” (“St. Pius V Catechism”, I, 12, 13). See also the notes on Matthew 17:1-13; 17:5; 17:10-13; and Mark 9:2-10; 9:7.

While we traditionally refer to this event as Jesus’ “Transfiguration” (from a Latin term that means to change from one figure to another), the Greek used in the original text is the root of the word “metamorphosis.” Jesus did not actually change in appearance; rather, he revealed the glory that was always there, but had been kept hidden by his human flesh. And it wasn’t his entire divine glory that shone (or the Apostles would not have been able to bear it), but just enough to show. In the Book of Exodus, Moses face shone after meeting with God, but unlike Jesus it shone from without and not within, and eventually faded away.

It has been pointed out this event has three levels of significance: (1) Christ reveals his glory to offset the shock of his first Passion prediction (9:22); (2) The Father’s voice, the chosen Son, and the cloud of the Spirit manifest the presence of the Blessed Trinity; (3) The prophets Moses and Elijah testify that Jesus will fulfill the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament. (Ignatius Study Bible, Gospel of Luke)

Continued on next post.

 

[Fidelis]

Continued from previous post.

[30] And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah: These two men, in bodily form and “in glory” also, that is, not exactly as they were when on earth but yet recognizable, appeared talking with Christ. Moses represented the Old Law, and Elijah the prophets of the old covenant.

As mentioned above, they had also both encountered God on a mountain and seen at least a glimpse of his glory.

[31] who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem: This was the purpose of the manifestation : to convince the disciples of the necessity of the Passion. They evidently heard the conversation.

31. “And spoke of His departure”: that is, His departure from this world, in other words, His death. It can also be understood as meaning our Lord’s Ascension.

In using the word “exodus” here the NAB gets it right. Some other translations have “departure” (RSV) or “passing” (JB) or even his “decease” (KJV; DRV) but the actual Greek word used is “exodus.”

[32] **Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep: **Neither Matthew nor Mark mentions this fact. Luke is perhaps signifying that they were not fully conscious of what the conversation meant. They were still prejudiced against the thought that Christ could die.

Moses and Elijah had come only to speak to Jesus, anyway.

but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him: The external scene was clear to them : Christ, Moses and Elijah radiant in glory.

[33] **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: **This scene was so enthralling that Peter, in his simplicity, wished to prolong it. He suggested that tents should be set up so that they could remain there indefinitely. He was as yet worldly-minded and did not realize that the place for glory was in the future life.

This is also a reference to the aforementioned Feast of Booths (see Zechariah 14:16)

Peter would later recall this incident in his Second Letter:

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. (2 Pet 1:16-18)

And John would allude to it as well:

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us [lit. “tabernacled”], and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Continued on next post.

 

[Fidelis]

Continued from previous post.

[34] **While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them: **As was frequently the case in the Old Testament, a cloud was a sign of the presence of God.

Like on Mt. Sinai when God met with Moses and gave the ten commandments, and when the shekinah glory cloud of God enveloped the tabernacle on the wilderness and, later, Solomon’s temple at it’s dedication.

and they became frightened when they entered the cloud: Afraid because they knew God was here near them.

The Book of Hebrews tells us:

You have not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness and storm and a trumpet blast and a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no message be further addressed to them, for they could not bear to hear the command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.” No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.(Heb 12:18-24)

[35] Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son: The voice of God the Father proclaims Christ to be his Son (his “chosen servant,” that is, the “Messiah” announced in Is. 42: 1-4. according to many manuscripts) a fact the disciples had not yet understood or accepted. That he was the Messiah chosen and sent by God they already had confessed (9: 21) and could grasp.

35. “Listen to Him!”: everything God wishes to say to mankind He has said through Christ, now that the fullness of time has come (cf. Hebrews 1:1). “Therefore,” St. John of the Cross explains, “if any now should question God or desire a vision or revelation, not only would he be acting foolishly but he would be committing an offense against God, by not fixing his gaze on Christ with no desire for any new thing. For God could reply to him in this way: `If I have spoken all things to you in My Word, which is My Son, and I have no greater word, what answer can I give you now, or what can I reveal to you that is greater than this? Fix your eyes on Him alone, for in Him I have spoken and revealed to you all things, and in Him you will find even more than what you ask for and desire …]. Hear Him, for I have no more faith to reveal, nor have I any more things to declare’” (“Ascent of Mount Carmel”, Book 2, Chapter 22, 5).

listen to him: Moses and Elijah the representatives of the Old Law had now left. Jesus is alone and in his normal appearance, but God tells them he is to be listened to and obeyed. In other words, he takes the place of the teachers of old and has God’s authority behind him.

He is also “The Prophet” (see John 1:21) predicted by Moses:

A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen;** to him you shall listen**." (Deuteronomy 18:15)

[36] ** After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen:** The scene was something they did not then understand, but later, after the Resurrection and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, they understood and told their followers all about it.

 

[Fidelis]

The *Catechism of the Catholic Church *references for this Sunday’s Gospel include Sections 554-56, 697, and 2600:

2600 The Gospel according to St. Luke emphasizes the action of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of prayer in Christ’s ministry. Jesus prays before the decisive moments of his mission: before his Father’s witness to him during his baptism and Transfiguration, and before his own fulfillment of the Father’s plan of love by his Passion.[43] He also prays before the decisive moments involving the mission of his apostles: at his election and call of the Twelve, before Peter’s confession of him as “the Christ of God,” and again that the faith of the chief of the Apostles may not fail when tempted.[44] Jesus’ prayer before the events of salvation that the Father has asked him to fulfill is a humble and trusting commitment of his human will to the loving will of the Father.

43 Cf. Lk 3:21; 9:28; 22:41-44.
**44 **Cf. Lk 6:12; 9:18-20; 22:32.

**A foretaste of the Kingdom: the Transfiguration **

554 From the day Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Master “began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things. . . and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”[290] Peter scorns this prediction, nor do the others understand it any better than he.[291] In this context the mysterious episode of Jesus’ Transfiguration takes place on a high mountain,[292] before three witnesses chosen by himself: Peter, James and John. Jesus’ face and clothes become dazzling with light, and Moses and Elijah appear, speaking “of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem”.[293] A cloud covers him and a voice from heaven says: “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”[294]

555 For a moment Jesus discloses his divine glory, confirming Peter’s confession. He also reveals that he will have to go by the way of the cross at Jerusalem in order to “enter into his glory”.[295] Moses and Elijah had seen God’s glory on the Mountain; the Law and the Prophets had announced the Messiah’s sufferings.[296] Christ’s Passion is the will of the Father: the Son acts as God’s servant;[297] the cloud indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit. “The whole Trinity appeared: the Father in the voice; the Son in the man; the Spirit in the shining cloud.”[298]

You were transfigured on the mountain, and your disciples, as much as they were capable of it, beheld your glory, O Christ our God, so that when they should see you crucified they would understand that your Passion was voluntary, and proclaim to the world that you truly are the splendor of the Father.[299]

**556 **On the threshold of the public life: the baptism; on the threshold of the Passover: the Transfiguration. Jesus’ baptism proclaimed “the mystery of the first regeneration”, namely, our Baptism; the Transfiguration “is the sacrament of the second regeneration”: our own Resurrection.[300] From now on we share in the Lord’s Resurrection through the Spirit who acts in the sacraments of the Body of Christ. The Transfiguration gives us a foretaste of Christ’s glorious coming, when he “will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.”[301] But it also recalls that “it is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God”:[302]

Peter did not yet understand this when he wanted to remain with Christ on the mountain. It has been reserved for you, Peter, but for after death. For now, Jesus says: “Go down to toil on earth, to serve on earth, to be scorned and crucified on earth. Life goes down to be killed; Bread goes down to suffer hunger; the Way goes down to be exhausted on his journey; the Spring goes down to suffer thirst; and you refuse to suffer?”[303]

290 Mt 16:21.
291 Cf. Mt 16:22-23; Mt 17:23; Lk 9:45.
292 Cf. Mt 17:1-8 and parallels; 2 Pet 1:16-18.
293 Lk 9:31.
294 Lk 9:35.
295 Lk 24:26.
296 Cf. Lk 24:27.
297 Cf. Isa 42:1.
298 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 45, 4, ad 2.
299 Byzantine Liturgy, Feast of the Transfiguration, Kontakion.
300 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 45, 4, ad 2.
301 Phil 3:21.
302 Acts 14:22.
303 St. Augustine, Sermo 78, 6: PL 38, 492-493; cf. Lk 9:33.

697 Cloud and light. These two images occur together in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the cloud, now obscure, now luminous, reveals the living and saving God, while veiling the transcendence of his glory - with Moses on Mount Sinai,[43] at the tent of meeting,[44] and during the wandering in the desert,[45] and with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple.[46] In the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfills these figures. The Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and “overshadows” her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus.[47] On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the “cloud came and overshadowed” Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and “a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’”[48] Finally, the cloud took Jesus out of the sight of the disciples on the day of his ascension and will reveal him as Son of man in glory on the day of his final coming.[49]

**43 **Cf. Ex 24:15-18.
44 Cf. Ex 33:9-10.
**45 **Cf. Ex 40:36-38; 1 Cor 10:1-2.
46 Cf. 1 Kings 8:10-12.
47 Lk 1:35.
48 Lk 9:34-35.
49 Cf. Acts 1:9; cf. Lk 21:27.

 

[Fidelis]

Finally, some questions for practical and personal application from my weekly Scripture study, found here:

In the First Reading, why was Abram (later renamed Abraham by God) doubtful of God’s promises? Ultimately, upon what did Abram place his trust that God would fulfill the promises that he had made to make of Abram a great nation with innumerable descendents?

Why would Jesus take these three disciples to witness this event? How is this related to: (a) Peter’s confession (verses 18-20)? (b) Jesus’ prophecy (verse 22)? (c) The preceding saying (verse 27)? (d) The radiant face of Moses (Exodus 34:29-30)?

Why is this event misunderstood by Peter (verse 33)? Underscored by God (verses 34-35)?

When have you experienced God in an unusual manner? What happened?

When it comes to listening to Jesus, how hard of hearing are you?

What do you do to obey the command of the Father to obey his Son?

 

[Fidelis]

Catholic Matters has this brief meditation for application on the Gospel Reading:

APPLICATION: It was out of the abundance of his divine love that God gave a glimpse of the future glory of Christ in his risen humanity to the three disciples on that memorable occasion. And with Christ he showed two others of his faithful servants also in glory. He understood the human weakness of the disciples, and foresaw the shock to their faith which the sad scenes of the passion and crucifixion of their beloved Master would be some weeks later. So, to strengthen and forearm them for that sad trial, he gave them a glimpse of the future glory which was to be theirs, too, if they persevered.

It is for this same reason that this all-important event in the life of Christ and of his Apostles has been preserved for us in the Gospels and is put before us today.

Like the Apostles, we, too, believe firmly in God. We, too, are convinced that Christ was sent by God to bring us to heaven. We now have much more convincing proof that Christ was not only the Messiah, an envoy of God, but the very Son of God—something the Apostles did not then understand. But we are still very much like them in our human weakness, and in our half-hearted acceptance of God’s purpose for and promises to us.

The Apostles had to face the awful test to their faith and trust in God, which the passion and crucifixion of Christ was for them. We now accept with gratitude and realize that Christ “had to suffer and thus enter into his glory.” We even understand that the very purpose of Christ’s passion was that, in spite of our mortality and weakness, we also might enter into eternal glory through his suffering, on condition that we remain true to our faith.

In our moments of cool, calm reasoning we can see clearly how good God has been to us, how wonderful his love which has arranged for us an eternity of happiness, the perfect fulfillment of every rational human desire. We can also see how little God asks of us during our few short years here, in return for the everlasting happy home he has prepared for us.

But unfortunately we have many moments in life in which cool, calm reasoning does not prevail. We have moments when our vices and not our virtues take charge, moments when we are prepared to sell our eternal heritage in exchange for a mess of earthly pottage. Some of us may already have bartered our heavenly home for some temporal gain or pleasure—but while there is life there is hope. We can still put things right with God.

“Lord, it is good for us to be here,” it is wonderful to be adopted sons of God on the road back to our Father. It is wonderful to be assured that in death this body of ours with its pains and aches, its attraction to earthly things and worse still its propensity to sin, will give place to a glorified body. This glorified body will be free from all pain and corruption and will possess all the human spiritual gifts of intelligence and will to so much greater a degree as will enable us to appreciate and enjoy the eternal happiness in store for us.