20180806
IDENTITY OF JESUS
6 AUGUST, 2018, Monday, Transfiguration
of the Lord
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First
reading
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Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 ©
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His
robe was white as snow
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As I watched:
Thrones were set in place
and one of great age took his seat.
His robe was white as snow,
the hair of his head as pure as wool.
His throne was a blaze of flames,
its wheels were a burning fire.
A stream of fire poured out,
issuing from his presence.
A thousand thousand waited on him,
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
A court was held
and the books were opened.
And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age
and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty,
glory and kingship,
and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.
OR:
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Alternative
First reading
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2 Peter 1:16-19 ©
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We
heard this ourselves, spoken from heaven
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It was not any cleverly invented myths that we were repeating when
we brought you the knowledge of the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ; we had seen his majesty for ourselves. He was honoured and glorified by
God the Father, when the Sublime Glory itself spoke to him and said, ‘This is
my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour.’ We heard this ourselves, spoken from
heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.
So we have confirmation of what was said in
prophecies; and you will be right to depend on prophecy and take it as a lamp
for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star
rises in your minds.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 96(97):1-2,5-6,9 ©
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The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.
The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
let all the coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
his throne, justice and right.
The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.
The mountains melt like wax
before the Lord of all the earth.
The skies proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.
The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.
For you indeed are the Lord
most high above all the earth,
exalted far above all spirits.
The Lord is king, most high above all the earth.
When a Feast of the
Lord falls on a weekday, there is no reading after the Psalm and before the
Gospel.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt17:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
This is my Son, the Beloved:
he enjoys my favour.
Listen to him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 9:2-10 ©
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This is my Son, the Beloved
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Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a
high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their presence
he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any
earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they
were talking with Jesus. Then Peter spoke to Jesus: ‘Rabbi,’ he said ‘it is
wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for
Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say; they were so
frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came a voice
from the cloud, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’ Then suddenly,
when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
As they came
down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until
after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They observed the warning
faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what ‘rising from the dead’
could mean.
IDENTITY OF JESUS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ DN 7:9-10, 13-14; 2 PT 1:16-19; MK 9:2-10 ]
Today’s
gospel taken from the beginning of Mark chapter 9 shows the significance of
this event of the Transfiguration of our Lord in the life of the primitive
Church.
Chapter 9 is the mid-way of the gospel of Mark since there are only 16
chapters. This means that Mark the evangelist sought a new
direction in the ministry of Jesus. This turning point in the life of
Jesus must be understood in the context of the previous chapter 8 of Mark’s
gospel, when Jesus asked the most critical question to the disciples, “‘Who do
people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and
others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them,
‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the
Messiah.'” (Mk 8:27-29)
Indeed, the
identity of Jesus is the most crucial question of the Christian Faith. Everything in Christianity
stands or falls with the confession of faith in Christ as the Son of the Living
God. Christianity is not a subscription to an ideology or some lofty
knowledge but faith in a person, Jesus who is the Christ. Pope Emeritus
Benedict beautifully captures what it means to be a Christian when he wrote,
“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but
the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a
decisive direction.” (Deus Caritas Est, 1) It is faith in the
identity of Jesus as the Son of God that is the basis for believing in all that
He said and did, all the claims about Himself, whether implicit or
explicit. In believing that Jesus is the Son of God, the Way, the
Truth and the Life, we too can therefore share in His adopted sonship and
glory.
Hence, in the
Transfiguration event, Jesus revealed His identity by manifesting His future
glory. Firstly, He appeared in all His resplendence. “There in their
presence he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than
any earthly bleacher could make them.” Such a powerful scene left
an indelible mark on Peter, James and John. St Peter could later testify
with certainty and confidence that “It was not any cleverly invented myths that
we were repeating when we brought you the knowledge of the power and the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ; we had seen his majesty for ourselves.”
Secondly,
“Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.” The presence of Elijah
and Moses was important in authenticating the continuity of salvation history,
which began with Abraham and fulfilled in Christ. Jesus fulfilled the
prophets and the Law of the Old Testament. Elijah is the icon of a true
prophet and Moses the icon of the Law in the Old Covenant. Then He said
to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you –
that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the
psalms must be fulfilled.” (Lk 24:44)
Jesus of course is more than the prophets and the Law of Moses. He is the
Word of God in person and in Him sums up the Law. “And the Word
became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a
father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have
all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (Jn 1:14, 16, 17)
Thirdly, we
read that “a cloud came, covering them in shadow.” The symbol of a cloud
is always connected with the manifestation of God. God is found in nature, in
fire, thunder, and lightning and in cloud. In the first reading, we read
of the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven. “He came to the one of
great age and was led into his presence. On him was conferred sovereignty,
glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his
servants. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass
away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed.” The cloud confirms His
divine identity and kingship.
Fourthly, a
voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”
The true identity of Jesus is revealed by the Father Himself. He is more than the prophets
and the Law. He is the beloved Son of the Father. On this basis, we
are called to believe in Him, all that He said and taught us. This
epiphany is different from the earlier incident in the life of Jesus when He
was baptized. Then, the heavenly Father said, “This is my Son, the
Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:17)
Then the Father was confirming Jesus as His only beloved Son. However, in
the transfiguration, the Father, whilst affirming the identity of Jesus once
again, commanded us to listen to Him.
Clearly, this
Transfiguration Event was more for the instruction and preparation of the
disciples than for the Lord. It was meant to strengthen the disciples for
the trials ahead of them, not just the passion and death of their master, but
later on after the resurrection, they too would be put on trial as their master
was, humiliated, flogged, imprisoned, exiled and even put to death. It
was a preview of what was to come in the future, both for their master and for
themselves. This event most likely was given in view of the fact that the
disciples were still ignorant of the way Jesus would be brought into His glory.
Although
Peter and the apostles got the right answer with regards to the identity of
Jesus, they failed to understand how God would reveal the identity of Jesus to
humanity through His suffering, passion and death. In fact, immediately after
the confession of faith in Christ’s identity, Jesus foretold His death and
resurrection. “Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must
undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and
the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Peter
took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his
disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are
setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.'” (Mk 8:31-33)
We too, on
this Feast of the Transfiguration, are called to affirm our faith in Jesus’
identity as the Beloved Son of the Eternal Father and our savior. Our confession of
faith in Christ must not fall short of this profession. Only faith in
Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and our Saviour can give us the confidence
to believe in Him as the Way, the Truth and the Life. We can trust in the
Word of God, the scriptures, only because Jesus is the Word of God. He is
the morning star that lights up the prophecies of the Word of God. “So we
have confirmation of what was said in prophecies; and you will be right to
depend on prophecy and take it as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark
until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.”
Secondly, we
must realize that the way to glory is through the passion. When St Peter wrote
his testimony of what he saw and heard at the Transfiguration event, he was
conscious that his death was imminent. This was the reason for his
writing to strengthen the Christians in their trials when living and standing
up for the Lord. “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to
refresh your memory, since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed
our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every
effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these
things.” (2 Pt 1:13-15) What a dramatic change, when earlier on he
rebuked the Lord for prophesying His passion. Now, having seen the Risen
Lord, he too was ready to be crucified with Jesus. Legend has it that he
asked to be crucified upside down, as he felt he was not worthy to be crucified
the same way as his master.
However, what
we need most is also a transfiguration event in our lives. We need to encounter
Jesus deeply and the Father’s love so that we become conscious of our sonship
and daughtership. Only then could we say with St Peter, “We heard
this ourselves, spoken from heaven, when we were with him on the holy
mountain.” Without this grace of a personal encounter, our faith remains
weak and hesitant because we cannot say with conviction who Jesus is.
How can we
have this Transfiguration encounter today? We must be open to intimacy with the
Lord in prayer. Going for a retreat once a year is necessary for us to
recall the love of God for us. Spending time in the adoration room in
silent contemplation of His word or the Eucharist can also lead us to bask in
His glory and majesty. But it could also come through some religious
experience or even through a healing miracle. The Lord comes in different
ways. What we need is docility and availability to His love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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