Sunday Meditation: The Mountain of Transfiguration

Last week, the First Sunday of Lent, the Lord took us with Him to the Desert where we saw Him overcome three temptations from the Devil.  On the Second Sunday, the Lord takes us up a mountain to reveal to us the Glorification of our future bodies.

 

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.

~Lk 9:28-36

Three years ago on that Second Sunday of Lent, I highlighted how Luke is the only Transfiguration account that mentions that Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah on Jesus’s exodus that was to come.  I had Dr. Brant Pitre’s video embedded to explain it.  You might want to check it out.  

This week Bishop Robert Barron provides the best exegesis of this passage.

 For the pastoral homily I’m going to hand it over to Fr. Sam French from Australia. 

 Fr. Sam calls himself The Average Shepherd.  He's not so average, he's above average.  ;)

One of the details of this passage that neither of the two homilies touched on that caught my eye in this reading is the moment of darkness that comes upon the three apostles.  God in the cloud descends upon them and they are frightened.  Look at the first reading and the darkness that frightens Abraham.

 

Sunday Meditation: “While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.”

 

For a hymn, let’s turn to John Michael Talbot’s “Sing to the Mountains”

 

Have a blessed Sunday.