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8th SUNDAY
AFTER EPIPHANY--TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY
Today we have one of those rare occasions when three
of the four
lessons relate to the same theme-Transfiguration Sunday. The first lesson contains the
story of Moses and his leaders atop a holy mountain and the luminous experience they
encountered with God. The epistle lesson provides a memory and a learning moment based on
the Christian story of Jesus’ transfiguration. And the Gospel includes the account of
Jesus who, along with his leaders, ascends a high mountain for an extraordinary encounter.
Exodus 24:12-18-In God’s Presence
Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, plus seventy leaders of Israel have ascended Mt.
Sinai-the mountain of God-to meet their Covenant Partner. In this luminous moment
“God and man at table are sat down.” Human beings co-exist with God’s
glorious presence. Moses will be invited further and deeper into the divine presence where
he will receive God’s instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle and its
furnishings. Forty days-and seven lengthy chapters- later he will descend in haste to
confront flagrant idolatry. But for the moment, our lesson holds up the invitation to
“Come up to Me on the mountain” (v. 12). As with other records of such
encounters, God’s glory settles and appears in unearthly form-“like a devouring
fire on the top of the mountain” (v. 17).
2 Peter 1:16-21-Personal Experience and Sacred Text
“We had been eyewitnesses of his majesty” (v. 16). Indeed, the writer (Peter
or someone who had access to Peter’s memoirs) recalls an event that has been forever
etched on the Church’s memory. The Transfiguration of the Lord. That the synoptic
evangelists retained this piece from Jesus’ life suggests that the transfiguration of
Jesus was a memory worth passing on; the Church likewise has valued this episode. In our
lesson, the writer recalls salient points worth our pondering: the eyewitnesses (Peter,
James and John), the voice from heaven, the saying (“This is my Son, my Beloved . .
.”), and the holy mountain. The second part of the lesson focuses on the discerning
and testing of prophecies; this could have been written to accord a greater value to the
written word of God in Hebrew Scripture vis-à-vis human experience (the preceding
eyewitness account).
Matthew 17:1-9-From Translucent to Transparent
Peter, James and John are the leaders this time who accompany the new Moses up to a
“high mountain.” There the normal becomes paranormal, the ordinary becomes
extraordinary as Jesus now is transfigured right before their eyes. All synoptics record
the story intact, with little variation. As in the other accounts, Moses and Elijah
appear, Peter blurts out plans for memorializing the moment, and the cloud and voice enter
the story. The immediate post-transfiguration conversation between Jesus and the disciples
are also carried by the other synoptics as they descend the mountain.
PSALM 99—THE LORD IS KING
This is the final hymn in a collection of hymns that form the
theological heart of the psalter: praise to God as the King of the
universe (see also Ps. 47, 93, and 95-98). This psalm especially
lends itself to this Sunday’s larger theme of transfiguration since
the poem will trigger images reminiscent of other passages included
in the lessons for this day—earth quaking, trembling in God’s
presence, the presence of other-worldly beings, sitting at the
footstool of God, overshadowing clouds, and the apodictic speech of
God.
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