Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent - Cycle C
Readings: Lk 9:28-36 (Gospel); Gn 15:5-12, 17-18
(First Reading) and Ph 3:17-4:1(Second Reading)
From the Series: Reflections and Teachings in the Desert
MOSES
AND ELIJAH
‘Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they
were Moses and Elijah’ (Lk 9:30)
The Gospel
for this 2nd Sunday of Lent is Lk 9:28-36, under the title “The Transfiguratione”. Footnote e says “One of the narratives in which Lk most
widely differs from Mk, It is clear that Lk. had his own source of information (John?).”
Parallel texts for the title are:
1. Mt
17:1-9 -Six days later, Jesus took with
him Peter and James and his brother John, and led them up a high mountaina
where they could be alone (v. 1). There in their presence he was
transfigured; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as lightb
(v. 2). Suddenly Moses and Elijahc appeared to them, they were
talking with him (v. 3) Then Peter spoke to Jesus, ‘Lord,’ he said ‘it is wonderful
for us to be here;d if you wish, I will makee three tents
here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. (v. 4). He was still
speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the
cloud there came a voice which said, “This is my Son, the beloved, he enjoys my
favor. Listen to him’ (v. 5) When they heard this, the disciples fell on their faces, overcome with fear (v.
6). But Jesus came and touched them, ‘Stand up’ he said, ‘do not be afraid’ (v.
7) And when they raised their eyes, they
saw no one else but only Jesus. As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus gave them this order, “Tell no one about the vision until the Son of Man
has risen from the dead.’ Footnote a says “Tabor, according to the traditional opinion. Some favor Great Hermon”;
Footnote b-Var ‘as snow’. Footnote
c says “Respectively
representing Law and prophets, they do homage to the founder of the ‘new
alliance’, cf. 5:17; Lk 22:20. As once they were privileged at Sinai with God’s
revelation, Ex 33:20+; cf 1 K 19:9-13, so now they are made witnesses of the
anticipated revelation of the Son of Man, cf 24:30; Footnote d
says “An alternative translation ‘It is
good thing for us to be here’; and Footnote e says “Vulg. ‘let us make’”.
2. Mk
9:2-10 - Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led
them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There is their
presence he was transfigured: (v. 2) his clothes became dazzlingly white,
whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them (v. 3) Elijah appeared to them
with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus (v. 4) 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’ (v. 5). He did not know
what to say; they were so frightened (v. 6) 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 (v. 7).’Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one
with them anymore but only Jesus (v. 8). 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 (v. 9) They observed the warning faithfully, though among
themselves they discussed what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean (v. 10).
Verse 28 says: Now about eight days after this had
been said, he took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain
to pray.
Parallel text is Lk 8:51 that says: When he came to the house he allowed no one to go in with him
except Peter and John and James,f and the child’s father and mother. Footnote f
says “Cf
Mk 5:37+. Here, however, as in 9:28, Ac 1:13, John is named immediately after
Peter. This coupling of John with Peter is common to Lk 22:8; Ac 3:1-3,11;
4:13,19; 8:14, and the fourth gospel, Jn 13:23-26; 18:15-16; 20:3-9; 21:7,20-23.”
Verse 29 says: As he
prayed, the aspect of his face changed and his clothing became brilliant as
lightning.
Parallel text is Lk 3:21 that
says: Now when all the people had been
baptized and while Jesus after his own baptism was at prayer,j
heaven opened. Footnote j - Jesus at prayer is a favorite theme
of Lk., cf. 5:16; 6:12; 9:18,28-29; 11:1; 22:41.
Verse 30 and 31 say: Suddenly there were two men
there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah, appearing in glory, and they
were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Parallel text for verse 30 is Lk 24:4 that says: As they stood there not knowing what to
think, two men in brilliant clothes suddenly appeared at their side.
Verse 32 says:
Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake,f
and saw his gloryg and the two men standing with him. Footnote f
says “Preferable to ‘they woke up’”;
and Footnote g says “The glory of his future coming, 9:26.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Lk
2:38 - She came by just at that moment began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to
all who looked forward the deliverance of Jerusalem.k Footnote k says “The
messianic deliverance of the Chosen People, 1:68; 24:21, primarily affected
their capital city; cf Is 40:5; 52:9 (and see 2 S 5:9+). FrLk, Jerusalem is
God’s chosen centre from which will spread his salvation: 9:31,51,53; 13:22,33;
17:11; 18:31; 19:11; 24:47-49,52; Ac 1:8+.”
2. Jn
1:14 - The word was made flesh, m he lived among us, n
and we saw his glory,o the glory that is his as the only Son of the
Father, full of grace and truth. Footnote m says “The ‘flesh’ is man considered as a frail and
mortal being, cf. 3:6, 17:2, Gn 6:3, Ps. 56:4, Is 40:6,see Rm 7:5+; Footnote n says “Lit.
‘pitched his tent among us’. The incarnation of the Word makes God personally
and visibly present to mankind; it is no longer a presence unseen and
awe-inspiring as in the Tent and Temple of the old regime, Ex. 25:8+; Cf. Nb.
35:34, nor merely the presence of divine wisdom enshrined in Israel’s Mosaic
Law, Si. 4:7-22; Ba. 3:36-4:4”; and Footnote o says “The ‘glory’ is the manifestation of God’s
presence, Ex. 24:16+. No one could see its brilliance and live, Ex 33:20+, but
the human nature of the word now screens
this glory as the cloud once did. Yet at times
it pierces the veil, as the transfiguration, for instances, cf. Lk.
9:32, 35 (alluded to in Jn 1:14?) and when Jesus works miracles –‘signs’ that
God is active in him, 2:11+, 11:40;cf. Ex. 14:24-27 and 15:7, 16:7f. The resurrection will reveal the glory fully,
cf. Jn 17:5+.”
Verses 34 and 34 say: As these were leaving him, Peter said to
Jesus, “Master, 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 he was
saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they
went into the cloud the disciples were afraid.
Parallel
text for verse 34 is Lk 1:12+ that says: The sight
disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear.
Verse 35 says: And
a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One.h
Listen to him.’ Footnote h says “Var. ‘the Beloved’, cf. Mt and Mk. The titles ‘Chosen One’, cf. 23:35;
Is 42:1, and ‘Son of Man’ alternate in the Parables of Enoch.”
Verse 36 says: And after the voice had
spoken, Jesus was found alone. They disciples kept silence and, at that time,
told no one what they had seen.
Parallel text is Lk 9:21 that says: But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about this.
The First Reading is from Gn 15:5-12, 17-18. Verse
5 says: Then
taking him outside he said: Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can.
Such will your descendants,’ he told him.
Parallel texts are:
1. Gn
22:17 - I will shower blessings on you,
I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of
sand on the seashore. Your descendants shall gain possession of the gatesd
of their enemies. Footnote d says “I.e.
their towns, as the Greek understands, cf. 24:60.”
2. Gn
28:14 - Your descendants shall be like the specks dust on the ground; you shall
spread to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and all the tribes
of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants.
3. Ex
32:13 - Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own
self you swore and made this promise: I will make your offspring as many as the
stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give your
descendants, and it their heritage forever.’
4. Dt
1:10 - Yahweh your God has multiplied you, till now you are like stars of the
heavens in number.
5. Heb
11:12 - Because of this there came from one man, and one who was already as
good as dead himself, more descendants that could be counted as many as the
stars of heaven or the grains of sand on the seashore.
6. 1
M 2:52 - Was not Abraham tried and found faithful, was that not counted as
making him just?
7.
↗Rm 4 - Abraham Justified by Faith. Apply this to Abrahama found,
the ancestor from whom we are all descended?b (v. 1). If Abraham was
justified as a reward for doing something, he would really had something to
boast about; though not in the sight of
God (v. 2) Because scripture says:
Abraham put his faith in God, and this faith was considered as justifying him.(v.
3). If a man has work to show, his wages are not considered as a favour but as
his due (v. 4), but when a man has nothing to show except faith in the one who
justifies sinners, then his faith is considered as justifying himd
(v. 5). As David says the same: a man is happy if God considers him righteous,
irrespective of good deeds (v. 6):“Happy
those whose crimes are forgiven, and whose sins are blotted out (v. 7); Happy the man whom the Lord considers sinless”
(v. 8). Is this happiness meant only for the circumcised, or is it meant for
others as well? Think of Abraham again: his faith, we say, was considered as justifying
him, (v. 9), but when was this done?” When
he was already circumcised or before he had been circumcised? It was before he
had been circumcised (v.10). And when he was circumcised later it was only as a
sign and guarantee that the faith he had
before his circumcision justified him. In this way Abraham became the ancestor
of all uncircumcised believers, so that they too might be considered righteous
(v. 11); and ancestor, also, of those who though circumcised do not rely on
that fact alone, but follow our ancestor Abraham along the path of faith he trod
before he had been circumcised (v. 12). The promise of inheriting the world was
not made to Abraham and his descendants on account of any law but on account of
the righteousness which consists of faithf (v.13). If the world is
only to be inherited by those who submit to the Law, the faith is pointless and
the promise worth nothing (v.14). Law involves
the possibility of punishment for breaking the law - only when there is no law
can that be avoidedg (v.15). That is why, what fulfills the promise
depends on faith, so that it may be a free gift and be available to all of
Abraham’s descendants, not only those who belong to the Law but also those who
belong to the faith of Abraham who is the father of all of us (v. 16). As scripture
says: “I have made you the ancestor of many nations -Abraham is our father in
the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and
calls into being what does not existh (v. 17). Thus it seemed that Abraham’s
hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and believed, and through doing so he did
become the father of many nations exactly as he had been promised: Your
descendants will be as many as the stars (v. 18).Even the thought that his body
was past parenthood- he was about a hundred years old - and Sarah too old to
become a mother, did not shake his beliefi (v. 19) Since God has promise
it, Abraham either refused to deny it or even to doubt it but drew strength
from faithj and gave glory to God (v. 20), convinced that God had
power to do what he had promised (v. 21) This is the faith that was ‘considered
as justifying him’(v. 22). Scripture however does not refer only to him but to
us as well when it says that his faith was thus ‘considered’ (v. 23); our faith
too will be ‘considered’ if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from
the dead (v. 24), Jesus who was put to death for our sins and was raised to life to justify
usk (v. 25). Footnote a says “Lit. ‘What then shall we say about Abraham?’ Var. (Vulg.) ‘What then
shall we say that Abraham has gained?’”; Footnote b says “The recurrence of the fatherhood of Abraham
theme marks the stages in the argument,
vv. 1:12, 16-18.’; Footnote c
says “Jewish tradition, preoccupied with
Abraham’s loyalty and his fortitude under trial, had made him the outstanding
example of justification by works, Ws 10:5; Si 44:20f; 1 M 2:52 (and cf.
especially the Book of Jubilee, cf. 11-12; 16:19f, etc.)cf also Jm 2:22+, see
2:14+. Paul however finds that this justification and these works have their
source in Abraham’s faith, Gn 12:1+ and 15:6+. Cf. Heb 11:8f. Footnote d
– The words themselves are capable of various interpretation: by reason of his
faith Abraham was reckoned a righteous man by God, though in fact he was not
so; or, by reason of his faith Abraham had conferred upon him gratuitously by
God a righteousness (or ‘justice’) that was not his when he came to believe; or
thirdly, in God’s eyes (and hence in fact) faith that is operative is one and
the same as righteousness. The first of these interpretations is, however,
incompatible with Pauline teaching as a whole, so also, it would seem, is the
second; the third is complete consistent with it”; Footnote e says “This word, sphragis, (lit ‘seal’ or ‘impression of a seal’) came very
soon to be analogically used of baptism,
the sacrament of Christian faith”; Footnote f says “Lit.
‘the righteousness of faith’, i.e. that righteousness which is precisely the
act of believing with a living faith. The inheritance is conferred not to
reward people who respect the clauses of a contract (a law), but to implement
promises accepted in a disposition of faith. Cf 3:27; Footnote g
says “Lit. ‘For laws brings anger whereas
(var. ‘for’) where there is no law there
is no law-breaking either’’; Footnote
h says “As at creation. These
two most striking manifestation of God’s omnipotence prepare the reader for the
allusion to Christ’ resurrection in v. 24; Footnote i says “Lit ‘Though he considered his own body dead
(and that Sarah’s womb was dead) it was
with unshaken faith’. Text. Rec. and Vulg. ‘His faith was not shaken,
nor did he give a thought to his own body that was dead already”; Footnote j
says “Faith is all-powerful, Mk 9:23. It shares in the divine omnipotence
itself, cf 2 Co 12:9-10; Footnote k says ‘Justice’, or ‘righteousness’ is in effect the initial sharing in the
life of the risen Christ, 6:4; 8:10, etc.; Paul never isolates the death of
Jesus from his resurrection.
8. Ga
3:6 - Take Abraham for example: he put his faith in God, and this faith was considered
as justifying him.
9. Jm
2:23 - This is what scripture really means when it says: Abraham put his faith in
God, and this was counted as making him justified; and this is why he was
called “the friend of God.
10. Gn
11:31 - Terah took his son Abram, his
grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law the wife of Abram, and made
them leavef Ur of the Chaldeans, to go to the land of Canaan. But on
arrival in Haran, they settled there.g
Footnote f says ‘made
the leave’ ancient versions; ‘went with them’ Hebr.; Footnote g
says “First stage of the journey to the
Promised Land, Ur is in Lower Mesopotamia, Haran lies to the northwest of
Mesopotamia.”
11. Lk
1:18 - Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an
old man, and my wife is advanced in years.
Verse 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 say: Abram put his faith in Yahweh, who counted
this an making him justified.’ ‘I am Yahweh’ he said to him ‘who brought you
out of Ur of the Chaldeans to make you heir to this land.’ ‘My Lord Yahweh’,
Abram replied, ‘how am I to know that I shall inherit it?’ He said to him: ‘Get
me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a
turtledove, and a young pigeon. He brought him all these, cut them in half, and
put half one side and half facing it on the other; but the birds he did not cut
in half. Birds of prey came down on the carcasses but Abram drove them off.
Parallel text for verse 9 is Lv 1:14 that says: If his
offering to Yahweh is a holocaust of a bird, he is to offer a turtledove or a young
pigeon.
Verses 12 and 17 say: Now as
the sun was setting ,Abram fell into a deep sleep, and terrord
seized him. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, there appeared a
smoking furnish and a firebrand that went between the halves.f Footnote
d says “Here the text adds ‘a
great darkness’, probably a gloss intended to explain the rare word for
‘darkness’ in v. 17; and Footnote f
says
“Ancient ritual of covenant (Jr 34:18): the contracting parties passed between
the parts of the slain animal and called down upon themselves the fate of the
victim should they violate the agreement. The flame symbolizes Yahweh (cf. the
burning bush. Ex. 3:2; the pillar of fire, Ex. 13:21; the smoke of Sinai, Ex.
19:18) he alone passes between the parts because his Covenant is a unilateral
pact, the initiative is his, cf 9:9+.”
Verse 18 says: That
day Yahweh made a Covenant with Abram in these terms: ‘To your descendants I
give this land, from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the river Euphrates,
Parallel texts for verse 18 are:
1. Ne
9:8 - Finding him faithful of heart before you, you made the covenant with him, to give the land of the Canaanite, of the Hittite
and Amorites, of the Perizzite, Jebusite, and Girgashite, to him and his posterity.
And you kept your promise because you
are just.
2. Ps
105:11 - ‘I give you a land,’ he said, Canaan your allotted heritage.
3. Si
44:21 - The Lord therefore promised him an oath to bless the nations through
his descendants, to multiply him like the dust on the ground, to exalt his descendants
like the stars, and give them the land for their inheritance from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth.
The Second Reading is from Ph 3:17-4:1. Verse 17
says: My
brothers, be united in following my rule of life: take as your models everybody
who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us.
Parallel text
is 2 Th 3:7 that says: You know how you
are supposed to imitate us;b now we were not idle when we were with
you. Footnote b says “By
imitating Paul , 1 Co 4:16; Ga 4:12; Ph 3:17, Christians will be imitating
Christ, 1 Th 1:6; Ph 2:5; cf Mt 16:24; 1 P 2:21; 1 Jn 2:6; who is the one that
Paul is imitating, 1 Co 11:1. Christians must also imitate God, Ep 5:1 (cf. Mt
5:48), and they must imitate each other, 1 Th 1:7; 2:14; Heb 6:12. Behind this
community of life is the idea of a model of doctrine, Rm 6:17, that has been
received by tradition, v. 6: 1 Co 11:2+; 1 Th 2:13++. The leaders who transmit
the doctrine must themselves be ‘models’
v. 9; Ph 3:17; 1 Tm 1:16; 4:12; Tt 2:7;
1 P 5:3; whose faith and life are to be imitated, Heb 13:7.”
Verse 18 says: I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are
many who are behaving as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Parallel
text is Ac 20:19 that says: …how I served the Lord with all humility, and
with the sorrows and trials that came to me through of the plots of the Jews.
Verse 19 says:
They are destined to be lost. They make
food into their godm and they are proud of something they ought to
think shameful;n the things they think important are earthly things.
Footnote m says “The
dietary laws loomed large in the Jewish practice of religion, Lv 11, cf. Rm 14;
16:18; Ga 2:12; Col 2:16,20f; Mt 15:10-20p; 23:25-26; Ac 15:20”; and Footnote
n says “Lit. ‘they glory in
their shame’, where ‘shame’ may be only the traditional euphemism for the
circumcised members.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Rm 16:18 - People like that are not slaves of
Jesus Christ, they are slaves of their own appetites, confusing the
simple-minded with their pious and persuasive arguments.
2.
Jn 3:12 - If you do not believe me when I speak
about things in this world, how are you going to believe me when I speak to you
about heavenly things?
Verse 20 says: For us our homeland is in heaven, and
from heaven comes the savior we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ…
Parallel text is Heb 11:13-16 that
says: All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been
promised, but they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognizing them
that they were only strangers and nomads
on earth (v .13). People who use such terms about themselves make it quite
plain that they are in search of their homeland (v.14). They can hardly have
meant the country they came from, since they had the opportunity to go back to
it (v.15); but in fact they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland.
That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the
city for them (v. 16).
Verse 21 says: and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours
into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which
he can subdue the whole universe.
Parallel texts are:
1.
1 Tm 1:1 - From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus appointed
by commanda of God our saviorb and of Christ Jesus our
hope…
Footnote a says “Var.
‘the promise’”; and Footnote b says “Paul hardly ever uses the title ‘savior’ in his other letters, Ep 5:23;
Ph 3:20, but in the Pastoral Letters he makes use of it both when referring to
the Father, 1 Tm 2:3; 4:10; Tt 1:3; 2:10; 3:4, and when referring to Christ, 2
Tm 1:10; Tt 1:4.”
2. Ac
3:20-21 - …and so that the Lord may send
the time of comfort.m Then he will send you the Christ he has
predestined, that is Jesusn(v.21), whom the heaven must keep till
the universal restorationo comes which God proclaimed, speaking
through his holy prophets.p(v. 16). Footnote m says “The
epoch coincides with that of Christ’s coming and of ‘the restoration of all
things’, cf. 1:7+; Rm2:6+; a period which, as the apostles thought, would see
the re-establishment of the kingdom in Israel, Ac 1:6-7. Repentance and
conversion hasten its coming, cf. 2 P 3:12”; Footnote n says “Or ‘Jesus who has been appointed Christ for
you’, cf. 2:36+. When the time comes, Christ who became King Messiah though his
resurrection will return to establish his kingdom forever and to make all
creation new, v. 21, cf. Rm 8:19+.;
Footnote o says “Term used by the prophets for the return
from Exile (foretaste of the messianic age), Jr 15:19, etc.; and Footnote p
says “Add. ‘from ancient times’.”
3.
Rm 8:23 - and
not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we
too groan inwardly as we wait form for our bodies to be set free.
Footnote m says “Add
‘adoptive sonship (and)’ which would here have an eschatological sense, but see
v. 15.”
4. 1
Co 15:23+,28, 47-49 - but all of them in
their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the comingf
of Christ, those who belong to Christ (v. 23). And when everything is subjected
to him, then the Son himself will be subjected in his turn to the One who
subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all (v. 28)The first man,
being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven
(v.47).As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is,
so are we in heaven (v.48) And we, who have been modeled on the earthly man, will
be modeled on the heavenly man (v.49). Footnote f says “Parousia
(presence), a Greek word adopted by early Christians to indicate the glorious
coming of Christ on his ‘day’, 1 Xo 1:8+, at the end of time, Mt 24:3+; cf.
also 1 Th 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:32; 2 Th 2:1; Jm 5:7,8; 2 P 1:16+; 3:4, 12; 1 Jn
2:28. In 2 Th 2:8,9 the same word is used to indicate the coming of the Lawless
One. Cf the similar terms ‘revelation’, 1 Co 1:7+, and ‘appearing’, 1 Tm 6:14+.”
5. Col
3:1-4 - Since you have been brought back
to the true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven,
where Christ is sitting at God’s right hand (v. 1) Let your thoughts be on
heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth (v. 2), because you
have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God (v. 3). But
when Christ is revealed – and he is youra life – you too will be
revealed in all your glory with himb (v. 4). Footnote a says “Var. ‘our’”; Footnote b says “Through
union with Christ in baptism, 2:12, his followers already live the identical
life he lives in heaven, cf. Ep 2:6+, but this spiritual life is not manifest
and glorious as it will be in the parousia.
Chapter 4, Verse 1 says: So then, my brothers and dear friends, do not give but remain
faithful in the Lord. I miss you very much, dear friends, you are, my joy and
my crown.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ph 1:4 - Every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy,b
Footnote b
says “Joy is one of the chief
characteristics of this letter; cf. 1:18,25; 2:2,17,28,29; 3:1; 4:1,4,10.”
2. 1
Th 2:19-20 - What do you think is our pride or our joy? You are; and you will
be the crown of which we shall be the proudest in the presence of our Lord
Jesus when he comes (v. 19). You are our glory and our joy (v. 20).
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