SUNDAY READINGS - 3rd Sunday of Lent - March 7th 2010

FIRST READING: Exodus 3:14, 13-15. Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and Lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here am I.”

Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I Am who I Am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I Am has sent me to you.”‘ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’, this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”

EXPLANATION: God calls Moses and appoints him to lead the Chosen People out of Egypt where they were being systematically persecuted and gradually exterminated. Moses through God’s providence had escaped the consequences of the cruel Egyptian law which ordered all male Hebrew children to be put to death. He was adopted by a daughter of Pharaoh and given a liberal education. Later in life he killed an Egyptian who was maltreating a Hebrew. To escape certain death he fled to a neighboring country, Midian. He married a Midianite and settled there, little thinking that God had a most important role for him to play in the great story of the Exodus.

and came to Horeb: The whole range of mountains in Sinai, or one particular mountain of the range.

mountain of God: Because it was here that God spoke to Moses and it was here that he later made the covenant with the Chosen People and promulgated his Law.

bush . . . not consumed: Moses saw a fire flaming out of a bush but the bush was not consumed. Curiosity, inspired by God, made him go to examine this extraordinary incident.

Moses, Moses: As Moses approached the burning bush, God called him by name.

put off . . . shoes: A sign of reverence, still practiced by Muslims and Jews when entering their holy places of worship.

the God of Abraham . . . Jacob: God speaks to him and tells him he is the God of the Patriarchs, the God who had called Abraham from Haran to make him the father of a Chosen People. Evidently the Israelites handed down their history from generation to generation, as Moses knew what God meant.

afraid to look at God: God evidently appeared in a human form. It was a common belief that no one could look at God and live.

affliction of my people: The Israelites were God’s people—he had made them his own in order to fulfill his plan of universal salvation.

heard their cry: He was interested in their temporal welfare.

I have come down to deliver them: He planned in his mercy to set them free from the life of slavery which they were enduring in Egypt, and he intended to put them into a rich land—the land of Canaan which he had promised to Abraham centuries before (Gen. 15:7).

what is his name: God had told Moses that he had chosen him to set the Israelites free. When Moses objected that he was unsuitable for such a task, God’s answer was : “I will be with you”—the power of God will do what human strength cannot. This formula is repeated down through the Old Testament and is the guarantee which seals the final command given by Christ to his Apostles (Mt. 28:20).

I am who I am: God has already told Moses that he was the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. In other words, he was the God who had made the Israelites his Chosen People. In answer to Moses’ request he gave a special name, a descriptive one, Yahweh. From its grammatical Hebrew form (third person Hiphil) it means: “He who causes to be,” the “Creator” namely, of all being. And he who is the cause of all existing beings must be Existence itself.

This my name forever: The name stands for the nature, the essence. God declares he is the infinite existence—the source of all being—the causa causarum, and so he wishes to be known forever.

APPLICATION: In Lent we are preparing for the death and Resurrection of Christ. It is the central, the crowning act, of God’s love in the divine drama of our liberation from sin, and our admission to citizenship of our new exalted and everlasting homeland. The Exodus, the liberation of the Chosen People from the slavery of Egypt and the beginning of their journey into their promised land, Canaan, was a type or prophecy of our great liberation and exaltation to the status, not only of Chosen People, but of sons of God.

For this reason Christ chose the Jewish feast of Passover or Pasch—the beginning of the old Exodus, as the day on which he would begin our liberation. He was the real Lamb of God whose sacrifice would redeem us from the slavery of sin and death, and whose precious blood would mark us for eternity as the chosen sons of the Father.

It is to remind us of this that we are told today of this story of God’s mission to Moses. The liberation of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt and their eventual establishment in the Promised Land of Canaan were outstanding proofs of God’s deep interest in those he loves. But they were only types and shadows of what he has done for us. It was not a mere man, like Moses, but his own Divine Son that he sent to liberate us. He came not to give us a few years of temporal freedom in a little corner of this planet, but to give us a new supernatural life in his own everlasting kingdom of unending freedom and happiness.

With infinitely more reason than the Psalmist who lived before Christ came, can we cry out: “Lord, what is man that thou shouldst be mindful of him?” What am I that God should care for me and go to such extremes in order to make me truly happy forever? From my heart I can say: ” Lord, I am not worthy.” But I also know that he who made all things can make me worthy of the future he has so generously prepared for me, if only I cooperate, if only I do the little he asks of me.

There is no road-block on my journey to heaven. There is no hindrance on my way into the Promised Land, which I cannot remove, with the help of grace, which is there for the asking. Will I sit idly on the roadside bewailing my weaknesses, or will I roll up my sleeves and start casting aside the cardboard barricades set up by my own selfishness and spiritual laziness? Today is the best day to answer that question. There may not be another chance.

SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12. I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same supernatural food and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did. We must not grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

EXPLANATION: On Corinth and this letter of St. Paul, see Second Sunday of the Year. St. Paul, in this section of his letter to his Christian converts in Corinth, is advising them to avoid overconfidence. They have been baptized, they have the faith, but more is needed. The Israelites of old were freed from the slavery of Egypt and helped miraculously on their journey to the Promised Land, but most of them never reached it because they failed to do what was asked of them on the way. This can happen to us Christians too, St. Paul says.

our fathers . . . all under the cloud: All Christians are children of Abraham and the Patriarchs, as Abraham’s election by God was for all nations and not only for his blood descendants. All Abraham’s children (our ancestors therefore) were protected by God in their exit from Egypt. He covered them with a cloud in daytime and led them with a pillar of fire at night (Ex. 13: 21).

were baptized into Moses: God opened up the waters of the Sea of Reeds to let the Israelites pass out of Egypt. St. Paul sees in this a symbol of Christian baptism—we pass through the saving waters into Christ’s kingdom of freedom from the slavery of sin and spiritual death.

ate the . . . supernatural food: The manna which fell from the sky around the camps of the Israelites in the desert and the water which came from the rock struck by Moses, were symbols for St. Paul of the Eucharist, which is the Christian’s spiritual nourishment through life.

“rock which followed them”: This is not in the story of the Exodus, but was a Rabbinic legend, namely, that the same rock followed them all through their wanderings in the desert. St. Paul makes use of the legend to stress the manna and water as types and symbols of the Eucharist which we have for our nourishment all our lives.

the rock was Christ: As Christ rose, came out of, the rock of the tomb and is therefore with us all our lives as our heavenly food, so symbolically he was the rock from which the water flowed, and which was with the Israelites in the desert.

with most of them: Notwithstanding all the miracles that God worked to bring the Israelites of old out of slavery into their own homeland, they forgot his kindness. They broke his laws. They even adored pagan idols. Because of this, most of them never even saw the Promised Land much less entered it.

these things . . . warnings for us: St. Paul now tells the Corinthians that the disloyalty of the Israelites, and the fate that followed from it, can and will happen to Christians too if they imitate these disloyal, ungrateful people.

not to desire . . . as they did: We must not desire and search for things that are forbidden by our Christian faith and conscience.

we must not grumble: The Israelites regretted having been liberated from Egypt; the majority of the spies sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan brought back very discouraging and false reports. For this they were punished with instant death and the people were punished with forty years of hardship in the desert. Indeed, because of their murmuring against the good God (Nm. 14: 1-38), they all died during these forty years in the desert. The next generation, however, reached the promised land.

as a warning: St. Paul tells his converts that these facts were preserved in the Bible so that we should learn from the mistakes of the past, and avoid similar mistakes, or correct them if we are making them.

upon whom the end of the ages has come: With Christ came the messianic age, the time of fulfillment. All the centuries that preceded Christ’s coming were the ages of preparation. The next big intervention of God in the affairs of this world will be the general judgment—the end of the world. The universal chronological system of dividing the history of the world into B.C. and A.D. is Christian and a reminder of this.

who thinks . . . stands: Humility is one of the basic Christian virtues. No true Christian can boast that he is close to God. The more virtue he has the more he realizes how great his human weakness is—but he trusts in God’s fidelity to see him safely through.

APPLICATION: This admonition of Paul, given to the converts in Corinth, but applicable to all of us, could not be more timely. During Lent we are, or should be, thinking of all God did for us, and of how mean is our response. We read of the wonderful things he did for the Israelites, getting them out of Egypt, feeding them in the desert and leading them towards their own national home. We see the return they made him: ingratitude, forgetfulness, betrayal by turning to false gods who did not or could not help them. We very naturally conclude that they deserved all the punishment he gave them.

But who are we to pass judgment on the Israelites? They did not know God as well as we do. They had witnessed God’s love, mercy, and kindness in their regard, but, compared to the divine love and mercy we have witnessed in the Incarnation, what God did for them was relatively little. Yet like the Israelites we lust too often after evil things, we let the pleasures and wealth of this world come between us and God. We do not perhaps set up a golden calf as our god, but how often does something more trifling, the silver dollar, become the center of our lives and of our devotion?

We, too, tempt Christ when we presume we shall get to heaven by means of a few mumbled prayers and a hasty Mass on Sunday, while the rest of our week is spent in the service of our pagan worldly idols. And how often do we murmur and complain against God when things do not go as we’d like them to go? If our health is not always the best, if our work is not quite suitable, if our husbands or wives are not the true and best partners in life we expected them to be, if our children are disobedient and wayward, we murmur against God and blame him. Often, if not always, the fault lies with ourselves.

Today, I would ask each one of you to stop, look and listen, before you take your next step on your road of life. Stop and take an honest look at yourself and at your Christian attitude to life. Are you expecting heaven here below or are you one of those who wants to have all the goods and pleasures of life and heaven too? Christ won for us and promised to those who would follow him a day of resurrection to an unending life of blessed happiness, but he told us very definitely and very clearly that the way to the resurrection is over the hill of Calvary.

Listen today to St. Paul’s admonition. We too, Christian though we be and far better educated in the things of God, can, like the Israelites, fail to reach the eternal homeland he has prepared for us, if we imitate the Israelites in their ingratitude and their forgetfulness of all that God did for them.

GOSPEL: Luke 13:1-9. There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And, he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should I use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down.”‘

EXPLANATION: About the Galileans: Some people from Galilee had evidently been offering sacrifice in the temple, and because of some disturbance they caused, or some crime against the Roman authority, Pilate had them massacred where they stood. If we believe Josephus, the Jewish historian, Pilate was capable of such a rash act.

these Galileans were worse sinners . . . other: It was a very old and common opinion among the Jews that sudden or serious misfortunes were caused by the sins of those who suffered such misfortunes (see the Book of Job). Evidently those who brought the news of this misfortune had implied this, but Christ says no. He does not say they were not sinners but that they were no worse than others.

unless you repent: He now reminds all his hearers that they are all sinners and have need for repentance.

you will all likewise perish: Sinners who refuse to repent will perish, and more than the temporal death which all must face one day is implied here.

those eighteen: Our Lord himself refers to another accident which had caused the sudden death of eighteen men, and very likely this accident had also been attributed to the grievous personal sins of those involved. He points out that there were many other citizens of Jerusalem who were just as guilty, if not more so, than these unfortunates. And again he urges repentance unless they wish a worse fate to befall themselves.

a man had a fig tree: Our Lord now tells a parable about a man and a fig tree. Although he does not apply the parable, the meaning in the circumstances is clear. The Jews were God’s fig tree; he had planted them and cared for them and expected fruit but they produced none. He now decides to cut them down. But the gardener—evidently a figure of Christ himself—pleads to give them one more chance, one more year in which he would do everything possible to change their attitude. If they then failed God could deal with them. We know the result.

APPLICATION: Although the incidents collected together here by St. Luke are not logically or chronologically connected there is one theme and lesson running through them all. It is the need, namely, for repentance. Some sinners are punished in this life, but an earthly punishment is no proof of greater sin, nor is it the real punishment that must be feared.

The parable of the useless fig tree, while it applies directly to the stubborn Jews of Christ’s time, has a lesson for all time and for all sinners. God’s mercy is infinite but man’s earthly life, during which he can obtain that mercy, is very finite. God’s mercy can forgive sins no matter how grievous, but it cannot forgive even less serious sins unless the sinner is sorry and asks for forgiveness. Christ, our true mediator with God, is continually interceding for us, but unless we do our part by repenting and changing our behavior, his intercession will be of no avail to us. No man is lost because God so wishes it, but no man is saved unless he himself wishes it and works for it.

Think on this parable of the fruitless fig tree today. If your conscience tells you that it applies to you, think also that Christ is interceding for you. He has obtained for you a moratorium, a period in which you can prove yourself fruitful. Use that gift of God with gratitude and you shall obtain the result that God wants, and that, in all good sense, you should want as well.-c122

Greetings and welcome to the first installment of the Sunday Readings in Context blog. The commentary is by Fr. Kevin Sullivan, O.F.M. from his excellent book “The Sunday Readings” - Franciscan Press - Quincy University.

Each reading is followed by an Explanation section and an Application section. The Explanation section sumarizes, contextualizes, and clarifies some particular words/phrases in the reading. The Application section connects the wisdom of the reading to our daily experiences.

You may want to copy and print part or all of the selections and bring it to prayer with your Bible. Write down your thoughts and questions in your notebook or in your Bible. Try to make connections. Can you see the connection between the First Reading and the Gospel? Sometimes it is harder than others - like the First Week of Lent. But if you look hard enough you will find it.

The Second Reading, which is usually from Saint Paul’s writings, always has a message with a timeless application. I find that it is most often a phrase or a sentence that is so applicable to my life at the time that it could be printed and placed on my refrigerator for the week.

Before you begin, pray to God. Ask him to open your heart to the unique message in the readings that was meant specifically for you. In time, you will begin to smile as the scales fall away from the eyes of your heart and Sunday readings take on a whole new meaning for you. Enjoy and have fun!

Blog too! Share what you have found. We always learn if we are open to another’s perspective. We are looking forward to some wonderful experiences.

Fr. Chip

FIRST READING: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18. The Lord took Abram outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.”

But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a Covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.”

EXPLANATION: 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 its 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.

number the stars: God promises Abram that his descendants would be as the stars in the sky: a poetic way of saying very numerous.

to him as righteousness: Abram’s acceptance of God’s word was a meritorious act of faith for which God rewarded him.

give you this land: God now promises Abram the land of Canaan in which he was already living.

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.

Bring me a heifer. . .pigeon: God grants Abram’s request and makes a covenant with him, thus sealing the handing over of the land.

cut them in two: 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.

a smoking fire pot . . . 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.

on that day: 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 Joshua).

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.

SECOND READING: Philippians 3:17-4:1. Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

EXPLANATION:On the Philippian church to which St. Paul is writing this letter see the Second Sunday of Advent. 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.

you . . . example in us: He asks them to follow his example. 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.

many . . . 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.

in destruction: These people who are given to their own comforts, their bodily pleasures, their earthly treasures will end in ruin.

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

and from it . . . 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 Lord Jesus Christ: “Lord” applied to Christ in St. Paul means God.

will change our lowly body: 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.

to be like his glorious body: 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.

stand firm: 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.

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.

THIRD READING: Luke 9:28-36. Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he said this, a cloud came and over-shadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

EXPLANATION: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 Tabor 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.

However the disciples could not persuade themselves that he who had shown such wonderful powers could allow himself to be put to death by his enemies. This scene on the mountain therefore, which is called the Transfiguration, was intended by Christ to be an encouragement to his disciples to remain steadfast in the terrible test of faith which his passion and death was soon to be for them.

the appearance . . . altered: 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.

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.

spoke of his departure . . . Jerusalem: This was the purpose of the manifestation: to convince the disciples of the necessity of the Passion. They evidently heard the conversation.

Peter and those . . . with him . . . heavy with 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.

kept awake . . . saw his glory: The external scene was clear to them: Christ, Moses and Elijah radiant in glory.

Peter said to Jesus: 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.

cloud . . . overshadowed them: As was frequently the case in the Old Testament, a cloud was a sign of the presence of God.

were afraid: Afraid because they knew God was here near them.

This is my 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.

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.

kept silence . . . 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.

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 where 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.-c116

Music video produced by Doctor Bob Studios for the Casting Crowns song, “Who Am I.”

Here’s a rap-style video about how God shoulders our burdens.

Here’s a video of LeAnn Rimes singing an “amazing” rendition of this classic hymn - enjoy!