Sunday, 2nd Sunday of Lent
Warning regarding the first readings of the Sundays of Lent
These have not been chosen for their strict relationship with the Gospel, but to recall some key moments in the history of salvation. In this Cycle A, these are: 1) the sin of Adam and Eve (last Sunday); 2) the vocation of Abraham; 3) the miracle of Moses in the desert; 4) the anointing of David as king; 5) the promise of restoration of the exiled people in Babylon.
During Holy Week, our streets will see various images of Jesus Christ crucified pass by. People will look at them with more or less respect, but no one will say: “He was a terrorist and a blasphemer. They did well to kill him.” If our image of Jesus is positive, despite his such tragic fate, it is largely due to today’s gospel.
The common theme to the three readings of this Sunday is “through the renunciation of triumph.” In the first, Abraham must renounce his homeland and his family, a very hard experience that is well known only by those who have had to emigrate. But he will obtain a new land and a numerous family like the stars of the sky. Even all the families of the world will feel united to him and will use his name to bless themselves.
In the second reading, Timothy must renounce a comfortable life and take part in the hard work of proclaiming the gospel. But he will obtain the immortal life that Jesus secured for us through his death.
In the Gospel, if we relate it to the immediately preceding episode (the first announcement of the passion and resurrection), the theme is also clear: Jesus, who renounces securing his life, obtains the victory symbolized in the transfiguration. He announces this to the disciples: “Truly, I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see me coming in my glory.”
This glorious manifestation of Jesus will take place six days later. The account can be divided into three parts: the ascent to the mountain (v.1), the vision (vv.2-8), and the descent from the mountain (9-13). From a literary point of view, it is a theophany, a manifestation of God, and the evangelists use the same elements that the authors of the Old Testament used to describe them. Therefore, before analyzing each of the parts, it is worth remembering some details of the famous theophany of Sinai, when God revealed himself to Moses.
The Theophany of Sinai
God does not manifest himself in just any space, but in a special place, the mountain, to which not all the people have access, but only Moses, who is sometimes accompanied by his brother Aaron (Ex 19:24), or Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu along with the seventy leaders of Israel (Ex 24:1). The presence of God is expressed through the image of a thick cloud from which he speaks (Ex 19:9). It is also frequent to mention in this context fire, smoke, and the trembling of the mountain, as a symbol of the glory and power of God approaching the earth. These elements demonstrate that the evangelists do not intend to offer an objective, “historical,” report of what happened, but to create a climate similar to that of the theophanies of the Old Testament.
The climb up the mountain
Jesus only chooses three disciples, Peter, James, and John. The exclusion of the other nine aims to indicate that something so important is going to happen that it cannot be witnessed by everyone. It is said that they went up “to a high and secluded mountain.” Christian tradition, which is not satisfied with these general indications, has identified it with Mount Tabor, which is not very high (575 m) and nothing secluded. The evangelists want to indicate something else: they use the frequent symbolism of the mountain as the dwelling place or place of revelation of God. Among the ancient Canaanites, Mount Safon was the dwelling place of the divine pantheon. For the Greeks, it was Olympus. For the Israelites, the sacred mountain was Sinai (or Horeb).
Also, Carmel had a special prestige among them, just as Mount Zion had in Jerusalem. A “high and distant” mountain horizontally distances itself from men and vertically brings them closer to God. It is in this context that the glorious manifestation of Jesus will take place.
The vision
It contains four elements that move it forward to its fullness: 1) the transformation of Jesus’ face and garments; 2) the appearance of Moses and Elijah; 3) the appearance of a luminous cloud that covers those present; 4) the voice that is heard from heaven.
1. The transformation of Jesus was expressed by Mark with these words: “their clothes became dazzling white, like no fuller on earth could bleach them” (Mk 9:3). Matthew omits this final comparison and adds a new detail: “his face shone like the sun.” The light symbolizes the glory of Jesus, which the disciples had not perceived until now in such a surprising way.
2. “Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.” Moses is the great mediator between God and his people, the prophet with whom God spoke face to face. Humanly speaking, without Moses, there would not have existed the people of Israel nor their religion. Elijah is the prophet who saves that religion in its greatest moment of crisis, in the 9th century BC, when it was about to succumb to the influence of Canaanite religion. Without Elijah, all of Moses’s work would have fallen to the ground. The fact that they now appear to the disciples (not to Jesus) is a way of guaranteeing them the importance of the figure they are following.
It is not a heretic or a madman, nor is he destroying the religious work of centuries; he is on the line of the ancient prophets, bringing his work to fulfillment.
In this context, Peter’s words suggesting building three booths sound out of place. But they are a simple consequence of what he says before: “How good it is to be here.” When the first announcement of the passion, Peter rejected suffering and death as a way to save. Now, on the same line, he considers it preferable to stay on the mountain with Jesus, Moses, and Elijah than to follow Jesus with the cross.
3. As at Sinai, God manifests himself in a cloud and speaks from it.
4. His first words reproduce exactly those that were heard at the moment of Jesus’ baptism, when God presented Jesus as his servant. But here an imperative is added: “Listen to him!”. The order relates directly to Jesus’ previous words, which have caused so much scandal to Peter, and to the harsh alternative between life and death that he has presented to his disciples. This message cannot be evaded or trivialized. “Listen to him!”.
The Descent from the Mountain
Matthew recounts two facts at this moment: Jesus’ order that they not speak of the vision until he rises again, and the disciples’ question about the return of Elijah.
The first corresponds to the prohibition of saying that he is the Messiah (Mt 16:20). It is not the time now to speak of power and glory, raising false ideas and hopes. After the resurrection, when believing in Christ will require accepting the scandal of his passion and cross, his glory can also be spoken of freely.
The second topic, about the return of Elijah, is omitted in the liturgy.
Summary
This episode is told as an anticipation of the glory of Jesus and as a positive experience for the apostles and for all of us. After having heard Jesus speak of his passion and death, of the harsh conditions he imposes on his followers, we have three complementary experiences: 1) Jesus transfigured gloriously; 2) accompanied by Moses and Elijah; 3) we hear the voice from heaven.
This represents a growing teaching: 1) seeing their face and their clothes transformed, we experience that their final destiny is not failure, but glory; 2) the appearance of Moses and Elijah confirms that Jesus is the culmination of Israel’s religious history and of God’s revelation; 3) the voice from heaven tells us that following Jesus is not madness, but what is most in accordance with God’s plan.
Three ideas that help overcome the scandal of Jesus Christ crucified.
José Luis Sicre
English version translated with AI