Word to the Wise
Sunday, March 16, 2025 - 2nd Sunday of Lent - C
[Gen 15:5-12, 17-18; Phil 3:17-4:1 or 3:20-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36,204]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...[Luke]
The event traditionally called "the Transfiguration" appears in all three of the synoptic gospels and can leave us all in the same position as the three frightened disciples who were with Jesus when it happened. The presence "in glory" of Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, and the mention of the "exodus," all point to a vision of the entirely of God's plan of salvation. A voice from a cloud, like that on Sinai, identifies Jesus as God's "chosen son," much like the voice at Jesus' baptism, when Jesus is called the "beloved Son." [Luke 3:22].
The exodus is the pivotal event in Jewish history. It marked the end of slavery and proclaimed deliverance for God's chosen people. The Law was given to Moses on a mountain in a cloud. All of these elements come together in the experience of the "transfiguration." Jesus would accomplish a new "exodus" and a new deliverance in Jerusalem that everything before him foretold. This was far too much for three fishermen to comprehend. It is a lot for us to comprehend, as well. In a sense, the entire revelation of the Bible is summed up in the Transfiguration. The voice on the mountain challenges us just as it did those three disciples: "This is my chosen Son; listen to him!" AMEN
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