The Transfiguration
First reading Genesis 22:1-2,9-13,15-18
The sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith
God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he called. ‘Here I am’ he replied. ‘Take your son,’ God said ‘your only child Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him as a burnt offering, on a mountain I will point out to you.’
When they arrived at the place God had pointed out to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son Isaac and put him on the altar on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and seized the knife to kill his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham’ he said. ‘I am here’ he replied. ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your son, your only son.’ Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt-offering in place of his son.
The angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time from heaven. ‘I swear by my own self – it is the Lord who speaks – because you have done this, because you have not refused me your son, your only son, 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 gates of their enemies. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, as a reward for your obedience.’
Responsorial Psalm 115(116):10,15-19
I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.
I trusted, even when I said:
‘I am sorely afflicted,’
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Second reading Romans 8:31-34
God did not spare his own Son
With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.
Gospel Mark 9:2-10
This is my Son, the Beloved
Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. 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.’ He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. 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.’ Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
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. They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean.
Reflection
Today’s First Reading is one of the most remarkable stories in the Hebrew Scriptures. The story is shocking and we find it impossible to put ourselves in Abraham’s place. It is its extreme nature and the powerful poignancy of the father-son relationship that makes this story unforgettable – and the point being made is as valid today as it was then.
Do we cling to God in faith, or do we cling to God’s gifts?
When we pray is it our desire to be with God, or to enjoy the feeling of being close to God?
Do we want only what God wants, or do we like to feel useful and to succeed in spiritual as well as other matters?
Are we ready to let go when God calls us to let go – of people, of places, of security, of past graces, of health, of life itself?
How deep is our trust in God?
In the Second Reading, Paul recalls God’s amazing love: ‘God did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for us. Will God not also give us with him everything else?’ (Romans 8:32).
The message of Jesus is that God really does love us, more than a parent or a grandparent. In fact it is this unconditional love – if only we would really believe it – that gives us the motivation and the energy to become the kind of loving person God wants us to be.
God placed his dearly beloved Son in our hands. What more could he do to demonstrate his trust and his love. Surely we must believe that God will give us all we need to counter the negative influences in our lives and to learn to love, each of us in our own individual way, as best we can.
The Gospel, too, focuses on Jesus as God’s beloved Son. The transfiguration scene is God’s statement that Jesus is right.
It is a foretaste of the resurrection.
Whatever might happen to Jesus God will never abandon him. Jesus will know a deep peace in his soul and he will always experience a profound communion with the very source of his being.
Yes, he, like us, will suffer and be misunderstood. He will feel abandoned. But Jesus knew in faith that God would never let him go. This enabled Jesus to cling to God in love.
Jesus wants us to know that God offers each of us a similar assurance – a grace of intimate communion to strengthen us during our trials.
Fr Michael Fallon msc
