Gospel for Sunday, March 13 Luke 9: 28-36
II Sunday of Lent C
28About eight days after these speeches, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up the mountain to pray. 29And, while he prayed, his face changed in appearance and his dress became white and dazzling. 30And behold, two men were speaking with him: they were Moses and Elijah, 31appeared in their glory, and spoke of his departure which he would bring to completion in Jerusalem. 32Peter and his companions were oppressed by sleep; yet they remained awake and saw his glory and the two men who were with him. 33While they separated from him, Peter said to Jesus: “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He didn’t know what he was saying. 34While he was speaking thus, a cloud came and overshadowed them; when they entered that cloud, they were afraid. 35And a voice came out of the cloud, saying: “This is my Son, the chosen one; listen to him.” 36As soon as the voice stopped, Jesus was left alone. They remained silent and in those days did not tell anyone what they had seen.
Luke 9: 28-36
Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Misericordie, I am Carlo Miglietta, doctor, biblical scholar, layman, husband, father and grandfather (www.buonabibbiaatutti.it).
Also today I share with you a short meditation thought on the Gospel, with special reference to the theme of mercy.
A POST-EASTER EXPERIENCE?
“The originality of this piece, as well as the typically apocalyptic scenography, comes from the context. It comes immediately after the announcement of the passion and death of the son of man, Peter’s remonstrances and the exhortation to the disciples to follow the master on the “way of the cross”. It means that beyond the passion there exists for Jesus a future of divine glory, that the crucified is the son of man who will come in the end in the splendor of his divinity. The light of Easter and the final coming illuminates the darkness of Good Friday. The suffering servant of God and the glorious son of man are united in the same person. How can we now evaluate the story in relation to the experience that the disciples had of the master? It seems necessary to exclude a revelation of his transcendent and divine being before Easter. Only in the light of the resurrection did they fully understand, for the first time, who Jesus was and the meaning of his tragic death. Once the enigma of his person is revealed in the apparitions of the Risen One, the profession of faith is born that he is the son of God and the son of transcendent man. The crucifixion no longer appears to be a failure but a necessary stage towards glory and above all the expression of his obedience as a suffering servant glorified by God. The scandal of the tragic death is overcome. It signified the abasement of the son of man, who will come in the end in the fullness of his glory and as Lord of the world. Its resurrection is guaranteed. The story of the Transfiguration, originating from this Easter faith, intends to anticipate the meaning of the Easter event in the plot of the Gospel” (G. Barbaglio).
MEDITATION OF SCRIPTURE REVEALS CHRIST TO US
What probably happened? That Jesus took a day of retreat with his closest friends, went away and started reading the Bible, that is, Moses and Elijah. To say “The Holy Scripture”, the Jews said “Moses and Elijah”, or “Moses and the prophets”. Jesus reads the Bible – this means speaking with Moses and Elijah -, and in this reflection on the Scripture Jesus becomes aware of being the Messiah and, by a divine miracle, this awareness is also understood by the three and the disciples who are with him. We do not want to deny God the possibility of transfiguring himself, of becoming white, shining, with all the rays around him, but it is much closer to us to think that when we manage to find half a day to retreat to a mountain to read the Scripture, in those moments we too speak with Moses and Elijah, in those moments God speaks to us and transfigures us, reveals himself to us, tells us that we are his children, makes us understand our mission, gives us courage to carry on with our life. Nothing prevents us from thinking and believing that an amazing event occurred, but we must read the Bible beyond the literary genre and recover the plastic sense of this passage, the concrete revelation that is given to us in it.
“In our daily struggle to follow Jesus by carrying our own cross (Mt 16.24) we need moments in which we can say: «It is beautiful for us to be here next to you, Jesus, our Lord!»; moments in which the light of “God-with-us” (Mt 1.23) becomes evident, in which our faith is confirmed by the voice of God that we hear in our hearts: “He is my beloved Son, listen to him!” ” (E. Bianchi).
Pope Francis states: “We are called to rediscover the pacifying and regenerating silence of meditating on the Gospel, of reading the Bible, which leads towards a goal rich in beauty, splendor and joy. And when we place ourselves like this, with the Bible in our hands, in silence, we begin to feel this interior beauty, this joy that the Word of God generates in us… At the end of the wonderful experience of the Transfiguration, the disciples came down from the mountain with and heart transfigured by the encounter with the Lord. It is the path that we too can take. The increasingly lively rediscovery of Jesus is not an end in itself, but leads us to “come down from the mountain”, recharged with the strength of the divine Spirit, to decide on new steps of conversion and to constantly bear witness to charity, as the law of daily life. Transformed by the presence of Christ and the ardor of his word, we will be a concrete sign of God’s life-giving love for all our brothers, especially for those who suffer, for those who find themselves alone and abandoned, for the sick and for multitude of men and women who, in different parts of the world, are humiliated by injustice, arrogance and violence”.
Happy Mercy to all!
Anyone who would like to read a more complete exegesis of the text, or some insights, please ask me at migliettacarlo@gmail.com.