II Sunday Of Lent Year C
Readings: Gen. 15:5-12.17-18; Phil. 3:17-4:1; Lk. 9:28-36
“The Transfiguration narrative, originating in Easter faith, is intended to anticipate in the Gospel storyline the meaning of the Easter event” (G. Barbaglio).
What probably happened? That Jesus took a day of retreat with his closest friends, went away to the mountain and started reading the Bible, namely Moses and Elijah. To say “The Holy Scripture,” the Jews used to say “Moses and Elijah,” or “Moses and the prophets.” Jesus reads the Bible-this means talking to Moses and Elijah-and in this reflection on Scripture Jesus becomes aware that he is the Messiah, and, by a divine miracle, this awareness is also understood by the three to the disciples who are with him. We do not want to deny God the possibility of transfiguration, of becoming white, shining, with all the rays around, but it is much closer to us to think that when we can find half a day to retreat to a mountain to read the Scripture, in those moments we also talk to 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 lives. Nothing prohibits us from thinking and believing that a resounding event took place, but we must read the Bible beyond the literary genre and recover the plastic meaning of this passage, the concrete revelation given to us in it.
“In the daily struggle to follow Jesus by carrying our own cross (Mt. 16:24) we need moments when we can say, “It is good for us to be here beside you, Jesus, our Lord!”; moments when the light of the “God-with-us” (Mt. 1:23) becomes evident, when 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 affirms, “We are called to rediscover the pacifying and regenerating silence of meditating on the Gospel, of reading the Bible, which leads toward a goal rich in beauty, splendor and joy. And when we stand like this, with the Bible in hand, in silence, we begin to feel this inner beauty, this joy that generates the Word of God in us… At the end of the wondrous experience of the Transfiguration, the disciples came down from the mountain with eyes and hearts transfigured by their encounter with the Lord. This is the path we too can take. The ever more vivid rediscovery of Jesus is not an end in itself, but leads us to “come down from the mountain,” recharged with the power of the divine Spirit, to decide on new steps of conversion and to constantly witness charity as the law of daily life. Transformed by Christ’s presence and the ardor of his word, we will be a concrete sign of God’s life-giving love for all our brothers and sisters, especially for those who suffer, for those who are in loneliness and abandonment, for the sick and for the multitude of men and women who, in different parts of the world, are humiliated by injustice, arrogance and violence.”
It is the experience of Abraham, who sees God passing by as “a smoking brazier and a burning torch” (First Reading: Gen. 15:5-12, 17-18). It is the experience of the disciples who see “the glorious body of Jesus” (Second Reading: Phil 3:17-4:1). In both cases they are oppressed by “torpor” (Gen 15:12), by a “sleep” (Lk 9:32). Sometimes God manifests Himself to man during tardemah, ecstatic and deep sleep, which is often in the Bible precisely the way to express supernatural intervention (from Jacob to St. Joseph: Gen 15:12; 20:3; 26:24; 28:10-22; 31:24; 1 Kings 3:5; Heb 33:15; Mt 1:20; 2:12-13.19.22!). Instead, let us pray to God not to remain asleep for real when God passes by us and wants to manifest Himself to us!