6th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Heb 11:1-7
Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible. By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice greater than Cain’s. Through this, he was attested to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through this, though dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was found no more because God had taken him. Before he was taken up, he was attested to have pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned about what was not yet seen, with reverence built an ark for the salvation of his household. Through this, he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes through faith.
Gospel: Mk 9:2-13
Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, looking around, the disciples no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He told them, “Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
LET US LISTEN TO JESUS! Today, the apostles of the “inner caucus” see the “other” side of Jesus. They se him as the “beloved” son of God. All fears and worries disappear as they hear the voice of the Father confirming Jesus and mandating us to listen to Jesus. The transfiguration serves to enlighten and strengthen the minds ,and the understanding of the apostles about jesus and about themselves. Our own transfiguration occurs whenever we listen to Jesus as commanded by God the Father. Listening is different from hearing. Many of us hear the Word of God, but very few listen to the Word of God. The first reading presents us with faith, a gift from God, enabling us to believe. Indeed Godd has revealed himself and justified us as a holy people. May we be men and women of great faith.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to listen to you always with faith. Amen.
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“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him”: The transfiguration of our Lord takes place within a week since the foretelling by Jesus of his passion, crucifixion, death and resurrection. This manifestation of the divine glory of Jesus provides the much required counterbalance to the scandalized apostles. The appearance of Moses and Elijah representing respectively the law and the prophecy, the summary of OT, the presence of the cloud representing the presence of God and above all the voice of God- ‘This is my beloved Son, listen to him,’ make this event a supreme manifestation of the divine glory of Jesus. This experience prepares the apostles to listen to Jesus and accept the humiliation of the cross before the glory of the resurrection happens. The manifestation is timely and appropriate because prior, the apostles had a challenge accepting a suffering Christ. When things do not go well, do we accept a suffering Christ and suffering as God’s plan for us?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to attentively listen to you and to put into practice what I learn from you.
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TAKE TIME TO LISTEN: As Christians all are called to follow the Lord at all costs, but we can only do that when we empty ourselves of our pride and ego, so we can be filled by his grace. The transfiguration event is an affirmation of God’s glory in Jesus. In his transfiguration, Jesus was confirmed by his Father and had affirmed his role in the salvation event. Two important figures of our faith—Moses and Elijah—stood side by side with Jesus, a signal that the prophecy has been fulfilled. The apostles were overwhelmed by the vision; thus, Peter’s immediate reaction was really to enjoy such event and offered Jesus that he would build three tents for them. But a voice from a bright cloud was heard saying: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” The transfiguration of Jesus has given us a loud and strong order from his Father, which is to listen to his beloved son. Let us listen to the voice of the Lord that unfolds and reveals to us every day, in every event of our daily life in the people we meet and relate.
DAILY GOSPEL 