March 6, 2009
Sunday Scripture
Second Sunday of Lent
BY FATHER DONALD DILGER
The transfiguration of Jesus is always the gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent. There are four versions of the transfiguration in the New Testament: Mark, Matthew, Luke and the Second Letter of Peter. The core of the four is the same, but there are also major differences. Our concern this year is Mark’s version. Jesus goes up on a mountain — the traditional place of divine manifestations. He takes with him three of the first chosen disciples: Simon Peter, James and his brother John. These three are singled out on several occasions in the Gospel of Mark. They accompany Jesus when he restores life to a little girl. They are with him at the transfiguration. They are the chosen witnesses of his agonizing prayer to his Father in Gethsemane. The transfiguration and resurrection of the little girl should have prepared them for Jesus’ suffering. It did not. They slept.
The transfiguration is described: “His clothes became dazzling white.” This is standard in the Bible for many divine appearances. Elijah and Moses appear and converse with Jesus. Why do they come on stage? Mark does not give us the topic of their conversation, but Luke does. They talked about his “exodus” which was about to take place in Jerusalem. That would mean his crucifixion, death and resurrection. Their presence assures believers that what is about to happen to Jesus is in full accord with the revelation contained in the Torah (represented by Moses) and the Prophets (represented by Elijah.)
Simon Peter, never at a loss for words, notes “. . . it is good for us to be here. Let’s put up three tents.” The tents would be for the three principals — Jesus, Moses and Elijah. The tents are thought to be a reference to the annual jewish pilgrimage feast, the Feast of Tents (Booths, Tabernacles). This was a feast so joyful that it came to be called “The Feast.” Peter is delirious, a mixture of joy and terror, says Mark, “He didn’t know what he was saying, because they were so terrified.” This too is standard for experience with the divine. Peter wants this situation to endure at least for the length of a Feast of Tents, which was seven days. It was not to be. What the three principals spoke about had to happen before glory became permanent. “Suddenly . . . they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.” That’s a good opening for a meditation on the momentary transfiguration we experience, then quickly return to the daily routine, alone with Jesus, en route to our own “exodus.”
A most important feature of the story is the appearance of the cloud which overshadowed the disciples. This is another part of divine manifestations. The Lord loves clouds! A voice comes from the cloud, “This is my Beloved Son. Listen to him.” It is a witness from the Father, similar to the witness of the voice at Jesus’ baptism. Why was this revelation so important at this time in the Gospel of Mark? Because Jesus was en route to Jerusalem, his “exodus.” His suffering and death would be a scandal, a hindrance to many. How could this happen to God, the Son of God? The voice does not explain. It only affirms the revelation, “Despite what will happen, this really is My Beloved Son!”
The other half of the revelation: “Listen to him!” About what? The context into which Mark places the transfiguration answers this question. Just previously, Jesus had been warning the disciples about the difficulties encountered by those who would follow him. “If any wish to follow me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.” The transfiguration is a very brief encounter with glory to strengthen the determination of all Christians who must carry their own cross. Glory comes only after the “exodus.”
Our first reading is the story of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac at the Lord’s command. The title of the story is “The Akedah,” meaning “The Binding” of Isaac. A connection between the Akedah and the transfiguration is not immediately obvious. There are however some connections. In the transfiguration story there are undertones of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. This is clear from the context into which Mark puts the transfiguration. It follows the warning that Jesus’ disciples must take up their own cross to follow him. In the transfiguration the voice from the cloud reveals Jesus as “My Beloved Son.” In the Akedah the Lord says to Abraham, “Take your son, the beloved one, . . . and offer him as a sacrifice . . .” From earliest Christian times commentators saw the Akedah as a preview of the sacrifice of the Beloved Son by God the Father.
This reading continues the theme of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Beloved Son, by his Father, “the one who did not spare his own son, but handed him over for us all.” This is almost a direct quotation from Isaiah 53:8, which in turn is the Old Testament foundation for Paul’s theology of Jesus’ death as an atoning sacrifice willed by the Father. Paul notes that if God gave his only son, “Will he not also give us everything along with him?”