Homily Transfiguration (C) - New Exodus

Core Message:

FOR THE MIND: What do I want them to KNOW?

· Insert what you want them to KNOW here.

FOR THE HEART: What do I want them to FEEL?

· If in his glorious light on the mountain you’ve seen the full strength of kingly power, step into the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil, for he is with me!

Homily

Raffael’s encroachers: go up the mountain with Peter, James, and John

Raffael did a good job keeping the mountain and the valley together (as did the evangelists)

But the liturgy assumes you know the context.

Look, the Gospel begins, after Jesus said this … After he said what?

The Transfiguration happens 8 days after Jesus said something, and Luke wants you to know that. But what saying of Jesus preceded the Transfiguration?

I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain

The disciples see the kingdom of God in the Transfigured person of Christ.

· Here, in the glorious face of Jesus, the kingdom has come on earth as it is in heaven.

Raffael gets clever here. He paints Jesus floating in the air.

Raffael where does it say that in Scripture? It doesn’t!!!

But Raffael is simply connecting the dots,

· for Jesus also said before the Sanhedrin, …

· that they would see the Son of man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

· Raffael painted Dan 7:13 into his painting, and we’re barely even blinked!

He did much more.

In Scene 1, Jesus is in the center of an almost empty sky

· (Moses and Elijah flank him on the left and right; they too had theophanies on a mountain; they represent the Law and the Prophets of which Jesus is the center)

But Scene 2 is the opposite of Scene 1

· It’s crowded with characters, and in the center theirs is nothing but an empty space.

Strange, right?

· But remember Christ’s words to Peter on the mountain …

· When he suggests it would be good to build three tents and camp out up here in glory

· But, Peter has it all wrong. This mountain isn’t our resting place.

· It’s a spring that’s meant to propel us into the valley of the shadow of death.

And what a valley!

· There a man goes to the other 9 apostles…

· to ask them to cast out the demon from his son

The boys’ arms, which are gargantuan (Michelangelo’s influence) …

· are stretched out wide, one to sky above, one to the ground below

· his eyes are equally divided, one looks in the direction of Christ on the mountain

· one looks down and away from him

this is the image of Satan’s project to tear a man apart, to destroy him

· and so the man says, the demon tries to throws him into water and fire to destroy him

· notice water and fire: God would have us baptized into water and fire, immersed into the Spirit that we might have abundant life

· but Satan, who cannot upstage God, can only ape after God, though, to counter purposes

And who will help this poor soul?

· The arms of the apostles attempt in answer.

· One points to himself, with an expression which says, Who me?

· Another points to the mountain, The One who can help you is up there.

If only the power that was up there were down here?

Raffael gets even more creative … an enigmatic woman is on her knees.

She’s the most prominent figure in Scene 2, beautiful, ornate hair style, complex posture

· She’s on her knees, before that gaping, empty space in the middle of the scene, looking to the apostles and pointing to the boy.

She’s wearing red and blue

· Here you need to know that in the paintings of the quattrocento and in other paintings of Raffael, Christ wears red and blue.

· This manifests his humanity and divinity. The heavens are blue. Human blood is red.

One in particular, positioned to the right of the Transfiguration, in the Vatican Pinocateca

· Has Christ with blue and red, but Mary in red and blue

· He is eternally God, but assumes human nature in the Incarnation.

· Mary is a human creature; but she is divinized by grace.

This woman represents the Bride of Christ. She is the Church.

· She is the allegorical figure of faith.

· She sees the unseen. The kneels before the empty space.

But what is meant to fill it.

· Drop Scene 1 over Scene 2

· And it’s the Transfigured Jesus who stands in the midst of the mayhem

In his majesty, he casts out the demon.

· O faithless generation. How long must I bear with you!

· But then later. This kind can only be cast out by prayer.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

Translate … sweet spot with God … to the valley of death.

Peter, be a light to the nations.

But it’s not just the transfigured Christ that goes down

· The Transfiguration was commissioned as an altarpiece

· It’s the Eucharistic Christ that goes up!

We don’t have to shield our eyes to his glory.

· In faith, we kneel before him.

Readings

Tuesday, August 6, 2019 | Feast

Transfiguration of the Lord

Year C | Roman Missal | Lectionary

First Reading Daniel 7:9–10, 13–14

Response Psalm 97:1a, 9a

Psalm Psalm 97:1–2, 5–6, 9

Second Reading 2 Peter 1:16–19

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 17:5c

Gospel Luke 9:28b–36

Index of Readings

First Reading

Daniel 7:9–10, 13–14

9 As I watched,

Thrones were set up

and the Ancient of Days took his throne.

His clothing was white as snow,

the hair on his head like pure wool;

His throne was flames of fire,

with wheels of burning fire.

10 A river of fire surged forth,

flowing from where he sat;

Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,

and myriads upon myriads stood before him.

The court was convened, and the books were opened.

13 As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven

One like a son of man.

When he reached the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him,

14 He received dominion, splendor, and kingship;

all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

that shall not pass away,

his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.

Response

Psalm 97:1a, 9a

1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;

let the many islands be glad.

9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth,

exalted far above all gods.

Psalm

Psalm 97:1–2, 5–6, 9

1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice;

let the many islands be glad.

2 Cloud and darkness surround him;

justice and right are the foundation of his throne.

5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his justice;

all peoples see his glory.

9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth,

exalted far above all gods.

Second Reading

2 Peter 1:16–19

16 We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

· Peter, left out the fact that the Father’s voice said, “Listen to him.” Or rather, he includes that same idea as he identifies the Word of Christ with the entire prophetic message which we do well to be attentive to. If we let that Light shine in our hearts, the dawning kingdom will come into our hearts.

Gospel Acclamation

Matthew 17:5c

5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Gospel

Luke 9:28b–36

28 About eight days after he said this, he took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. 29 While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. 34 While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” 36 After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

Roman Missal

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

Feast

Entrance Antiphon [Cf. Mt 17:5]

In a resplendent cloud the Holy Spirit appeared.

The Father’s voice was heard: This is my beloved Son,

with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.

The Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) is said.

Collect

O God, who in the glorious Transfiguration

of your Only Begotten Son

confirmed the mysteries of faith by the witness of the Fathers

and wonderfully prefigured our full adoption to sonship,

grant, we pray, to your servants,

that, listening to the voice of your beloved Son,

we may merit to become co-heirs with him.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

When this Feast falls on a Sunday, the Creed is said.

Prayer over the Offerings

Sanctify, O Lord, we pray,

these offerings here made to celebrate

the glorious Transfiguration of your Only Begotten Son,

and by his radiant splendor

cleanse us from the stains of sin.

Through Christ our Lord.

p 918 Preface: The mystery of the Transfiguration.

p 919

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts …

Text without music:

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with your spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts.

R. We lift them up to the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,

through Christ our Lord.

For he revealed his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses

and filled with the greatest splendor that bodily form

which he shares with all humanity,

that the scandal of the Cross

might be removed from the hearts of his disciples

and that he might show

how in the Body of the whole Church is to be fulfilled

what so wonderfully shone forth first in its Head.

And so, with the Powers of heaven,

we worship you constantly on earth,

and before your majesty

without end we acclaim:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts …

p 920 Communion Antiphon [Cf. 1 Jn 3:2]

When Christ appears, we shall be like him,

for we shall see him as he is.

Prayer after Communion

May the heavenly nourishment we have received,

O Lord, we pray,

transform us into the likeness of your Son,

whose radiant splendor you willed to make manifest

in his glorious Transfiguration.

Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

CCC

Homiletic Directory (2015)

B. The Gospel of the Second Sunday of Lent

64. The Gospel on the second Sunday of Lent is always the account of the Transfiguration. It is striking that the glorious and unexpected transfiguration of Jesus’ body in the presence of three chosen disciples should take place immediately after his first prediction of his Passion. (These same three disciples – Peter, James, and John – will likewise be with Jesus during his agony in the garden as he enters into the very hour of his Passion.) In the context of the entire narrative of each of the three gospels, Peter has just confessed his faith in Jesus as Messiah. Jesus accepts this confession but immediately turns to teaching his disciples just what kind of Messiah he is. "He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days." Then he goes on to teach how the Messiah is to be followed: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." It is after this that Jesus takes three disciples up on a high mountain, and there divine glory bursts forth from his body. Moses and Elijah appear, and they are conversing with Jesus. Then a cloud of divine presence, like the one on Mount Sinai, envelops Jesus and his disciples, and from the cloud comes a voice, just as thunder on Sinai signaled that God was speaking to Moses and giving the Law, the Torah, to him. This is the voice of the Father, revealing the deepest identity of Jesus and accrediting him. He says, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him" (Mk 9:7).

65. Many of the themes and patterns that this Directory has emphasized are concentrated in this stunning scene. Clearly, cross and glory belong together. Clearly, the whole Old Testament, represented in Moses and Elijah, concurs that cross and glory belong together. The homilist must speak of these things and explain them. Perhaps no better summary could be found of what the mystery means than the beautiful words of the Preface assigned to that day. As the Eucharistic prayer begins, the priest, speaking for the whole people, wants to give thanks to God through Christ our Lord for this mystery of transfiguration: "For after he had told the disciples of his coming Death, on the holy mountain he manifested to them his glory, to show, even by the testimony of the law and the prophets, that the Passion leads to the glory of the Resurrection." These are the words with which the community begins the Eucharistic Prayer on this day.

66. In each of the Synoptic accounts, the Father’s voice identifies Jesus as his beloved Son and commands, "Listen to him." In the midst of this scene of transcendent glory, the Father’s command draws attention to the path to glory. It is as if He says, "Listen to Him, in whom there is the fullness of my love, which will appear on the Cross." This teaching is a new Torah, the new Law of the Gospel, given on the holy mountain in the center of which there is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given to those who place their faith in Jesus and in the merits of His Cross. It is because he teaches this way that glory bursts forth from Jesus’ body and he is revealed as the Father’s beloved Son. Are we not here deep inside the very heart of the trinitarian mystery? It is the Father’s glory we see in the glory of the Son, and that glory is inextricably joined to the cross. The Son revealed in the Transfiguration is "Light from Light," as the Creed states it; and surely this moment in the Sacred Scriptures is one of the strongest warrants for the

Creed’s formulation.

67. The Transfiguration holds an essential position in the season of Lent because the entire Lenten Lectionary is a lesson book that prepares the elect among the catechumens to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil, just as it prepares all the faithful to renew themselves in the new life into which they have been reborn. If the first Sunday of Lent is an especially striking reminder of Jesus’ solidarity with us in temptation, the second Sunday is meant to remind us that the glory that bursts forth from Jesus’ body is a glory that he means to share with all who are baptized into his death and resurrection. The homilist might well use the words and authority of St. Paul to establish this point, who said, "He [Christ] will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body" (Phil 3:21). This verse is found in the second reading of Cycle C, but the short phrase can bring the point succinctly to the fore in any year.

68. As the faithful come in procession to communion on this Sunday, the Church has them sing in the Communion Antiphon the very words of the Father heard in the Gospel: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." What the chosen three disciples heard and beheld at the Transfiguration exactly converges now with the event of this liturgy in which the faithful receive the Body and Blood of the Lord. In the Prayer after Communion we thank God for allowing us while "still on earth" to be partakers of the things of heaven. While still on earth, the disciples saw the divine glory shining in the body of Jesus. While still on earth, the faithful receive his Body and Blood and hear the Father’s voice speaking to them in the depths of their hearts: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.

Notes

My notes go here.

5 Qualities of Good Preaching – Bishop Robert Barron

1. Mystical

· Prayer is not a help to healthy preaching; it’s indispensable.

· Allow Jesus to so to seize you, so that your words become his.

· It is no longer I who preach but Christ who preaches in me.

2. Biblical

· From Origen to Neumann, all the great preachers from 2nd to 20th c. knew this.

· Beware not to make anecdotes eclipse the biblical message.

3. Ennerving

· When Paul preached, riots started; when preach, they serve me tea.

· Beware of domesticating God’s Word of fire.

4. Call to Conversion

· Metanoiete! Good preaching shines a light, so sinners sense need to renew their lives.

5. Summons to Mission

· From the fishing boat in Galilee to the road to Emmaus, Jesus called sinners to mission.