ON THE MOUNTAIN OF GLORY
Introduction
The Lectionary takes today an excerpt from the Letter to the Hebrews that praises the faith of the holy persons from the first pages of the Old Testament.
After he has announced his coming suffering and answered Peter’s protest, Jesus is transfigured before the eyes of his intimate friends among the apostles who will also watch his agony in the garden. This is how he strengthens their faith. Then, he speaks again with them about his approaching passion. Let us ask the Lord in this Eucharist to give us courage in difficult moments.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
when your Son was transfigured
you gave eyes of faith to the apostles
to see beyond appearances
and to recognize Jesus as your beloved Son.
This vision gave them courage for the hour of trial.
When our faith and trust
seem to desert us in dark moments,
let your Son take us up to the mountain
and give us a glimpse of his light,
that with fresh courage and generosity,
we may see where he wants us to go.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading – HEBREWS 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.
Responsorial PSALM 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11
R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable. R.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works. R.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might. R.
Alleluia MARK 9:6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:
This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MARK 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.”
Commentary
This is my Son, the beloved.
Mark narrates the incident of the Transfiguration of Jesus after he makes the first announcement about his death (Mk 8:27-30). This announcement disturbed and upset the minds of the disciples. Peter tries to dissuade him (Mk 8:31-33). For the disciples, the Cross was an obstacle to belief in Jesus. They could not understand why Jesus had to die as a criminal. That is when Jesus reveals his true identity to prepare the apostles to withstand the Passion, the scandal of the Cross.
The apostles thought Jesus was a liberator, a king who wins in battles and is always triumphant. But Jesus’ path is different: his victory is through humiliation, the humiliation of the Cross. However, before it becomes a scandal for his disciples, Jesus reveals to them what happens after the Cross, what awaits them, and all of us: the glory of Heaven.
The disciples could not digest the image of a suffering Messiah. We hear Peter, reacting: ‘This cannot happen’ – because according to the Torah, a person condemned to death is cursed by God.’ When Mark wrote his gospel in the years 68 to 70, the great difficulty, the great impediment to adhering to Christ and the gospel on the part of the Jews was precisely the Cross because the Cross was understood as a curse.
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him – he takes them apart to a high mountain. This act of going up the mountain with Jesus still needs to happen in our lives, too, to understand the meaning of suffering in our daily lives. The first step is to leave the plains where all the people are, where you think by the standards of this world. Instead, allow Jesus to be with us; let Jesus take us by the hand and go up onto the mountain.
What kind of mountain is this? It’s not Mount Tabor, of course! Mountains were the abode of God in Israel – and in most religions. Jesus takes his disciples, and today he invites us to go up the mountain with him. Hiking is a favourite sport for many youngsters today. Why not go on hiking with Jesus, of course, on the mountain of prayer, the mountain of intimacy with Jesus? He will help us understand the mystery of the Cross on the mountain. It’s not a material mountain, and it’s the moment when we forget our surroundings to be alone with the Lord in prayer. These moments of intimacy with him are necessary in silence, meditation, and prayer, in which we let ourselves be enveloped in God’s way of seeing the world, people and life.
Intentions
– For trust, that God is near to us in our deepest loneliness and in all trials, we pray:
– For courage and constancy, that we may keep doing what is right and good even if it demands pain and effort, we pray:
– For open hearts and hands for all those who suffer, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
all we see before us
is a piece of bread and a cup of wine.
Yet we believe that soon they will be changed
into your Son among us.
Let him come alive in us
and guide us by his Holy Spirit,
that with him, we may hear your call
and go through the hardships and joys of life
with faces lit up by hope,
and by the certainty that you have prepared for us
a glory and happiness that will last for ever. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, in this Eucharist,
we have seen a glimpse of your Son’s glory
in the love shown us at his table
and in his encouraging words.
Let our lives reflect his light and life,
that each of us may be to his sisters and brothers
a firm support and a helping hand
and a road sign on the way to you,
our God, for ever and ever. Amen!
Blessing
May the Lord give us in difficult moments a glimpse of his deep love and nearness, and may we too, brighten the face of people in their troubles with a word and a smile of sympathy and warmth. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!