Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord
Lectionary: 614
Festa tat-Trasfigurazzjoni tal-Mulej
Reading 1 DaNiel 7:9-10, 13-14
As I watched: Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his
throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as
wool; his throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging
stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened and the books
were opened. As the visions during the night continued, I saw: One like a Son
of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, The one like a Son of man received dominion,
glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship
shall not be destroyed.
QARI
1
IL-KTIEB
TA' DANJEL 7 : 9-10, 13-14
"Kont għadni
qiegħed inħares, meta tqiegħdu xi tronijiet, u wieħed Xiħ fl-għomor qagħad
bilqiegħda; lbiesu abjad silġ, u xuxtu bajda suf; ilsna tan-nar it-tron tiegħu,
nar iħeġġeġ ir-roti tiegħu; xmara
ta' nar kienet għaddejja, ħierġa minn quddiemu; eluf ta' eluf kienu jaqduh, u
għaxart elef ta' għaxriet ta' eluf wieqfa quddiemu. Il-Qorti qagħdet
bilqiegħda, u l-kotba nfetħu. "U
billejl deherli qiegħed nara
Responsorial Psalm PSalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Because you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
exalted far above all gods.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
SALM RESPONSORJALI
SALM 97: 1-2, 5-6, 9
Il-Mulej isaltan! Ħa
taqbeż l-art bil-ferħ, u jifirħu l-ħafna gżejjer!
Sħab u dlam hemm
madwaru;
is-sewwa u l-ħaqq
is-sisien tat-tron tiegħu
.R/
il-Mulej hu s-Sid ta' l-art kollha.
Bħax-xama' jdubu
l-muntanji quddiem il-Mulej,
quddiem
is-Sid ta' l-art kollha.
Ixandru
s-smewwiet il-ġustizzja tiegħu;
jaraw
il-popli kollha s-sebħ tiegħu.
R/ il-Mulej hu s-Sid ta' l-art kollha.
Għax int, Mulej, inti
l-Għoli,
'il
fuq mill-art kollha, ogħla ħafna mill-allat.
R/ il-Mulej hu s-Sid ta' l-art kollha.
Reading
Beloved: 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. 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." We ourselves heard
this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. 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.
QARI 2
2 PIETRU 1: 16-19
Aħna
ma konniex qegħdin nibnu fuq ħrejjef maħluqa minn
Gospel MatThew 17:1-9
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was
transfigured before them; his
face shone like the sun and his
clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing
with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents
here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 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." When the disciples heard
this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched
them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not
tell the vision to anyone until
the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
VANGELJU
MATTEW 17: 1-9
Sitt ijiem wara, Ġesù ħa miegħu lil Pietru u 'l
Ġakbu u 'l ħuh Ġwanni, tellagħhom fuq muntanja għolja weħidhom,u tbiddel
quddiemhom. Wiċċu sar jiddi bħax-xemx, u lbiesu sar abjad bħad-dawl.U dehrulhom
Mosè u Elija jitħaddtu miegħu. Qabeż Pietru u qal lil Ġesù: "Mulej,
kemm hu sew li aħna hawn! Jekk trid intella' hawn tliet tined, waħda għalik,
waħda għal Mosè u waħda għal Elija." Kif kien għadu jitkellem, sħaba kollha dawl
għattiethom u minn ġos-sħaba nstema' leħen jgħid: "Dan hu Ibni l-għażiż,
li fih sibt l-għaxqa tiegħi; isimgħu lilu." Id-dixxipli, kif semgħu
dan, waqgħu wiċċhom fl-art, mimlijin biża'. Ġesù resaq lejhom, messhom u
qalilhom: "Qumu. La tibżgħux." Huma refgħu għajnejhom u ma raw lil
ħadd ħlief lil Ġesù waħdu. Huma u neżlin minn fuq il-muntanja, Ġesù
ordnalhom u qalilhom: "Tgħidu lil ħadd b'din id-dehra sa ma Bin il-bniedem
ikun qam mill-imwiet."
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A reflection by Fr. Thomas
Rosica, CSB
The
theological meaning of the Transfiguration is central to our understanding of
the mission of Jesus of Nazareth. It was not only Jesus who was “transfigured”
on Mount Tabor
For
the three apostles, it is an experience of something beyond words: terrifying
and yet wonderful that they would wish to prolong it by building three tents –
for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. Reflecting on the experience, years later, Peter
would write so powerfully in his Second Letter (1:16-19)
“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. For he received honour 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." We
ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy
mountain. 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.”
The
three apostles who would see Jesus prostrate in agony in Gethsemane were given
this glimpse of who he really is, to strengthen them for what lay ahead, and
also to help them to understand what is revealed in the Passion. Today we could
say that Tabor and Calvary are deeply linked
together. Mount Tabor
is simply a foretaste of Calvary and gives us
a deeper vision of the reality of the Crucifixion event.
Matthew’s details of the Transfiguration story
Let
us look closely at several of Matthew’s emphases in today’s majestic Gospel
story. Matthew’s account (17:1-9) confirms that Jesus is the Son of God
(17:5) and points to fulfillment of the prediction that he will come in his
Father’s glory at the end of the age (16:27). It has been explained by some as
a resurrection appearance retrojected (read back) into the time of Jesus’
ministry, but that is not probable since the account lacks many of the usual
elements of the resurrection-appearance narratives. Matthew’s account of
Jesus atop Mount Tabor Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:12-18) and to Elijah at the same
place (1 Kings 19:8-18; Horeb = Sinai).
The face of Jesus
Matthew
describes the face of Jesus that shone like the sun, reminiscent of Daniel
10:6. Jesus’ clothes “white as light” recalls Daniel 7:9 where the
clothing of God appears “snow bright.” (The bright white garments of other
heavenly beings, are also mentioned in Rev 4:4; 7:9; 19:14). In verse 4 we hear
of the three tents – the booths in which the Israelites lived during the feast
of Tabernacles (cf. John 7:2). The tents were meant to recall their
ancestors’ dwelling in booths during the journey from Egypt Jerusalem
The voice from heaven
The
voice of God heard atop the mountain repeats the baptismal proclamation about
Jesus (3:17), with the addition of the command “listen to him.” The latter is a
reference to Deuteronomy 18:15 in which the Israelites are commanded to listen
to the prophet like Moses whom God will raise up for them. The command to
listen to Jesus is general, but in this context it probably applies
particularly to the preceding predictions of his passion and resurrection
(16:21) and of his coming (16:27, 28). Most significant about the statement of
the heavenly voice is that here as in the Old Testament generally, “Word” is
given priority over “vision.” Matthew alone uses the word “vision” (17:9) to
describe the transfiguration. Seeing Jesus transfigured high atop Mount Tabor
Witnessing glory and agony
Peter,
James and John are with Jesus in this moment of glory on Tabor. The
resurface with Jesus in the Garden
of Gethsemane Jerusalem Mount Tabor Golgotha and Tabor– in order to see the glory of
God. Today we look upon the Transfiguration as the celebration of the
presence of Christ that takes charge of everything in us and transfigures even
that which disturbs us about ourselves. God penetrates those hardened,
incredulous, even disquieting regions within us, about which we really do not
know what to do. God penetrates them with the life of the Spirit and acts
upon those regions and gives them his own face, his consolation and his peace.
Our moments of transfiguration
In
the past, every icon painter began his or her career by reproducing the scene
of the Transfiguration. We could say that the destiny of every Christian is
written between two mountains: from Mount
Tabor to Calvary .
The awesome Gospel story of the Transfiguration offers us wondrous moments of
light as well as plunging us into sorrow and darkness. The wonder of eternity
and the daily facts of life reveal the tensions of our life. The story of
Jesus, the prophets and his friends atop Mount Tabor
How
have such experiences shed light on the shadows and darkness of life? What
would our lives be without some of these peak experiences? How often do we turn
to those few but significant experiences for strength, courage and perspective?
When we're down in the valley we often can’t see Christ’s glory. We can only see
it when we have climbed a mountain like Mount Tabor
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