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Gospel: Mark 9: 2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother 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;
from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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God the Father only speaks twice in the Gospels.
The first moment comes at Christ’s baptism.
Jesus is plunged into the Jordan River by John. Upon being drawn out of that watery tomb, the heavens are opened as the Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove.
Suddenly, the Father proclaims from the heavens, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
No other word is spoken from heaven until the Transfiguration, which we hear in today’s Gospel.
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Jesus leads his inner circle – Peter, James, and John – up a high mountain, where his clothes become dazzling white. The disciples stare in wonder as Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah, two prophets from the Old Testament.
Suddenly, the Father appears again in a cloud, repeating the words he spoke at Christ’s baptism: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Then the Father disappears, never to speak again, leaving Jesus alone with his disciples.
Why does the Father say nothing else? And why does he only appear at these two events in Christ’s earthly life?
To affirm two truths: Jesus is the Son of God, and therefore, he speaks on his Father’s behalf. Whatever truths God wants to share with creation come from the mouth of the Lord.
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“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
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To “listen” to Jesus not only means to hear his voice, but also to obey what he says. Doing so assures us a share in his divine life, which we receive a glimpse of today.
How do we make time to listen to the voice of the Lord? In what ways do we act on it?
May the words of the prophet Samuel become a daily mantra for us: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
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Image credits: (1) Dreamtime (2) Transfiguration, Raphael (3) Life Teen