Breaking the Word

Transfiguration of the Lord, – 6^th August 2022 — Gospel: Mk 9,2-10

Glimpses of His Glory

The feast of the Transfiguration was made a universal feast on 6^th August by Pope Callixtus III to commemorate the raising of the Siege of Belgrade in 1456.

When the apostles witnessed the Transfiguration, two of them were dumbfounded and Peter barely knew what he was saying. In his Transfiguration, Christ revealed something well beyond his humanity, i.e., his glorified self. The three witnesses of the “mystery of Christ, true God and true man” also saw Elijah and Moses rejoicing in Jesus. They witnessed the fulfillment of the prophets’ announcement that God would send a Redeemer. This was the most amazing miracle the apostles had seen so far. They knew what they saw but couldn’t understand it clearly. Seeing could not imply understanding. What the apostles could not understand by themselves, the Holy Spirit overshadowed and revealed to them. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the mystery is more understandable: Jesus is the Son of God, beloved of the Father, and we must listen to Him. We need a light that strengthens our reason to reach heights and depths that on its own it cannot.

18^th Week in Ord. Time, Friday – 5^th August 2022 — Gospel:           Mt 16,24-28

Motivations for the New Age

Jesus emphasizes the importance of giving up one’s life in order to have a better life forever. Only here and nowhere else do we find God the Father is called the ‘Father’ of the Son of Man. The Christological question (who Jesus is – the earthly Son of Man), receives an answer in terms of future eschatology and the last judgement. In view of this, Jesus points out to his disciples a New Age that is different from the current self-centered age. The New Age calls for a radical new orientation. The Old Age is characterized by a pull toward self, but the New Age is characterized by selflessness. On the last day, not all the treasures a person has gained on earth will buy the one thing he has lost: his own salvation, his own eternal life (Ps 49,5-9). The idea of final judgement, which stands behind in vv.25-26, is made explicit in v.27. The three motivations for the New Age are: if you give up your life for Christ, you will find it (16,25); you can either gain Christ, or the world (16,26) and you will be rewarded by Jesus if you choose Jesus (16,27). In a sweeping apocalyptic scene, we are presented with a Jewish-Trinity: the Son of Man, his Father, and his angels. The Son of Man being the judge of the whole cosmos, he will reward and punish each person, disciple and believer alike, according to his concrete way of acting (Ps 62,12).