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August 6
Transfiguration of the Lord
All three Synoptic Gospels tell the
story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9:28-36). With remarkable agreement, all three place the event shortly
after Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus’ first
prediction of his passion and death. Peter’s eagerness to erect tents or booths
on the spot suggests it occurred during the Jewish weeklong, fall Feast of
Booths.
In spite of the texts’ agreement, it is
difficult to reconstruct the disciples’ experience, according to Scripture
scholars, because the Gospels draw heavily on Old Testament descriptions of the
Sinai encounter with God and prophetic visions of the Son of Man. Certainly
Peter, James and John had a glimpse of Jesus’ divinity strong enough to strike
fear into their hearts. Such an experience defies description, so they drew on
familiar religious language to describe it. And certainly Jesus warned them
that his glory and his suffering were to be inextricably connected—a theme John
highlights throughout his Gospel.
Tradition names Mt.
Tabor as the site of the revelation. A church
first raised there in the fourth century was dedicated on August 6. A feast in honor
of the Transfiguration was celebrated in the Eastern Church from about that
time. Western observance began in some localities about the eighth century.
On July 22, 1456, Crusaders defeated the Turks at Belgrade. News of the victory
reached Rome on August 6, and
Pope Callistus III placed the feast on the Roman
calendar the following year.
Comment:
One of the Transfiguration accounts is read on the
second Sunday of Lent each year, proclaiming Christ’s divinity to catechumens
and baptized alike. The Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent, by contrast, is
the story of the temptation in the desert—affirmation of Jesus’ humanity. The
two distinct but inseparable natures of the Lord were a subject of much
theological argument at the beginning of the Church’s history; it remains hard
for believers to grasp.
Quote:
“At his Transfiguration Christ showed his disciples
the splendor of his beauty, to which he will shape
and color those who are his: ‘He will reform our
lowness configured to the body of his glory’” (Philippians
3:21) (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae).
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