The Collect of the Day
O God, who before the passion of your
only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the
light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed
into his likeness from glory to glory; though Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The First Reading: Exodus 24:12-18
In our first reading, Moses is summoned up the
mountain to receive “the tablets of stone,” presumably the ten commandments.
(This is clearly a separate tradition of the reception of the commandments from
that found in Exodus 20). On the seventh day Moses has a theophany, a vision of
God’s glory. Moses enters into that theophany and remains there forty days.
Forty is a frequent number in the Bible used for a time of trial (there are at
least 15 such biblical instances).
24:12 The Lord said to Moses,
“Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets
of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their
instruction.” 13 So Moses set out
with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 To the elders he had said, “Wait here for
us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a
dispute may go to them.” 15 Then
Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for
six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the
top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the
mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
Psalm 2
1 Why are
the nations in an uproar? *
Why
do the people mutter empty threats?
2 Why do
the kings rise up in revolt,
and the
princes plot together, *
against
the Lord and against his Anointed?
3 “Let us
break their yoke,” they say; *
“let
us cast off their bonds from us.”
4 He whose
throne is in heaven is laughing; *
the
Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he
speaks to them in his wrath, *
and
his rage fills them with terror.
6 “I
myself have set my king *
upon
my holy hill of Zion.”
7 Let me
announce the decree of the Lord: *
he said to me, “You are my Son;
this
day have I begotten you.
8 Ask of
me, and I will give you the nations for
your
inheritance *
and
the ends of the earth for your possession.
9 You
shall crush them with an iron rod *
and
shatter them like a piece of pottery.”
10 And
now, you kings, be wise; *
be
warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Submit
to the Lord with fear, *
and
with trembling bow before him;
12 Lest he
be angry and you perish; *
for
his wrath is quickly kindled.
13 Happy
are they all *
Who
take refuge in him!
Or this
Psalm 99
This psalm is an obvious one for
Transfiguration Sunday. It is a vision
of the majesty of God, involving Moses, a mountain, and a cloud, all invoking a
mysterious vision.
1 The Lord is King;
let
the people tremble; *
he
is enthroned upon the cherubim;
let
the earth shake.
2 The Lord is great in Zion; *
he
is high above all peoples.
3 Let them
confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *
he
is the Holy One.
4 “O
mighty King, lover of justice,
you
have established equity; *
you
have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”
5 Proclaim
the greatness of the Lord our God
and
fall down before his footstool; *
he
is the Holy One.
6 Moses
and Aaron among his priests,
and
Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *
they
called upon the Lord, and he
answered them.
7 He spoke
to them out of the pillar of cloud; *
they
kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
8 “O Lord our God, you answered them indeed;
*
you
were a God who forgave them,
yet
punished them for their evil deeds.”
9 Proclaim
the greatness of the Lord our God
and
worship him upon his holy hill; *
for the Lord
our God is the Holy One.
Second Reading: 2 Peter 1:16-21
1:16 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. 17 For he received honor
and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the
Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well
pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard
this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic message more fully
confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a
dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 First of all you must understand this, that
no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human
will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 17:1-9
Our Gospel reading is
Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration. On the mountain with his inner
circle, Jesus’ whole being undergoes transformation. The story follows some of
the details of Exodus 24, but also echoes the story of Jesus’ baptism. The
presence of Moses and Elijah testify to Jesus’ inheritance of the Hebrew
tradition (the law and the prophets). Peter’s desire to build booths recalls
the Feast of Booths, when Israel celebrated being led by God through the
desert. “Tell no one until…” indicates that Jesus understands what has just
happened in terms of what he expects to happen in Jerusalem.
17:1 Six days [after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Son of
the living God], Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and
led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And
he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his
clothes became dazzling white. 3 Suddenly
there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good
for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While
he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the
cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased;
listen to him!” 6 When the
disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And
when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus
ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been
raised from the dead.”
The
Scripture quotations (except for the psalm) are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ
in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.
All rights reserved. The Collect
of the Day and the Psalm translations are from The Book of Common Prayer. Commentaries
are copyright © 2017, Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com. All
rights reserved. Permission is granted
to reprint for individual or group study, with attribution.
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