The Transfiguration of Jesus
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.
1st 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.
2nd 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. All rights reserved. The Collect of the Day and the Psalm
translation are from The Book of Common
Prayer. Commentaries are copyright ©
2020, Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843, www.epiphanyesources.com. All
rights reserved. Permission is given to copy for group study. Bulletin inserts are a available. Go
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