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2^nd Sunday in Lenten Season – Year A

甲年，四旬期第二主日

Fr. Jijo Kandamkulathy CMF

甘天霖神父

Gospel: Matthew 17:1 – 9 （玛17：1-9）

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid." And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

Homily: True God Experience Calls for Serving One’s Neighbors

The account of the Transfiguration of Christ is a text of theology in biblical language. Jesus’ going up to the mountain has a theological significance. The mountain in the Bible is the site of the encounter with God. It was on the mountain that Moses had the manifestation of God and received the revelation that later was passed on to the people.

When Moses received the law, the mountain was enveloped by a cloud (Ex 24:15-16). He also came down with his face shining (Ex 39:29-35). Cloud and shining face are therefore a reflection of God’s presence. By creating similar setting, the evangelist intends to present Jesus as the new Moses, as the one who delivers the new law to the new people. Jesus is the definitive revelation of God.

Using these images, Matthew says that Peter, James, and John have been introduced to the world of God that made them understand the true identity of the Master and the destination of his journey. He would not be the glorious Messiah they expected, but a Messiah who would be opposed, persecuted and killed. They also realized that their fate would be no different from that of the Master.

The voice from heaven that said, “Jesus is the beloved, the faithful servant on whom God is well pleased,” (Is 42:1) was already heard at his baptism. Now an exhortation is added: “Listen to him.” Listen to him, even when he seems to propose too demanding paths to indicate the narrow and steep ways, paradoxical and humanly absurd choices.

In the Bible, the word “to listen” does not just mean “to hear” but is often equivalent to “to obey” (Ex 6:12; Mt 18:15-16). The recommendation that the Father gives to Peter, James, and John, and through them, to all the disciples is “to put into practice” what Jesus teaches. It is the invitation to focus one’s life on the proposal of the beatitudes.

Who are Moses and Elijah? The first is the one who gave the Law to his people; the other was considered the first of the prophets. For the Israelites, these two characters represented the Holy Scriptures.

All the holy books of Israel are meant to lead to a dialogue with Jesus; they orient toward him. Without him, the Old Testament is incomprehensible. On the way to Emmaus, Jesus would resort to the Old Testament: “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them everything in the Scriptures concerning himself” (Lk 24:27).

The meaning of the image of the three tents is not easy to determine. After having spoken for a long time with God, we are not willing to go back to everyday life: the problems, social conflicts and family disagreements, the dramas we must confront frighten us. Yet we know that listening to the word of God is not everything. One cannot spend one’s life in the church or in the oasis of spiritual retreats. It is necessary to go out to meet and serve our sisters and brothers, to help those who suffer, to be close to anyone in need of love.

证道：你经验到和听从了天主真正的召叫了吗？

基督显圣容的叙述在圣经语言中，是一个神学性的叙述。耶稣向山上走去具有其神学的意义。在圣经中，山是与天主相遇的地点。梅瑟就是在山上看到了天主的显现，并接受了启示，后来又把启示传递给了以色列人。

当梅瑟接受天主的法律时，山上被云彩遮盖（出24：15-16）。他下山时脸上也发光（出34：29-35）。云彩和发光的脸在这里都是天主临在的反映。借着创造类似的场景设定，圣作者意指耶稣作为新梅瑟的临在，他作为向新子民颁布新法律的那一位。耶稣是天主最终的启示。

玛窦使用这些图像说明，伯多禄、雅各伯和若望已经初次接触到了天主的世界，使他们明白师傅（主）的真正身份和他旅程的目标。耶稣不会成为门徒们所期待的光荣默西亚，而是一个被反对、被迫害和杀害的默西亚。他们也要意识到，他们的命运与师傅（主）也将没有什么不同。

天上的声音说：耶稣是天主所喜爱的，天主所喜悦的忠信仆人（参阅 玛17：5；依42：1），这声音已经在耶稣受洗时听到过了。在这里增加了一个劝诫：“你们要听从他”。听从他，即使他似乎提出了过于苛刻的道路，以表明狭窄和陡峭的路，以及看来矛盾却有道理和在人眼中愚蠢的选择。

在圣经中，“听从”这个词并不仅仅意味着“听”，而是通常等同于“服从”（出6：12；玛18：15-16）。天父给予伯多禄、雅各伯和若望的提议，通过他们劝诫所有门徒“践行”耶稣所教导的一切。这是一种邀请，让人把自己的生命专注于践行真福八端的提议中。

梅瑟和厄里亚是谁呢？梅瑟是给予天主子民法律的人，厄里亚被视为先知之首。为以色列人来说，这两位人物代表了圣经。

所有以色列的神圣经书都导向与耶稣的对话，确定自己朝向耶稣的方位。排除了耶稣，旧约就是无法理解的。在走向厄玛乌的路上，耶稣诉诸于旧约：“从梅瑟及众先知开始，把全部经书论及他的话，都给他们解释了”（路24：27）。

三个帐篷的图像意义不容易判定。在与天主对话很长时间以后，我们就不愿意再回到日常生活中了：面对各种难题、社会冲突和家庭不和睦；我们必须面对的这些生活实情使我们惊恐害怕。然而，我们清楚，听从天主的话语并不是一切。一个人不能在教堂里，或者神修避静的绿洲中度过一生。我们需要走出去面对，并服侍我们的兄弟姐妹，帮助那些痛苦的人，亲近所有需要爱的人。