Second Sunday of Lent

Second Sunday of Lent Year B (25 February 2018)

Gen. 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Ps. 116:10, 15-19; Rom. 8:31b-34; Mark 9:2-10

Theme: Listen to Him

 

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Mark has placed his transfiguration story in the very center of his Gospel. It is part of the middle section, the story of Jesus and his disciples on “The Way” from Galilee to Jerusalem [Mk 8:22-10:52]. This section includes three passion predictions and represents a major turning point in the Gospel. The transfiguration story, in some sense a preview of the resurrection, emphasizes “God’s creative, transforming, transfiguring power to restore life” [Sabin, 97].

 

The story is replete with Old Testament echoes: six days, mountain, dazzling white, Elijah, Moses, dwellings, being terrified, cloud and voice. It is firmly anchored in Israel’s scriptures and particularly in stories about Mt Sinai (Horeb).

 

Bright light is a symbol of God’s presence. The coming of God on Mt Sinai is accompanied by lightning [Ex 19:16], and Moses’ face shines after speaking with God [Ex 34:29]. In some Jewish mystical literature angels are bathed in light: “The angel had in its hand a shining robe, which gave off a light as pure and bright as the angel’s” [Schwartz, 141]. Mark says that Jesus’ clothes became “glistening, intensely white” (RSV) or “dazzling white” (NAB), “such as no gnapheus on earth could bleach them”. The Greek gnapheus means ‘fuller’, whose job it was to whiten raw wool and tease it out (or ‘full’ it) to prepare it for spinning. Because the word is not in common use today many translations have ‘such as no one or no launderer …’ The color white symbolizes heaven so Jesus’ clothes are an external manifestation of his identity. White is also a sign of joy and feasting.

 

The dwellings (also translated shelters, booths, tents or tabernacles) that Peter wants to build in v.5 recall the annual Feast of Tabernacles that commemorated the past event of the exodus, but also looked forward to the time of the Messiah [Zc 14:16] that would be a time of joy and feasting when “every cooking pot…shall be sacred to the Lord of hosts”[Zc 14:21]. Peter’s suggestion seems to be that this is such a good experience let’s make it permanent. However this is not Jesus’ idea, as the following story of going down the mountain to heal the epileptic boy shows. There is still work to do.

 

The word ‘cloud’ (Heb arafel) appears nearly 50 times in the Five Books of Moses as a symbol for the presence of the Lord. The voice from the cloud proclaims “This is my Son, the Beloved”. Brendan Byrne sees the whole of Mark’s Gospel resting as it were on three pillars, three statements that Jesus is God’s Son: near the beginning (at the baptism in 1:11), in the middle (9:7), and towards the end (by the Roman centurion at the crucifixion in 15:39). The Hebrew scriptures are convinced that God communicates with us and this conviction carries through into the Talmud: “R. Abba says it is the divine voice as it has been taught: After the later prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi had died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel, but they still availed themselves of the Bat Kol” [Sotah 9b]. The voice continues “Listen to him”, something that Peter and the disciples had obviously not been doing. Finally, they find there is no one else with them “but only Jesus”. Do they need anyone else?

 

For Reflection and Discussion: 1. Have you experienced anything you would describe as a ‘mountain-top’ experience? What effect did it have on you? 2. What might “listening to Jesus” mean for you? 3. Where do you think the Bat Kol is heard today? 4. Is Jesus enough for you?

 

Bibliography: Byrne, A Costly Freedom (Strathfield NSW, 2008); Sabin, ‘The Gospel According to Mark’ in Durken, New Collegeville Bible Commentary (Collegeville MN, 2009); Schwartz, Gabriel’s Palace: Jewish mystical tales (Oxford, 1993).

 

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Br Kevin McDonnell cfc, PhD., Australia, Bat Kol Alumnus, 2003, 2004, 2005.
Email address: klmcdonnell@edmundrice.org

[Copyright © 2018]

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info

 

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