{"id":2234,"date":"2018-02-20T15:06:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T15:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=2234"},"modified":"2018-02-20T15:06:30","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T15:06:30","slug":"second-sunday-of-lent-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2018\/02\/20\/second-sunday-of-lent-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Sunday of Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Second Sunday of Lent Year B (25 February 2018)<\/p>\n

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

Theme: Listen to Him<\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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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 \u201cThe Way\u201d 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 \u201cGod\u2019s creative, transforming, transfiguring power to restore life\u201d [Sabin, 97].<\/p>\n

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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\u2019s scriptures and particularly in stories about Mt Sinai (Horeb).<\/p>\n

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Bright light is a symbol of God\u2019s presence. The coming of God on Mt Sinai is accompanied by lightning [Ex 19:16], and Moses\u2019 face shines after speaking with God [Ex 34:29]. In some Jewish mystical literature angels are bathed in light: \u201cThe angel had in its hand a shining robe, which gave off a light as pure and bright as the angel\u2019s\u201d [Schwartz, 141]. Mark says that Jesus\u2019 clothes became \u201cglistening, intensely white\u201d (RSV) or \u201cdazzling white\u201d (NAB), \u201csuch as no gnapheus on earth could bleach them\u201d. The Greek gnapheus means \u2018fuller\u2019, whose job it was to whiten raw wool and tease it out (or \u2018full\u2019 it) to prepare it for spinning. Because the word is not in common use today many translations have \u2018such as no one or no launderer \u2026\u2019 The color white symbolizes heaven so Jesus\u2019 clothes are an external manifestation of his identity. White is also a sign of joy and feasting.<\/p>\n

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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 \u201cevery cooking pot\u2026shall be sacred to the Lord of hosts\u201d[Zc 14:21]. Peter\u2019s suggestion seems to be that this is such a good experience let\u2019s make it permanent. However this is not Jesus\u2019 idea, as the following story of going down the mountain to heal the epileptic boy shows. There is still work to do.<\/p>\n

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The word \u2018cloud\u2019 (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 \u201cThis is my Son, the Beloved\u201d. Brendan Byrne sees the whole of Mark\u2019s Gospel resting as it were on three pillars, three statements that Jesus is God\u2019s 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: \u201cR. 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\u201d [Sotah 9b]. The voice continues \u201cListen to him\u201d, something that Peter and the disciples had obviously not been doing. Finally, they find there is no one else with them \u201cbut only Jesus\u201d. Do they need anyone else?<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion: 1. Have you experienced anything you would describe as a \u2018mountain-top\u2019 experience? What effect did it have on you? 2. What might \u201clistening to Jesus\u201d mean for you? 3. Where do you think the Bat Kol is heard today? 4. Is Jesus enough for you?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography: Byrne, A Costly Freedom (Strathfield NSW, 2008); Sabin, \u2018The Gospel According to Mark\u2019 in Durken, New Collegeville Bible Commentary (Collegeville MN, 2009); Schwartz, Gabriel\u2019s Palace: Jewish mystical tales (Oxford, 1993).<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by<\/p>\n

Br Kevin McDonnell cfc, PhD., Australia, Bat Kol Alumnus, 2003, 2004, 2005.
Email address: klmcdonnell@edmundrice.org<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2018]<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

1983-2018<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.<\/p>\n

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info<\/p>\n

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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 \u00a0 Download \u00a0 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":2229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}