2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A
"He was transfigured before them...."
The description of the Transfiguration is brief—just the first three verses of Matthew 17. But the incident becomes the context for two significant incidents for the disciples. In the first, Peter’s hasty response to the glory of the Lord (…make three tents) is corrected by the same heavenly voice heard at Jesus’ baptism (17:4–8; cf. 3:17). In the second, Jesus once again forbids the disciples to make him known (cf. 16:20), which leads to their question about the future coming of Elijah (17:9–13). Thus, the passage contains the transfiguration proper (17:1–3), a lesson on the fulfillment by Jesus of all that is promised in the Hebrew scriptures (17:4–8), and a lesson on the continuity of John the Baptist with Elijah of old and with Jesus himself (17:9–13).
As always, a lot going on in the gospel reading. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and take a moment on the back porch with the Word of God – and go back in time to the world of the first century. Grab your favorite beverage and take some time of the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Gospel
Detailed Commentary
Image credit: Sunrise, Simon Berger, Pexels, CC
Why this gospel?
By the Second Sunday of Lent, the Church wants us to be very clear about where this road leads. In every Synoptic Gospel, the Transfiguration occurs after Jesus has spoken about suffering, rejection, and death. The disciples have just heard words they do not want to hear. Confusion and fear have entered the picture. The Transfiguration does not cancel the Cross. It reveals who Jesus is as he goes toward it. Lent is not about grim endurance for its own sake. It is about learning to walk with Christ through suffering, trusting that God’s glory is not absent from it.