Mark 9:2-10

Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9

2 Peter 1:16-19

Mark 9:2-10

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John,

and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them, 

and his clothes became dazzling white, 

such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 

Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, 

and they were conversing with Jesus.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, 

“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!

Let us make three tents: 

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; 

from the cloud came a voice, 

“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone

but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain,

he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,

except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

So they kept the matter to themselves, 

questioning what rising from the dead meant.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, it is good that I am here with you. I will listen to your beloved Son and follow him. I believe that he rose from the dead, sits at your right hand, and will come again in glory to judge all the living and the dead. He is the King over all creation and I am a member of your Kingdom.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Son of Man in Daniel: The prophecy from Daniel in the First Reading is one of the most important in the Old Testament. We see two divine figures. The first is the “Ancient One” or “Ancient of Days.” In the light of the New Testament, we know that this is God the Father who grants kingship, authority, and power to another divine figure, “one like a son of man.” “Son of Man” was the title that Jesus most often used to refer to himself. On the one hand, the title emphasizes Jesus’ human nature and the humility of assuming our human nature through his Incarnation. On the other, it identifies him as the divine Savior figure that Daniel prophesied would come at the end of the age (Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Solemnities and Feasts, 338).

2. The Transfiguration of the Son of Man: Jesus revealed his glory at the Transfiguration and appeared like the Ancient of Days as described in the prophet Daniel. In this way, Jesus manifests that he is truly the Son of God the Father. The Ancient of Days has clothing as white as snow and hair as white as pure wool. In like manner, Jesus’ clothes became dazzling white and his face shone like the sun. The Son of Man in Daniel was a figure that is both divine and human. He looks like a human being but is also a divine being. The cloud upon which the Son of Man comes is the divine glory cloud, the cloud of God’s majesty. The kingdom which the Son of Man receives from God is an everlasting kingdom. The Son of Man will reign over all creation.

3. Peter’s Recollection of the Transfiguration: In his second letter to the Church, Peter invites his readers to contemplate and ponder the mystery of Jesus’ Transfiguration. It was a mystery that he himself witnessed. Peter heard the powerful voice of the Father, saw the hidden glory of the Son, and was enveloped by the consoling cloud of the Spirit. What Peter preaches about the life of Jesus and Jesus’ return is not a myth he devised, but a sure testimony. “Peter and the other apostles are not just telling fables about Christ’s return in glory. They saw his majesty revealed in the transfiguration, the same majesty that will be fully revealed when he comes again in power” (Keating, First and Second Peter, Jude, 151). Peter’s witness is reliable. He saw the glory of Jesus and heard the words of Jesus. What Peter experienced on the mountain at the Transfiguration confirmed and strengthened the witness from Scripture about the coming royal Messiah and divine-human Son of Man.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, by your radiant splendor cleanse me from the stains of sin. May I be transformed into your likeness and listen attentively to your word. Help me to know how good it is to be in your presence.

Living the Word of God: The experience of the transfiguration strengthened the apostles for the experience of the crucifixion. How can the contemplation of Jesus’ transfiguration strengthen me for times of suffering, sacrifice, temptation, and tribulation?