Marh 5th

March 5, 2023
Second Sunday of Advent
Gn 12:1-4a/2 Tm 1:8b-10/Mt 17:1-9 (25)
Alvin Navarrete: Chief Security Office

Reflection: Gospel Mt. 17:1-9

In today’s Gospel reading we hear the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus. This reading
is very pertinent to one’s Christian beliefs because it validates the Holy Trinity. We see each of
the persons of the Holy Trinity represented in this passage and are given the understanding of the
Three radiantly as one. In this scripture God the Father is found in the voice from the cloud
announcing “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him”, we also find
the Holy Spirit in the form of the bright cloud that cast a shadow over them, and we see God the
Son radiantly glowing like the sun in Jesus. As Christians, this is a profound vision in that we are
shown that the Holy Trinity is all three but individual as well. The fact that both Moses and
Elijah are present gives acknowledgement of the divinity of Jesus. Moses’ first encountered
God on the mountain and was provided the foundation of the Law for the people of Israel. This
Law guided them for centuries and ultimately came to fulfillment in Jesus, who transformed the
Law and elevated it to a new level by grace and mercy. Elijah’s first encounter with God on the
mountain gave him direction to anoint kings to lead the people and to anoint Elisha as the
prophet to succeed him. Elijah and Elisha continually preached to the people, calling them back
to fidelity to the covenant God had made with them. When we see that both Moses as the
founder of the Jewish laws and Elijah the prophet who showed great zeal for the Lord on the
mount again, we see that two of the main figures in the Old Testament validate the importance of
Jesus’ divine authority.
I find the statement from God the Father to be the most profound within this passage
where He instructs “to listen to him”. The reason this is so profound is that God was announcing
that even as the Pharisees had proclaimed Jesus to speak blasphemous words, God is instructing
them to “listen to him”, thus validating the words of Jesus as divine. I think that this phrase gets
lost in its reading these days when we hear persons questioning the teachings of the church and
the Word of Jesus. We even saw this in Peter when he questioned the word of Jesus as he spoke
about being handed over and killed. Did Peter not remember the phrase he heard on the mount,
“listen to him”, yet God still uses Peter to deliver the words of Jesus after the resurrection. Even
in these times, we still question God’s Word after reading this statement, when we fail to love
one another, serve one another and lay down our lives for another as Jesus told us. How many
times do we tune out Jesus’ words even now that we understand the life of Jesus and His
sacrifice. Do we really listen to Him or do we choose when we will, because we like the
message? Do we truly understand the significance of the Transfiguration of Jesus as proof of
his Divinity? Or is this just a nice picture of the life of Jesus?
Today, our Lord calls all of his faithful servants up a spiritual mountain with Him so as to
entrust to them the ongoing mission given to these great servants of old. Through prayer, God
will manifest His divine presence to each of us if we are willing to make that journey. As He
does, He will entrust to us His New Law and inscribe it on our hearts. He will command us to

embrace the perfection of the love of God and the bestowal of mercy on others. He will entrust
us with the prophetic mission of calling others back to God and will empower us to fulfill that
mission in accord with His perfect will.
Let us look at the words of God the Father, “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am
well pleased, listen to him”. What is He saying to you? Are you listening to Him? Do you truly
know His Divinity? If so, how should you respond to His words?