Gospel: Transfiguration of the Lord

Today marks the Second Sunday of Lent, and the Gospel passage to be read will be lifted from the account of St Matthew (tap here for the Sunday's Mass readings from USCCB).

For this week, we move from Jesus' retreat to the desert to his Transfiguration. Each year on the first Sunday of Lent, our Gospel tells the story of Jesus' temptation in the desert. On the second Sunday of Lent each year, we hear the story of the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus.

The account of the Transfiguration is told in the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In each of those Gispels, the Transfiguration follows Jesus' first prediction of his death and his teaching about the costs of discipleship. Jesus' Transfiguration is a promise of the Lord's glory, which is the Resurrection.

On a mountain in today's reading, a voice affirms that Jesus is the Son of God in words reminiscent of the voice at the Lord's baptism. In addition, the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the mountain connects this story with God's relationship to the people of Israel. Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, respectively. Together with Jesus, they represent the complete Word of God.

The Transfiguration occurs in the presence of just three of Jesus' disciples: St Peter, St James the Greater, and St John the Evangelist. In St Matthew's Gospel, those disciples are among the first whom Jesus calls. The three men are identified as an "inner circle" among Jesus' disciples when Jesus asks them to accompany him to the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest.

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