Continuing Testament

The Texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate and share the message of the Transfiguration for our journey as followers of Christ.

Testament and Transformation

The Reading from the Book of Genesis presents Abram’s Call and Migration.

* [12:1–3] Go forth…find blessing in you: the syntax of the Hebrew suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham are contingent on his going to Canaan.

* [12:2] The call of Abraham begins a new history of blessing (18:18; 22:15–18), which is passed on in each instance to the chosen successor (26:2–4; 28:14). This call evokes the last story in the primeval history (11:1–9) by reversing its themes: Abraham goes forth rather than settle down; it is God rather than Abraham who will make a name for him; the families of the earth will find blessing in him.

* [12:3] Will find blessing in you: the Hebrew conjugation of the verb here and in 18:18 and 28:14 can be either reflexive (“shall bless themselves by you” = people will invoke Abraham as an example of someone blessed by God) or passive (“by you all the families of earth will be blessed” = the religious privileges of Abraham and his descendants ultimately will be extended to the nations). In 22:18 and 26:4, another conjugation of the same verb is used in a similar context that is undoubtedly reflexive (“bless themselves”). Many scholars suggest that the two passages in which the sense is clear should determine the interpretation of the three ambiguous passages: the privileged blessing enjoyed by Abraham and his descendants will awaken in all peoples the desire to enjoy those same blessings. Since the term is understood in a passive sense in the New Testament (Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8), it is rendered here by a neutral expression that admits of both meanings. (Genesis, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 33 praises God who created the three-tiered universe of the heavens.

* [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Ps 33:1–3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Ps 33:4–5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Ps 33:6–9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Ps 33:10–11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Ps 33:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 33 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Reading from the First Letter of Timothy declares that Christians value the Old Testament as the first stage in God’s revelation of his saving plan.

* [1:8–11] Those responsible for the speculations that are to be suppressed by Timothy do not present the Old Testament from the Christian viewpoint. The Christian values the Old Testament not as a system of law but as the first stage in God’s revelation of his saving plan, which is brought to fulfillment in the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

* [1:10] Sodomites: see 1 Cor 6:9 and the note there. (1 Timothy, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Matthew presents The Transfiguration of Jesus.

* [17:1–8] The account of the transfiguration confirms that Jesus is the Son of God (Mt 17:5) and points to fulfillment of the prediction that he will come in his Father’s glory at the end of the age (Mt 16:27). It has been explained by some as a resurrection appearance retrojected into the time of Jesus’ ministry, but that is not probable since the account lacks many of the usual elements of the resurrection-appearance narratives. It draws upon motifs from the Old Testament and noncanonical Jewish apocalyptic literature that express the presence of the heavenly and the divine, e.g., brilliant light, white garments, and the overshadowing cloud.

* [17:1] These three disciples are also taken apart from the others by Jesus in Gethsemane (Mt 26:37). A high mountain: this has been identified with Tabor or Hermon, but probably no specific mountain was intended by the evangelist or by his Marcan source (Mk 9:2). Its meaning is theological rather than geographical, possibly recalling the revelation to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:12–18) and to Elijah at the same place (1 Kgs 19:8–18; Horeb = Sinai).

* [17:2] His face shone like the sun: this is a Matthean addition; cf. Dn 10:6. His clothes became white as light: cf. Dn 7:9, where the clothing of God appears “snow bright.” For the white garments of other heavenly beings, see Rev 4:4; 7:9; 19:14.

* [17:3] See note on Mk 9:5.

* [17:4] Three tents: the booths in which the Israelites lived during the feast of Tabernacles (cf. Jn 7:2) were meant to recall their ancestors’ dwelling in booths during the journey from Egypt to the promised land (Lv 23:39–42). The same Greek word, skēnē, here translated tents, is used in the LXX for the booths of that feast, and some scholars have suggested that there is an allusion here to that liturgical custom.

* [17:5] Cloud cast a shadow over them: see note on Mk 9:7. This is my beloved Son…listen to him: cf. Mt 3:17. The voice repeats the baptismal proclamation about Jesus, with the addition of the command listen to him. The latter is a reference to Dt 18:15 in which the Israelites are commanded to listen to the prophet like Moses whom God will raise up for them. The command to listen to Jesus is general, but in this context it probably applies particularly to the preceding predictions of his passion and resurrection (Mt 16:21) and of his coming (Mt 16:27, 28).

* [17:6–7] A Matthean addition; cf. Dn 10:9–10, 18–19. (Matthew, CHAPTER 17, n.d.)

Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ, comments that Lent is a journey.  Like Abram, we are called to leave our “home” – the unhealthy, deadly, unloving patterns we call home – and to make our home in Jesus. In these words, or with our own words - let us pray.

Dear Lord, I really need your help these days of Lent. Accompany me, guide me, comfort me to receive the gifts and graces you want to offer me, so that I might grow in freedom, in courage and in hope. Make my heart more like yours.  Don’t let me be afraid or discouraged.  Let me be a source of healing and reconciliation. Let me put my trust in you, as we grow close each day on this journey. (Alexander, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “Listen to Him,” by Leo the Great, 400?-461 A.D.

"A voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. I am manifested through his preaching. I am glorified through his humility. So listen to him without hesitation. He is the truth and the life. He is my strength and wisdom. "Listen to him" whom the mysteries of the law foreshadowed, of whom the mouths of the prophets sang. "Listen to him" who by his blood redeemed the world, who binds the devil and seizes his vessels, who breaks the debt of sin and the bondage of iniquity. "Listen to him" who opens the way to heaven and by the pain of the cross prepares for you the steps of ascent into his kingdom." (excerpt from Sermon 38,7) (Schwager, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the imagery of the early chapters of Genesis changes in Chapter 12 to the real history. Abram is called to lead his land. He trusts and wades into the unknown. Timothy exhorts us to live as Christ calls us to live until His return. The Transfiguration involves the Big Three Peter, James, and John traditionally on Mt Tabor. We see a theophany the divinity of Jesus. Moses and Elijah represent the Law and Prophets Along with Enoch they are associated with apocalyptic books that represent the revelation of the secrets of heaven. And they offer to build three tents for the holiness of God. Friar Jude comments that even in the moment of glory the event is associated with His passion by the Suffering Servant words used by Jesus to declare manifestation of the glory of Jesus in His love on the Cross.

The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 17:1-9 comments that Jesus revealed his glory to them to give them a glimpse of where he was headed—and a glimpse of their own target. He gave them a foretaste of their own future glory, and that revelation strengthened them for the difficult path ahead.

Let today’s Gospel do that for you, too! We are at the start of Lent, but we know that the time will come when we will see Jesus, beaten and bloodied, stripped of all dignity, raised up on a cross between two criminals. That’s the time to remember the transfiguration, when his glory shone brightly on the mountain. Even in his suffering, Jesus knew what his destination was: resurrection. And in our struggles, we can look toward our destination—heavenly glory, in union with Jesus!

“Jesus, help me hold onto this glorious vision as I aim toward heaven.” (Meditation on Matthew 17:1-9, n.d.)

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, emphasizes how God’s justice in the Bible is fundamentally loving and restorative rather than punitive. God wins by making sure we win—just as any loving human parent does. 

Love is the only thing that transforms the human heart. In the Gospels, we see Jesus fully revealing this divine wisdom. Love takes the shape and symbolism of healing and radical forgiveness—which is just about all that Jesus does. Jesus, who represents God, usually transforms people at the moments when they most hate themselves, when they most feel shame or guilt, or want to punish themselves. Look at Jesus’s interaction with the tax collector Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1–10). He doesn’t belittle or punish Zacchaeus; instead, Jesus goes to his home, shares a meal with him, and treats him like a friend. Zacchaeus’s heart is opened and transformed. Only then does Zacchaeus commit to making reparations for the harm he has done.

As Isaiah says of God, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). Yet I am afraid we largely pulled God down into “our thoughts.” We think fear, anger, divine intimidation, threat, and punishment are going to lead people to love. We cannot lead people to the highest level of motivation by teaching them the lowest. God always and forever models the highest, and our task is merely to “imitate God” (Ephesians 5:1). (Rohr, n.d.)

We petition the Spirit for inspiration in the Transfiguration of Jesus to be agents of the care, love and mercy that reveal the love of Christ for all people.

References

Alexander, A. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-march-1-2026 

Genesis, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/12?1 

Matthew, CHAPTER 17. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/17?1 

Meditation on Matthew 17:1-9. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/03/01/1510533/ 

1 Timothy, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1timothy/1?8 

Psalms, PSALM 33 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/33?4 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/just-love/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Listen to My Beloved Son. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Covenant and Temptation

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to trust the prompting of the Spirit to be open to the transition in our relationship with God and others that the journey of Lent prepares us to accept.

Signs of Covenant

The reading from Genesis is the establishing of a Covenant with Noah.

* [9:8–17] God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants and, remarkably, with all the animals who come out of the ark: never again shall the world be destroyed by flood. The sign of this solemn promise is the appearance of a rainbow. (Genesis, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)

Psalm 25 is a prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance.

* [Psalm 25] A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God who forgives and guides. (Psalms, PSALM 25, n.d.)

The reading from the First Letter of Peter declares Baptism Saves.

* [3:13–22] This exposition, centering on 1 Pt 3:17, runs as follows: by his suffering and death Christ the righteous one saved the unrighteous (1 Pt 3:18); by his resurrection he received new life in the spirit, which he communicates to believers through the baptismal bath that cleanses their consciences from sin. As Noah’s family was saved through water, so Christians are saved through the waters of baptism (1 Pt 3:19–22). Hence they need not share the fear of sinners; they should rather rejoice in suffering because of their hope in Christ. Thus their innocence disappoints their accusers (1 Pt 3:13–16; cf. Mt 10:28; Rom 8:35–39). (1 Peter, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)

The Gospel of Mark describes the Temptation of Jesus and the Beginning of the Galilean Ministry.

* [1:12–13] The same Spirit who descended on Jesus in his baptism now drives him into the desert for forty days. The result is radical confrontation and temptation by Satan who attempts to frustrate the work of God. The presence of wild beasts may indicate the horror and danger of the desert regarded as the abode of demons or may reflect the paradise motif of harmony among all creatures; cf. Is 11:6–9. The presence of ministering angels to sustain Jesus recalls the angel who guided the Israelites in the desert in the first Exodus (Ex 14:19; 23:20) and the angel who supplied nourishment to Elijah in the wilderness (1 Kgs 19:5–7). The combined forces of good and evil were present to Jesus in the desert. His sustained obedience brings forth the new Israel of God there where Israel’s rebellion had brought death and alienation.

* [1:14–15] After John had been arrested: in the plan of God, Jesus was not to proclaim the good news of salvation prior to the termination of the Baptist’s active mission. Galilee: in the Marcan account, scene of the major part of Jesus’ public ministry before his arrest and condemnation. The gospel of God: not only the good news from God but about God at work in Jesus Christ. This is the time of fulfillment: i.e., of God’s promises. The kingdom of God…Repent: see note on Mt 3:2. (Mark, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)

Eileen Wirth invites us to view Lent as six weeks to meditate on who we are, who God wants us to be and how to take a few steps to get there. Contemplating who God wants us to be is different than making a New Year’s resolution because it speaks to who we ARE, not just something we think we should do, like going to the gym more often.

Set aside a mere 15 minutes a day for quiet time with God in which you open yourself to hearing his voice. Think you are too busy to find even an extra 15 minutes? Couple your meditation  with something you do anyhow like walking the dog or taking a relaxing bath before going to bed. The payoff in serenity may start a  rewarding habit while giving up candy ends with Easter.

There are so many ways to turn Lent into a season to look forward to. As a compulsive reader, I select a book on some aspect of spirituality to read for 15 minutes a day, nothing too heavy but something thought provoking. I’ve stumbled onto some great books this way. (Wirth, 2024)

Don Schwager quotes “The call to repentance,” by Chromatius (died 406 AD).

"The voice of the Lord urging the people to repentance - the Holy Spirit made it known to the people that they might take heed, saying, 'Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of testing in the wilderness' (Psalm 95:8). In the same psalm above, he made clear that he was urging the sinful people to repentance and showed the state of a repentant soul, saying, 'Come, let us fall down before him and lament before the Lord who made us, for he is our God' (Psalm 95:6-7). The Lord urges the people to repentance, and he promises to pardon their sins, according to Isaiah's words: 'I, even I, am the one who wipes out your iniquities, and I will not be mindful of your sins. But you be mindful, declare first your iniquities that you may be justified' (Isaiah 43:25-26). Rightly then does the Lord urge the people to repentance when he says, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,' so that through this confession of sins they may be made worthy to approach the kingdom of heaven." (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 15.3) 

[Note: Chromatius was an early Christian scholar and bishop of Aquileia, Italy. He was a close friend of John Chrysostom and Jerome. He died in 406 AD. Jerome described him as a "most learned and most holy man."] (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 1:12-15 comments that beginning with his time in the wilderness, Jesus demonstrated that his kingdom was indeed at hand—and that the devil’s reign was coming to a decisive end.

As your own Lenten journey unfolds this year, keep the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness close to your heart. Especially when life gets hard or temptations arise, remind yourself that every desert experience can result in new life as you try your best to stay faithful to the Lord. Even if you fall, remember that you can stand up again and keep moving forward because of Jesus’ triumph over the devil. Sin no longer has the final word in your life; Jesus, your Redeemer, does!

“Jesus, I’m ready to enter the desert this Lent. I trust in your promise to walk with me and bring me into your kingdom!” (Meditation on Mark 1:12-15, n.d.)

Nicholas King SJ, a tutor in Biblical Studies at Campion Hall, University of Oxford, comments that the New Testament does not precisely outlaw fasting, though that is not where its main emphasis lies. For the heart of the New Testament is the resurrection of Jesus, not his crucifixion. 

On the other hand, the Synoptic gospels are agreed on having Jesus fast for forty days in preparation for his mission (Matthew 4:2 and parallels), and that speaks profoundly to something deep in us. It is often called ‘delayed gratification’, and may simply have some prophetic value in our culture of instant gratification and excessive consumption. There is also at least one New Testament instance where fasting denotes a sense of solemnity. That is at Acts 13:3, where the ‘prophets and teachers’ of the Church in Antioch fast and pray before, at God’s instruction, laying hands on Paul and Barnabas in order to commission them for ‘the work which I have called upon them’. (King, 2014)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the rainbow as an etiology, a story told to explain a great mystery beyond our understanding, The first letter of Peter shares the journey of Jesus to the underworld to the souls of those who had not heard of His Gospel in a space outside of time. Friar Jude notes that the temptations of Jesus in the desert and omitted by Mark who later reveals them through the response of the apostles to Jesus detailing His death on the Cross.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, uses the framework of the “hero’s journey” to describe the path of spiritual transformation. He points to The Odyssey as a powerful metaphor. After the hero leaves their castle or their stable home, they have to experience something bigger, something better, something that is more real and more demanding of their real energies. Of course, that takes different forms. In the Gospels, after his baptism, Jesus goes into the desert for forty days.

Surprisingly, the third stage of the hero’s journey is the return. The hero’s journey is not to just keep going to new places, making the trip a vacation or travelogue. We have to return to where we started and know it in a new way and do life in a new way. We are not somehow “beyond” the order and disorder of our lives; we’ve learned how to integrate both of them. This stage of return is so rarely taught. What is good about the order, what is good about the disorder, and how do we put them together? That is the “reorder” or the return.

We have the departure, then we have the encounter, which will always lead to some kind of descent away from status, away from security, away from ascent. Eventually something happens, something gets transformed, and then there’s the return. [2] (Rohr, 2024)

We begin the journey of Lent contemplating the promise of God to be in a Covenant relationship with us as we journey with the guidance of the Spirit to reject distraction and accept fullness in our lives.

References

Genesis, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/9?8 

King, N. (2014, April 4). Fasting in the New Testament. Thinking Faith. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/fasting-new-testament 

Mark, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/1?12 

Meditation on Mark 1:12-15. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/02/18/897641/ 

1 Peter, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1peter/3?18 

Psalms, PSALM 25. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/25?4 

Rohr, R. (2024, February 18). The Hero's Journey — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-heros-journey/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Repent and Believe in the Gospel. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=feb18 

Wirth, E. (2024, February 18). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 18, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/021824.html