Glimpses of God's Goodness are published for all Sundays and Feast Days at www.sndden.org, the international website of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
February 25, 2024
February 25, 2024
Mark 9; 2-10
On this second Sunday of Lent, the Church our mother invites us to meditate on the Transfiguration of Jesus according to the Gospel of Mark.
“Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured and his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than any fuller could bleach them. Elijah appeared to them along with
Moses and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter spoke to Jesus. ‘Rabbi, it is wonderful for us to be 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; and there came a voice from the cloud, ‘This is my Beloved Son. Listen to him.’ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus.
As they came down the mountain, he warned them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant “.
The transfiguration is an anticipation of the resurrection. It shows in advance the glory of Jesus, a glory which he possessed from the beginning, but which remained hidden through his human nature. Saint Mary uses a verb which indicates movement : he led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.” The mountain is a biblical place of divine revelation such as Moses and Elijah experienced at a decisive stage in their lives in the encounter with God on the mountain. It is also the mountain to which the Lord sends Abraham to demonstrate the depth of his faith and where God manifests himself to him as the God of life; of blessing.
It is through the transfiguration that Jesus directs the gaze of his disciples towards his passion after he had shown them the glory of his resurrection. Jesus takes with him Peter, James and John who are the three called and they are the privileged witnesses of the event. It is also these three who would accompany him to Gethsemani where they would see him disfigured by fear and anxiety after having contemplated him this day in splendor. Troubled by fear and misunderstanding, Peter wanted to construct three tents here it is a luminous cloud which concretizes the intervention of the father. As during the baptism of Jesus a voice is heard “this is my beloved son, listen to him.”
After this vision, Jesus warns the three disciples to say nothing about this event before he had been risen from the dead. The transfiguration points us toward the paschal mystery.
We, too, are following the apostles in contemplating the splendor of the face of Jesus, as the Father says to us, “Lord, it is good for us to be here” when we experience the presence of God in silence and recollection. Indeed, the voice of the Father exhorts us “Listen to him!”
After the transfiguration Jesus continued to teach his disciples, to form them and to prepare them for their future mission.
We are called on this Sunday to live in his intimacy, to allow him to deepen by his presence by listening to his word which enlightens our lives, who supports us each day and allows us to pass through the tests of faith. Yes, listen to the Son is to work for the coming of the Kingdom concretely in our lives, in the diversity of our situations in the midst of those with whom we live. It is giving witness of the love of God each day; it is to respond to the call of the poor, and the suffering of those in distress and in this way to reveal to them the love of God for each person. It is by communicating this love received from God that we discover and make known the true face of Jesus. Amen.
Mark 9: 2-10
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured: his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.
Then Peter spoke to Jesus. “Rabbi”, he said “it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came a voice from the cloud, “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.” Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
As they came down the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what “rising from the dead” could mean.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Meet Sister Antoinette Tombozi, SNDdeN
Sister Antoinette Tombozi was born on December 20, 1965 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She entered the Sisters of Notre-Dame de Namur in 1987. Sr. Antoinette made her first Vows in 1990 and her final Vows in 1998 in Kimwenza. For several years she spent several years as Directress of an SNDdeN Boarding School. She worked also in development efforts for her province of Congo-Kinshasa. She was sent for study to prepare to be in charge of Initial Formation in her province and served as Director of Postulants for several years.