Friday, 6 August 2010

Transfiguration

Jesus took three of his disciples up a mountain to pray, and there he became transfigured with God's glory.
FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD
LUKE 9:28b-36
(Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 97; 2 Peter 1:16-19)
KEY VERSE: "Then from a cloud came a voice that said, `This is my chosen Son; listen to him'" (v 35).



POPE BEN EDICT XVI  'JESUS OF NAZARETH' pp. 305-307

THE TRANSFIGURATION
All three Synoptic Gospels create a link between Peter's confession and the account of Jesus' Transfiguration by means of a reference to time. Matthew and Mark say: "And after SIX days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother" Mt. 17:1; Mk 9:2). Luke writes: "Now about eight days after these sayings" Lk 9:28). Clearly, this means that the two events, in each of which Peter plays a prominent role, are interrelated. We could say that in both cases the issue is the divinity of Jesus as the Son; another point, though, is that in both cases the appearance of his glory is connected with the Passion motif Jesus' divinity belongs with the Cross--only when we put the two together do we recognize Jesus correctly. John expressed this intrinsic interconnectedness of Cross and glory when he said that the Cross is Jesus' "exaltation," and that his exaltation is accomplished in no other way than in the Cross. But now we must try to delve somewhat more deeply into this remarkable time reference. There are two different interpretations, though they do not have to be considered mutually exclusive.   
J.-M. van Cangh and M. van Esbroeck have explored the connection with the calendar of Jewish festivals. They point out that only five days separate two major Jewish feasts that occur in the fall. First there is the feast of Yom ha-Kippurim, the great feast of atonement; the celebration of the weeklong Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth) follows six days afterward. This would mean that Peter's confession fell on the great Day of Atonement and should be interpreted theologically against the backdrop of this feast, on which, for the one time in the year, the high priest solemnly pronounced the name YHWH in the Temple's Holy of Holies. This context would give added depth to Peter's confession of Jesus as the Son of the living God. Jean Danielou, by contrast, sees the Evangelists' references to the timing of the Transfiguration exclusively in relation to the Feast of Tabernacles, which-c-as we have seen-lasted an entire week. On this reading, Matthew, Mark, and Luke would all be in agreement about the chronology of the event. The six or eight days would then designate the weeklong Feast of Tabernacles itself; Jesus' Transfiguration would accordingly have taken place on the last day of the feast, which was both its high point and the synthesis of its inner meaning.
Both interpretations have in common the idea that Jesus' Transfiguration is linked with the Feast of Tabernacles. We will see that this connection actually comes to light in the text itself and that it makes possible a deeper understanding of the whole event. In addition to the specific elements of these accounts, we may observe here a fundamental trait of Jesus' life, which receives particularly thorough treatment in John's Gospel. As we saw in chapter 8, the great events of Jesus' life are inwardly connected with the Jewish festival calendar. They are, as it were, liturgical events in which the liturgy, with its remembrance and expectation, becomes reality-becomes life. This life then leads back to the liturgy and from the liturgy seeks to become life again.
Our analysis of the connections between the Transfigu­ration story and the Feast of Tabernacles illustrates once again the fact that all Jewish feasts contain three dimensions. They originate from celebrations of nature religion and thus tell of Creator and creation; they then become remembrances of God's actions in history; finally, they go on from there to become feasts of hope, which strain forward to meet the Lord who is coming, the Lord in whom God's saving action in history is fulfilled, thereby reconciling the whole of creation. We will see how these three dimensions of Jewish feasts are further deepened and refashioned as they become actually present in Jesus' life and suffering.
Contrasting with this liturgical interpretation of the timing of the Transfiguration is an alternative account that is insistently maintained by H. Gese (Zur biblischen Theologie). This interpretation holds that there is insufficient evidence for the claim that the text alludes to the Feast of Tabernacles. Instead. it reads the whole text against the background of Exodus 24-MosC's' ascent of Mount Sinai. Now, this chapter, which recounts how God seals the Covenant with Israel, is indeed an essential key to interpreting the story of the Transfiguration. There we read: "The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud" (Ex 24:r6). The Exodus text, unlike the Gospels, mentions the …


Mat 17:1-13
Mar 9:1-12
Luke 9:28-36



<< Luke 9:28 >>


Greek
Transliteration
Strong's
Morphology
English
Ἐγένετο
egeneto
it came to pass
δὲ
de
And
μετὰ
meta
after
τοὺς
tous

λόγους
logous
sayings
τούτους
toutous
these
ὡσεὶ
ōsei
some
ἡμέραι
ēmerai
days
ὀκτὼ
oktō
eight
παραλαβὼν
paralabōn
after taking
Πέτρον
petron
Peter
καὶ
kai
and
Ἰωάννην
iōannēn
John
καὶ
kai
and
Ἰάκωβον
iakōbon
James
ἀνέβη
anebē
he went up
εἰς
eis
into
τὸ
to
the
ὄρος
oros
mountain
προσεύξασθαι
proseuxasthai
to pray
ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:28 Greek NT: Westcott/Hort with Diacritics
Ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους ὡσεὶ ἡμέραι ὀκτὼ παραλαβὼν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην καὶ Ἰάκωβον ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος προσεύξασθαι.
ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:28 Greek NT: Greek Orthodox Church
Ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους ὡσεὶ ἡμέραι ὀκτὼ καὶ παραλαβὼν τὸν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην καὶ Ἰάκωβον ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος προσεύξασθαι.
ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:28 Greek NT: Tischendorf 8th Ed. with Diacritics
Ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους, ὡσεὶ ἡμέραι ὀκτώ, καὶ παραλαβὼν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην καὶ Ἰάκωβον ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος προσεύξασθαι.
ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:28 Greek NT: Stephanus Textus Receptus (1550, with accents)
Ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τοὺς λόγους τούτους ὡσεὶ ἡμέραι ὀκτὼ καὶ παραλαβὼν τὸν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην καὶ Ἰάκωβον ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος προσεύξασθαι
ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:28 Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
εγενετο δε μετα τους λογους τουτους ωσει ημεραι οκτω και παραλαβων πετρον και ιωαννην και ιακωβον ανεβη εις το ορος προσευξασθαι
ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:28 Greek NT: Textus Receptus (1894)
εγενετο δε μετα τους λογους τουτους ωσει ημεραι οκτω και παραλαβων τον πετρον και ιωαννην και ιακωβον ανεβη εις το ορος προσευξασθαι   
 Luke 9:28 Hebrew Bible
ויהי כשמנה ימים אחרי הדברים האלה ויקח אליו את פטרוס ואת יוחנן ואת יעקב ויעל אל ההר להתפלל שם׃
Luke 9:28 Aramaic NT: Peshitta
ܗܘܐ ܕܝܢ ܒܬܪ ܡܠܐ ܗܠܝܢ ܐܝܟ ܬܡܢܝܐ ܝܘܡܝܢ ܕܒܪ ܝܫܘܥ ܠܫܡܥܘܢ ܘܠܝܥܩܘܒ ܘܠܝܘܚܢܢ ܘܤܠܩ ܠܛܘܪܐ ܠܡܨܠܝܘ ܀
Latin: Biblia Sacra Vulgata
factum est autem post haec verba fere dies octo et adsumpsit Petrum et Iohannem et Iacobum et ascendit in montem ut oraret



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