First Reading
| Exodus 13:17-14:9 |
|---|
When
Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not let them take the road to
the land of the Philistines, although that was the nearest way. God
thought that the prospect of fighting would make the people lose heart
and turn back to Egypt. Instead, God led the people by the roundabout
way of the wilderness to the Sea of Reeds. The sons of Israel went out
from Egypt fully armed. Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had
put the sons of Israel on solemn oath. ‘It is sure that God will visit
you,’ he had said ‘and when that day comes you must take my bones from
here with you.’
From Succoth they moved on, and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness.
The Lord went before them, by day in the form of a
pillar of cloud to show them the way, and by night in the form of a
pillar of fire to give them light: thus they could continue their march
by day and by night. The pillar of cloud never failed to go before the
people during the day, nor the pillar of fire during the night.
The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Tell the sons of
Israel to turn back and pitch camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between
Migdol and the sea, facing Baal-zephon. You are to pitch your camp
opposite this place, beside the sea. Pharaoh will think, “Look how these
sons of Israel wander to and fro in the countryside; the wilderness has
closed in on them.” Then I shall make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn and he
will set out in pursuit of them. But I shall win glory for myself at the
expense of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will learn that I
am the Lord.’ And the Israelites did this.
When Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was told that the people
had made their escape, he and his courtiers changed their minds about
the people. ‘What have we done,’ they said ‘allowing Israel to leave our
service?’ So Pharaoh had his chariot harnessed and gathered his troops
about him, taking six hundred of the best chariots and all the other
chariots in Egypt, each manned by a picked team. The Lord made Pharaoh,
king of Egypt, stubborn, and he gave chase to the sons of Israel as they
made their triumphant escape. So the Egyptians gave chase and came up
with them where they lay encamped beside the sea – all the horses, the
chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen, his army – near Pi-hahiroth, facing
Baal-zephon.
| LISTEN TO HIM |
Second Reading
| From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope |
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| The Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ |
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The
Lord reveals his glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is
like that of the rest of mankind, but he makes it shine with such splendor that his face becomes like the sun in glory, and his garments
as white as snow.
The great reason for this transfiguration was to
remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples, and to
prevent the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the
faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay
concealed.
With no less forethought he was also providing a firm
foundation for the hope of holy Church. The whole body of Christ was to
understand the kind of transformation that it would receive as his gift:
the members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory
which first blazed out in Christ their head.
The Lord had himself spoken of this when he foretold the splendor of his coming: Then the just will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Saint Paul the apostle bore witness to this same truth when he said: I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not to be compared to the future glory that is to be revealed in us. In another place he says: You
are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your
life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
This marvel of the transfiguration contains another
lesson for the apostles, to strengthen them and lead them into the
fullness of knowledge. Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets,
appeared with the Lord in conversation with him. This was in order to fulfill exactly, through the presence of these five men, the text which
says: Before two or three witnesses every word is ratified. What
word could be more firmly established, more securely based, than the
word which is proclaimed by the trumpets of both old and new testaments,
sounding in harmony, and by the utterances of ancient prophecy and the
teaching of the Gospel, in full agreement with each other?
The writings of the two testaments support each other.
The radiance of the transfiguration reveals clearly and unmistakably
the one who had been promised by signs foretelling him under the veils
of mystery. As Saint John says: The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
In him the promise made through the shadows of prophecy stands
revealed, along with the full meaning of the precepts of the law. He is
the one who teaches the truth of the prophecy through his presence, and
makes obedience to the commandments possible through grace.
In the preaching of the holy Gospel all should receive
a strengthening of their faith. No one should be ashamed of the cross
of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.
No one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice;
no one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised. The
way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death. Christ
has taken on himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature. If
then we are steadfast in our faith in him and in our love for him, we
win the victory that he has won, we receive what he has promised.
When it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring
adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our
ears: This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased;listen to Him
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