Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18; Psalm 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36

The first reading and Gospel for this Sunday both show us mysterious scenes involving very direct divine manifestations, and both these stories are important for understanding the relationship of the mission of Jesus to the religious history of Israel before He came. Much could be written on this topic, but here only a few points will be made about these readings, and how they contribute to an understanding of the mission of Jesus.

The scene presented in the first reading might at first appear very mysterious to modern readers, even apart from the fact that God is speaking to Abraham, and showing His presence through the appearance of a fire pot and a torch. What is all this about slaughtering animals? Why would Abraham cut in two a heifer, a she-goat, and a ram? Why would God, represented by the fire pot and torch, pass between the two parts of each animal? It all probably seems rather gruesome and pointless to most of us. However, in this case the events are in a sense far less mysterious than they appear. This ceremony was a known covenant ceremony. Covenants were typically sealed with blood. Also, in this ceremony, walking between the parts of the animals symbolized the commitment of each party to the covenant. The implied statement was something like: "If I am unfaithful to the covenant, let me become like these animals are now." In fact, there is a reference to this aspect of a covenantal ceremony in Jeremiah 34:18-20:

The men who violated my covenant and did not observe the terms of the agreement which they made before me, I will make like the calf which they cut in two, between whose two parts they passed. The princes of Judah and of Jerusalem, the courtiers, the priests, and the common people, who passed between the parts of the calf, I will hand over, all of them, to their enemies, to those who seek their lives: their corpses shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

Thus, through the use of the split animals we see already in the covenant with Abraham that the ultimate punishment or curse for covenant unfaithfulness is death. This curse of death is also the final of all the covenant curses for covenant unfaithfulness in the covenant that God makes with the nation of Israel at the time of Moses. There is a finality to these covenants. Covenants are not renegotiable. They have to be fulfilled, or expire with the death of one of the parties to the covenant. Once the Israelites break the covenant, as they inevitably will, the covenant curses must be fulfilled, including the curse of death applied to the nation of Israel. However, the Israelites are also descendants of Abraham, and God promised in His covenant with Abraham that the number of Abraham's descendants would be like the stars he could see in the sky. Both these covenants will find ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.

In the Gospel of Luke this Sunday we have the story of the Transfiguration, and some links with the history of Israel are obvious here. The fact that Moses and Elijah are present, representing the law and the prophets of Israel, reflects the fact that Jesus is fulfilling both the law and the prophets in Himself. However, there is more to be seen here, and right now let us focus particularly on the significance of Moses in this context, and the fact that the Gospel tells us that Moses and Elijah conversed with Jesus about "his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem." Moses, of course, led the original Exodus of the people of Israel out of slavery in the land of Egypt. The explicit link between Jesus and Moses and the Exodus here should lead us to see some other connections with the central event of the story of Moses and the Exodus, namely the reception of the old law by Moses from God on Mt. Sinai. Aside from the presence of Moses, other parallels between the Transfiguration and the reception of the Law on Mt. Sinai include the fact that both occur on a mountain, both involve God speaking to human beings from a cloud, and Scripture tells us of Moses that "the skin of his face had become radiant" (Exodus 34:29), while we hear in the Gospel today about Jesus that "his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white."

This connection with the Exodus in the Old Testament helps to show why this Gospel, as well as the first reading, are given to us by the Church in the season of Lent. The Church is preparing us for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, and giving us some of the context in salvation history of the events we remember on those days, so that we can understand their meaning more fully. When Moses and Elijah are talking about the exodus that Jesus is going to accomplish in Jerusalem, they are talking about the culmination of His mission in His imminent death and resurrection. Jesus is leading a new exodus for the nation of Israel, an exodus from the slavery of sin. In this exodus, of course, the whole world ultimately can be incorporated into the new nation of Israel, which Jesus frees from the bonds of sin. This is because Jesus re-forms the nation of Israel around Himself. His intention of doing this has been evident from the moment He chose twelve Apostles, to correspond to the number of the tribes of Israel. The identity of Israel will now be based on Jesus, the everlasting King of Israel. This is made more clear at the Transfiguration, and even more so in the Last Supper and the Passion, if they are understood as part of this new exodus.

On Mt. Sinai God gave the old law to Moses, and when God says at the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him," God is giving the new Law. Jesus in person is the new Law. The will of God is now given in the most perfect form possible, in the person of the Word of God. Furthermore, at the Last Supper Jesus makes explicit that He is bringing about a new covenant between God and His people, and identifies Himself as the basis for this covenant. The Passover was the foundational national event of Israel. For the Israelites the Passover meal commemorating God delivering them from slavery to the Egyptians was central to their identity as a people and a nation. From this perspective, think about the words of Jesus at the Last Supper, as related in Luke 22:19-20: "Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.'" Jesus interprets the Passover meal to be about Himself. He tells the Apostles that there is to be a new covenant "in my blood." In the first Exodus and at every subsequent Passover meal the Israelites were to sacrifice and eat a lamb, but Jesus in effect identifies Himself as the Passover Lamb, inviting His followers to eat of His body "which will be given for you." This time, though, the sacrifice and eating of the true Paschal Lamb actually has the effect of freeing from the slavery of sin those who partake of it, for Jesus also says here that His blood "will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). Furthermore, in the middle of the Passover meal that commemorates the first Exodus, Jesus tells his followers: "Do this in memory of me." Jesus thus makes Himself the new center of the Passover and the identity of the nation of Israel. Those in the new nation of Israel, who will participate in the new Exodus, will be those who follow Jesus, and eat His flesh and drink His blood which was sacrificed for them.

In ushering in the new covenant, Jesus brings salvation history to its climax, and also fulfills the old covenant between God and Israel. As the King of Israel, Jesus, who does not deserve death, freely chooses to accept death on behalf of His people, taking upon Himself the curse for the breaking of the old covenant. At the same time, by expanding the call to join the new Israel to all humanity, Jesus brings about the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham about the number of His descendants. The spiritual descendants of Abraham are indeed numerous beyond calculation, far larger than any one nation or ethnic group, for we are the descendants of Abraham. Even more importantly, by pointing us to the idea of a new exodus in the story of the Transfiguration, the Church reminds us this Sunday that we are the citizens of the new Israel, for whom Jesus offered Himself as the Paschal Lamb. We will remember this in a special way during the Triduum and the Easter season, but every time we go to Mass throughout the year we eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Paschal Lamb, so that we may follow Jesus and be freed from the slavery of sin in the new Exodus.