Sunday before Lent Year B 11th February 2024
Lectionary readings:
2 Kings 2 v1-12, Psalm 50 v1-6, 2 Corinthians 4 v3-6, Mark 9 v2-9.
Putting doubts to bed.
In the gospel reading, Jesus appears to have arranged a tutorial for his closest disciples, Peter, James and John.
Jesus takes them to a place where they encounter two of Israel’s greatest prophets, and hear the voice of God proclaim, “This is my Son and I love him. Listen to what he says!” (v7b). And to cap it all, “Jesus was completely changed” (v2c). He was ‘shining’.
What did Jesus want his disciples to learn from this experience? Mark doesn’t tell us, he leaves his readers to work it out for themselves.
I think Jesus was answering the disciple’s unspoken questions and their deep seated doubts about who Jesus really was.
God speaks out loud for only the second time in the New testament. The first time was the baptism of Jesus, when God said, “You are my own dear Son and I am pleased with you.” (Mark 1 v11.)
On both occasions God declares that Jesus is his Son; which should put to bed any doubt about the true identity of Jesus.
Moses, representing ‘The Law’ and Elijah, representing the ‘Prophets’ are seen in the company of Jesus who is shining with the light of God. This light is not projected on to him, it is radiating from him, as John reminds us many times in his gospel. I think that we are meant to understand that ‘The Law and the Prophets’ = ‘Holy Scripture’; and therefore, the light of God is illuminating scripture.
Elijah had asked Elisha “What can I do for you?” just before his departure. (2Kings 2 v9). Jesus is doing much the same for his disciples, by anticipating their questions and addressing their deep seated doubts by providing them with a learning experience. Jesus knows that they will only fully appreciate its significance, after his departure, so he asks them to keep it to themselves until then.
Paul, reflecting on his deep knowledge of scripture, his encounter with the risen Christ, and his subsequent schooling by the Holy Spirit, is able to say, “The god who rules this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, they cannot see the light, which is the good news about our glorious Christ, who shows us what God is like.” (2 Cor 4 v4). Then, quoting Genesis(1 v3), he writes, “God commanded light to shine in the dark” “Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ”. (v6).
For Paul, the indwelling spirit of God, “shining in our hearts” and the God given knowledge that God revealed himself in Jesus, is his equivalent to the assurance Jesus gave to Peter, James and John.
Any doubts that Paul had about Jesus’ identity and mission, during his former days as a ‘zealous guardian of Jewish traditions’, have been put to bed for good.
God’s loving assurance is freely available upon request!
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.