SUNDAY’S GOSPEL – August 6, 2017

“And Jesus was transfigured before them: his face shone like the sun.”

Matthew 17:1–9

The definition of time is the measure of change. If nothing changed, we’d have no sense of time passing at all. Change doesn’t move at a constant pace: sometimes it’s glacially slow, at other times it races into view like a freight train. The Transfiguration of Jesus in the eyes of his disciples was an ongoing process of communication and revelation. Each teaching demonstrated his authority. Every miracle was a clue. And then, like a landslide, one afternoon on Mt. Tabor changed the disciples’ perception of Jesus completely.

Not all change is beneficial, and not all that’s revealed is beautiful, unhappily. This week we recall an hour in Hiroshima, a moment in Nagasaki, when history was tragically transformed in a flash of light. The human potential for unfathomable devastation was shown to the world, but this transfiguration of the moral landscape did not glorify God. What occupies the human heart will be revealed, hour by hour. We must take care that what we harbor inside testifies to the goodness of the God we serve.

Recall an event in which you came to “really know” someone: a parent or child, friend or coworker. How did this revelation change the way you’d seen them before?

(Reflection and questions by Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings)

Since the Sunday Gospel is the heart of the Gospel Weeklies, an important part of preparing to share the Gospel with children is to read and reflect on it in advance of your class session. The Gospel at Home and the Gospel for All Ages (see Gathering Rituals/Questions) are resources on our website that can help you do this. While these resources take a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings.

Image credit: Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons