Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 18, 2023
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
then from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, the disciples no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
Then they asked him,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He told them, “Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things,
yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man
that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt?
But I tell you that Elijah has come
and they did to him whatever they pleased,
as it is written of him.”
We begin with a small group of friends and a mountain. On the one hand, transfiguration is a miraculous experience that gives the disciples a foretaste of the eternal power of the kingdom of Christ. However, for me, God’s shiveringly exact words, “listen to him,” resonate long after the dazzling mountaintop moment fades away.
Almost thirty years ago, I was part of Notre Dame’s first undergraduate cohort to study abroad in Chile. In the pre-internet age, we arrived in Santiago without handheld devices to navigate our new surroundings or connect us to friends and family back home.
During my first class at the university, I quickly realized I had overestimated my proficiency in Spanish. Afraid to make mistakes, I seldom participated in class and did not approach my peers. I remember feeling small, unlovely, and alone.
To improve both my language skills and ability to relate to others, I began listening carefully in a way I hadn’t before. Rather than dwelling on my loneliness as an outsider on my daily bus commute, I’d overhear a child singing sweetly or notice an endearing exchange between an older couple in the park. I observed snubs and small kindnesses, detected accents and new slang phrases. Learning to behold everyday moments in a place far from home made me feel comforted and more confident in connecting with others.
Along with Peter, James, and John, God urges us to listen intently to his Son, the living Word. How might we attune our hearts to the suffering of others to ensure no one is ignored, silenced, left out or behind? Can we listen intently to those who may not hold our same views or be easy to love? Or inhabit silences with intention so others may speak? How might we hear and learn to continuously be astonished by Christ’s presence and message of love, unity, and peace?
Prayer
God of wisdom and truth, make yourself known to us and to all people, as the one God, living and true. Affirm your truth in our lives that we may be witnesses of your unchanging presence and shine with your glory. May the life and teachings of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, be our salvation and guide. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Simon was a bishop and martyr who followed Jesus, and may have even been related to him. Simon is not to be confused with Simon-Peter, the disciple who was entrusted by Jesus as leader of the new Church.
The Gospel of Matthew tells of Jesus going to his hometown of Nazareth and how people there were astonished at him because they knew him as the carpenter’s son. “Is not his mother Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are his sisters not all with us?” (Mt 13:55). These “siblings” of Jesus may have been cousins (there is no word for “cousin” in Aramaic, hence the designation as brother), or perhaps children of Joseph from a previous marriage.
Simon, in any case, was related to Jesus, and was older by about eight years. He was among the 72 followers of Jesus present at Jesus’ Ascension, and he was one of the followers present when the Spirit descended at Pentecost.
Simon’s brother, St. James the Lesser, was bishop of Jersualem before he was killed for his faith. The disciples unanimously appointed Simon as his successor.
When civil war broke out in Palestine in year 66, Romans destroyed the city. Simon led the Christians to live in a smaller city nearby, called Pella, until the Romans left. The community returned to Jerusalem to live among the ruins of the city, and the faith flourished there, thanks to Simon, and they converted many to follow Christ.
In the Roman persecution, Simon was arrested for being both Christian and of Jewish heritage, and was tortured and crucified. Tradition has it that he was very old—nearly 120—when he was martyred, but that he bore his sufferings with courage that won the admiration of the Roman governor overseeing the persecution.
St. Simon’s relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Simon, you followed your cousin, Jesus, in life and death, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Simon is in the public domain. Last accessed January 23, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
