From the responsorial psalm: “Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; Take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 17:9a, 10-13)
As they were coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Jesus speaks to the disciples immediately after his transformation on the mountain, where Moses and Elijah appear to him. According to Jewish belief, Elijah would appear again before the coming of the Messiah. Jesus makes clear that Elijah has appeared again, referring to John the Baptist and his message of repentance and baptism. Just as people failed to listen to John, they will fail to listen to Jesus, rejecting him and putting him to death on a cross. In indicating that the disciples understand Jesus, Matthew expresses in his account that John brings to fulfillment the role of Elijah in the continuity between the greatest of prophets and the mission of Jesus.
God, help me understand more deeply that regardless of what reality looks like on the surface, you have a plan. Jesus reveals this to the disciples, and in revealing it to them, reveals it to me. As the psalmist prays, in turning to you, we see your face and are saved. “Take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted. . . .” In today’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John had just witnessed the Transfiguration, and they were full of questions. In pondering your glory, Lord, help me turn more and more to your saving power, your plan for me; let me see your face. Saint John of the Cross, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.