And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 17:1-9)

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid."

And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

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Reflections:

"And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him"

«A bright cloud cast a shadow over them» and the disciples were seized with fear when they saw Jesus, the Savior, together with Moses and Elijah in the cloud. It is true that, when Moses saw God in former times, he entered into the divine cloud (Ex 24,18), thus making it clear that the Law was no more than a shadow. Listen to what Saint Paul says: «The Law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of them,» (Heb 10,1).

In those days Israel «could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory that was going to fade» (2Cor 3,7). «But all of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit» (v.18). And so the cloud that overshadowed the disciples was a cloud, not of darkness, but of light. Indeed, «the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past has been manifested» (Col 1,26) and endless, everlasting glory has been revealed. That is why Moses and Elijah, standing at our Savior's side, personified the Law and the Prophets. The one whom the Law and the Prophets foretold is, in truth, Jesus, the giver of life.

Moses also stands for the assembly of the saints who fell asleep in former times (Dt 34,5) and Elijah, the living (2Kgs 2,11), since the transfigured Jesus is Lord both of the living and the dead. And Moses has at last entered the Promised Land since Jesus is the one who takes us there. Whereas, formerly, Moses had only seen the promised inheritance from afar (Dt 34,4), today he sees it clearly.

Source: Daily Gospel