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Contemplating his transfigured face

The mountain, in the bible—as, indeed, among all peoples of antiquity—was the site of the encounter with God.
 
In Exodus 24 we find that after six days (Exodus 24:16) Moses went up; he did not go alone, but took Aaron, Nadab and Abihu with him (Exodus 24:19), and was enveloped in a cloud.
 
It is enough to conclude that, with these Old Testament allusions, the evangelist intends to communicate a message. He intends to present Jesus as the new Moses.
 







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Ang pagbabagong anyo ni Hesus

Maraming paraan upang baguhin ang kaanyuan ng isang tao. Mayroong nag iiba ang itsura dahil sa klase ng gupit o ayos ng buhok, suot na damit, make-up, pagtaba, pag-kulubot ng balat, pagpapaputi, o pagsailalim sa cosmetic surgery. Sa ganitong tema ng pagbabagong anyo tayo dinadala ng ating kapistahang ipinagdiriwang ngayong Linggo. 
 







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The joy of discovering a treasure

By pure accident a man discovers a treasure in the field he is working. He hides it, goes to sell everything he has and buys that field. 
 
The poor farmer, attracted by the unmistakable sparkle of a golden object that has emerged from the ground, immediately thought that, under the clods, an immense wealth could be hidden. He did not want to lose even a crumb, so he decided to buy the whole field.
 







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The impatient man and the calm God

Through three parables Jesus gradually reveals the mystery of the kingdom of heaven and explains the enigma of the existence of evil.
 
In the parable of the seed and weed, the owner represents God. He is the one who sows, the one responsible of the quality of the seed.
 
The seeds are defined as being good. Creation is good as the seed of the word announced by Jesus is good.
 







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Four types of ground in the same heart

In the parable of the sower, we notice the large quantities of seed wasted in a barren land. The insistence on waste: failure and disappointment is an important element in this parable.
 
It reflects the reality of the world in which evil appears much stronger, more efficient than good. Note also its progressive, relentless dominance: the seed does not sprout, that which sprouts does not grow, that which grows is suffocated.
 







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Small is the only honorific in heaven

The solemn exclamation with which today’s gospel begins is one of the few prayers of Jesus reported in the gospels: “Father, Lord of heaven and earth… revealed them to simple people.”
 
Jesus states a fact: the poor, the humble, the marginalised are the first to welcome his word of deliverance. They feel the need of God’s tenderness. They hunger and thirst for righteousness. They are blessed because for them, the kingdom of God has come.
 







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Constant and generous self-sacrifice

Matthew wrote his gospel in a time of persecution. The disciples have often had the experience that, to remain faithful to Christ, they had to accept the breaking of ties with the people who matter most. The rabbis had made the decision to expel the Christians from the synagogues. They had ordered that those who adhered to the Christian faith be considered heretical, be disowned by their families. 
 







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A mandate to continue his mission

Jesus promised his disciples that he would not leave them alone and that he would send the Spirit. Today we celebrate the feast of this gift of the Risen One.
 
While John places the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Easter to show that the Spirit is the gift of the Risen One, Luke places it with the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost.
 







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A mandate to continue his mission

Matthew does not describe the ascension of Jesus as the Acts of the Apostles do but, using different images, he suggests the same message. Unlike Luke and John, he places the encounter with the Risen Lord not in Jerusalem, but in Galilee.
 
This geographical setting has a theological value: the evangelist wants to say that the mission of the apostles begins where their master had begun.