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Ordinary Time · Transfiguration of the Lord · Year C

2 Peter 1:16-19

Prophecy of Scripture

The Transfiguration, Raphael
The Transfiguration, Raphael, 1516–1520Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican
Raphael's last work, left unfinished when he died at thirty-seven and set at the head of his bier while he lay in state. It holds in one frame two episodes the gospel tells one after the other: Christ raised in light on the mountain, and at its foot the disciples unable to heal a boy seized by a spirit.We had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.RaphaelRaphael Sanzio of Urbino (1483-1520), the youngest of the three who defined the High Renaissance. He died on Good Friday at thirty-seven.Pinacoteca Vaticana, VaticanThe Vatican's picture gallery. Napoleon took this painting to Paris in 1797 and it was returned in 1816; it has hung in the papal collections since.Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican

Overview & Insights

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths... but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16)

Peter now comes to the purpose of his letter. So , in view of all that I have outlined and because so much is at stake for your spiritual welfare, I will always remind you of these things . Here speaks the true preacher. Often a preacher is simply reminding listeners of Christian truths of faith and works they already know , as a spur to follow Christ more perfectly. But Peter is well aware, as have been all who have spoken in God’s name down through the ages, of the fallibility of human memory, of the lure of siren voices, and of the constant necessity to be brought back to God’s paths. In this, those who speak for God are following the divine example, for God himself has constantly been saying to his people “Remember!” (Num. 15:40; Isa. 46:9; Mal. 4:4; cf. Exod. 13:3; Josh. 1:13; Acts 20:35; Rom. 15:15; 1 Cor. 11:24–25; Phil. 3:1).

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Take it further: 2 Peter 1:16-19

Commentary

Background & Word Study

The Church Fathers

Questions preachers ask

What does Peter testify to?

Peter recalls the Transfiguration, where he heard the voice from the Majestic Glory, and calls the prophetic word a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns.

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