The Thread that Runs Through

By Elizabeth Westhoff

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” ~ Luke 9:28b-36

Today’s Gospel, Luke 9:28b-36, describes the events as Jesus, Peter, James, and John are atop (what we have assumed since the fourth century is) Mount Tabor. They are there to pray, and as they pray, two Old Testament figures, Moses and Elijah, appear. (Full disclosure: I have a terrible time with an intrusive thought every time I read about the Transfiguration, and it is the image from Return of the Jedi when Obi Wan, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker all appear to Luke as ghosts…but I digress…)

Mount Tabor plays a prominent role in Israel’s history and the Old Testament. For example, in the Psalms, Jeremiah connects Tabor to Mount Carmel. If you recall, Mount Carmel was the scene of a conflict between the false prophets Baal and Asherah and the one true God.

In the New Testament, as part of what Pope Benedict described as “recapitulative history,” that is, the thread that runs through the Bible that is tied up when Jesus fulfills all of the events foretold in the Old Testament, we have the disciples on this very same mountain, but this time we have true prophets as well as the Son of the one true God. Toward the conclusion of the reading, Luke writes, “‘ Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.'”

God the Father tells the disciples, “This is my chosen Son.” “Listen to him.” At Cana, Jesus’ mother says, “Do whatever He tells you.” We’re told—listen to Him! Do what He tells you!

That thread that fulfills the Old Testament in the New is Jesus Christ. His fulfillment of the Old Testament is not happenstantial; it is not coincidence—it is providence, it is His will. He is the same means by which you will reach your fulfillment, but only if you give yourself over to Him, to His will. Give yourself over and do whatever He tells you. You will be fulfilled.