Recipients of revelation are often told how to respond. Abraham must go to another country; Timothy is told to bear hardship for the gospel; and Peter, James, and John are told to keep silent about Jesus’s Transfiguration. Each case is different, but all are instructive. 

The first reading reminds us that the creation of the world in the Bible and neighboring cultures focused on the world’s human population, unlike modern cosmogonies, which focus primarily on our planetary system. The early chapters of Genesis describe the “seventy nations” of the world migrating to their assigned territories.  

There was one exception, Abraham and his wife Sarah. Just as they were settling down, “The Lord said, ‘Go forth from your land, your kin, and from your father’s house to a land I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you.’” Each element Abraham was to leave behind was increasingly heart-wrenching — country, extended family, and his own home Obedient and trusting nonetheless, Abraham left them all. He would later receive them back blessed by God.  

In 2 Timothy, Paul tells his young disciple Timothy to “Bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God.” Straightforward. No need for elaboration. 

The third example of a command following upon a revelation is the Transfiguration in which Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah. Heaven and earth meet; God’s glory is revealed. Jesus tells Peter, John, and James, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” What they are to keep silent about is awesome! On a high mountain, “Jesus 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,” Moses the mediator of the covenant, Elijah the first in the prophetic line. They represent the Law and the Prophets. Both Moses and Elijah had been taken up to the heavenly world before, Moses in Exodus 24-32, and Elijah in 2 Kings 2:9-12. The injunction to remain silent will end when Jesus is raised from the dead. Jesus is the one who brings heaven down to earth, and the one who invites us to a new way of life.  

Richard Clifford, S.J., has taught biblical studies for 55 years, most recently at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College, and has written many scholarly and popular books and articles.