Second Sunday in Lent

2009 SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT B

We are touched at Mass by the Transfigured Lord Jesus and when we are touched by the hand of God, we always become better persons because of our experience.

We have all experienced suffering and perhaps even tragedy in our lifetimes. It seems that pain and suffering are never very far away from any of us. When we are faced with a tragic situation we often ask ourselves the question: why is this happening; why is this happening to me? As we heard in today’s first reading, when God tested Abraham’s faith and asked him to sacrifice his only son, Abraham must have wondered why this was happening? Yet, he trusted in God and was prepared to do as God had requested of him. As a result of his obedience things worked out for the best, Isaac was saved and Abraham and his descendants were richly blessed. The story of Abraham and Isaac foreshadows the sacrifice of Jesus, who as Paul tells us in today’s second reading, was not spared by God, but was given up as a sacrifice for us. Why didn’t God spare Jesus? It was to show the depth of His love for each of us. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John: “No greater love can a man have than to lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus also gives us these consoling words: “Come to Me all you who labour and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest” When God touches our lives it is always for the better, our lives are always improved. We can see this clearly in today’s Gospel passage in the case of Peter, James and John as they witness the transfiguration of Jesus before their very eyes.

The timing of this event is significant. It is shortly before Jesus goes to Jerusalem to accept His crucifixion and death on the Cross. The Gospel reports that Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain apart, and there He was transfigured in their presence, meaning that they saw His face shining like the sun, and His clothes dazzling white. Then these three disciples of Jesus saw Him talking with Moses and Elijah, two great pillars of the Old Testament. They were utterly thrilled. Peter was so overjoyed that he said to Jesus: "Rabbi it is good for us to be here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah". Peter just wanted to stay there and prolong the experience, for they were seeing a vision of the glorified Jesus, they were seeing Him in His eternal state after He would suffer, die and rise again from the dead.

Moses, of course, was the great leader, chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and to whom God gave the ten commandments on Mount Sinai for His people to observe as part of the Old Covenant. Elijah was the great prophet of ancient Israel who foretold the coming of Jesus as God’s Servant King, as the Messiah and Saviour of His people. In the vision, Moses and Elijah were seen talking with Jesus, most probably talking about Jesus’ imminent suffering and death on the Cross of Calvary. Moses and Elijah would have confirmed the mission Jesus had received from His Father in heaven, and their presence there with Jesus might have indicated to Peter, James and John that Jesus was about to inaugurate a New Covenant, one that would be sealed, not with the blood of calves and goats as was the old one, but by the outpouring of His own precious Blood on the Cross for us. Then, the three disciples of Jesus heard the voice of God the Father confirming Jesus’ identity for them: “This is My Son, the Beloved, listen to Him.” In all the difficulties and confusion they were about to experience in the days to come, the disciples were never to lose sight of who Jesus was: not just the long-awaited Messiah, but actually the Son of the Living God in human flesh.

Like these disciples of Jesus we too must keep in mind always who Jesus is and what He means to us. Like them, we are to listen to Him and to follow Him each day of our lives. Just as Jesus was always faithful in doing His Father’s will, even to accepting death on the Cross, so we are to do the will of God in our daily lives; we are to die to selfishness and sin, so as to rise to new life with Jesus, and achieve the reward of our faithfulness. About Jesus’ obedience Paul wrote: “Jesus obediently accepted death, even death on a cross, and therefore God raised Him up....and gave Him the name that is above all other names.... every knee shall bow before Him”.

As they came down from the mountain Jesus told Peter, James and John not to tell anyone what they had seen until “after the Son of Man had risen from the dead”. The disciples wondered what that meant, and they were soon to find out. Once they had received the gifts of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the apostles came to understand all that Jesus had taught them, and they began to preach to others that Jesus, who had died, had now risen from the dead. Peter, James and John had been mightily touched by God at the time of the transfiguration of Jesus, and then again with the others when they received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They were well prepared for their mission in life to make Jesus’ known, to spread the Word of God to others.

Here today at this Mass, we are also touched by the Presence of God. Here, in the Presence of the Lord Jesus we are strengthened, as He shares His life with us in the Holy Eucharist. Here we are spiritually refreshed and renewed in faith and love, and so we leave here as better persons, more capable of loving God and our neighbour in union with Jesus. A little story will illustrate what I mean:

Two men were hiking in the mountains out west when one of them noticed a small stone, about the size of a half-dollar, with smooth round edges. Ordinarily he would have passed it by, for he was not into rock collecting, but this stone instantly caught his eye. He believed it was special. Glinting in the sunlight it seemed to reflect all the surrounding colours, as though trying to mirror nature. He put the rare find in his pocket and took it home with him all the way to the east coast. On his way home he thought about where he would display the stone he had found so that its beauty could be most enjoyed. When he got home, he placed in a curio cabinet next to some carved jade and ivory pieces, and then he forgot about it. Then one day several weeks later, while dusting his curio cabinet, he was surprised to see that the stone had completely lost its luster. It sat on the shelf among the other lovely objects, but seemed to be just a hard, gray chunk of nothing special. It seemed downright ugly to him and the man was shocked. What had happened to the prize he had so carefully brought back across the continent? Where was its sparkle and the colours that had first attracted him so much? Disappointed, he picked the stone up and started for the trash can in the backyard. Then just as he opened the door of the kitchen a beam of light struck the stone in his hand. As though by magic it began to shimmer, to glow again. In an instant the beautiful colours shone brilliantly once more. Had they returned, or had they always been there, dormant, waiting to be released? Pondering that question he looked up at the sky and realized that the sunlight was the answer. The rays from the sun were what the stone needed to come alive. Then he thought: “How much that was like all of us”. Without God our lives are empty, colourless, and even without meaning. Only when we are touched by God, only when we share our lives with Jesus is our real beauty revealed.

On this Second Sunday of Lent, let us ask the transfigured Lord Jesus to touch our lives powerfully so that we can bring His love and compassion to those around us.