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Year - B

Homily for Second Sunday of Lent

READ: (Gen 22: 1-2, 9, 10-13, 5-18; Rom 8: 31-34; Mk 9: 2-10)

REFLECT: Obedience to God brings us blessings in abundance…

Dear friends, we are in the second Sunday of Lent. The liturgy of the word invites each one of us to understand the significance of obedience in our lives. Obedience to God and his words can mean lot to us, because when we obey God’s words and voice, there would be happiness and peace in life. Obedience is nothing but doing what God wants of us in situations we are placed with. We all know that obedience is as well doing or willing to do, what we have been told to do by someone in authority and power. The overall authority of life for us is God; it is he, who has given life and freedom to live according to his wish and desire. In a family or society we have different persons holding in position and authority over us. They are our parents, elders, exemplary and genuine leaders etc. They stand as models for us to listen and discern our ways of living. However, Obedience is basically born out of trust and confidence in person. We believe in persons who we obey, so that the intended wish brings us real happiness, although at times may bring us suffering. But ultimately, true obedience bears fruit and brings real joy, when we obey.  So based on liturgy of the word of God, I would like to share with you three points of reflection;

1.     Obedience of Abraham:

We all of us know our forefather, Abraham, who is called as father in faith. It is because of the tremendous faith he had in God. From the very beginning of his life we see that he had unfathomable faith in God; He was asked to go to an unknown place, he went; he was asked to believe that he would make his generation live forever and will be as many as stars in heaven; he was promised for a child of his own in old age, he believed; he even was asked to sacrifice his own son, he believed in God and was ready to offer his own son at God’s commands, without even thinking what would be the condition of the promise that God had made him that he would makes his descendants as many as stars in heaven. So in all these episodes, we find Abraham, instantly doing what God wanted of him and obeying his words.

Today we have one such episode from the book of Genesis in the first reading. The first reading tells us how God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice Isaac, his beloved son. At the moment of sacrifice, an angel stopped him, providing a ram for sacrifice. Yes, this is what happens to the one who obeys God and listens to his voice. Abraham obeyed God and manifested faith to greater extent and genuine faith and obedience led God for a promise of countless descendants and blessings for all nations. Yes, looking at the life of Abraham we know that he obeyed God at all times. There were chances and possibilities for Abraham to ask questions, to argue, to show cold shoulder or to show disinterest but we see Abraham always believed in God and obeyed God’s words. That’s the unique character of God. His firm faith in God’s words was his source of strength and support. Such a firm belief made Abraham to obey God and God’s orders at all times.

Today we need to understand that when we believe in God, we obey God. If we don’t believe in God, we won’t be able to obey God’s words or voices. The firm belief in God is developed in intimacy with God. If Abraham was to obey God, it is because he believed in God. If Abraham believed in God, it is because of the intimacy with God. That’s why Pope Francis very well says, “Obedience to God’s commandments should flow from a personal relationship with the Father and from a place of gratitude for the good things he has done in one’s life.” Yes, Abraham had such relationship with God and remained grateful to God for all the privileges and benefits he received. Today, if we want to obey God and his words like Abraham then we need to deeply be united with God and be grateful for all the privileges that we cherished or cherish and promises that were fulfilled in the past and is fulfilled in the present too.

Today, most of us are not in a position to obey God or his word or voices because we have no personal touch or connection with God. We have no gratitude to God for all the benefits that we have received from his bounty. The moment we involve ourselves with God in prayer and remain grateful to God, the blessings shall pour out in abundance. That’s what the special blessing was given to Abraham to make his descendents as many as stars in heaven. He believed in God that God would grant him a son and after obtaining one such special gift, he remained grateful to God. His gratitude to God was such; it even extended to offer his own son as a sacrifice to God. That’s what pleased God so much and that’s why God blessed Abraham richly. So let us also believe in God, be firmly rooted in our relationship with God, remain grateful to God for all his benefits and obtain blessings in abundance forever.

2.     Obedience of Jesus:

We read in St. Paul’s letter to Philippians, “Though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross,” (Phil 2: 6-11). Yes, the obedience of Jesus reached its climax, when he was ready and willing even to give up his life for us. It is pure love for God and sincere love for each one of us. St. Paul makes every attempt to manifest to us that Christ has emptied himself completely, in order to fill ourselves with the riches of God’s love. Something similar we find in the second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.

The opening statement of the first reading from St. Paul’s letter to Romans begins, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The statement manifests to us that if God is on our side, nobody would be against us. If we could see, from the very beginning of God’s creation in the bible, God has been proving and manifesting to us that God is with us. It is we who have not realized the love manifesto of God. The culmination of the love manifesto of God at last was made manifest in the self-emptying love or self-sacrificing love of Jesus for us on the cross by his death. Perhaps, the self-emptying love or the self-sacrificing love of Jesus was done in obedience to the heavenly Father. It is a response to the divine will of God the Father that Jesus gave up his life for our redemption. That’s why the reading says, “God did not spare his own Son and will he not freely give us all things.” This reveals to us that God could do anything for us, his children; the unconditional love of God for us, his children has no boundaries.

Today, it is a reminder for us that God always wishes to be with us but do we wish to be with God. There could be no love expressed beyond this to give up His own Son for our salvation. Most of us feel that God has abandoned us, whenever we go through terrible sufferings and pains, doubts and confusions in life; we have accustomed to saying that God is not with us or God has forgotten us or God is punishing us, that’s why I am suffering. But if we could really look at the statement that St. Paul mentions in the first reading, “If God is for us, who can be against us,” we would understand that nothing could withstand the power of God or love of God over us. For God, love was the first thing and love shall be the last thing too, God never wants us to be separated from him.

Yes, that’s what we would see St. Paul expressing it in the next passage or the following verses of the Second reading to Romans about “nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ” ( Rom 8: 35-37). Certainly, if God is for us no one can be against us. No doubters, unbelievers, non-believers could detach ourselves from God, because God is for us. If God is for us nothing can be against us. No sufferings, pains, trials, temptations, unhealthy addictions and passions could destroy us or put us in distress, when God is for us. So let us make sure that we are with God and God is with us, so that no one or nothing could harm us or destroy us. Jesus could never dissociate himself with God, because he was always with God and God was with him always; As Jesus was with God always, he could obey God and do his will at every moment of his life. So let us ensure ourselves to be with God always and do what is pleasing to God in life.

3.     A call to obedience of the Disciples:

Every disciple obeys the master. If there is no obedience to the master, the disciple would have no connection with the master, because, it is in and through the commands or laws that master gives to the disciples the growth and development as human persons depend on. The relationship between the master and the disciples become stronger, when the disciple does what the master wants. It is only by obeying the master that they can become what they want; it is only by listening to the master that the disciples can get the mind of the master; it is only by listening to the master that the disciples can discern their life for good. Something similar we find in the Gospel reading of the day.

The Gospel reading of the day presents to us the transfiguration of Jesus on the mount Tabor. The disciples Peter, James, and John accompanied Jesus underwent a miraculous transformation. The presence of Elijah and Moses and the divine voice of God from the cloud were a power grip for the disciples to understand the power of transformation for themselves. The suggestion of Peter to build tents makes us to think or imagine, how intense could have been the experience of being with God, Jesus, Elijah and Moses on the mount. But Jesus does not tell them anything, because he knew that divine experience is not meant to store for oneself or find delight in oneself rather down the mountain, with the people, making them known the divine feel and experience, thus helping them to come closer to God by building tent for God in one’s heart. However, the affirmation of God from a divine voice that Jesus as the beloved Son urges them to pay heed to His words all the more. That’s what God affirms, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him.

Here, this profound experience teaches the disciples two most important things to store in one’s heart and share it with others. The first one is the manifestation from God that Jesus is the beloved one of God. The manifestation of God about Jesus as the beloved one of God was to remind the disciples how dear and special was Jesus to God. It was a call to have firm belief in Jesus, the beloved Son of God as they were close associates with Jesus in his mission.  Today, it is a reminder for us as well to firmly believe that Jesus is the dearest son of God and to make Jesus as part of our life. Making Jesus as part of our life is as equal as God being with us, because, Jesus is the face of the Heavenly Father. Today we too are close associates of Christ as we carry Jesus in our hearts, minds and bodies. So the first pre-requisite is to firmly believe that Jesus is the beloved of God and endear him closely to our heart and entire selves.

The second most important thing that we need to store in our hearts and share with others is to listen to the words and voice of Jesus. The heavenly voice from the cloud by the divine Father stated,” Listen to Him.” Here, we are placed with only one option, “listen to Jesus and not to anyone else.” Yes, we need to listen to the words and voice of Jesus in order to discern our lives for better. If we listen to the words and voice of Jesus, we will know whom we should or supposed to listen to; if we listen to the words and voice of Jesus, we would know what is our focus and priority in life; if only we listen to the words and voice of Jesus, we would know that we would obtain eternity forever. But the question is, “do we listen to the words and voice of Jesus?” Most of us are confused and ask ourselves at times, how to listen to the words and voice of Jesus and how to know that it is the voice or words of Jesus that we listen to? Yes, we are all grappling with such situations in life. But let us remember, the one who is united with God or with Jesus will be able to listen to God’s voice. Jesus was completely immersed with God in intimacy and so he was able to listen to the voice of God at all times and could withstand all chaos or crisis of life and could succeed in everything because his union with God.

Today if we wish to listen to the words and voice of God or Jesus, we need to intimately unite ourselves with God in prayer. Yes, unity with God enables us to listen to God’s voices and discern life perfectly well. Once we listen to the voice and the words of God, we will obey and do what pleases God or what God wants or wishes from us. When we listen to the voice of God, God would definitely manifest his ways of discerning our lives through our parents, elders and the good people around us. Listening to God and obeying God would in all surety bear fruit in life, provided we are open to God’s will, his plan, his message and his promptings though the Holy Spirit. Let us remember that obedience to God is a definitive and total surrender that we make to God, giving to God all that we have and are, rely on his providence and promises completely.

That’s what Pope Francis very beautifully points out that “An important aspect of the Christian life is obeying God even when there may be consequences for going against the commands of others. Obedience is the great Christian response. This means listening to God without reservations, without postponements, without calculations. Adhere to him to become capable of covenant with him and with those whom we meet on our way.” Yes, as disciples and followers of Christ, we need to believe firmly that Jesus is the beloved of God and listen to him attentively by being united with him always prayer and good works. Whatever may be the situations or the consequences, if we learn to listen God’s words and voice, we shall always be happy and successful in life.

RESPOND:

Do we have firm belief in God and genuine obedience to God in our lives?

Do we wish to be with God, who wishes to be with us always?

Do we make Christ dear to us in life and listen to him as his authentic followers?

So let us be obedient to God like Jesus the beloved Son, Abraham, the father in faith and the disciples who experienced the divine feel at the transfiguration of Jesus and obtain blessings in abundance forever. Amen.

God bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968