Cycle C - Year I:  

17 March 2019: Second Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical Color: Violet)

Readings:

First Reading:        Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

Second Reading:   Philippians 3:17--4:1

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 9:28b-36

A glimpse of God's glory...

 There is an old adage that says "At the end of a rainbow is a pot of gold." It could mean, that after everything you have gone through, reward and victory may await you. Of course, the old saying is just a myth, and although there is no truth to it usually the wise saying is meant to inspire and encourage people.

 To inspire and keep faith seems to be the message of the Gospel this Sunday.

Recall that on Ash Wednesday we started our Lenten journey on a rather somber tone as we reflect on our Lord Jesus Christ -- His suffering and His sacrifice, His life, death, burial and resurrection. It is fitting because Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance even as we prepare for the glory of Easter.

But then on the second Sunday of Lent we take a break from our sadness and meditate on the fourth Luminous Mystery of the Holy Rosary, the Transfiguration of Jesus. This is one of the most dramatic scenes in all of Scripture.

Now Holy Mother Church places the transfiguration event before us while our journey of Lent is still young, perhaps to assure us of the final goal, the glorified Christ. Our Lord came into the world precisely to win such glory -- for Himself and for all of us. By His incarnation He took our human nature. By His passion and death He purified it. And by His resurrection and ascension He glorified it. 

The transfiguration event is a source of courage and strength that will sustain the chosen apostles through on the difficult way of the cross. While Jesus was still walking among them, the apostles tended to take Him as simply human with extraordinary powers. Thus, the transfiguration was to help them see Him beyond what the human eye can see. This was a moment in His human existence that Jesus allowed the chosen apostles, and also us, to see the divinity in His Person. The splendor of the divinity was allowed to pierce through the humanity and be made visible.

In St. Luke's version of the transfiguration event there is a detail contained in the story which is unique to his account... St. Luke wrote that Jesus was transfigured while He was praying. 

"Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While He was praying His face changed in appearance and His clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with Him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His exodus that He was going to accomplish in Jerusalem." (Luke 9:28-31)

Indeed, the transfiguration of our Lord was a unique display of His divine character and a glimpse of the glory which Jesus had before He came down on earth in human form. In that holy mountain, the chosen apostles had the experience of "the already of the not yet", so that the "inner circle" of Jesus' apostles could gain a greater understanding of who Jesus is. And so these disciples who had only known Jesus in His human body now had a greater realization of the deity of Christ, even when perhaps they could not fully comprehend their experience at that time. Nonetheless, this experience gave them the assurance they needed when the passion and death of our Lord would transpire. It made such an impression of the disciples of that Lord that the transfiguration is one of the only stories common to all three of the synoptic Gospels.

True enough, these "privileged" disciples never forgot what happened that day on the mountain. They bore witness to it to the other disciples and to countless millions more down through the centuries. They were witnesses of our Lord's transfiguration event wrote of it later:

St. John wrote of it in his gospel account: "We have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth." (Jn 1:14)

St. Peter wrote of it as well: "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain." (2 Peter 1:16-18)

How does this Transfiguration event affect our lives today as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ?

First of all, we must accompany our Lord in His Lenten journey. There is no shortcut to our heavenly goal, that is to say, we could not have the Gospel without sacrifice, holiness without prayer, virtue without effort, communion without confession, and Easter without Lent. We cannot escape taking our share in sharing the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord lived a full human life, experiencing both its joys and sorrows. Therefore, we must take upon ourselves our share of the Lord's suffering and death so that we also will share in His eternal glory. Thus, we cannot imitate Peter's impulsiveness and hastiness in wanting to "glory" in the Lord's transfiguration immediately

In truth, God wants to share His glory with us. We get a glimpse of His glory in our Lord's transfiguration. So as we continue with our Lenten journey, let us pray earnestly and ask God to deepen our faith in His love and His loving plans for all of us, especially when they do not immediately make sense to us. Let us seek His grace to embrace our crosses and allow them to increase our virtue and to be a channel of God's strength, so that we can also share in the Lord's Easter... at the end of our Lenten journey. Amen.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!