2nd
Sunday of Lent (Year A)
First
Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a Second
Reading: 2 Timothy 1:8b-10 Gospel
Reading: Matthew 17:1-9
“IT'S BETTER
HIGHER UP!”
There
is a story told of a certain woman who was always bright, cheerful
and optimistic, even though she was confined to her room because of
illness. She lived in an attic apartment on the fifth floor of an
old, rundown building. A friend visiting her one day brought along
another woman – a person of great wealth. Since there was no
elevator, the two ladies began the long climb upward. When they
reached the second floor, the well-to-do woman commented, “What
a dark and filthy place!” Her friend replied, “It's
better higher up.” When they reached the third landing,
the remark was made, “Things look even worse here.” Again
the reply, “It's better higher up.”
The two women finally reached the attic level, where they
found the bedridden saint of God. A smile on her face radiated the
joy that filled her heart. Although the room was clean and flowers
were set on the window sill, the wealthy visitor could not get over
the stark surroundings in which this woman lived. She blurted out,
“It must be very difficult for you to be here like this!”
Without a moment's hesitation the shut-in, pointing towards heaven,
responded, “IT'S BETTER HIGHER UP.”
She was not looking at temporal
things and earthly sufferings. With the eyes of faith fixed on
God, she was joyfully looking forward to the ultimate glory
that awaited her.
Last week, the 1st Sunday of Lent – ' The Temptation Sunday,' the Gospel Reading led us to the desert with Jesus, where he prayed and fasted for forty days & nights and was tempted by the devil – and we had a “desert experience” of spiritually disciplining ourselves through prayer, fasting & works of piety. This week, the 2nd Sunday of Lent, the Gospel Reading takes us to the mountain-top to contemplate the mystery of the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus and calls us to 'holiness' by having a “mountain-top experience” of spiritually strengthening in us the cardinal Christian virtues viz. Faith, Hope & Love.
Each year, on the 2nd
Sunday of Lent, the Gospel Reading speaks of the Transfiguration of
Jesus; so, it may not perhaps be wrong to call it 'The
Transfiguration Sunday.' All
the three Evangelists of the Synoptic Gospels, viz. Matthew, Mark &
Luke, mention this important event in Jesus' life with remarkable
agreement. This is Year A, so we have St. Matthew's account of the
Transfiguration this Sunday.
He
presents the singular event of the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus'
external appearance, the momentary presence of Moses and Elijah, and
the hearing of God's voice. Only three of the Apostles witness this
revelation and they are warned to speak of it only after Jesus'
resurrection from the dead.
But,
before going into the explanation and meaning of the transfiguration
of the Lord, we need first to put the event into proper context -
Peter had just, in the name of the other disciples, recognized their
Teacher, Jesus, as the expected Messiah of Israel. "You
are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
It was a climactic moment in Jesus' relationship with his disciples.
But this was immediately followed by Jesus clearly telling them
exactly what being Messiah was going to mean for him. Far from being
a mighty warrior-king who would crush all the enemies of God's
people, he was going to be rejected by the leaders of his own people,
arrested, tried, condemned, tortured and eventually executed - not by
them but by the very hated enemies they expected the Messiah to
overthrow. This was too much for Peter and he objected strongly. In
turn, he was severely scolded for obstructing God's way of doing
things. Even more, Jesus had said that, if anyone wanted to be his
follower, then they would have to be prepared to walk the same road
of rejection, oppression - and even death. All of this must have
seemed like a large bucket of cold water landing on the heads of the
disciples. What Jesus had said was totally against all they had ever
heard about the expected Messiah. It is in this perhaps depressed
mood that today's experience takes place.
THE
TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS:
And
so, to give a boost to their morale, to help them see that the way of
Jesus would lead to victory and triumph, Jesus takes three of his
most intimate disciples, Peter, James and John, and goes up onto a
high mountain. They are the inner circle of the Twelve and are found
with Jesus at other times of crucial importance e.g. at the raising
of Jairus' daughter and the agony in the garden. We do not know which
mountain but, in general, mountains in Scripture are holy places,
places where God is especially felt to be present. Traditionally,
Mount
Tabor
is identified as the mountain in question, but it really does not
matter. When they reached the top, “He
was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his
clothes became white as light.” In
the Transfiguration, the union of God with humanity in the one man,
Jesus Christ, was made manifest in a special way. Jesus becomes
transfigured, i.e. the veil is lifted and his disciples receive a
glimpse of his divinity shining forth through his humanity. It is as
if this transfiguration was necessary for Jesus to give his disciples
a glimpse of his divinity, that he really is 'the
Son of God.'
a)
Moses and Elijah...
In
the vision, the presence of Moses
and Elijah
attests to Jesus' complete and total fulfillment of the Law and the
Prophets, and although the two are 'in
glory'
he is found conversing with them about his forthcoming death.
Moses
is the one who symbolizes the scriptures and the law of God. Elijah
is the symbol for all of the prophets. Jesus is there showing that he
continues what has gone before, but now he sums up all of the past.
In the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw that there was more
to Jesus than what they could see and hear and touch - they got a
glimpse
of the future
glory of Jesus’ resurrection.
Now,
the disciples were overcome by the experience - and who can blame
them! A vision that is both frightening and exhilarating! It would be
wonderful for such an ecstasy to never end. Peter tries to interpret
it - and, in a way, make it manageable and permanent - “I
will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for
Elijah” as a lasting memorial of what has happened.
b)
Voice from heaven...
The
power
of this vision also lies in the presence of all three persons of the
Blessed Trinity. St. Matthew’s account
of the Transfiguration of Jesus displays his characteristic interest
in Jesus as 'the
Son of God,'
which
clearly echoes in the voice from heaven: “This
is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; Listen to him.” As
in the Baptism of our Lord, the Father speaks from heaven, this time
enjoining upon the disciples' obedience
to His 'Beloved
Son,'
and the Holy Spirit is evoked in the cloud that envelopes everyone.
Here God is telling them that Jesus knows what he is talking about -
and salvation will come through him - even if how it happens does not
always make sense to the disciples.
c)
“Rise, and do not be afraid.”
The
disclosure of the voice in the cloud stunned the disciples into
shock. They were frightened, of course, for they did not properly
understand what they were experiencing. Understandably,
terrified they fell on their faces. But Jesus came and touched them,
saying, “Rise,
and do not be afraid.”
Then he warned them to tell no one of what they had witnessed. It was
necessary to await the Easter resurrection for the rest of the
disciples.
The
transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain is also awaiting each of us
after death. It calls us to have “the
virtue of hope,”
the hope
of our future
glorification.
On the mountain Peter, James and John had a privileged experience of
Jesus’ transfiguration. This was not simply something the disciples
were to see and experience as happening to Jesus alone. It was also
an invitation
for them to undergo a transfiguration of their own.
THE
CALL OF ABRAHAM:
The
First Reading of today from the Book of Genesis is also an encounter
with God, where we
hear about the call of Abraham, a
call to holiness, a life lived in covenanted relationship with the
Lord.
Abraham was a pagan, before God called him and this is the first time
in the scriptures when God calls someone to follow Him in a very
specific and clear way. It is a very important passage, because this
call of Abraham is a model for any call that we might receive from
God.
God
told Abraham to leave the land of his kinsfolk and to proceed to a
land, which He would show him; He would bless him and would make of
him a great nation. Abraham believed
in what God promised him, even in an impossible circumstance. In this
way, he was made righteous through his faith
in God. Abraham thus is a model believer and a father of us all in
faith.
The terse phrase, “Abram
went as the Lord directed him,”
is epigrammatic of the entire saga of tested and proven fidelity on
Abraham’s part . As such, it is also a wonderful summary of the
essence of holiness - living
as the Lord directs us.
And today, we too are called to holiness
through the practice of “the
virtue of faith,” i.e. to trust completely in God in
the uncertainties of our own life.
GOD
SAVES US AND CALLS US TO A HOLY LIFE:
In
the Second Reading of today from his 2nd
Letter to Timothy, St. Paul asks Timothy to endure with him the
fatigues and trials of preaching the Gospel. They are fulfilling
God's purpose in their work. Jesus Christ has abolished death and
achieved immortal life for all. He indicates that God offers us
salvation and sanctification as a pure gift and not as the result of
our works. He tells Timothy that God saves mankind in Jesus through
his sacrifice on the cross on Mount
Calvary
and calls everyone to a holy life.
It speaks of “the
virtue of love.”
Here, we see the love, the power and the glory of God Himself shining
forth in human flesh. Jesus is the Father's pledge of eternal love
for us. He is the pledge of our future redemption - that our broken,
tired, anxious flesh will one day come to be like his.
Therefore, a special call is given to join in the suffering for the
gospel and in the midst of sufferings, a person is called to rely on
the power of God.
CONCLUSION:
In
conclusion,
the transfiguration of Jesus is a small glimpse of the destination of
the Lenten journey, Christ's risen glory. It
reminds us that the 'Lenten
penance'
will give way to the 'Easter
joy.'
It gives hope
that we might reach that same destination, the abolition of death and
the bringing to light of life and immortality through the Gospel. For
our Lenten journey to be effective and fruitful, we need to have our
destination in mind. There is, of course, a danger of losing sight of
it, of turning our eyes away. We need Christ to lift us up, to take
away our fear. We should have eyes for him only. We try, through our
Lenten penances, to be detached from the things of this world and not
to fix our faces on the earth, but rather keeping our vision fixed on
the Christ who touches our very lives. So,
let our eyes of faith
be fixed on God, and let
our hearts be filled with hope,
and let us
joyfully
look forward to the
ultimate glory
that awaits us all, bearing in mind always
- “IT'S
BETTER HIGHER UP.” And
this is the Good News of today.
**************************
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