Genesis 22: 1-2.9a.10-13.15-18;
Ps 116: 10 and 15.16-17.18-19;
Romans 8: 31b-34;
Mark 9:2-10 Full Readings
Faith that Leads to God's Glory
It is easy to see why faith is the main theme of the first reading, though it is more difficult to discover this theme in the gospel. Abraham needed faith to follow the road God showed him, and so too does the Christian; to follow Christ. It is this faith that will lead us to God's Glory, to experience the beatific vision. We reach transfiguration by first passing through the way of the cross and by placing ourselves in God’s hands. The second reading speaks of the foundation of our faith: God’s faithful and unconditional love for us.
Every year the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent recounts Jesus’ Transfiguration and someone called this particular Sunday the “Sunday of the three mountains.” We have Abraham on Mount Moriah, the Redeemer Christ on Mount Calvary, and the Transfigured Christ on Mount Tabor. We are invited to climb these mountains during Lent. Mountain climbing is hard but, when we reach the top, we see things in a different way. The air is cleaner, the light is clearer, we come closer to God, and are changed by the effort. Mount Moriah calls us to serve the true God alone. Mount Calvary shows us Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life, and His saving death and Resurrection. Mount Tabor calls us to trust in the glory that awaits us. You may climb any one of these to discover that you have come closer to God and are changed deeply.
There are many things that can blind us or keep us from recognizing God's glory and presence in our lives, for instance, sin and unbelief. However, with faith we can overcome these and see God's Glory in our lives and make it to be seen to others too. Faith enables us to see what is hidden or unseen to the naked eye. Through the eyes of faith Abraham recognized God and God's call on his life. He saw from afar not only what God intended for him, but for his descendants as well - an everlasting covenant of friendship and peace with the living God. Abraham is the father of faith because he put his hope in the promises of God. To us too, faith makes us taste in advance the light of God's glory when we shall see him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John
3:2).
When we have experienced the glory of God throughout practice of faith we become transformed into God's likeness. Origen (185-254 AD), an early church Scripture scholar and writer, describes how we are changed and transformed into Christ's likeness as we we look to him day by day with faith and honesty and strive to walk according to the light of his truth and righteousness (moral goodness): "When he is transfigured, his face also shines as the sun that he may be manifested to the children of light who have put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, and are no longer the children of darkness or night but have become the sons of day, and walk honestly as in the day. Being manifest, he will shine unto them not simply as the sun, but as demonstrated to be the sun of righteousness." [Commentary on Matthew 12:37 by Origen]
The transfiguration experience happens after Jesus' prediction of his death, to prepare his apostles to face his suffering, it's one of the experiences the father is revealing his son to us. The three Apostles saw his face shining as the sun and clothes shining as white, meaning in him there is no sin. The church gives us this gospel today in this journey of Lent to assess ourselves in our call as Christians, what needs to be purified, where have we gone wrong, to examine our sins most clearly with the light of Jesus, and the re-journey in the way of perfection. Therefore, transfiguration shows the glory we will have when we repent and how we shall savour the Lord's goodness even up to forgetting ourselves. Peter forgot that they too (three apostles) were to build their tent too but focused on Moses, Elijah and Jesus. We only focus on the Lord's goodness, and this is the final grace of our Christian calling, of our call to holiness of life: to experience the beatific vision, that is, seeing him face to face, the son of God, the Lord of all.
Let us pray.
My transfigured Lord, You shone in radiance before the eyes of Your Apostles so that they could testify to the beauty of the life to which we are all called. During this Lent, help me to face my sin with courage and confidence in You and in Your power to not only forgive but to also transform. My I die to sin more deeply than ever before so as to share more fully in the glory of Your divine life. Amen
Blessed Sunday
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