Second Sunday of Lent A
First Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
The desert fathers have a story about a young monk who asked an older one,
"How come that so many people come here to join the monastery, but after
some time they leave?" The old monk thought for a while and then answered.
"Sometimes as you stand here in front of the monastery, you will see a
rabbit chased by the village dogs, barking and howling. After some time the
rabbit comes back but there are only one or two dogs are in search for rabbit.
These are the dogs who actually saw the rabbit; the others were only following
the barking dogs. Likewise, if we are to continue in our search we must have a
glimpse of the rabbit - the Lord, and not just be following the barking dogs."
The Transfiguration is one of those moments of seeing the rabbit for Jesus, for
the disciples and for us.
St. Mathew tells
the story of the life of Jesus as a journey towards Jerusalem where he was to
be rejected, crucified, to die and rise again. The story of the transfiguration
on Mount Tabor comes at a time when the tables have turned on Jesus. His
popularity with the masses is dying and the opposition of the authorities is
growing. The Human Jesus is full of fear and anxiety, and the transfiguration
is a time of needed reassurance. Elijah, the prophet, and Moses, appear to him
and from the cloud comes this word, "This is my Son, the beloved; listen
to him." In this story the writer is telling us of some kind of mystical
deep experience of the Father that Jesus had at this time to sustain and encourage
him as he continued on his fearful mission.
The
disciples also need a glimpse of God to sustain them. They were going to be
disappointed in Jesus as he would be in them. We must never forget that the disciples
had a very limited understanding of what Jesus was about. They had some idea of
the Messiah but the only way in which they could imagine his role was that he
should drive out the Romans and deliver the people from political oppression.
However, Jesus' kingdom was not of this world and instead of being lifted up on
a throne as a king, becoming a political leader, he was lifted up on a cross to
die as a criminal. While all of this was happening the disciples proved
themselves to be disloyal and cowardly. So they needed a memory, a glimpse of
glory, which they got in the Transfiguration, to sustain them when their hopes
about Jesus were shattered and they had to face their own failure.
They got a
glimpse of God, a glimpse of glory, at the transfiguration and that was to
sustain them through the disgrace of Jesus and through their own failure.
Sometimes early on in prayer the Lord can give us a glimpse of himself - a
moment of closeness, a feeling of certainty about his presence, a call to
commitment to the work of prayer and of greater openness in our relationship
with him. Then that becomes a memory which will later sustain us in the bustle
of everyday life and in the dryness of distracted prayer periods.
The big
temptation is that of Peter to want to build a tent, a monument - to freeze the
moment of presence. The poet William Blake said, "He who binds himself to
a joy, does the winged life destroy, but he who kisses the joy as it flies,
lives in eternity's sunrise."
Moses had an
experience of God in the burning bush which had to sustain him for the 40
frustrating years in the desert. We tend to want to stay forever around the
bush and never venture out into the true experience of God in the desert.
The genuine presence of God is like something seen in a rear
view mirror. It has gone when you notice it. And that is as God wants it to be.
We do not seek his consolation but only to be for him. This is what we do each
time we meditate. But if we have had some transfiguration experience, some
glimpse of the rabbit, it will do much to give us courage on our weary, yet,
joy-full journey.
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Second Sunday of Lent A\
Second Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
A doctor once
said to his patient, “You will pull
through, but you are very sick man.” The patient replied, “Please, Doctor, do
everything you can for me. If I get well, I will donate thirty thousand pounds
to the fund for the new hospital.” Several months later, when the patient was
completely well, the doctor reminded him: “You said that if you got well, you
would donate thirty thousand pounds.” The former patient replied, “If I said
that, then I really must have been very sick.”
Our promises
made in storms are often forgotten in calms, even if it was a good
mouth-filling promise. Can’t we find examples for this in our own life? Yes, we
are in very difficult moments, in trying circumstance, when we find that even
the most trusted one’s are unable to help us, make many sweet promises to God.
But when we are out of the trouble, when we experience peace and calm again, we
easily tend to forget our promises to God.
What about God’s
promises? Are they like human promises? No. Not at all. “God’s promises are not
like ours. He made a promise to Abraham that he would have a great progeny and
posses a land of full and plenty”(Gen
15:5,14) and he did fulfil it. Ordinarily the weaker partner in a contract has
to accept more obligations than the stronger one. But in the covenant with
Abraham, it was God who bore the brunt of obligations, promising, that
independent of the faithfulness of the other party, he would be faithful.
God
is at his best in faithfulness. When we were captives to sin, he sent his only
Son as he had promised, who
made captivity itself captive, so that we can now enjoy freedom: a freedom
which has a thousand charms
that slaves never know, including the
freedom to enter one day into eternal life. Yes, men tore up the
roads that led to heaven and Jesus came to make ladders to it. It is into the
open face of this heaven that the disciples had a sweet glimpse when Jesus was
transfigured on Mount Tabor and that was a sneak preview of our own
resurrection to come when “he will change our weak mortal bodies and make them
like his own glorious body.”
But
the road we all have to take to our glorious destiny passes over the Bridge of
Sighs, as Jesus himself had to pass through passion and death into his glory – a
subject of discussion between Moses and Dlijah on Mount Tabor. The same is true
for us. No pain, no palm, no thorns; no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.”
Let
us ask ourselves, do we easily lose hope when we undergo suffering and pain? Do
we understand that we have so much to learn from each and every unpleasant experience? Instead of trembling in fear, do we try to face each situation
with courage, confident that God is with us? Are we able to look at the cross
of Jesus as a magnificent sign of God’s great love for us? Are we ready to take
up our daily crosses as a sign of our love for God? Let reflect on the following
in this second week of lent and ask God’s blessings and courage to face all
sufferings and pain boldly and carry his cross in each and every situation. Amen
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Third Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
William
Bennett in his “Book of Virtues”, repeats an old Jewish folk story about two
simple city boys who had never seen a farm. One day they decided to roam into
the country. There they saw a farmer ploughing. They said to each other, “This
man must be foolish, to be tearing up a beautiful green field.”Then they saw
him sowing seed, an act which also confused them, especially when the farmer
covered the seed as if burying it. Laughing at the farmer’s foolish actions,
they returned to the city. Later they went once again to the country. Now they
admired the standing crop of wheat in the field, but to their a amazement they
saw the farmer cutting down the stalks. They went home disappointed and as they got into their
home, they opened a loaf of bread to make a sandwich, with no understanding of
how bread came to be.
This
beautiful story throws light on today’s human situations. We live in a world
where godliness and mystery do not have much place or they are conveniently
taken for granted. Everybody wants to enjoy the bread, but does not perhaps
understand the process of making it. A seed has to go through the suffering of
being buried in the soil and decay, die and sprout in order go become a plant.
It then flowers and finally produces many seeds. Before the seed can become
fruitful, it has to endure burial and decay. We obtain life from dying; we gain
from losing and we receive by giving. We attain the glory of Jesus, through the
unconditional participation in his way of the cross and cruel death.
In
today’s Gospel we get a glimpse of what glory awaits us when we “listen to
Jesus”. Even as we struggle to overcome our human weakness and sinfulness as we
tread alone on our paschal journey, we already see the glory that awaits us. We
are encouraged to embrace the cross of discipleship, because we already know
the promise of resurection.
The
discipleship, who experienced the transfiguration of Jesus, were really
overwhelmed with wonder and awe. So much so, Peter wanted to stay on in the
experience. It is then they hear the voice from the cloud saying: “This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” The Father
acknowledges his Son and urges the disciples “to listen to him”. This unique
experience of the disciples, though it frightened and baffled them, will give
them courage to radically commit themselves to their Master and continue his
mission here on earth. The Transfiguration of Jesus reminds us to come to terms
with costly discipleship. This event is a wonderful example of dying and
rising, of humiliation and glory.
In
our life, we do everything we can to avoid hardships, sufferings and crosses.
The road to glory will never be trodden, unless we accept and endure them in
love and commitment, as Jesus himself did. Even for Jesus, life was a journey
of faith. On Mount Tabor, he had wonderful experience of the closeness of God
his Father. This strengthened him for the journey on which he was about to
embark-the journey to Jerusalem where a violent death awaited him. The cost of
discipleship is not something we would naturally embrace. Today’s Gospel
motivates and challenges us to be disciples because we already see what becomes
of a faithful disciple. The transfiguration points beyond the suffering and
death of Jesus to his resurrection and his glory. We will participate in his
glory provided we are willing to walk down the mountain with him and become his
true disciples. Amen
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Fourth Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
One
could summarize the past two Sundays and today with a three-word theme:
Transfiguration, Temptation, and Trust. On the last Sunday of Epiphany we went
to the mountaintop with Jesus and witnessed the Transfiguration. On the first
Sunday in Lent we reflected on his temptation in the wilderness at the start of
his public ministry, and today we have the subject of trust personified in the
patriarch, Abraham, the writing of St. Paul, and in a conversation between
Jesus and Nicodemus.
Abraham is the ultimate ‘trust in the
Lord’ kind of person. He is asked to leave everything behind and go to a new
place, unknown to him, and begin a new life with God. For a person whose
identity was grounded in land, ancestry, and family, this was a risky endeavor.
Yet he leaves country, kindred, and his father’s house to go to a new land with
the promise that he will found a great nation. If somebody announced God had
called them to do that today, we would put them on tranquilizers!
The point, of course, is not that
Abraham is deluded or demented. His developing relationship with God has led
him to this trustful action. The Abraham cycle in Genesis has to be read as a
whole to understand how this relationship grew from one of doubt into trust.
St. Paul, in Romans, recalls Abraham as
our ancestor and as one ‘who without works trusts him’. There is, in Paul’s
mind, a great reward for those who trust in God without evidence, or in the
face of doubt. Trust comes out of a relationship that grows and flourishes
amidst hardship and suffering. Abraham is not rewarded for being good, but for
being faithful, trusting that God knows what God is doing, and God knows how to
use him as an agent for the plan of salvation. For Paul that is enough. Is it
enough for us?
Nicodemus, a righteous man, comes to
Jesus deeply troubled. Something in him is stirred by what Jesus is teaching,
but the little voice behind his ear keeps saying, “Be careful now; don’t get
taken in.” You can feel the tension in their conversation. John, the
Evangelist, uses this conversation as a platform for his famous phrase, “For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” And after hearing that,
Nicodemus is treated to a revelation: God is not interested in condemnation,
but salvation. People who trust in God are saved. Life in the Spirit is living
in trust, even in the midst of despair. And the Spirit blows the breath of
trust into us at the times we most need it.
A middle-aged man, afflicted with
aggressive cancer, continues to pray regularly for whatever God will do. His
treatments have left him weakened and uncertain; but surrounded by his family,
his trust that God will deliver him in some way keeps him faithful, even to the
point of asking for prayers for a fellow patient who has been given only a few
weeks to live.
A woman sits shattered as her husband
tells her he wants their marriage to end. What will happen to her? But she
tells her pastor she knows God has something in mind for her future, that there
will be life after the death of this relationship.
Experiences like these are faced by
people every day “job loss, sickness, being a victim of crime, losing loved
ones” all these events confront us with the question: Can we trust in a God who
allows these things to happen? No easy answers here. There is, however, the
journey of Lent to teach us about trust. If we make the journey that ends at
the foot of the cross on Good Friday with Jesus’ cry of despair, “My God, why
have you forsaken me?” Then we are ready
to discover that God always keeps promises, whether we trust God or not.
The empty tomb at Easter is the powerful
affirmation, but it does not make sense unless we first make that Lenten
journey with Abraham and Jesus. Make the journey of Lent. Come to the liturgies
“all of them” and you will experience a growing trust in God through the
ministry and passion of our Savior. As Abraham discovered, trust comes from a
growing relationship with God. We can experience that same relationship in our
Lenten journey with Jesus.
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Fifth Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
The man had lost
everything. He had a drug and alcohol problem. At one time he had a great job.
He had a wife and family. He owned a nice house in a great neighborhood. His
friends loved him and his co-workers thought he was great. When his problems
first started everyone thought it was going to be alright. It was just a phase
and he would pull out of it.
However, little by
little his life changed. As time went by he became belligerent. His attitude
toward everything changed. His job, his marriage, his children, his friends all
took a back seat to the euphoria. The only important thing in his life was his
next opportunity to escape reality. He felt he couldn't function without the
booze or the drugs. Truth be known, he couldn't function at all under the influence
of the booze and the drugs. Furthermore, he wasn't much better off when he
wasn't on them.
He lost everything. One
day, in the shower at a friend's house he realized what had happened to him. He
realized what state he was in. He admitted he needed help. He got that help
from people and from his faith in God. His life slowly became transformed. He
became everything God had ever wanted him to be.
Transformation is a
change in us, in our direction, in our attitudes. They can be positive or
negative. The disciples of Jesus after the resurrection are transformed, but it
was not instantaneous. Their transformation was part of a journey. One of the
first parts of the journey was three years long. It was the time they were with
Jesus. They walked the long dusty roads with him. They saw him heal. They heard
his teaching. They ate with him and watched him feed others. They finally saw
him die though he broke no law. They saw the empty tomb on that third day. The
three years then made sense and their understanding helped move them into more
transformation of themselves. What became important was sharing this story of
God's revelation to the world.
Now transformation is
not what we are celebrating today. We are celebrating the Transfiguration.
Transfiguration has a different meaning than transformation. Transfiguration is
the revealing of God's nature present in the Son, Jesus Christ. The divinity of
Jesus is revealed to a small group of the disciples. They become witnesses of
Jesus' complete identity as fully divine and fully human. Jesus is not
transformed into something else. There is no change in his direction or status.
Jesus is revealed for who he is.
This event is very
important in both the life of the disciples and in our own lives as well. For
the three disciples, Peter, James and John, this event will help them
understand later what Jesus has been saying to them now. See, eight days before
this event Jesus had told the disciples about his death and resurrection. This
event is an exclamation point on his teaching about his mission and ministry.
It is to prepare them for what is to come. From this event one would hope that
they would be strengthened and less anxious about his future death and
resurrection. They should be able to see a little clearer that God's plan for
the Messiah is not what they have understood from other teachings. And yet,
they don't get it.
In one respect it is
kind of funny. From another aspect is incredibly human. Think about it. They go
with Jesus up the mountain. His appearance changes before them. He literally
begins to glow. They see Moses and Elijah with him. Moses is the one who
received and interpreted the Law for God's people. Elijah is the greatest
prophet who shares with the people God's plan for salvation. From the cloud
they hear a voice identify Jesus as God's Son and command them to listen to
him. Yet, they still don't get it. Peter wants to build booths for them to stay
on the mountain. Jesus has told them he has to go to Jerusalem. Before them has
stood Moses and Elijah speaking to Jesus and they don't see that Jesus is the
fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. They don't understand it now on the
mountain and they won't understand it in Jerusalem after the crucifixion. They
will only begin to see the picture more clearly after the resurrection. When
the resurrection occurs, the pieces start to fall into place for them. Jesus'
birth, life, Transfiguration, death and resurrection become one full picture of
God's love, compassion and will for us. God's salvation is freely offered to
all people.
Which brings us to why
this event is important to us. We are the recipients of the Gospel story as it
has been told and read through the ages. The Transfiguration is an event that
cannot be separated from the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It
is a part of the whole picture. What is interesting for us today is that there
are two groups of people who call themselves Christians. I suppose these two
groups have been around forever. There are those people who believe that Jesus
is the Son of God. They might not believe in every aspect of the scriptures.
They do believe in Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection. They believe in
the full divinity of Jesus Christ, as well as, his full humanity.
The other group believes
in Jesus as something other than the Son of God. Perhaps he was great moral
teacher. Maybe he was a prophet of Israel who overstepped his bounds and was
put to death for it. There are even those who believe it is just a story. Jesus
really did not exist, but the teachings are great and something by which we can
live. This group also calls themselves Christians. After all, some dictionaries
define a Christian as someone who believes in the teachings of Jesus. While
they might be right by a dictionary definition, this definition falls short of
what the Christian church has taught and what the disciples believed.
The question before us
then is, what do we believe? The Transfiguration is an important event in that
decision. Do we believe that Jesus' identity was revealed as the Son of God or
do we not? Since we can't separate this event from the rest of the story, if we
believe Jesus is the Son of God then we will behave one way. If we believe that
Jesus is a moral teacher, prophet, or simply a good story we will behave another.
Our lives are formed and transformed by what we believe about God and what we
understand and believe about Jesus Christ. The reason is simple. If we believe
that Jesus is the Son of God then we might see ourselves as children of a
loving God who cares for all people. Jesus died and rose for all people.
Therefore, we should treat all people with respect and dignity. The focus of
our lives would then be on telling the story and sharing with everyone the love
of God. However, if we believe Jesus was just a man who was great teacher or
prophet, then the outcome might be different. After all great moral teachers do
not hold any hope of eternal significance. Their focus is only on the here and
now.
What do we believe about
the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ? The answer we give might hold the key to
transforming our lives. Amen.
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Sixth Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
“Twins, a sister and brother were talking to each other
in the womb. The little sister said to the little brother, ‘I believe that
there is life after birth!’ Her brother protested and said: ‘No, no, this is
all we have and there is nothing else, no life after birth. This is a dark and
comfortable place, and we have nothing else to do but to cling on to the cord
that feeds us.’ But the little sister insisted: ‘There must be something more
than this dark place, there must be something else where there is light and
freedom to move.’ Still she could not convince her twin brother. Then after
some silence, she said hesitantly: ‘I have something else to say, and I am
afraid you won’t believe that either, but I think there is a mother!’ Her
little brother now became very angry: ‘A mother, a mother, what are you talking
about? I have never seen a mother and neither have you. Who put that idea in
your head? As I told you, this place is all we have so let’s be satisfied and
happy.’ The little sister finally said: ‘Don’t you feel this pressure
sometimes? It is really unpleasant and sometimes even painful.’ ‘Yes,’ he
answered, ‘what is special about that?’ ‘Well,’ the sister said, ‘I think this
pressure is there to get us ready for another place, much more beautiful than
this, where we will see our mother face to face! Don’t you think that is
exciting?”
My dear
people, in this story the twin brother did not believe there was anything
beyond what he could see, hear and touch while his twin sister believed there
was a life beyond what she could see, hear and touch. This story reminds us of
life. We are like the twin sister; we say “we are only passing through,”
meaning that this life is preparation for eternal life. We live in strange
times with lots of tragedies and awful accidents, and many people are dying
young. During times like this, we need more than ever to remember that our
lives here on earth are a pilgrimage to God. We are sons and daughters of our
heavenly Father since baptism. Like the sister in the womb who could not see
her mother, we to believe that eternal life follows this life and that there is
more to this life than we can see, hear and touch.
On the mountain, Peter, James and John saw
that there was more to Jesus than what their eyes saw. During the
transfiguration they got a glimpse of the future glory of Jesus’ resurrection.
Like them we too get glimpses of the presence of God in our lives. We get
glimpses of God in the love we receive from other people. We get glimpses of
God when badly needed help and this help suddenly comes to us from out of nowhere.
We see glimpses of God when we see someone making a sacrifice to help somebody
else. We see glimpses of God in the beauty of a fine day, a nice beach or a
beautiful sunrise or sunset. We see glimpses of God when a passage from the
Bible or a homily strikes a chord in our hearts. We get a glimpse of God when
we spend time in prayer and experience the loving presence of God in our lives.
We get more than just a glimpse of God when we receive the body of Jesus in
Holy Communion. The Transfiguration that is coming early in Lent encourages us
to continue our Lenten penances because it reminds us of the glory of Jesus
risen from the dead.
When
Jesus and the disciples came down the mountain Jesus, ordered them not to tell
anyone about his transfiguration until after the Son of Man had risen from the
dead. Of course they did not know what he meant. Unknown to them the glory of
Jesus’ transfiguration was preparing them to accept the scandal of the cross.
They would understand this only afterwards when looking back. The good times
take us through the bad times. So when our cross is heavy or when we are
tempted to despair about the meaning of life, let us look beyond the pain of
the present moment and remember those times when we got glimpses of God, those
times when God sent us his consolations. Let us look beyond the pain of life
and see the presence of God in our world, and the offer of life that God wants
to make to each of us. Let us look beyond the illusion of happiness that this
life offers to the real happiness that God offers us. Let us look beyond this
world to eternal life with God.
My
dear people, with faith we can see what we cannot see with our eyes. The girl
in the womb knew there was more to
what she could see, hear and touch. On the mountain Peter, James and John
looked beyond the appearance of Jesus and saw his future risen glory. Let us
look beyond, and see that God is really with us. God has not left us on our
own, God is with us and He will be with us, what is required is a deep faith in
Him. So let us ask his choicest blessings and Grace that we may have this faith
to see him face to face one day.
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Seventh Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
The world is full of manifestations of God’s glory.
Every morning, from the depth of darkness rises the sun,
transforming the sleeping, inactive and dull earth into a vibrant
planet teaming with life and activity. The light and warmth emitted
from the rays of the sun enlivens every blade of grass and burst
open every bud longing to blossom. This transformation of nature has
been a mystery wondered at by poets, pondered over by philosophers and
absorbed by the artists.
Today the Gospel presents before us the scene
of the transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus was seen with two great prophets of
Jewish tradition- Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the Jewish law and Elijah
represents Jewish prophecy. And Jesus is shown as the keeper of the
new law and the new prophecy.
The Jewish leadership had rejected Jesus,
in spite of his unquestionable teaching and unimaginable miracles.
Majority of the Jews revered him, but not understood the divinity of
Jesus. The disciples could not understand the suggestions of Jesus’ teaching.
In this background Luke highlights several prominent features of this
event.
Luke says that the outward glory of Jesus was
momentarily displayed. To the disciples who were constantly discouraged by
the rejection met with Jesus, it was a source of strength.
Many a time Jesus was challenged to manifest His
glory. When he was tempted by Satan, Satan challenged Him to manifest His glory
by jumping from the pinnacle. His listeners challenged Him to
manifest His splendour. The Jewish leaders challenged Him to reveal
His majesty. But on this one occasion the veil of His humanity was
momentarily lifted and His divine splendour and glory
burst forth.
The momentary sight of Jesus’ glory on the
mount filled Peter with enthusiasm and he declared instinctively “It is
wonderful to be here.” Peter realized that it is always wonderful to be in
the presence of God. Peter never wanted to lose this great event. So
he said; “we shall build three tents. One for you, one for Moses
and one for Elijah.” Peter wanted to be with them in their glorious state
forever.
All the people who have experienced
God’s divine touch testify that it is wonderful to be with Him.
Throughout the psalms the psalmist expresses his love for the
House of the Lord. “I was glad when they said to me let’s go to
the house of the Lord.”
Joseph A. Robinson wrote the following lines
describing the experience of transfiguration:
How good, Lord, to be here!
Your glory fills the night;
Your face and garments, like the sun,
Shine with unborrowed light.
How good, Lord, to be here,
Your beauty to behold
Where Moses and Elijah stand,
Your messengers of old.
In the year AD 302, Diocletian, emperor of
Rome, issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be
arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Pagan gods.
But one of his soldiers, George objected and with the courage of his faith.
George loudly renounced the Emperor's edict, and in front of his fellow
soldiers and Tribunes he claimed himself to be a Christian and declared his
worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian attempted to convert George, even offering
gifts of land, money and slaves, but George never accepted. Recognizing the
futility of his efforts, Diocletian was left with no choice but to have him
executed for his refusal. This is the story of St George, who found life
in Jess more wonderful than anything else in this world.
As Jesus took Peter, James and John to the top of
the mountain today He takes us to the church where we have
the glorious presence of Jesus. When we are able to spend some time in the
silence of the church before the tabernacle, we will feel that it is wonderful
to be here. Like the psalmist we will feel that being in the house of God will
fill us with serenity.
The Three apostles were out of themselves with joy
when they were granted to have a glimpse of Jesus’ glory. When you are in the
house of God,
“Your hearts
will be full of joy
And that joy no
one shall take from you” (Jn 16:22)
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Eighth Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
Most people like to know where they are going, and I'm one of
them. I might tolerate being blindfolded on my way to be shown a surprise, but,
generally speaking I like to see where I'm going. The simple point I want to
make today is that God does not leave us blindfolded in our following of Him:
He has shown us where we are going, and that is a major part of what the
Transfiguration was all about, as we heard in today's gospel.
The Transfiguration happened at a very significant moment: Our Lord was heading
to Jerusalem where crucifixion and death awaited Him, and He had predicted to
His disciples that He was going to die. Obviously, if they had understood Him,
this would have been a deeply discouraging prediction. To remedy this
discouragement Our Lord took three of His chosen disciples, Peter, James, and
John up the mountain and showed them Himself in His transfigured glory. The
sight of that glory was given to sustain them through the suffering of the
crucifixion. The sight of that glory was to give them a foretaste of the glory
that awaited Christ in His resurrection. And, the sight of that glory was to
give them a glimpse of the glory that awaits every follower of Christ if we
follow Him in carrying our cross, if we follow Him in our own personal
crucifixions in life .
Back to my opening point: I said a moment ago that God does not leave us
blindfolded in our following of Him. Now, there is another sense in which, as
St Paul says, "we walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7): there
are many details of what will happen to us in life that we simply do not know,
we do not know the exact manner of our Lord's presence and support to us in our
life.
But, I want to illustrate the point that God does not leave us blindfolded in
our following Him, He does enables us to see our way and does so in at least
three ways:
First, as I just said, in the Transfiguration and His
Resurrection, and the revelation of Heaven, He has shown us the glorious
DESTINATION that lies ahead for those who are faithful in following Him.
Second, we have His PROMISES to encourage us to set out in
following Him. In our first reading we heard the example of God's promise to
Abraham (Gen 12:1-4), when Abraham was called upon to leave behind the country
and people he knew and head off for a distant land he did not know, and what he
was given to enable him to make that departure, what he was given was the
Lord's promise, a promise that we know the Lord was faithful to –that included
the promise of BLESSINGS to help him on the way. The New Covenant that we
belong to likewise promises even more blessings and strength to us on our
pilgrim way towards Heaven.
Third, the Lord enables us to see the way we must follow Him
by the fact that he has shown us the WAY OF LIFE that we must lead: He has
shown us the virtues, the commandments, and, the particular focus in this
LENTEN season, He has shown us that we need to carry our cross.
All of the ways in which the Lord shows us how we are to follow Him, the
promises we have to support us in our following of Him, and the goal that our
following Him is heading towards, all of these things have a greater importance
when we are in difficulty, when we are in hardship. And, that holds especially
for the hardship of discipleship, which includes the hardships of being
faithful to our Lenten resolutions. As we heard in our second reading (2 Tim
1:8-10), there are many "hardships" involved if we are to pursue the
holiness that we are "called" to achieve. But that same St Paul
reminded St Timothy that we do not do this by our own strength but we do it
"relying on the power of God".
So, to conclude, Lent is a time for purification, a time for struggling against
sin, at time of employing the remedies for sin: prayer fasting and alms giving.
To strengthen us to endure these hardships today's readings remind us of God's
promises to us of the destination, and of the transfigured glory of that final
state. God shows us the way; He does not leave us blindfolded.
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Ninth Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
Mountains are
perceived to be locations of God-experience in many traditional cultures and in
many world religions. The gospel readings of the first two Sundays of Lent
follow a certain pattern in all the three year cycles. The first Sunday
of Lent we always meditate on the temptations of Jesus, and on the 2nd Sunday
on the transfiguration of the Lord. The focal point of the event of
transfiguration is a mountain. The narration from Matthew describing the
transfiguration clearly has three parts:
1. Going up the mountain
2. The moment of grace on top of the
mountain
3. Coming down the mountain with the
fruits of that experience
Going up the mountain: The gospel reading of Ash Wednesday,
proposed a programme for the spiritual journey of the season of Lent: fasting,
prayer and alms-giving. These three ‘strategies’ are relevant not only for
the season of Lent, but throughout our Christian life. The season of
Lent is but an intense way of living out our Christian life. Therefore fasting,
prayer and alms-giving are ways to go beyond ourselves, extend our
hearts to God (the vertical dimension – in prayer), and to stretch out our
hands to our neighbours (the horizontal dimension – in charity). These
two dimensions of our Christian life journey is like going up the mountain and
coming down it. What does the gospel text of today tell us about going up
the mountain, and more precisely about Christian prayer? It is Jesus who
“took with him Peter and James and his brother John went up a high mountain
where they be alone.” It is God himself who enables us to pray.
Just as it was God who invited Abram to enter into a covenant with Him, as we
heard in the first reading of today (Gen 12:1-4), it is God who invites us to
enter into a relationship with Him in prayer.
On the mountain-top: On top of the mountain the three
disciples are privileged to witness a theophany despite their own inability to
be present to God. Other Gospels tell us, “Peter and his companions were heavy
with sleep…” (Lk 9:32). They see Jesus in the company of two great men in the
history of Israel: Moses and Elijah. Moses stands for the Law and Elijah
for the Prophets, thus showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Hebrew
Scriptures. And “suddenly from the cloud there came a voice which said,
‘This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him’” (v.5)! This
was for the disciples an experience God in the person of Jesus. The reaction of
the apostles to this theophany is “fear” (awe) and a total prostration: “the
disciples fell on their faces” (Mt 17:6).
Coming down the mountain: The Gospels tell us: “As they came
down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order, ‘Tell no one about this
vision until the Son of man has risen from the dead’” (Mt 17:9). God
experience invites us to silence and contemplation, so that the effects of the
experience could be deepened, at least until the right time. Secondly, this
silence is not necessarily a permanent isolation from the world. It is
also something that is carried forward to the market place, to our daily life,
to our homes, to the place of work and study. This is the significance of coming
down the mountain.
The spiritual exercises
of the Lenten season are meant to offer us the possibility of experiencing God
more deeply (going up the mountain), and to carry that experience to our
encounter with people (coming down the mountain).
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Tenth Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
A dying rich man called his wife and
said: “When I die, I want you to sell this house and all my properties and
place the money in my casket with me. I want to take my money to the
afterlife.” His wife promised him to follow his dying wish. The man finally
died. During the funeral, when the casket was about to be closed, the wife
remembered her promise. She then placed a box in the casket. A friend of hers
said, “I hope you weren’t crazy enough to put all that money in the casket.”
She said, “I made a promise to my deceased husband. I’m a good person. I must
fulfill my promise.” “You mean to tell me you put every cent of his money in
the casket with him?” the friend asked. “I sure did,” said the wife. “I got it
all together, put it into my bank account, wrote him a check, and then placed
his check in that box in the casket.”
In a world where everything is
eventually left behind, what remains? The desire to hold on to something or
someone, or stick around with them for as long as possible, or be assured that
we will be just fine during and after a storm— all this is but a natural part
of who we are as human beings. We are simply plastered with trepidations; dread
is our shadow. Goodbye is oftentimes unpleasant, and partings could be
devastating. We are not conditioned to just let it go or discard something
wonderful without brandishing a pained emotion. There is a reason why our hands
are designed for clasping and our arms for hugging. We pull or push when deemed
appropriate.
In today’s gospel, Jesus went to the
mountain with his three favored disciples— Peter, James, and John. Bible
scholars agree that it is difficult to reconstruct the historical details of
this mystical experience. Yet, in this episode, Jesus’ transfiguration could be
ascertained by the clarity with which the disciples recalled it. The Lord’s
manifestation bedazzled the three, his face turned luminous—a reminder of Moses
in the Old Testament whose face was radiant and bright when he returned to the
people after the Mount Sinai revelation. And so Moses indeed appeared together
with Elijah, just as Jesus was transfigured. For Peter, the event brought him
immense happiness. Overjoyed, he wanted to hold on to it; hence, he suggested
that tents be built, saying “Lord, it is good that we are here; if you wish, I
will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Nice try, Peter, we could hear ourselves commenting had we been there. What was
he really saying?
No doubt, Peter was overwhelmed by the
presence of ‘celebrities’. Moses and Elijah were after all heavy weight figures
of the Old Testament. Who would not want to have them stay longer? Who would
not like to hang around with superstars, be seen or identified with them, as we
savor the breath-taking impact of their presence? However, exhilarating though
it was, the experience was short-lived. Before Peter could start working on his
proposed ‘tent project’, puff!!! — the two were gone and Jesus was back to his
usual self.
We got our own similar stories, too.
We have had days of being up on a mountain, Cloud 9 encounters, instances when
we feel we are on top of the world, and worries, sadness and fears are nothing
but fading memories of a distant past. Our happy moments are good to remember,
that is why we take photos of them, post them online, share them with friends,
or keep them in our photo albums. Peter could not take photos or video; the
technology was not yet available in his time. All he could do then was to make
the moment last for as long as possible. He was disappointed it did not. In no
time, the three disciples had to come down back to the hard realities of life.
How much longer do we want to stay on
a ‘mountain top’? How much farther can we go without getting lost in the
convoluted mess of sorrows, failures, and tragedies? Not very far. Life’s
moments of radiance are few and far between; darkness is just lurking in almost
every corner. For each hearty laugh we share with friends, there is a veiled
sadness in our sighs and empty gazes. A bed of roses is wonderful but it still
is just a bed. We need to put things into the perspective of the eternal,
simplify our needs and wants in terms of what remains and is truly relevant.
A story is told of an American Indian
who went to a judge in order to get his name changed. “What is your name?”
asked the judge. “It is: the train that blows its whistle twice as it comes
around the bend,” came the reply. “And what do you want it changed to? inquired
the judge. “Toot, toot,” the man answered.
In the end, the transfiguration of the
Lord changed the disciples. They began to see themselves in another light. They
acquired new identities and a clearer sense of purpose. They went down the
mountain no longer the men they once were, no longer as weak, doubtful,
uncertain and fearful as before. Although they did not manage to pitch tent on
the mountain, they pitched it just the same---in their hearts. The memory of
their encounter with the Father together with His revelation of Jesus and the
appearance of Moses and Elijah has carved in the memory of remained of their
hearts. And so they went down the mountain happier, more at peace, hopeful and
assured. What remained in them is something that made them remain in the Lord.
We pray for the same for ourselves.
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Second Sunday of Lent A
Eleventh Sermon
Gen 12:1-4a; 2Tim 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9
THE GOSPEL of the Second Sunday of
Lent brings us to one of the important events in the life of Jesus. That is,
his transfiguration on a mountain during which his face was transfigured and
shone like the sun, while his clothes became white as light. This episode
is now part of the “Mysteries of Light,” if you will. Let us try to go over the
important moments in this gospel passage.
First, the gospel passage says that
Jesus invited three of his friends, Peter, James, and John, to go to a mountain
and pray. These three disciples are among the most-mentioned names in the
gospels. The invitation of these three disciples by Jesus highlights the
importance of communal prayer. Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus instructs his
disciples to pray in private. While private prayer is important, communal
prayer is important as well. One nice practice among Catholic communities and
organizations during the season of Lent is the holding of Lenten recollections
and retreats. These prayerful activities recall the experience of Peter, James
and John, that is, communing with Jesus. The season of Lent is a call to
prayer. Therefore, if opportunity permits, we should spend time for it so that
we can enter into the paschal mystery of Jesus. Moreover, this makes our
celebration of Easter more meaningful.
Second, Jesus transfigured. The
transfiguration previews the glory and splendor of Jesus at Easter and beyond.
It is a foretaste of what is to come. On the part of the disciples, the
transfiguration gives them a preview of the glorious figure of Jesus. Then
Jesus is shown talking to Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the Law and Elijah
represents the prophets. The appearance of these two figures shows that Jesus
is in continuity with the Law and the Prophets. This puts Jesus within the
context of the salvation history of the People of God, Israel.
Third, Peter cries out to Jesus, “Lord,
it is good that we are here.” This statement of Peter is something we
should reflect. Peter speaks of something “good” which may be translated into
joy. Peter feels good and happy in that moment. There is joy of praying with
Jesus. Community life gives us joy; communal prayer is also an experience of
joy. Fr Patrick Peyton says, ‘A family that prays together, stays together.”
But there is more of it. A family or community that prays together is a
family or community filled with joy. This is also what we should feel in the
holy Mass. Each time we celebrate the holy Eucharist, we should also exclaim
like Peter, “Lord, it is good that we are here!”
Fourth, it is significant that the
transfiguration takes place on the road to the crucifixion. The disciples have
some sense that Jesus is on the road to suffering and death. However, Peter’s
proposal to Jesus, “lf you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” was a way of evading the pains on the
cross. One spiritual interpretation of this statement could be building up of
comfort zones. Certainly, for Peter, staying in the mountain could be more
advantageous than going back to the lowland because there Jesus would encounter
his own death. Jesus did not utter any response to Peter’s proposal. The gospel
tells us that after the Father speaks, Jesus told the three disciples. “Rise
and do not be afraid.” The transfiguration gives them strength and confidence
that God is at work in the life of Jesus. It also gives them the courage to
continue with their work because of the assurance that God is or would be with
them. After the transfiguration event, the disciples became committed to face
the future struggles.
The Transfiguration is a story of
determination and hope. Our tendency is to build comfort zones in our life. Our
tendency is to evade the pains and struggles that are there. What God wants us
is to have the capacity to face all these. We need a determination to face
life’s difficulties and at the same time, cling to the hope and promise of
glory. Let us remember the often used adage, “No pain, no gain.”
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