SUNDAY REFLECTIONS - SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

Genesis 12: 1-4a; 2 Timothy 1: 8b-10; Matthew 17: 1-9

(Rev. Dr. Francis Perry Azah)

Today, as we continue our faith journey in this Lenten period, let us take note of God’s call to Abraham; note that God clearly "calls" Abraham. God doesn't simply suggest to Abraham that he might consider joining God's great work. God gives Abraham a clear imperative: "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you." God takes the initiative and sets in motion the plan for the human race and for all creation. What does God have in mind? Did you notice that at the last line of our First Reading, when God said, "All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you"? This is not a small-time plan that God has in mind.

We believe that God called each of us the same way God called Abraham. We were called explicitly to be part of God's great plan. It may seem to us that we have a small part, but we have been called to be part of something magnificent, something that will affect the destiny of the whole human race, the whole universe. While our times and culture may seem especially stressful and complicated, even bewildering, we are not the first to seek to get away, desiring to renew our lives by recalibrating our priorities and responsibilities.

The mountain has been a place where, in many cultures and throughout history, people have gone to find God, to be with God, to have one of those life-changing experiences of the divine that puts everything in its proper place. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of such efforts: God appeared to Moses in the burning bush on Mount Horeb; Moses encountered God again on the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, and then went back up to get copies; and today we heard about the Transfiguration. Away from it all, up on a mountain – glorious experiences.

On the mountain, as we heard in today’s Gospel, Peter, James, and John saw that there was more to Jesus than met the eye. During the transfiguration, they got a glimpse of the future glory of Jesus’ resurrection. Like them, we, too, get glimpses of God's presence 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 suddenly comes to us from out of nowhere. We get glimpses of God when we look back over our lives, and what we couldn’t understand in the past now makes sense. We get glimpses of God when we see someone making a sacrifice to help someone else.

We also 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 God's loving presence in our lives. We get more than just a glimpse of God when we receive the body of Jesus in Holy Communion. The Transfiguration, coming early in Lent, encourages us to continue our Lenten penances because it reminds us of the glory of Jesus risen from the dead.

What can we learn from this event, and how can it impact our lives? We are as human as Jesus, and we, too, become frightened, discouraged, frustrated, and caught up in a vortex of worldly troubles that drags us along. Do we go up to our mountains and pray? Do we take the time to connect with nature and let God speak to us? We, too, are God’s beloved sons and daughters. Do you think that God will ever treat us any differently than Jesus? God will be there to comfort us.

We may still have to go through passions, sickness, fears, and horrors as Jesus did, but God will find a way to help us understand and get through these times. Talk to God in prayer. Give your emotions to God. Give yourself to God. As our psalmist rightly says today, “Let your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place our trust in you.” Truly, the eye of the Lord watches over us, and we have only to find our way to get to heaven. The disciples who experienced Jesus’ transfiguration had to come down the mountain and return to normality, but they remembered it. Like them, we live in normality, but we believe and know that God has destined great things for us.