First Reading – Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18;
Second Reading – Romans 8:31b-35, 37;
Gospel – Mark 9:2-10
God’s call is personal and at the same time very demanding. It is an invitation to enter His holiness with an attitude of faith and total trust in God. We encounter a God who speaks to us, and we are called upon to listen to Him and respond to Him. Now as we enter the Second Week of Lent, our task is to continue to examine our hearts and change ourselves to be worthy of His glorious paschal mystery. God tells us that our thoughts are not like His thoughts and our ways are not akin to those of His choice. As human beings we do not like change, and we resist any change as much as we can. However, change is a part of our life and we cannot just depend on our past glory and achievements. We know that we are pilgrims on a journey to a more permanent dwelling place, a place of total union with our God of Truth and Love. The Gospel of today speaks of striking intervention by God in people’s lives indicated through the transfiguration of Jesus on the Mountain. Jesus is transfigured in the presence of his disciples, manifesting to them his divinity to strengthen them in their faith before he enters his Passion and death on the cross. They are called upon to listen to him the one chosen by the Father.
The First Reading from the Book of Genesis tells us how God tested Abraham. God called Abraham and commanded him to take his son Isaac whom he loved and to go to the land of Moriah to offer him there as a burnt offering on a mountain that will be shown to him. The faith of Abraham had been tested and God knew by his actions that he had a sincere, obedient heart. Abraham obeyed God to the end.
In the Second Reading of today, Paul speaks of the perseverance and fidelity to our religion moves alongside our living faith. In the early days of the Church, there was much persecution and many of the converts feared losing their lives. Addressing this issue, Paul told the community that if God is for us, no one can remain against us. It is clear that God was on the side of the Christians and they had nothing to fear. He tells the Christians that God made the ultimate sacrifice of His only beloved Son but gave him for our benefit. That is why God is so pleased with his Son, because Jesus freely offered up his life in order to show us the enormous love of God for us. Now he will along with Jesus provide the Christians with all their needs. Since we have Jesus on our side, no one will separate us from the love of Christ. Jesus made the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
In the Gospel of today we have the story of transfiguration of Jesus. The story of the transfiguration has one primary purpose, namely to reveal the divine identity of Jesus. This takes place immediately after Jesus telling the disciples that he would be rejected by their political and religious leaders and made to suffer and die before rising the third day. It is clear that this came as a terrible shock to the disciples. Their vision of the Messiah was of a glorious, victorious king defeating all the enemies of Israel. The idea that Messiah would be rejected made to suffer and die at the hands of his own people was simply unthinkable.
Transfiguration therefore seems that this special experience and is being given to balance out the picture. Only a small inner circle is chosen for the experience. It seems that these three disciples, Peter, James, and John are given a glimpse of the real Jesus to help them through the dark days ahead. In fact, these three disciples are present at every important juncture and event in his ministry. The Gospel gives us a glimpse at what awaits those who persevere in their living faith. Elijah and Moses are present in the transfiguration episode and are in conversation with Jesus. Together they represent the whole tradition of God’s people. In that case Jesus was here manifested as the fullness of divine revelation. The highlight of the Transfiguration is the voice that comes from the overcasting cloud, identifying Jesus as the Beloved Son, and the mandate that follows to listen to Him.
The Liturgy of today is dominated by two fathers – son relationships, both characterized by an inexpressibly great heroism. Each father loves his son whole heartedly like no one has ever loved. Abraham lives for his only son Isaac and loves him intimately. It appears as an unsurpassable paternal love. In the Gospel when God speaks of his Beloved Son, He is expressing a love that is beyond all the paternal and maternal love in the history of the universe. Each of the Fathers is prepared to offer their beloved one in sacrifice: Abraham in the obedience of faith to a God whose mystery and whose thoughts surpass him; God the Father in obedience to his own faithful love for human creatures. This being the same love generating from God, is infinitely greater than the deepest and purest human love ever known. Today as we listen to his Word the Father still speaks to us and tells us that Jesus is His beloved son and we ought to listen to him, for he has the words of eternal life.
A poor illiterate man wanted to be baptised. The parish priest asked him many questions to see whether he was fit for baptism. “Where was Jesus born? How many apostles did he have? How many years did he live? Where did he die? The poor man knew nothing of all these questions. Irritated, the priest then said, “At least you know prayers like the Our Father and the I Believe”? The man again shook his head. “What do you know then?” asked the priest flabbergasted. The man explained, “Before I met Jesus, I was a drunkard who beat up my wife and children; I lost my job and was wasting my life.” Then he continued, “But after encountering Jesus, I’ve quit drinking. I work hard and have begun to love my family. For me Jesus is my personal Saviour!”