When God talks do we listen?
Reflections on the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent (March 8, 2020): GN 12:1-4; PS 33:4-5,18-19,20,22; 2 TM 1:8-10; MT 17:1-9
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
The Transfiguration of Christ is the focus of the Gospel on this Second Sunday of Lent.
We don’t know what Peter, James and John expected when they climbed the mountain with Jesus. He especially chose these three to accompany Him – as He would take them with him into the Garden of Olives on the night before He died. Seeing Christ transfigured must have stunned them, as did seeing Moses and Elijah. Yet they surely could not have grasped the whole significance of the remarkable moment, even after they heard the Father speak to them. “From the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.’ When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and do not be afraid’” (Matthew 17:5-7).
These Apostles had a glimpse at the divinity of Jesus, whether or not they realized it. But it is certainly likely they thought about the events and spoke about them among themselves. God had directed them to pay attention to His Son, to listen to Him. Everything that Christ said and did was both completely true and the will of the Almighty. Yet it must have been only with our Lord’s Resurrection that they could finally and fully appreciate the truth that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God. Perhaps God wanted to prepare them in for all that was to come – not just to Christ, but to them as well. Our Lord would suffer for them and for all people and they would suffer to share His word. Through the redemption that Jesus earned for us, He gives us a real share in His Kingdom and His eternal life. For all those who listen and believe, who follow Him in love and service, will join Him in His glory. In the end, we, too, will be transfigured.
