Second Sunday of Lent Reflection
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FROM THE PULPITGrandpa and little Johnny made a trip from Montana to Disneyland. On their way little Johnny kept on imagining what Disney might look like. The closer they approached their destination, the more anxious Little Johnny felt. Finally, they enter Disney and wow! Little Johnny exclaimed, “I have never seen anything like this. Grandpa, why don’t we stay here for good?”
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR C
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3: 17-4:1; Luke 9: 28b-36.
REFLECTION: Master, it is good that we are here.
Fr. Benoit Mukamba, CSSp.
“Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents” This expression of amazement and fulfillment coming from the Apostles Peter, John and James testifies to their brief experience of the glory of God. The proposal to make tents shows the Apostles’ desire to remain permanently in the state of glory. Just like the Little Johnny in Disney, the Apostles had never seen anything as beautiful and wonderful as that one. Jesus appeared in glory with Moses and Elijah conversing about Jesus’ Passover in Jerusalem. Moses and Elijah appeared to confirm their teachings about Jesus that we find in the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) and the prophetic writings.
Jesus revealed his divinity in the transfiguration to prepare his disciples for the scandal of the cross and the wonders of the resurrection. Beyond the cross or suffering, beyond the deep sleep or death there is a wonderful and glorious world where we will all desire and demand to dwell there forever. About such a glorious world, Saint Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi saying, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body”.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, we are to imitate the faith of Abraham and trust in God’s word because God is faithful to his promise. We must live by the revealed truths of God and put our faith in the daily practice. With prayer in all that we do, we trust that God will make our efforts produce good fruits and reveal his presence in our midst.
The Lord Jesus in his transfiguration, intended to confirm the faith of his disciples and strengthen them to face the experience of the cross and death of Himself. The glory of God that they had experienced on that mountain helped them to understand and be convinced of the resurrection. As the Apostles had a foretaste of the glory of God in the transformation, we too are given a foretaste with the heavenly banquet in the Eucharist we share. The presence of the Lord in the Eucharist gives us a longing for seeing the Lord Jesus in his eternal glory.
