Second Sunday in Lent

A woman was preparing for a vacation in Greece. Because she knew that the liturgical readings might be different, she called a Greek Orthodox church, which graciously offered to provide her with the correct readings. The secretary told her she just had to go to Mass at the Church of Saint Metamorphosis. Puzzled, the woman asked who that saint was, and the answer was “Holy Transfiguration.” Of course! Total change is called for. Encountering the Holy in Athens reminded this woman of our constant call to go to new places, to have new experiences, to face new realities, and to be challenged out of our comfort zone. New life can only come from looking at things in a new way.

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Entrance: Ps 27(26):8-9 – “Of You my heart has spoken: Seek His face. It is Your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not Your face from me.”

First Reading: Gn 12:1-4a – “The call of Abraham, the father of God’s people.”

Psalm: Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 – “Lord, let Your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in You.”

Second Reading: 2 Tim 1:8b-10 – “God has saved us and called us to be holy.”

Verse before the Gospel: Mt 17:5 – “From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard: This is My beloved Son, hear Him.”

Gospel: Mt 17:1-9 – “Jesus’ face shone like the sun.”

Communion: Mt 17:5 – “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

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In this weekend’s First Reading, God invited Abram and each one of us to go forward into a new way of life. God is always telling us to go – He’s telling to go from where we are most comfortable: familiar beliefs, ideas, surroundings, and people. God’s command to go includes a promise to make us a great nation, not a new government but a new kingdom of acceptance without excluding of anyone but instead incorporating everyone. God gives a command but no blueprint for how it should happen. “Just do it, and I will be guiding you on the way. And you will be the hope for the future.” God gives us faith, trust, patience, and the ability to muddle through amid the dark. Ask yourselves this: To what new place, physical or spiritual, do you think God is leading you?

If you think about it, this weekend’s Gospel should be introduced by, “Take up your cross and follow Me.” As a result of the Transfiguration, we are called to head into uncharted territory. Some respond affirmatively to God’s call, some do not. Why has God chosen us? Not because we are better, not because we are smarter, not because we are holier. God calls us simply because we are. Thus, we recognize that God’s love calls us to do something. God calls all of us to a new way of thinking and of changing our ideas about what reality can be. When we really listen to the Gospel and Jesus’ preaching, then we know that our world hardly reflects God’s vision. When Jesus saw injustice, He literally groaned with compassion from the depths of His soul. Perhaps compassion is the one virtue we should all embrace more generously this Lent. Who knows? It might help all of us to overcome the venom in our airways and in some of our human encounters.

The imagery of the Transfiguration takes us to a crossroad. The three disciples had a unique encounter with Jesus, a foretaste of the Resurrection. They had to make a decision: Stay there worshiping Jesus or going out to the whole world with the message of His teachings. As important as our prayerful encounters with God are, they are never only for ourselves. They bring us more fully into a godlike way of being. If they are genuine encounters, then we can’t remain on the mountain: We have to go back down to preach the Good News. Although the disciples wanted to stay there and build tents, Jesus says the time for action has come. Go down the mountain. Forget about permanent tents for God to dwell in. Go into the transitory tents of human hearts where God truly dwells. Take your tents down, using them to cover the people desperately in need of God’s spiritual and physical care. Then we will be involved in the greatest building project in history.

As Jesus was transfigured on the mountaintop, may our lives be totally changed this Lent into the likeness of Jesus for everyone around us to see.