The Second Sunday of Lent

The Transfiguration (Mk 9: 2-10)

Dear Friends, Even though the Transfiguration story is in all three cycles of our Lenten celebration, at first glance, and even third glace, it is hard to figure out how it fits the somber message of Lent.

Peter had a hard time with the message of the Suffering Messiah the first time around. He could not connect his understanding of Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” (Mk 8:29) In Peter’s eyes, Jesus was “the Messiah. (8:29) How could He suffer? Jesus just deepened Peter’s confusion with the command, “Get behind me, Satan!” (Mk 8:33)

No doubt we share Peter’s confusion when we try to equate our belief in an all loving and an all-powerful God and the horror of Japan’s catastrophe at Hiroshima. Peter’s dilemma is our dilemma. How do we link the divine goodness and suffering on an incomprehensible scale and even the consistent occurrence of suffering in our daily lives? We witness the violence in our cities and the total waste of life, both young and old, as a result of the gangs. Much bigger than the problem of immigration is the gross poverty around the world that forces people to leave their homes.

In the Transfigurations, Jesus reaffirms this divinity. He does this on the road to Jerusalem where He will be rejected, suffer and die. Then the Father says, “This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” (Mk 9:7) This is the key to the placement of the Transfiguration story on this second Sunday of our Lenten journey.

Lent is a time to prepare to celebrate the Death and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ with new joy, stronger faith and growing love. This is the great mystery of our faith and our life,

As many times as we have heard the story, it still holds the seeds of light and wisdom, of hope and tenderness. It reminds us how close God is to us and how thin the curtain truly is. We are always on the edge of our human frailty and mortality. Whether it is the brokenness of our relationships, the consequences of sin, or the corruption of our world, we need to search the depths of our hearts and “Listen to Him!” (Mk 9:7) He will reveal anew that the last word is not sickness, injustice, prejudice, the foibles of nature’s awesome power or death. The last word revealed in the Crucified and Risen Christ is life and the victory of love. Once again, our journey to Jerusalem in Lent and, more so in our life, is an invitation to enter into the mystery that joins the Divine and suffering and leads to the victory of Easter.