The Second Sunday of Lent
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 glance, it is hard to figure how it fits into the somber message of Lent.
When Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” (Mk 8:29) and Peter answered, “The Messiah.” (Mk 8:29) no doubt Peter thought he had arrived safely at the conclusion of his search. Then Jesus lays the Jerusalem journey with the Cross and death on poor Peter. He felt confused and bewildered. Suffering and God, Messiah and failure did not fit into his categories of victory and success.
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 horrors we hear and see daily in the news: tornadoes, school shootings, the unending violence and confusion in Afghanistan, fatal domestic violence and most of all, the relentless death flowing from the pandemic. Peter’s dilemma is our dilemma. How do we connect the divine goodness and suffering on an incomprehensible scale and even the consistent occurrence of suffering in our daily lives?
In the Transfiguration, Jesus reaffirms this divinity and 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 with new joy and hope, stronger faith and growing love the great mystery of our faith and our life, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
As many times as we have heard the story, it still holds the seeds of light and wisdom, of hope and tenderness for us. 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 itself. 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.
When Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” (Mk 8:29) and Peter answered, “The Messiah.” (Mk 8:29) no doubt Peter thought he had arrived safely at the conclusion of his search. Then Jesus lays the Jerusalem journey with the Cross and death on poor Peter. He felt confused and bewildered. Suffering and God, Messiah and failure did not fit into his categories of victory and success.
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 horrors we hear and see daily in the news: tornadoes, school shootings, the unending violence and confusion in Afghanistan, fatal domestic violence and most of all, the relentless death flowing from the pandemic. Peter’s dilemma is our dilemma. How do we connect the divine goodness and suffering on an incomprehensible scale and even the consistent occurrence of suffering in our daily lives?
In the Transfiguration, Jesus reaffirms this divinity and 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 with new joy and hope, stronger faith and growing love the great mystery of our faith and our life, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
As many times as we have heard the story, it still holds the seeds of light and wisdom, of hope and tenderness for us. 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 itself. 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.
