Deacon Tom Anthony

Second Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 25

Reading 1 Gn 12:1-4a

The LORD said to Abram:
“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.
“I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”
Abram went as the LORD directed him.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22.

R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Reading 2 2 Tm 1:8b-10

Beloved:
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel.

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 took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then 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.”
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
“Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 There are no hardships or trials that should cause undue stress and anxiety. Jesus Christ has already promised us that through all of our experiences, good and bad, He will be with us and will help us succeed in everything that we do. He told his disciples: “Remain in me and I will remain in you.” Being a Christian means that we have welcomed Jesus Christ into our lives and He is now an intricate part of us. Being God’s Children and created in His likeness means that we are invited fully into an experience with Him and the full Trinity. The act of accepting and acknowledging opens up new opportunities and new experiences for us. We enter into a life the way God intended for us to live.

In the First Reading today God makes a promise to Abraham. Through Abraham God will create a great nation and a great people that will populate the earth. This promise was a covenant and it was fulfilled first through the establishment of Israel and then through us. We became Abraham’s descendents when we accepted Jesus Christ and our birthright as God’s Children. It is through the acceptance of the Law and of Jesus, which is the fulfillment of the Law, that we become adjoined to Abraham, The covenant made to Abraham then becomes a covenant made to us. All promises made to Abraham become promises made to us and fulfilled through a relationship with Jesus Christ. If God made an effort to establish this type of relationship with us and to make promises such as these then it should be a comfort to us when we encounter troubles or discord in our lives. Nothing can break the bond that God created with us.

As a child has for its parents we too must have the same trust in God as He is our Father and creator. This may cause us some anxiety at first since it is in our nature to try and control our own thoughts and desires above what God wants for us. Lent is the perfect time to bring ourselves back into a close relationship with God and to start the process of surrendering our will to Him and discovering what He wants for us instead of what we want for ourselves. It should be understood that what we want just might not be the best thing for us while what God wants for us is always the right thing. Through prayer and meditation we can continue the discernment process that will reveal the answers to the questions that we seek and then will initiate a conversation with God. It is through conversation that we become familiar with Him and then begin to trust Him all the more. Trust leads to faith and faith leads to letting go of our selfishness.

When God is foreign to us and there is a lack of closeness it is very easy to try to define what a relationship with Him would be like. There is a danger of underestimating the impact of how He could influence our lives. In our propensity to act like gods ourselves we tend to lessen the impact that God can have on our lives and we tend to give Him the same limitations that we put on ourselves. In other words, if something is impossible for us to do we automatically assume that it is impossible for God also. That displays how truly arrogant we are and insubordinate to God. We are truly that far gone to think that because we cannot do something then by extension God cannot do it also!  It is during times such as these that it would behoove us to reflect on the events of the Gospels and how Jesus’ disciples reacted to particular situations when they were witnesses to the supernatural. Jesus knew that His disciples would have their doubts and would question what He was doing. In reaction to times such as these Jesus would do something to strengthen His disciples’ faith and reveal to them His divinity.

The Gospel reading today tells the story of the Transfiguration. This event is told in all four Gospels and retold in several other books of the New Testament. The sheer amount of times it is attested to shows how much of an impact it had on Peter, James, and John. It served as an enforcer of their faith and a time to look back upon when they needed encouragement and strengthening. It links the Law with the prophets and to Jesus Christ, Him being the fulfillment of all that came before and all that was to come afterwards. It is through Jesus Christ that all is to be seen, witnessed, and interpreted. God then puts His own mark on the affair by saying, “This is my beloved Son whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” We being heirs of Jesus Christ become receivers of that same message. We are encouraged to contemplate it and be open to the effects that it can have on our lives if we permit it. It is from here that our relationship with Jesus can begin anew. We can start with the Law, the messages from the prophets, and finally all that is offered through Jesus Christ. These will bring us to God. He is the final destination and one that will guarantee us success in everything that we do, for it is through Him that we reach perfection.

It is through welcoming Jesus into our lives and entering into a relationship with him that we begin a process of cleansing and healing. This will shape us into something better where the unknown becomes the known and the unexpected is transformed into joyful expectation. When we ask Jesus into our hearts we can then be ready to listen to Him and react to what He is saying to us. This will always be for the betterment of us and all of God’s creation.

Deacon Tom