March 12^th 2017. SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

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Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

  

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL Matthew 17:1-9

Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. There in their presence he was transfigured: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them; they were talking with him. Then Peter spoke to Jesus. 'Lord,' he said 'it is wonderful for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' He was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him.' When they heard this the disciples fell on their faces overcome with fear.

But Jesus came up and touched them. 'Stand up,' he said 'do not be afraid.' And when they raised their eyes they saw no one but only Jesus.

 As they came down from the mountain Jesus gave them this order. "Tell no one about this vision until the Son of Man has risen from the dead."

 The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . In the first reading, Abraham is elderly, childless and lost. Then God calls him and his entire identity is changed. He becomes the father of a great nation and his very name is used as a blessing. The Transfiguration of Jesus shows us our true hidden identity. It shows us the beauty to which each one of us is called. But how is this transfiguration to be achieved in us? Is it something that we achieve by our own efforts? No! When God calls someone, it is a call to be changed by the Lord. Abraham was not called to do something on his own merits; he was called into a relationship with the Lord in which the Lord placed his favour on him and blessed him immeasurably. In this journey of Lent, we are called to enter into relationship with God and to discover the hidden beauty inside of us. Through intimacy with God, immersion in his word, and reception of the sacraments, the Lord unveils that beauty that lies dormant within us. We do not enter into relationship with Jesus just to remain as we are! Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. In taking on our flesh he transforms it and gives us the potential to become creatures of astonishing beauty. But we must immerse ourselves in relationship with him, allowing his workmanship to transform our nature. Lent is a journey of transformation and the Transfiguration of Jesus shows us where we are heading!

The call of Abraham was a call to be transformed. The entire future and the very identity of Abraham were changed when the Lord called him. We too are called to transformation - as the Transfiguration shows.

Traditionally the Second Sunday of Lent is dedicated to the Transfiguration. As we journey through the penitential period of Lent, it is important to see the purpose of it all – and the purpose is our transfiguration! Jesus shows himself to his three closest disciples. He manifests his hidden beauty, his identity - he shows that he is light, something much more than a simple man. The first reading on Sunday highlights the fact that what we are considering here is not some simple manifestation of a characteristic of Jesus. The first reading is none other than the story of the call of Abraham. Abraham has lost his father and is already elderly. He does not know whether to continue the journey of his father towards Canaan or go back to the place that that journey had begun. Here, in no-man’s land, he receives the call of the Lord. What does this have to do with the Transfiguration? Transfiguration refers to a metamorphoses, a fundamental change in the form of something. When the Lord calls Abraham, he says, “Leave your country, your family and your father's house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.” In other words, the Lord calls Abraham to a transformation – his very identity will be changed.

When God calls each of us, it is a call to be changed by the Lord. It is not a summons to do great things on our own merit.

The phrase “I will make of you . . .” is at the heart of every call from the Lord. When Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James and John, he says “I will make you fishers of men.” A call is the work of the Lord. When God calls Abraham, what’s important is what God will do for Abraham, not what Abraham will do on his own initiative. And what we see in the Transfiguration is what God (in the form of the second person of the Trinity) will do for humanity in general. Our human nature will be transformed into light; it will be transfigured. It is not just the body of Christ that is changed. Jesus took his body from the Blessed Virgin and became one of us. The body that is transfigured is the same reality that belongs to us and to which each of us is called.

How can each of us be transfigured? By intimacy with God, familiarity with his word, and reception of the sacraments. Just as the elderly, childless and lost Abraham had his identity transformed, so too we will be transformed through our encounter with the Lord

We are called to live today this transformation into light. The experience of Jesus on Mount Tabor is an experience of intimacy with God, of contact with the word of the Lord (Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets). The relationship of the Son with the Father is announced – “This is my son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour; listen to him.” And it is through this relationship that the nature of humanity will be transformed. We do not approach the Lord Jesus just to stay as we are! Through our relationship with him, through contact with his word and with the sacraments, we are called to be transfigured. This Gospel is read during Lent because Lent is a time for transformation. Abraham was elderly, without property, without an heir. In God, all of these apparently negative things are transformed. Abraham is a different man and becomes a blessing. When Peter, James and John see Jesus transfigured, they are discovering what is hidden in human nature, what lies buried in each one of us.  Through this Sunday of the Transfiguration, through the journey of Lent, each of us is called to discover what is extraordinary inside of us. Through fasting, prayer and almsgiving, we embark on a discovery of what is beautiful within. In God we possess a beauty that is astonishing.

The love of God in our hearts can transform us into creatures of insuperable beauty

In the Old Testament, the call of Abraham represents in embryonic form the call of the Transfiguration. Abraham gains land, descendants and, above all, a new identity as the elected one of God. The Transfiguration shows us that we are called through our encounter with Christ to become the beloved children of God on whom his favour rests. We are called to behave and to reason as beloved children. Last Sunday we saw how Satan sought to convince Jesus that the status of being a child of God was something to be exploited or rejected. This Sunday we see how the status of being Son of God is something of insuperable beauty. “This is my beloved Son. My favour rests on him.” Oh, what the love of God can accomplish when it lives in our hearts! The beauty that the love of our tender Father is able to draw out of each of us! We can become part of the body of Christ, the image of his beauty, the manifestation of his workmanship in us. Through intimacy with Jesus, through familiarity with the Scriptures, through the effects of his work in us, we can throw back the veils on the true beauty within us. Let us look to Jesus to see what God can achieve with human nature. Let us not resign ourselves to what we are as a result of our own miserable efforts. Let us allow God to work on our poor nature with his incredible power. He can transform us into a true work of art.