SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
17 MARCH 2019
What
happens to Abram in today’s first reading seems strange to us. But, in Abram’s culture, it was a familiar
ritual. Leaders did not sign agreements
with one another. Instead, they sealed
their agreement with a ceremony. They
killed animals that were precious to them and put their split carcasses on either
side of the road. They sat together all
day, swatting away the birds of prey that signify the threats to their
agreement. At the end of the day, they
walked between the split carcasses as a way of saying that they would rather be
split in two rather than go back on their word.
That is what happens when God passed through the split carcasses. Even though Abram and Sarah were without
children and well beyond child bearing age, Abram trusted this Covenant that
God sealed with him. God promised that
his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (depicted in the 3rd
covenant in our aisle). God will never
go back on his word. Abram (“my father
is exalted”) now becomes Abraham (“Father of a host of nations”).
Centuries later, Jesus of Nazareth,
a descendant of Abraham, is on his way to Jerusalem. On the way, Jesus has told his disciples very
clearly that he will suffer, be crucified, and rise from the dead to seal a new
covenant. On the eighth day after
informing them of his fate, they come to Mount Tabor. He climbs the mountain, the traditional place
where humans meet God, to spend time in prayer.
He takes Peter, James, and John with him. As he is praying, his face changes in
appearance. He clearly understands that
death on the cross will not be the end for him.
His realization of the Father’s promise that he will rise from the dead
is not only written all over his face, but his clothing reflects that
change. Two of the greatest descendants
of Abraham appear with him: Moses,
representing the Law, and Elijah, representing the prophets.
Peter, James, and John had fallen
asleep. When they wake up, they are
amazed at the vision. They may not
understand what is going on, but they do not want it to end. That is why Peter offers to build three
tents. But when the vision ends, they
become frightened and enter into a mysterious cloud. The voice that spoke at the baptism of Jesus
repeats the same message: “This is my
chosen Son; listen to him.” They will
fall asleep again in the Garden of Gethsemane and enter into another cloud of
confusion and grief at the passion of Jesus.
None of this will make sense until the eighth day of the week, the day
of resurrection.
Like those disciples, we are
walking with the Lord on the way to the new and eternal Jerusalem, to claim (as
Paul says) our citizenship in heaven.
The Lord has spoken to us often about the Mystery of his death and
resurrection, which we celebrate at every Mass.
But like the disciples, we sometimes do not connect his words with what
is going on in our lives. Sometimes we
get a bit drowsy and miss the point. And
when we have to share in his passion and cross, we often enter into that
cloud. A medieval author called it the
“Cloud of Unknowing.” Even though the
Lord is present to us, we become frightened in this cloud and lose our
way. That is why the transfiguration on
Mount Tabor is so important to us. We
cannot lose sight of the promised glory that is the direct result of sharing in
the passion and cross of Jesus Christ.
On
our Lenten journey, this event encourages us to keep our Lenten
disciplines. Prayer, fasting, and
almsgiving can increase our desire to grow into a closer relationship with the
Lord and with each other. The Lenten
disciplines have the power to open ourselves more completely Jesus Christ, whose
death and resurrection can transform our lowly bodies into his glorified
body. Lent prepares us to celebrate that
Mystery in the Sacred Paschal Triduum. The
Father says the same thing to us that he said to Peter, James, and John: “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” When we do that, others might see it written
all over our faces also!
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