SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
MARCH 1, 2015
In
the ancient world, mountains were considered border zones between heaven and
earth. They were places where people
encountered the divine. God tested
Abraham on Mount Moriah. God manifested
himself to Moses on Mount Sinai and initiated the Covenant. Centuries later, Elijah went to that same
mountain to renew the Covenant broken by his people's infidelity.
In the
first sentence of his Gospel, Saint Mark tells us the identity of Jesus. He is the Son of God. However, his contemporaries question his
identity at every step . Even his
disciples, who recognize him as the messiah, do not understand. They cannot see or hear beyond his human
appearance. So, Jesus takes Peter,
James, and John to Mount Tabor. On that
mountain in Galilee, they are given a transfiguring vision. In this moment, they see the truth about
Jesus. He is conversing with Moses and
Elijah. He is the fulfillment of the Law
and the Prophets. They hear the voice
clearly telling them that this is God's beloved Son. They are told to listen to him.
Peter's
response is understandable. He does not
want this moment to end. We can identify
with him, especially when we think of those transfiguring moments in our
lives. That moment can happen on a
retreat, or on a wedding day, or in a moment of triumph on the athletic
field. In those transfiguring moments,
we can see beyond the ordinary appearances of daily life and glimpse the truth
about what we are doing. Like, Peter, we
do not want that moment to end.
But there
is another level to Peter's request. In
wanting to build three tents, Peter is referring to the Feast of Booths, or the
Feast of Tabernacles. That feast is
celebrated in the fall, during the harvest season. To this day in Israel, Jewish people erect
tents in the fields, reminding themselves of the tents their ancestors used in
the desert on their forty year journey from slavery to freedom. In doing that, they also remembered the tent
of the Tabernacle, where the stones containing the Ten Commandments were kept,
representing God's presence in their midst.
The Feast of Tabernacles anticipated the final coming of the Messiah at
the end of the ages.
Peter
finally gets it! Jesus is the promised
Messiah who has come at the end of the age to usher in the Kingdom of God. He wants to build those tents to accommodate
that Kingdom. What Peter does not get is
that the Kingdom will not be established without the suffering and death of
Jesus Christ. Jesus leads them down Mount
Tabor to Mount Calvary. Mount Calvary is
outside the sacred Temple on Mount Zion, where tradition says that Solomon
built the first temple on Mount Moriah. On that mountain, Abraham learned that
God does not want human sacrifice.
Abraham offered the first sacrifice centuries before the building of the
Temple, the place of animal sacrifice. Abraham's sacrifice prefigured the Sacrifice
of Jesus on the mount outside the confines of the sacred Temple. On that mountain, Jesus will not be clothed
in glory. He will be not be accompanied
by two religious figures. He will be
crucified between two thieves. The
Father will accept this Sacrifice to defeat the powers of sin and death.
Just as
Peter, James, and John were given a glimpse of the resurrection, we know the
end of the story. We know that we will
celebrate Easter when these Forty Days are over. However, we need to learn the lessons of Lent
before we can gorge ourselves with whatever we are fasting from on Easter. Lent reminds us that we too must share in the
suffering and death of Christ if we are to share in his rising. Lent teaches us how to deny ourselves in
small ways, so that we can deny ourselves in so many real ways to identify with
Christ. Dying to self is not an easy
lesson. The Devil keeps telling us to
take care of ourselves first. Christ
tells us just the opposite. Trust in
God's love for us. Put others
first. Recognize in our sufferings a
share in the redemptive suffering of Jesus Christ. Trust his victory over death, and keep
slogging through Lent!
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