2nd Sunday of Lent
He was transfigured before them. (Mark 9:2)
Have you ever wondered why Jesus was transfigured? He never announced it. His apostles never suspected it. The event was never repeated. So why did he do it? Let’s look at a bigger picture to try to get some answers.
From the day he first called them, Jesus showed his disciples that he had come from God. He performed many miracles. He taught with authority. He revealed God’s mercy. Then when he asked them, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29).
This was a breakthrough moment. The disciples were beginning to believe in Jesus, but their faith still needed to grow. They still didn’t understand what kind of Messiah Jesus was. They didn’t understand that he had to die—or that they had to take up the cross as well (Mark 8:31-35).
So the Transfiguration proved that Jesus wasn’t just another prophet of God; he was God’s Son! It also showed that even though Jesus had to die, he would also rise to a glory beyond their imagining.
God transfigured Jesus as a way of strengthening the disciples—and all of us as well. It was a moment of encouragement before they started their journey to Jerusalem, the place of the cross. But more than this, the Transfiguration gives us a glimpse of the glory that Jesus had before coming to earth, the same glory that he now enjoys as he sits on his heavenly throne. And even more than this, the Transfiguration is a promise for us. It reveals the glory that awaits each of us at the end of our lives—if we remain faithful to the Lord.
We are all works in progress. We all have our flaws. But we are also being “transfigured” day after day. So accept Jesus’ invitation. Follow him, and you’ll be changed “from glory to glory” as your faith continues to grow (2 Corinthians 3:18).
“Here I am, Lord, ready to do your will. Fill me with your grace. Let me know your transforming power.” Amen!
Genesis 22:1 (vii) After these things, God tested Avraham. He said to him, “Avraham!” and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz’chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you.”
9 They came to the place God had told him about; and Avraham built the altar there, set the wood in order, bound Yitz’chak his son and laid him on the altar, on the wood. 10 Then Avraham put out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
11 But the angel of Adonai called to him out of heaven: “Avraham? Avraham!” He answered, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy! Don’t do anything to him! For now I know that you are a man who fears God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 Avraham raised his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.
15 The angel of Adonai called to Avraham a second time out of heaven. 16 He said, “I have sworn by myself — says Adonai — that because you have done this, because you haven’t withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will most certainly bless you; and I will most certainly increase your descendants to as many as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the cities of their enemies, 18 and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed — because you obeyed my order.”
Psalms 116:10 I will keep on trusting even when I say,
“I am utterly miserable,”
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
Romans 8:31 What, then, are we to say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare even his own Son, but gave him up on behalf of us all — is it possible that, having given us his Son, he would not give us everything else too? 33 So who will bring a charge against God’s chosen people? Certainly not God — he is the one who causes them to be considered righteous! 34 Who punishes them? Certainly not the Messiah Yeshua, who died and — more than that — has been raised, is at the right hand of God and is actually pleading on our behalf!
Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion:
[Genesis 22:1 (vii) After these things, God tested Avraham. He said to him, “Avraham!” and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitz’chak; and go to the land of Moriyah. There you are to offer him as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will point out to you.”
9 They came to the place God had told him about; and Avraham built the altar there, set the wood in order, bound Yitz’chak his son and laid him on the altar, on the wood. 10 Then Avraham put out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
11 But the angel of Adonai called to him out of heaven: “Avraham? Avraham!” He answered, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy! Don’t do anything to him! For now I know that you are a man who fears God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 Avraham raised his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. Avraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.
15 The angel of Adonai called to Avraham a second time out of heaven. 16 He said, “I have sworn by myself — says Adonai — that because you have done this, because you haven’t withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will most certainly bless you; and I will most certainly increase your descendants to as many as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the cities of their enemies, 18 and by your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed — because you obeyed my order.”
Psalms 116:10 I will keep on trusting even when I say,
“I am utterly miserable,”
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
Romans 8:31 What, then, are we to say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare even his own Son, but gave him up on behalf of us all — is it possible that, having given us his Son, he would not give us everything else too? 33 So who will bring a charge against God’s chosen people? Certainly not God — he is the one who causes them to be considered righteous! 34 Who punishes them? Certainly not the Messiah Yeshua, who died and — more than that — has been raised, is at the right hand of God and is actually pleading on our behalf!
Mark 9:2 Six days later, Yeshua took Kefa, Ya‘akov and Yochanan and led them up a high mountain privately. As they watched, he began to change form, 3 and his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than anyone in the world could possibly bleach them. 4 Then they saw Eliyahu and Moshe speaking with Yeshua. 5 Kefa said to Yeshua, “It’s good that we’re here, Rabbi! Let’s put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moshe and one for Eliyahu.” 6 (He didn’t know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud enveloped them; and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Yeshua.
9 As they came down the mountain, he warned them not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves; but they continued asking each other, “What is this ‘rising from the dead’?”]
1. In the first reading, God tests Abraham with these words: “Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and … offer him up as a holocaust.” When Abraham demonstrates his faith in God by his willingness to obey this heart wrenching command to sacrifice Isaac, he is stopped with these words from the Lord’s messenger: “I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.” In what ways do words such as “only one” and “beloved son” remind you of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross? What are the similarities and what are the differences? (Hint: see John 3:16.)
2. In the first reading from last Sunday’s Mass, God formed a covenant with Noah. In this week’s reading, he makes one with Abraham: "I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars . . . all this because you have obeyed my command." God may never ask you to do what he asked of Noah and Abraham. However, in what areas of your life do you think God may be asking you to obey him more (and resist him less)?
3. In the responsorial Psalm, the psalmist prays: "I believed even when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted.'" He goes onto say: “you have loosed my bonds.” This was the same faith Abraham displayed in the first reading. In your times of “afflictions,” what are the things that keep you from turning confidently to the Lord and believing he can loose your bonds? What are the things that allow you to turn confidently to the Lord, and be set free?
4. The second reading from Romans begins with these words: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” How would you describe, from the reading, what St. Paul believes is the Christian's first and final answer in times of difficulty, despair, suffering, and fear? How can you apply Paul’s answer to your own life?
5. In the story of the Transfiguration in the Gospel reading, Jesus shows forth his divine glory, foreshadowing his Resurrection. In response to the "terrified" reply of Peter, the reassuring voice of the Father is heard saying: "This is my beloved Son, listen to him." During Lent, how can we take more seriously these words of the Father, which are also meant for us?
6. The meditation ends with these words: “We are all works in progress. We all have our flaws. But we are also being ‘transfigured’ day after day. So accept Jesus’ invitation. Follow him, and you’ll be changed ‘from glory to glory’ as your faith continues to grow (2 Corinthians 3:18).” What do these words mean to you? In what ways do you believe, as described in 2 Corinthians 3:18, that you are being “transformed” more and more into the image of Jesus?
7. Take some time now to pray and ask the Lord for the grace to say yes to his will and to know and experience his transforming power. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.
“Here I am, Lord, ready to do your will. Fill me with your grace. Let me know your transforming power.” Amen!
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