March 8, 2020 Second Sunday of Lent
2020년 3월 8일 사순 제2주일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
창세기.12,1-4ㄱ
그 무렵 1 주님께서 아브람에게 말씀하셨다.
“네 고향과 친족과 아버지의 집을 떠나, 내가 너에게 보여 줄 땅으로 가거라.
2 나는 너를 큰 민족이 되게 하고, 너에게 복을 내리며,
너의 이름을 떨치게 하겠다.
그리하여 너는 복이 될 것이다.
3 너에게 축복하는 이들에게는 내가 복을 내리고,
너를 저주하는 자에게는 내가 저주를 내리겠다.
세상의 모든 종족들이 너를 통하여 복을 받을 것이다.”
4 아브람은 주님께서 이르신 대로 길을 떠났다.
제2독서
티모테오 2서.1,8ㄴ-10
사랑하는 그대여,
8 하느님의 힘에 의지하여 복음을 위한 고난에 동참하십시오.
9 하느님께서는 우리의 행실이 아니라 당신의 목적과 은총에 따라
우리를 구원하시고 거룩히 살게 하시려고 우리를 부르셨습니다.
이 은총은 창조 이전에 그리스도 예수님 안에서 이미 우리에게 주신 것인데,
10 이제 우리 구원자 그리스도 예수님께서 나타나시어 환히 드러났습니다.
그리스도께서는 죽음을 폐지하시고,
복음으로 생명과 불멸을 환히 보여 주셨습니다.
복음
마태오.17,1-9
그 무렵 1 예수님께서 베드로와 야고보와 그의 동생 요한만 따로 데리고
높은 산에 오르셨다.
2 그리고 그들 앞에서 모습이 변하셨는데,
그분의 얼굴은 해처럼 빛나고 그분의 옷은 빛처럼 하얘졌다.
3 그때에 모세와 엘리야가 그들 앞에 나타나 예수님과 이야기를 나누었다.
4 그러자 베드로가 나서서 예수님께 말하였다.
“주님, 저희가 여기에서 지내면 좋겠습니다.
원하시면 제가 초막 셋을 지어 하나는 주님께,
하나는 모세께, 또 하나는 엘리야께 드리겠습니다.”
5 베드로가 말을 채 끝내기도 전에 빛나는 구름이 그들을 덮었다.
그리고 그 구름 속에서, “이는 내가 사랑하는 아들,
내 마음에 드는 아들이니 너희는 그의 말을 들어라.” 하는 소리가 났다.
6 이 소리를 들은 제자들은 얼굴을 땅에 대고 엎드린 채 몹시 두려워하였다.
7 예수님께서 다가오시어 그들에게 손을 대시며,
“일어나라. 그리고 두려워하지 마라.” 하고 이르셨다.
8 그들이 눈을 들어 보니 예수님 외에는 아무도 보이지 않았다.
9 그들이 산에서 내려올 때에 예수님께서는 그들에게,
“사람의 아들이 죽은 이들 가운데에서 되살아날 때까지,
지금 본 것을 아무에게도 말하지 마라.” 하고 명령하셨다.
March 8, 2020
Second Sunday of Lent
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
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
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
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.
Gospel
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.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«Jesus' appearance was changed before them»
Fr, Jaume GONZÁLEZ i Padrós
(Barcelona, Spain)
Today on our journey to Easter Time, the liturgy of the word shows us the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Although there is in our calendar a liturgical day, especially for this celebration (August 6th), we are now invited to contemplate the very same scene intimately linked to the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord.
The Passion of Jesus was indeed getting close and six days before his ascent to Mount Thabor, He clearly announced it: He had told them that «he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised» (Mt 16:21).
But the disciples were not yet ready to see the suffering of their Lord and Master. He, who had always been merciful towards the defenseless, who had healed many a skin marred by leprosy, who had given light to so many blind eyes, who had given back motion to so many paralyzed limbs, it could not just be that his body was to be blemished by the thrashing and flogging. And, in spite of everything, He asserts without any concessions: «I had to suffer». Incomprehensible! Impossible!
But in despite all this incomprehension, Jesus knows what He has come to this world for. He knows He has to assume all the feebleness and pain overwhelming the humanity to be able to divinize it and, thus, redeem it from the vicious circle of sin and death, so that the latter defeated —death—, it cannot anymore hold man in bondage; man, who God created in his own image.
This is why, the Transfiguration is a splendid icon of our redemption, where the Lord's flesh appears in a glimpse of his resurrection. Thus, if, with the announcement of his Passion He kindled the anguish of the Apostles, with the glow of his divinity He strengthens their hope while anticipating them the Paschal joy, even though, neither Peter, James or John could understand quite well what did it mean… to be raised from the dead (cf. Mt 17:9). They will eventually find it out!
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
In today’s first reading, Abram is called to continue his family’s journey toward the promised land. The second reading is a call from Paul to Timothy to take over his work with all that this entails. The Gospel is the story of the transfiguration. In each case I see individuals to whom the torch is being passed.
The reading from Genesis is God’s call for Abram to accept the role of leader of his family and take them forward on a journey that had stalled as his father aged. He is asked to leave a reasonably comfortable life and move in the direction prescribed by God.
In the Epistle, Paul challenges Timothy to accept his calling as a leader. Paul is aging and in prison. Some of Paul’s followers have begun to wonder if he is really on the right track; why would God put prison in that path? Timothy is asked to take up Paul’s mantle and persevere in his mission.
If I imagine myself in the place of one of the apostles as he experiences the transfiguration, I can see myself in the same state of fear and confusion that Peter, James and John must have felt. I can picture myself wondering what had just occurred. I am left with a personal feeling that the transfiguration was much more of an event for the apostles than it was for Jesus. They see Jesus as taking their religious and cultural history one step further and with His final comment in today’s Gospel, Jesus’ role as the fulfillment of salvation history becomes known. These three disciples have been given a profound religious experience. They have been charged to share this experience when the time comes.
When I used to ask my grandchildren “Would you like to go with Grandpa?” they would generally respond with an unquestioning and enthusiastic “Yes”. Now I need to say where I am going and what we would be doing before a get response. We learn to start choosing our own path at a very early age.
In today’s readings I see a set of examples where God has called individuals to move forward along a path that they would not likely have chosen on their own. Recently I find myself encouraged to consider my directions in terms reflecting if this is a path that God has put aside for me or if this is a path that I have put aside for God. This is the basis for my prayer today.
Dear Lord,
Help me to see when my ways are not your ways.
Grant me perseverance when the way becomes challenging.
Aid me in not letting the fear of failure stand in the way of the potential for success.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
THE GREATEST | ||
| "This is My beloved Son on Whom My favor rests. Listen to Him." �Matthew 17:5 | ||
Abram (Abraham) is the father of many nations (see Gn 12:2-3). He was and continues to be a blessing to the Jewish people, Muslims, and Christians. Yet as great as Abraham is, "the least born into the kingdom of God is greater than he" (Mt 11:11). As sons and daughters of God the Father, we Christians are called to the greatest of greatness. We fulfill our amazing potential only by listening to Jesus (Mt 17:5). He alone is the Truth of our lives and the Way to live the life of ultimate greatness (see Jn 14:6). Nevertheless, even in our new nature through Baptism, we have difficulty listening to and obeying Jesus. We need God the Father to reveal to our hearts and minds the divinity of His Son (see Mt 17:5). When we believe in Jesus' divinity on a deep level, we will listen and submit to Him as God. Also, we need the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the divine Trinity, to proclaim to us that "Jesus is Lord," that is, God (1 Cor 12:3). The three apostles at Jesus' Transfiguration rightly listened, submitted to the Lord, and became great only after the Holy Spirit descended on them at the first Christian Pentecost. We likewise need a new Pentecost to believe in a life-changing way in Jesus' divinity so as to fulfill our call to greatness. On this second Sunday of Lent, may God the Father and God the Holy Spirit confirm profoundly Jesus' divinity, and may we listen to Jesus as God, do as He wills, and be great as He wills. | ||
| Prayer: Father, renew my Baptism today. | ||
| Promise: "With the strength which comes from God bear your share of the hardship which the gospel entails." —2 Tm 1:8 | ||
| Praise: Praise You, Jesus. Through Your Resurrection we have access to the Father. Our "faith and hope, then, are centered in God" (see 1 Pt 1:21). |
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
Listen to my beloved Son
Are you prepared to see the glory of the Lord and to share in his glory as well? God made a promise to Abraham that he would make him a channel of great blessing not only to his own family and future descendants but to all the families of the earth as well (Genesis 12:3)! The condition for the fulfillment of this promise was simple and straightforward - "Go from your family and country to the land that I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). Abraham not only believed in God's promise, he promptly obeyed and did as the Lord commanded him. God chose Abraham as his instrument of blessing - that through him and his descendants would come the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ who would reveal the glory and blessing of God's kingdom and bring salvation for all who would call upon his name.
The Lord Jesus came to fulfill all that Moses and the prophets spoke
The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises made to Abraham and to his spiritual descendants. In all that Jesus did and said he sought to please his Father in heaven and to bring him glory. Like Abraham, he was ready to part with anything that might stand in the way of doing the will of God. He knew that the success of his mission would depend on his willingness to embrace his Father's will no matter what it might cost him personally.
Jesus on three occasions told his disciples that he would undergo suffering and death on a cross to fulfill the mission the Father gave him. As the time draws near for Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross, he takes three of his beloved disciples to the top of a high mountain. Just as Moses and Elijah were led to the mountain of God to discern their ultimate call and mission, so Jesus now appears with Moses and Elijah on the highest mountain overlooking the summit of the promised land. Matthew's Gospel tells us that Jesus was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light (Matthew 17:2).
Jesus reveals his glory to the apostles and to us
Why did Jesus appear in dazzling light with Moses and Elijah? The book of Exodus tells us that when Moses had met with God on Mount Sinai the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God (Exodus 34:29). Paul the Apostle wrote that the Israelites could not look at Moses' face because of its brightness (2 Corinthians 3:7). After Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, had destroyed all the priests and idols of Baal in the land, he took refuge on the mountain of God at Sinai. There God showed Elijah his glory in great thunder, whirlwind, and fire, and then spoke with him in a still quiet voice. God questioned Elijah, "What are you doing here?" And then directed him to go and fulfill the mission given him by God. Jesus, likewise, appears in glory with Moses and Elijah, as if to confirm with them that he, too, is ready to fulfill the mission which the Father has sent him to accomplish.
Jesus went to the mountain knowing full well what awaited him in Jerusalem - betrayal, rejection, and crucifixion. Jesus very likely discussed this momentous decision to go to the cross with Moses and Elijah. God the Father also spoke with Jesus and gave his approval: This is my beloved Son; listen to him. The Father glorified his son because he was faithful and willing to obey him in everything. The cloud which overshadowed Jesus and his apostles fulfilled the dream of the Jews that when the Messiah came the cloud of God's presence would fill the temple again (see Exodus 16:10, 19:9, 33:9; 1 Kings 8:10; 2 Maccabees 2:8).
Christ's way to glory
The Lord Jesus not only wants us to see his glory - he wants to share this glory with us. And Jesus shows us the way to the Father's glory - follow me - obey my words. Take the path I have chosen for you and you will receive the blessing of my Father's kingdom - your name, too, will be written in heaven. Jesus fulfilled his mission on Calvary where he died for our sins so that Paradise and everlasting life would be restored to us. He embraced the cross to win a crown of glory - a crown that awaits each one of us, if we, too, will follow in his footsteps.
Origen (185-254 AD), a noted early church bible scholar and teacher, explains the significance of Jesus' transfiguration for our own lives:
"Do you wish to see the transfiguration of Jesus? Behold with me the Jesus of the Gospels. Let him be simply apprehended. There he is beheld both "according to the flesh" and at the same time in his true divinity. He is beheld in the form of God according to our capacity for knowledge. This is how he was beheld by those who went up upon the lofty mountain to be apart with him. Meanwhile those who do not go up the mountain can still behold his works and hear his words, which are uplifting. It is before those who go up that Jesus is transfigured, and not to those below. When he is transfigured, his face shines as the sun, that he may be manifested to the children of light, who have put off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. They are no longer the children of darkness or night but have become the children of day. They walk honestly as in the day. Being manifested, he will shine to them not simply as the sun but as he is demonstrated to be, the sun of righteousness." (Commentary on Matthew)
Luke's Gospel tells us that while Jesus was transfigured, Peter, James, and John were asleep (Luke 9:32)! Upon awakening they discovered Jesus in glory along with Moses and Elijah. How much do we miss of God's glory and action because we are asleep spiritually? There are many things which can keep our minds asleep to the things of God: Mental lethargy and the "unexamined life" can keep us from thinking things through and facing our doubts and questions. The life of ease can also hinder us from considering the challenging or disturbing demands of Christ. Prejudice can make us blind to something new the Lord may have for us. Even sorrow can be a block until we can see past it to the glory of God.
We are partakers of his glory
Are you spiritually awake? Peter, James, and John were privileged witnesses of the glory of Christ. We, too, as disciples of Jesus Christ are called to be witnesses of his glory. We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Lord wants to reveal his glory to us, his beloved disciples. Do you seek his presence with faith and reverence?
"Lord Jesus, keep me always alert to you, to your word, your action, and your constant presence in my life. Let me see your glory."
Psalm 33:4-5,18-20,22
4 For the word of the LORD is upright; and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield.
21 Yes, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
A Daily Quote for Lent: Listen to Him, by Leo the Great, 400?-461 A.D.
"A voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. I am manifested through his preaching. I am glorified through his humility. So listen to him without hesitation. He is the truth and the life. He is my strength and wisdom. "Listen to him" whom the mysteries of the law foreshadowed, of whom the mouths of the prophets sang. "Listen to him" who by his blood redeemed the world, who binds the devil and seizes his vessels, who breaks the debt of sin and the bondage of iniquity. "Listen to him" who opens the way to heaven and by the pain of the cross prepares for you the steps of ascent into his kingdom." (excerpt from Sermon 38,7)
http://www.homilies.net/
2 Lent
Second Sunday of Lent - Matthew 17:1-9
A child saw a dust-covered book. He asked what it was. His father replied, "That's God's book - the Bible." The boy replied, "You better return it to God because nobody here reads it." If our Bible is in good shape, we are not.
The Transfiguration was among the very few exhilarating moments in the career of Jesus. His was hardly a cake walk. It was one tough existence. We have a nasty habit of confining His horror moments to His last days. That judgment comes from not reading the Gospels.
The Transfiguration is so familiar to all of us that it has lost its original bang. We have to take off our wraparound sun- glasses. The scales of over-exposure must be peeled from our eyes in order to take a fresh look.
Our Leader was finishing an eight month tour of one night stands in the provincial towns of Galilee. He was eating nothing but junk food at greasy spoons. He considered Himself lucky when He got it. He was sweltering in the 100 plus degree heat and freezing at night under the stars. He was not sleeping. He was staying one step ahead of the cops. His audiences were receiving Him coldly.
Shortly before this account opens, the Teacher had told the twelve of His approaching death. They went into a downer. They had thought the glory days were coming. They had visions of twenty year service and retirement as monsignors on pension, clergy discounts, work on their golf swing, etc. And now this announcement. Who needed it?
Then Jesus took them on a three day forced march southward from northern Palestine. He had to wear a no-nonsense face. He feared a mutiny or suspected they would slip away after dark. That they did not reveals the love that already bound the apostles to Him. For them Jesus was Teilhard's smile of God.
Exhausted, they wound up at Mount Tabor situated near Jesus' hometown of Nazareth. The mountain runs up about 1800 feet. It is almost a straight ascent. When I was there, tourist buses could not reach the top. one had to go up in an eight cylinder auto. Imagine the physical condition of Jesus. As a boy said to me, "Jesus was no wimp."
He loved mountain tops. They brought Him closer to His Father. Christ elected Peter, James, and John to join Him. The other nine, left at the base camp, were happy they had not been drafted. They were looking for a shady tree, a cool breeze, and a stream to do laundry and chill red wine. They needled the three drafted ones with the message, "Tell us about it tomorrow, fellows."
Their clothes sticking to their skin, the four finally got to the top about 4 PM. They were running on empty. The apostles had one thought: sleep. Jesus chose to pray. As Peter climbed into his sleeping bag, he mumbled, "Everyone has his own idea of a good time." In the early AM hours, the mountain top exploded as though hit by a nuclear weapon. The apostles were basket cases. Their Employer, "was transfigured before their eyes." He had removed His disguise. This was no carpenter. This was God. This was His Big Bang.
When Jesus put on a show, it was not low budget. The Big Bang must have been something spectacular. He deserved Oscar, Tony, and Emmy awards for best show on a mountain top ever.
The apostles were witnessing Moses and Elijah passing on the torch to their Leader. The Father was saying to Christ's followers, "You have been brought up to listen to Moses, Elijah, and their peers. Up to this point, they were my advance men. But now it is my Son you will listen to. He is numero uno. Him I appoint as your new Commander in Chief."
Next day Peter, James, and John came down that mountain jumping from rock to rock with the agility of boys. They were on a high. Their Jesus had proved to be a big winner. Their arduous climb in the sauna heat had paid off.
Heaven for them now would be forever spelled h-o-m-e. We move into the second week of Lent. And, if you are off to a good start, bravo. Like His apostles, the Teacher has much to tell you at the mountain top. If you have yet to begin the climb, you can play catch-up. Jesus will toss you a rope and pull you up.
Reflect on Elizabeth Vanek: "The Transfiguration is not just an indication of Christ's divinity; it also reveals our potential to become divine." We can achieve "deification." Blow the dust off your Bible. Don't allow it to be the least read best seller of all time. Be a Bible reader, says Kenneth Woodward, and not just a Bible owner.
Frjoeshomilies.net
2 Lent
Second Sunday of Lent: Insufficient, Inadequate, Incomplete or a Life Worth Living?
"This is my Beloved Son, Listen to Him!" The voice on the Mountain of the Transfiguration, the voice of God the Father was not speaking to Jesus who had radiated His Divinity. It was not speaking to Moses, who had come to discuss the Word of God in the Law with the Word of God in the Flesh. It was not speaking to Elijah who was there to discuss the Word of God in the Prophets with the Word of God standing before him. No, "This is my Beloved Son, Listen to Him," was directed to the disciples Peter, James and John. The voice was directed to the disciples, Sue and Mary, Fred and Chris. The voice was directed to each of us.
Those on that mountain had been discussing the Plan, God's plan for the salvation of humankind, the return of humankind to God. The Word of God Become Flesh would offer His Flesh on the Cross to begin the Plan. The disciples, who listen to Him, will continue the Plan until God's will is complete. We will continue the Plan, at least if we are willing to embrace a Life Worth Living.
We have been called to be Christians. We have been called to follow Christ in every aspect of our lives, until our part in the Plan is complete.
Anything less, is insufficient, inadequate, incomplete.
Perhaps, God has called you to the sacrament of marriage. Do not just love your husband, your wife the way every other man or woman in the world loves her husband or his wife. Insufficient, inadequate, incomplete. Love your husband; love your wife the way that Jesus loves us, on the Cross, at the Resurrection. Love with sacrificial love. Love with life giving love. Put him first, put her first, and let the rest of the world experience Christ in your love. You are far more than a couple whom biology, necessity, and pheromones have brought together. No, you are called to be part of the Big Picture, the Plan for humankind's return to God. Be the Light on the Mountain, show the world the way that Christian Love transforms a house into a home, into a little Church.
Maybe you have been called to be a parent, or parents. Do not just take care of your children. Insufficient. Inadequate. Incomplete. You and your husband or wife made your children, or perhaps their biological parents who gave them to you through an agency. However, God also made them. They were created by God to bring a new reflection of His Love to the World. They have spiritual potential beyond our ability to imagine. Do not let them waste their potential. Do not train them to waste their lives. Teach them to make God's love their Center, their reason for being. Do this by the way you live your lives, as well as by the way you pray. Challenge your children to embrace a Life Worth Living.
Perhaps you are not called to marriage or to parenthood, but live as a single man or woman embracing a career. Whether you are married or single, do not just go to work to make money. There are people there in that office, on that job site, in that hospital room, doctors office, law firm, wherever, there are people there who are longing for God, even if they do not know why their lives are so desperate, so meaningless. Do not just go to work. Bring Christ to work. Work as a Christian. Treat others with the Kindness that was the real magnet that drew others to Jesus. Let others see that you live the values you profess. Anything other than that is just wasting your time for the sake of making money. You are so much more than that. You are so much better than that.
Perhaps your careers are over, your children are raising your grandchildren and perhaps even those are in college now. Perhaps age and sickness have reduced what you can physically do. Perhaps you are tempted to say to yourself, "I've done my best to complete what God wants from me in life. I'm done now. I've done my part." Incomplete! Your life is not over until it is over. How do you know what God's plans are for you? Maybe there is that one person you are going to visit to cheer up this week who will finally embrace Christ. How do you know what God's plans are for you? Maybe there is that one prayer you will say today that will convince someone to give in to Grace, to change his or her life, to turn to God.  The race is not over until we cross the finish line of life. only then are we able to embrace the Life of Christ.Â
God decides what the Big Picture, the Plan of our lives is, not us. Do I have the right to say, "I've been a priest for 43 years. Â I've done my part. It is time to coast into the finish line." No way! That is telling God that the past is all He is going to get from me. That is telling God that I will decide what the plan is for me, not Him. We have to run the race to the finish. Â Back in 1982, I was competing in the Fun and Sun Run, a 10K or 6.2-mile race in Clearwater. I had recently broken the 39 minute mark in the Strawberry Run in Plant City and felt I could drop another minute. I was right on the edge of receiving trophies for being one of the top three in my age division. So I went out of the starting line fast, only a bit too fast. I should have gone by that first mile mark at 6 minutes and 20 seconds. I went by it at 6. I kept up my pace and was doing great, well ahead of just about everyone in my age group, until I hit the 6 mile mark. Then, with only two tenths of a mile to go, my body said, "Time to call it a day." It shut down. I hit the wall. And people started passing me, and passing me, and I ended up tenth in my age division, fortunate to have finished. Well, I cannot do that with my life. I cannot be satisfied with the first six miles; I have to sprint to the finish. And it is the same for all of you who are completing their work lives, or who are senior citizens. We have to finish our part in His Plan. Anything else is insufficient, inadequate, incomplete.
"But," you say, "I have not run a very good race. I have had parts of my life where I gave up, gave myself over to Life without Christ." Do not look back! God has forgiven you; you need to forgive yourselves. Do not look back. Remember what happened to Lot's wife. She looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah, those cities of sin. Then she was frozen in her place, turned into a pillar of salt and rock. That is what happens to us when we look back at the sins of our lives. We become petrified, pillars of rock that can no longer move forward. God forgives us so we can move forward. He forgives us so we can assume the role he has for each of us in His Plan.
Young people. Do not waste your lives! You do not exist for the sake of Middle School and High School and College and Grad School. Do not sell yourselves short, infinitely short. You were created to be part of God's Plan. Look for the Big Picture. God has a role for you in His Plan for humankind. "This is my Son, my Beloved, Listen to Him." Listen to Jesus. So, you are all upset, tied up in a knot, because your girlfriend or boyfriend dumped you, or because you knew that you needed to dump him or her. Life is so much more than this. Or you are all upset because you did not make the team, or the college. God, obviously, has other things in store. Look for the Big Picture. You were created to lead others in the quest for meaning, in the quest for Christ. You are an integral part of the Plan. Yes, you are hurt because something that happened to you. But don't let that hurt dissuade you from your whole purpose for being.
You and I are so much more than what meets our own eyes.
You and I were made to worship
You and I are called to love
You and I are forgiven and free
You and I embrace surrender
You and I choose to believe
You and I will see who we were meant to be.
Chris Tomlin nailed it. You and I are not just a few of billions of people. We are not insignificant. We have been chosen to continue the work of Jesus Christ. How great is that? How great is our God!
During Lent, we remind ourselves of the message on that mountain, the Mountain of the Transfiguration: "This is my Beloved Son, Listen to Him." We remember the message. We consider how well we have listened, how well we are listening. And we leave the mountain with the other disciples, determined to complete the role set aside for each one of us for all eternity, the role, our role, in His Plan. We leave the mountain this Sunday determined to embrace a Life Worth Living.
Stmaryvalleybloom.org
* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
2 Lent
Next Step in Evolution
(March 8, 2020)
Bottom line: We find fulfillment on the mountain top with Jesus. Listen to him.
Last Sunday we saw Jesus as a man immersed in the Scriptures who countered Satan's temptations. Imitating Jesus we desire immersion in the God's Word. The importance of the Bible for us as Catholics, we can see from the fact that at our Masses we read from every section of the Scriptures. Not only that, almost every word of the Mass comes from Bible or is based on the Bible.
Still, it's not enough that words simply enter our ears. We want God's Word to live in our hearts. Today's Gospel shows how that can happen.
The opening verse states: "Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves." Jesus wants us to take time apart with him. In your home do you have some place for prayer? Maybe a corner with a candle, crucifix, or sacred image. I know some people use cell phone apps to pray. That's great if it works. Most of us need to turn off the cell phone so we can give time completely to Jesus. He desires to lead us to the mountain top.
on the mountain top we can hear the Father's voice: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." In the Catholic Church we have a time tested way of listening to Jesus - lectio divina. It literally means "divine reading". Take a passage from the Bible and read it slowly, stopping where it speaks to you. It may speak hope, repentance, trust. What that voice says, listen.
I've found the daily Mass readings almost always have a word I need to hear. I may feel discouraged like a Confederate soldier at the end of the Civil War- like I've fought in vain for a lost cause. Then I come upon a verse like the one from our first reading: "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you". I realize God's mercy is not ended, that he renews it every morning.
When you and I go apart with Jesus and listen to him, he often exceeds our expectations, our wildest expectations, as we hear today: "he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light". In Christ you and I will be transformed. C.S. Lewis expressed it this way: "People often ask when the next step in evolution - the step to something beyond man - will happen. But on the Christian view, it has happened already. In Christ a new kind of man appeared: and the new kind of life which began in Him is to be put into us." Bishop Bob Barron had a more earthy comparison: "We are like grubs who are waiting to be monarch butterflies."
No matter how much you or I have - health, money, friendship - we still feel restless, even empty and unfulfilled. Even as we appreciate the wonderful things about this life, we are never really at home. We find our true self on the mountain top with Jesus. Listen to him. Amen.
Alexmcallister.co.uk
2 Lent
We have in our readings today two extraordinary religious experiences taking place on the top of mountains. It's been a while since I was on the top of a high mountain but I remember it as a very exhilarating experience—the height, the thin air, the wind, the sense of achievement after a hard ascent, and the prospect of an easy and rapid descent. And there is the appreciation of beauties of nature in the tremendous view.
Although we speak only figuratively, there is also the sense of being close to heaven. Many people have profound religious experiences on the tops of mountains. Here in our first reading there is the extraordinary story of the sacrifice of Isaac—or rather the non-sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham is put to the test by God, the sacrifice of his only son is demanded and Abraham obeys. Abraham is prepared to believe in the Lord God although he appears to be a very hard and demanding God demanding back the gift of this precious son born so late in life.
But Abraham accedes to the Lord's stipulations and seizes the knife to kill his son. But then the angel intervenes and the ram is sacrificed instead. Abraham's obedience brings him untold blessings which will pass from generation to generation. And even today we do exactly as God has said, we bless ourselves through his descendents because it is through them that salvation was brought definitively into the world.
And then Jesus takes his closest disciples up Mount Tabor where he was transfigured. There they see him transformed and radiant and Moses and Elijah appear next to him. Moses for the Law and Elijah for the Prophets. This is the sign that all that has gone before and recorded in the Old Testament is now come to fulfilment in Christ.
That close band of disciples see the glory of God shining through Jesus. They get a glimpse of his glory and realise that he is truly the Messiah and is greater that they could ever have imagined till now. We are given this wonderful Gospel reading is given to us during Lent to remind us what we are about as disciples of Christ. It is presented to us to help us to realise that we are all called as Abraham was, called to follow the will of God in true obedience—even when it seems difficult or incomprehensible to us.
It is given to us to help us to realise that our main purpose in life is to experience a gradual transfiguration ourselves so that out from us radiates the love and holiness of our God. All our time, all our energy, all our work, all our leisure, all our encounters, all our thoughts and actions must increasingly radiate the glory of God.
What we are called to do is to enable the divine life which entered our souls at baptism to become more and more evident to others. The aim is that through our lives the splendour of the Father becomes ever more visible to the world.
Of course, the question we are left with is: how do we do this? I think the answer is don't get in the way. God knows what he is doing; like Abraham we might not find it comprehensible but ours is not to reason why. Ours is to let God act through us, for us to become conduits of his love, for us to hold back our egos and let God prove his love to the world by prompting us to act in this way or that way.
We need to step back in life to forget our own plans and to let the plans of God evolve. We all have examples of how he has worked wonders in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. But that doesn't stop us from interfering. We see his Divine Providence one day and yet the next day we blame him for something The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed fervently for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements and to store his few possessions. one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me?" He cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
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