Sunday 24
February 2013
2nd Sunday of Lent C
Genesis 15:5-12. 17-18. Ps.26:1.7-9. 13-14. Rv.1. Philippians
3:17-4:1. Luke 9:28-36
Abram put his faith in the Lord.
The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
Do not give way but remain faithful in the Lord.
This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.
Readings at Mass
First reading
Genesis
15:5-12,17-18
Taking Abram outside, the Lord said, ‘Look
up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will be your descendants.’
Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.
‘I
am the Lord’ he said to him ‘who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to
make you heir to this land.’ ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘how am I to know that I
shall inherit it?’ He said to him, ‘Get me a three-year-old heifer, a
three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’ He
brought him all these, cut them in half and put half on one side and half
facing it on the other; but the birds he did not cut in half. Birds of prey
came down on the carcases but Abram drove them off.
When
the sun had set and darkness had fallen, there appeared a smoking furnace and a
firebrand that went between the halves. That day the Lord made a Covenant with
Abram in these terms:
‘To your descendants I give this land,
from the wadi of Egypt to the Great
River.’
Abram was 75 years old when God
made this covenant with him. His wife too was not only old but also barren. Abram
believed although he seems to have faltered in his faith by having a son by his
slave girl. God seemed long in fulfilling his promise. It was only after twenty
five years that God gave him a son by his wife, Sarah. God tests our faith too.
We are to remain dependent on God because without him we can do nothing. He has
to act in our lives if we are to receive Salvation.
Psalm
Psalm
26:1,7-9,13-14
The Lord is my light and my help.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
before whom shall I shrink?
The Lord is my light and my help.
O Lord, hear my voice when I call;
have mercy and answer.
Of you my heart has spoken:
‘Seek his face.’
The Lord is my light and my help.
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face.
Dismiss not your servant in anger;
you have been my help.
The Lord is my light and my help.
I am sure I shall see the Lord’s
goodness
in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.
Hope in the Lord!
The Lord is my light and my help.
Second reading
Philippians
3:17-4:1
My brothers, be united in following my
rule of life. Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study
them as you used to study us. I have told you often, and I repeat it today with
tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ.
They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are
proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think
important are earthly things. For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from
heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will
transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He
will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe.
So
then, my brothers and dear friends, do not give way but remain faithful in the
Lord. I miss you very much, dear friends; you are my joy and my crown.
It
is so easy to fall in the time of temptation and to become used to sin. We have
the skill in persuading ourselves that what we are doing is not sin. There is
only one way to persevere. That is to be dependent on the Lord Jesus in earnest
prayer. He only can safeguard us from sin but we need to come to him in
sincerity and weakness begging for his mercy. If we rely on ourselves, we can
expect to fall.
Gospel
Acclamation
Mt17:5
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
From the bright cloud the Father’s voice
was heard:
‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to
him.’
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
____________________
Gospel
Luke
9:28-36
Jesus took with him Peter and John and
James and went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face
was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were
two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory,
and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his
glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said
to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three
tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know
what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and
when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from
the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after
the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at
that time, told no one what they had seen.
The Transforming Word
Jesus did not
choose the Passion and death on the Cross. As a man in this world, he chose to
love his Father and be obedient and faithful to him. His was a life, which
sprang from love and was filled with love. He came to reveal the limitless love
of God for us. By pursuing this path, he came up against the implacable hatred
of Satan and those allied with him. They were the ones responsible for his
death. He would not turn from the path of loving obedience and fidelity. His
Passion and Death became inevitable and the gateway to his glorification.
Today
on the mountain, we find Jesus at prayer. He is gazing on the face of God, his
Father. Moses and Elijah join him one on each side. He is in the middle for he
is the fulfilment of the Law given by Moses and of the prophets of whom Elijah is
the greatest. They talk about his ‘exodus’ which will happen in Jerusalem . Jesus now
lives in a transcendent manner the history of the Israelites. As they passed
from slavery into the Promised Land so will Jesus pass from the weakness of
human flesh to the glory of God. His ‘exodus’ is from this world of sin through
death to the world of God in his Resurrection. However, Jesus still has his
ordeal to undergo. He needs to have strength in his inner being. Again, the
Father confirms to him and to the disciples who he is; “He is my beloved Son,
my chosen one.” We are to listen to him. He alone is the Word of God. Through
Jesus, the Father reveals himself. He will not speak any other Word. When they
look up, they only see Jesus. They need not look for anyone else.
‘For
the sake of the joy reserved for him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame
and then sat at the right of the throne of God’. Jesus comes down the mountain and makes his
way resolutely to Jerusalem
and the final confrontation with Satan.
Our
religion is to know Jesus and to follow him. We too must make a decision to
love the Father and faithfully do his will. This is the meaning of life and is
our gateway to glory. Life is not to get a good job, make money, and live in
the world as others do. We are to make our home in the Word of Jesus found in
the Gospels and listen to him.
Do
you take the Gospels as your compass for life? Do you value it as the Word of
God for you? Can you say that the Word of
Jesus in the Gospels governs the decisions you make?
Father by gazing on the face of Jesus and making my home in his Word
may I too be transformed.
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