Second Sunday of Lent (A)
Did you miss me? : )
First, a brief personal comment. Then, my reflection on this Sunday’s readings.
Whenever I do not send out a post, it is usually because I have been hit with a significant headache and find it painful to look at a glowing display. On one Saturday, the headache was so bad, and my efforts to control it so futile, that I had no choice but to cancel Confessions and Mass that afternoon. Mass in front of a larger crowd – as one would get on Sundays – is doubly difficult for me. I feel the energy flow from all these people hitting me, as though I were standing right in front of a bright spotlight. I also am very sensitive to certain sounds. It’s called hyperacusis. The crinkling of a cough drop wrapper, or someone whispering in the back, can be annoying, even painful, for me. I cannot go to the annual Chrism Mass because it is not sensory-friendly, nor is anyone there likely to turn down the music volume just for me. The solution is to have Mass only for small groups at the most. This also is in harmony with my contemplative calling. My psychologist’s recommendation agrees with this. It looks like I’ll need to hang in there for another year before I can have this happen for me. I simply can’t afford to make ends meet otherwise – not until I am old enough to begin to collect Social Security (June 2021). Please keep me in your prayers so that I can survive in the meantime.
End of personal comment!
The Church has, following an ancient tradition, offered the Gospel account of the Transfiguration of Jesus for our reflection on the Second Sunday of Lent. When you begin to read commentaries on this story, you quickly see how the Transfiguration gives fits to some Biblical scholars. Some of these, trained in rationalistic schools of thought, cannot cope with any accounts that cannot be scientifically tested and verified. These scholars try to dismiss this story as a dream, a mirage, or an account of the Resurrection (which also gives them fits) that has been retrojected into the life of Jesus. This attempt does not fly, as the story of the Transfiguration, as given to us in the Gospels, bears no resemblance to any of the accounts of appearances of the Risen Christ that the Gospels offer us.
The story of the Transfiguration also challenges preachers. Homilists of all stripes are always looking for ways to connect the Scriptures with the personal experiences of their people. Few people who now live can claim to have experienced anything quite like this. In the Transfiguration, we see how three of the Apostles – Peter, James, and John – are given a glimpse of Jesus in glory. This glory has a twofold dimension. On the one hand, it is a glimpse of the glory which belongs solely to the Only-Begotten Son of the Father. On the other hand, it is a foretaste of the glory promised to all who listen to Jesus and follow Him.
There are a number of ways we could take to approach this story. If you look back in my blog, you will discover a couple of them. Here, I will look at it from the angle of Peter, James and John. This Transfiguration is given to them. Jesus brings them up a high mountain for his very purpose. Why is that?
In each of the three Gospels that give us this account, the Transfiguration immediately follows the events of Caesarea Philippi. This area is at the far northern end of Galilee, the very edge of Jewish territory. Jesus puts the question to His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” When the disciples finish their report, Jesus asks them who they say He is. Peter responds that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus follows this by speaking, not of the glory that most people would associate with the Christ, but of His impending suffering and death. Peter cannot understand this, and immediately rebukes Jesus! Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter, and tells all that, if they wish to truly be faithful to Him, they must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.
Peter is not the only disciple who openly struggled with this. James and John had their moments. There was the time when they approached Jesus to ask for the seats of honor next to Him in His Kingdom. On another occasion, when a town would not welcome them, James and John asked Jesus if they could call down fire from heaven to destroy that town. Jesus rebukes them and leads them to the next town.
Peter, James and John represent all the disciples – and all of us. They had already left much that was familiar in their lives and had made great sacrifices to follow Jesus. In various ways, we can say the same thing. They were sincere in their desire to follow Jesus, as we usually are. On the other hand, they still carried in their minds and hearts some ‘worldly’ attitudes about what constitutes honor and dishonor, or glory and shame. How easily they sought to push people away from Jesus (and themselves) who had no social value, such as children or Samaritans. How concerned they were for what they themselves would get out of following Jesus! They are not yet ready to be worldly misfits in order to “fit in” with Christ!
If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we are like them in this as well. Like them, we are afraid of being different; of standing out in the crowd; even for Our Lord. Look how easily Peter himself – even though he truly loved Jesus – denied Him when he found himself with a worldly crowd. We, too, all too easily dismiss people of little social worth or social capital. We, too, fall easily to the testings that Satan gave Jesus in the wilderness.
Jesus takes Peter, James and John – these three, who get it right and then get it wrong, over an over again – with him, up a high mountain. These three, who also represent us, witness Jesus’ glory. They see Moses and Elijah, to assure them that Jesus speaks and acts to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. They hear the Father’s voice: “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him!” Don’t listen to others; listen to Him. Peter, James and John are overwhelmed at all this, as we would be. The main reason they are overwhelmed and do not understand this is that they have not yet fully understood that glory and suffering are connected, for Jesus and for anyone who would follow Him.
Compare this scene to the next scene – the only other in the Gospel of Matthew – where Jesus takes Peter, James and John alone with Him. It’s at Gethsemane, when Jesus’ Passion is about to begin. Jesus is transformed, not with light, but with agony. Yet He resolves to drink the cup of faithful love to the end. Peter, James, and John? They fall asleep, overwhelmed and unable to understand or to be with Jesus at this moment. They cannot yet see that the glory they witnessed at the Transfiguration is there with them now, in Jesus who seems weak with agony. They do not yet see that God’s power is made perfect in weakness.
They soon will. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples are transformed – one could even say, transfigured – as well. They get it at last. They proclaim Jesus boldly in the Temple. They consider it an honor now to endure suffering for Jesus’ sake. They now reach out to those whom the world considers lowly, and others who are lowly are drawn to the disciples. Paul, who at one time took such pride in his accomplishments, can boast of his weaknesses, for he knows that the Lord’s love is most powerfully present in him in weakness, as it was for Jesus on the Cross. Now, every disciple is ready to be dismissed as a misfit in the sight of the world, if only they can be more fully faithful to Christ.
Are we still influenced by worldly definitions of glory and success? Do we measure other people by how the larger society values them? Do we still fear not fitting in with other people if we allow our faith in the Lord and His Church to be too noticeable? Are we willing to once again take up our cross and follow Jesus? Can we go forward with assurance that the same glory Jesus showed His disciples in the Transfiguration is also ours when we are willing to face suffering and rejection for the sake of Christ and His people, especially His little ones?
Perhaps we can learn a lesson from those whom society rejects or despises. There is a story of what happened at a Special Olympics race not too long ago. Most of the runners had Down’s Syndrome. Some countries today seek to ‘eliminate’ Down’s Syndrome by aborting such babies before birth. But in this race, those who had taken the lead actually slowed down and waited for the others, so that all could cross the finish line and win together. What would happen if a group of ‘able-bodied’ athletes did the same at the next Olympics? Would they be praised or ridiculed or condemned?
Lent is a time when we are reminded that what the world calls foolishness is what God calls true wisdom. What the world calls shame is what God calls honor. What the world calls defeat is what God calls victory.
Do we trust God enough to take Him at His word, like those Down’s Syndrome runners did? Can we let the words and example of Christ transform us – and through us, renew our world? We can, if we do whatever He tells us!