Homily for the
2d Sunday of Lent
March 5, 2023
Matt 17: 1-9
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
“This is my
beloved Son…; listen to him” (Matt 17: 5).
The transfiguration of Jesus, in the presence of his 3 favorite apostles, takes place 6 days after he predicted his passion, death, and resurrection for the 1st time (16:21), rebuked Peter for objecting to that, even calling Peter “Satan” for putting a temptation in front of him(16:22-23), and then warned his disciples—not just the 12 but all of us—that if we wish to be his followers we must carry his cross. Only then will we be able to come to the glory of heaven (16:24-28).
In that context,
Jesus enters a moment of glory, a sudden revelation of his divinity that both
stuns and pleases the 3 apostles who witness it: “Lord, it’s good that we’re here,” but “they
were very much afraid” (17:4-6). And
they’re advised to listen to this beloved Son of God.
When the vision
of Christ’s glory passes, Jesus commands them not to speak of what they’ve seen
and heard “until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead” (17:9)—another
reference to his coming passion and death.
The divine voice
from heaven instructs the 3 apostles to listen to his beloved Son. The beloved Son has been listening to his
Father all thru his life on earth; he has been in close communion with his
Father and shares with his disciples what he hears from his Father. In his human nature, he already has a share
in divine glory, a flash of which shows in this mountaintop experience.
Jesus dialogs
with Moses, the giver of the Law—or more precisely, the one who hands over the
Law, which God gives—and Elijah, 1st of the prophets, who struggled to keep the
kings of Israel faithful to God. Matthew
doesn’t tell us what Moses and Elijah talk about with Jesus. St. Luke, however, tells us that they “spoke of
his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem” (9:31). In other words, they speak of his approaching
passion and death. This will be for
Jesus an “exodus,” a journey, a going out toward his resurrection and thus
toward his glorification: thru the cross
to victory over death, to the glory of eternal life.
So Jesus
demonstrates listening: to God and to
God’s champions, Moses and Elijah. If
the apostles will listen to Jesus, they’ll arrive at the same destination he
does.
In the reading
from Genesis today, we’re offered the example of Abram (12:1-4), later to be
renamed Abraham. He listened to God’s command
and undertook an long, arduous journey away from family and home to a new land
and a new destiny that God had in mind.
By his obedience, he became the father of God’s chosen people and the
father of all believers.
Abram stands in contrast
to what we heard in last week’s 1st reading:
the 1st man and woman, our original ancestors, chose not to listen to
God, and disaster befell them and all their descendants (Gen 3:1-7)—a disaster
that is reversed only by the obedience of Jesus, as St. Paul wrote last week (Rom
5:12-19).
For Jesus, Peter,
James, and John the transfiguration is an ecstatic experience: “Lord, it’s good that we’re here.” Peter, probably speaking for James and John
as well, doesn’t want to leave: let’s
pitch tents here, he says.
We’ve all had
peak experiences of some kind that we wished would never end: a couple on honeymoon, a graduate on
achieving a degree and being celebrated for it, winners of a sports
championship or some other competition, completing a major project, a religious
making her profession.[1]
But such exalted
happiness doesn’t last. We have to come
back down to earth, to what we often call “real life.” Abram had to pack up his immediate family,
his household, his tents and baggage, his flocks and herds, and relocate to
someplace he didn’t know, among peoples he didn’t know—far, far less than our
ancestors knew when they immigrated here from Italy, Ireland, or the Caribbean.
And Jesus has to
descend the mountain and resume his journey toward Jerusalem, knowing what
awaits him there, but obedient to his Father.
The apostles have to come down and follow him, not at all understanding
where he’s going: what is this about
suffering, death, and being raised? The
only thing they’re sure of is that they want to stay with Jesus.
So do we. So do we, even when we don’t know the
journey, except that Jesus is the Way.
That’s why we come to the Eucharist.
That’s why we listen to the Word of God.
Here we meet the beloved Son, who has walked the journey of life’s pains
and sorrows, as we must, and then arrived at eternal life and heavenly glory,
as he promises to us.
“This is my
beloved Son…; listen to him.” During
Lent, take up your Bible, the Gospels especially, and listen to Jesus. St. Paul urges us, “Bear your share of
hardship for the Gospel” (2 Tim 1:8). Ask
Jesus to help you on your journey past temptations, sorrow, discouragement,
conflicts, and to lead you safely to where he awaits us.
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