II Sunday in Lent:[2015]:Gen22:1-2,9-13,15-18;Rom 8:31-35,37;Mk9:2-10

II Sunday in Lent:[2015]:Gen22:1-2,9-13,15-18;Rom 8:31-35,37;Mk9:2-10

First Reading Exegesis:  In our first reading from Genesis, Abraham was put to test and he remained faithful to God. God did not require him to do anything that He Himself would not do. In fact, the command to Abraham to offer his only son was intended to foreshadow how God would offer his only beloved son for our sake in the future. God halted the sacrifice of Isaac because, Abraham’s faith was very clear by the fact that he was ready to carry out the will of God. Abraham listened to God, and then obeyed him. Abraham was ready to offer his only son Isaac to make God happy. He did not question or challenge God about the victim for the sacrifice. Instead, he left that question for his son Isaac to ask. Also, rather than ask God for anything, he was ready to offer God something very dear to him. Abraham considered his walk with God more important than any other thing. What do we learn from Abraham today? We must be ready to listen to God and, to do what he wants us to do as Abraham did.

Gospel Reading Exegesis: In the Transfiguration story in todays Gospel, Jesus is revealed as a glorious figure, superior to Moses and Elijah. The primary purpose of Jesus’ Transfiguration was to allow him to consult his Heavenly Father and ascertain His plan for His Son’s suffering, death and resurrection.  God’s secondary aim was to make Jesus’ chosen disciples aware of his Divine glory, so that they might discard their worldly ambitions and dreams of a conquering political Messiah and might be strengthened in their time of trial. On the mountain, Jesus is identified by the Heavenly Voice as the Son of God. Thus, the transfiguration narrative is a Christophany, that is, a manifestation or revelation of who Jesus really is.

The meditation on the transfiguration during lent becomes for us a prediction of what lies at the end of Lent – the resurrection of the Lord.  This is what perhaps it meant for the three apostles who were taken up the mountain only six days after (Mk 9:2) Jesus had told them about his impending suffering and death (Mk 8:31).  This was important particularly for Peter, who could not simply accept the possibility that his hero – the Christ (Mk 8:29) – will have to suffer grievously (Mk 8:32). For him it is a big lesson that Christian life is a coincidence of opposites – death and life, suffering and triumph, struggling to climb a mountain and wanting to stay there, being exalted on the mountain-top and having to come down to the market place of daily life.

God shows us his willingness to offer his only son to us, and for our salvation. Today Christ is revealed through his transfiguration as the son of God who is with us. The only thing that God demands from us is: “Listen to him.” If we listen to Christ, God’s gift to us, and do what he wants us to do, we shall be successful in our journey with him this season.

Joke: An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers.  The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone and orders three more.  As this continued every day the bartender asked him politely, "The folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"  "It’s odd, isn't it?" the man replies, "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia.  We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank." Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers.  As this continued for several days, the bartender approached him with tears in his eyes and said, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother.  You know-the two beers and all..."  The man ponders this for a moment, and then replies with a broad smile, "You'll be happy to know that my two brothers are alive and well.  It’s just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.  Now I am drinking for the other two!" 

Practical Applications: Lent is a transformational season in the Church. This is, of course, why we hear the story of the Transfiguration read to us today. In Mark’s version the Apostles are witnesses to the event, but really didn’t understand it. Nor did they understand the reference to Jesus rising from the dead – the ultimate transformation that was to come. It would be a transformation that would transform the world. How can we transform ourselves during Lent? What do we have to do to turn ourselves from sin, the part of ourselves that pulls away from God?

Introduction:  Second Sunday in Lent

Message: Abraham offers the ultimate sacrifice of thanksgiving, the gift of his very son.  This sacrifice prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus who died for us all.  In his transfiguration, Jesus discloses a suffering messiah-ship.

Saints and Events in this Week: 3 – Third – Tuesday – Saint Katharine Drexel, Virgin; 4 – Fourth – Wednesday – Saint Casimir; 7 – Seventh – Saturday – Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs;