Second Sunday of Lent
Fr Dominic’s Homily
On the first Sunday of Lent we heard about Jesus being in the desert where he was tested by the devil. The desert being a place of testing, a place of discernment, a place of temptation, a place of spiritual growth and a place of listening to God.
Today on this second Sunday of Lent we hear about Jesus being on a high mountain with Peter, James and John. This was probably mount Tabor not far from Jerusalem.
Mountains, of course, are places that allow you to see things from a higher viewpoint. They bring clarity and can give perspective on things. They are also places of listening. Important things always happen on mountains in the Old Testament: think of Noah and his ark. Think of Abraham and his son Isaac who was a pre-figurement of Jesus.
It's very rare that God commands a human sacrifice! It was a test of Abraham's faith. And was to prepare the world for the sacrifice of Jesus, another beloved son who also carries the wood of his own sacrifice on the very same mountain some 2000 years later. Another lamb that has his head in thorns and acts as a substitute for us. This helps to remind us that God is in control of all human history.
In the bible mountains are places where God speaks in a special way to his people. These manifestations of God are called Theophany's. God reveals his splendour to certain people in a supernatural way who are normally utterly terrified. The same is true of the gospel today.
We hear that Moses and Elijah both appeared at either side of Jesus as he was transfigured in glorious light. Both of these prophets had themselves, of course, experienced God in a supernatural way.
Moses had the loud thunder of Gods voice whereas Elijah had the quiet whispering of Gods voice which he heard from his cave. Both of these prophets had longed to see the face of God - but never saw it. Now God has a human face in Jesus so they both see what they greatly desired.
Moses of course led the Exodus away from Egypt and eventually to the Promised Land - the place where Jerusalem was eventually built. Jesus as the New Moses now leads the New Exodus that is rather than from slavery to the Egyptians it is from slavery to sin. And this Exodus will begin in Jerusalem and ends in the heavenly Promised Land.
Peter is awestruck and so doesn't know quite what to say. They are on their way to celebrate the feast of tabernacles so he says why not build their tents here rather than move away from this place of peace and joy. He sees this event as being like heaven itself which is what the feast of Tabernacles points towards.
Then we hear God the Father interrupting him and saying: "This is my son the beloved, listen to him" The cloud was a sign of God's presence covering the Arc of the Covenant. This shows the divinity of Jesus.
Jesus tells them not to tell anyone else about this until the son of Man has risen from the dead. Now they know that the final resurrection of the body would be at the end of time so why would Jesus rise from the dead before anyone else? This eventually became clear to them.
According to St Ephrem the Syrian the transfiguration happened for 3 mam reasons:
• To show the glory of God.
• To declare that Jesus is truly Gods son and our redeemer.
• And to prevent the disciples being too distraught at the sufferings that Jesus would endure in the next few weeks.
In other words:
• To witness his kingship before they witnessed his passion,
• To witness his power before they witnessed his death
• And witness his glory before they witnessed his utter humiliation.
Peter, James and John are of course the very disciples who will witness first-hand the crucifixion of Jesus so they needed some spiritual preparation and strengthening for this or it may be too much for them.
They had to come down from the mountain of the Transfiguration before they could ascend the mountain of the crucifixion of Jesus.
We too must follow their path as we journey further into lent and prepare our hearts for the passion of Christ.
Like Peter James and John we too have to endure and even embrace this mystical and counter cultural path of suffering in our lives if we want to truly follow Christ. This then will enable us like Moses and Elijah to see the face of Christ and to enter the heavenly Jerusalem which is the celestial Promised Land.