Sunday Homily 2-28-10, Lent 2
Readings: Genesis 15, 5-18; Psalm 27, The Lord is My Light and My Salvation; Philippians 3, 17-4,1; Luke 9, 28-36
Introduction to the Readings
Our three readings today are each very interesting in themselves. Our first reading, from the book of Genesis is from Chapter 15. We hear about Abram and one of many times we are told about the descendants of Abram. Genesis is very interesting reading from Chapter 12 on for several chapters. We hear about the call of Abram, his leaving his homeland with all is possessions including his wife and nephew Lot, their time in Egypt and then the split with Lot, and their dividing up the land. Then we read about the rescue of
The second reading is from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. This is a very short letter, only four chapters, and something we might consider reading in its entirety during the coming week. http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/philippians/intro.htm
More about the Gospel later in the homily.
Second Sunday of Lent – Homily
“This is my chosen one, listen to Him” The last time Luke’s Gospel records words from God the Father is right after Jesus’ Baptism, when we hear “You are my Son, the Beloved, my favor rests on you”.
This gospel passage we have just heard is very interesting. I want to look back for a moment to last week’s gospel reading about the temptation account. If you had all been good Jews very familiar with the Old Testament, when I read that account and said that Jesus was lead into the desert for 40 days you would all have immediately thought about Moses spending 40 days up the mountain (Ex 34:26) before receiving the Ten Commandments, the sign of the covenant between God and his people, and also remembered Elijah’s 40 days in the desert (1Kings 19:8) after his great confrontation with the false prophets, and of course (Deut 8:2) the forty years of wandering in the desert after the escape from Egypt.
Today’s reading, often referred to as the Transfiguration, has much to tell us. Once again we are going up a mountain. It seems to be where many important things happen in the God relationship. Whenever Jesus goes off to a quiet place to pray, most of the time it seems to be up a mountain. This time he takes Peter, James and John, and just as later in the
In a section of Luke’s Gospel just before today’s reading Jesus has just told his disciples about his being rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the scribes and being put to death and rising after three days. In this transfiguration account, that is exactly what Jesus is talking about with Moses and Elijah! Of course the apostles are mostly asleep during this conversation, and when they wake up, again we have poor Peter putting his foot in it by wanting to erect three tents. There are a couple of problems with Peter’s suggestion. The idea that God can be captured and put in a certain place, like a tent, or even a church! And secondly, that Jesus is far greater than any prophet, which is why the voice comes out of the cloud and tells them the important thing is “to listen”.
If we carefully read the gospels to try and get a sense of what Jesus was saying, he really didn’t say too much, he mostly did. And I think that if we listen carefully to the Gospel the message we must come away with as followers of Jesus is not a set of beliefs or creeds but the command to action, to love one another. To take care of the poor and the sick, to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked, to visit those in prison. Because “as often as you did it to these you did it to me”.
At least that is what I hear when I listen, what do you hear?