Second Sunday in Lent, March 5, 2023
/Listening to Jesus; a Lenten journey with Jesus
Matthew 17: 1–9
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; His face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with Him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Music Meditations
Pleni Sunt Coeli et Terra--by Gjeilo, sung by Phoenix Chorale How Great Thou Art- Chris Rice Holy, Holy, Holy-Hillside The Lord is My Light and My salvation –John Rutter
Opening Prayer
Jesus, there is a time for silence and a time to speak. Help me, during this Lenten season, to cultivate a silence that is free from distractions and obligations, and truly open to your word. Help me to see you as God’s beloved, and help me to see myself as God’s beloved.
Help me to hear you and see you in ways I have never been able to do. Especially help me to see you in those around me—in those who love me and those who don’t; in those whom I find admirable and those whom I don’t.
Companions for the Journey
From "First Impressions", by Jude Siciliano (Second Sunday of Lent A 2011)
As I've traveled over the years, I've been to mountains: tall ones, like the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the West; lesser, but still magnificent ones in Vermont, North Carolina, West Virginia and upper New York State. I've always been thrilled at the top of these mountains by the clear air, strong wind and spectacular views. Standing on a mountaintop also gives me a sense of security because of the solid mass beneath my feet. It's a religious experience, it seems to me, to climb a mountain and let your mind and emotions flow with the experience.
Did the three apostles Peter, James and John have some of those feelings when they got to the top of that "high mountain" with Jesus? After they got there, as if being on the mountain with him weren't enough, they had the experience of the Transfiguration! It's a dramatic story and appears at a key moment in Matthew's Gospel.
Some people, after a conversion experience, or when they come to a deeper awareness of the joys and peace that accompany a life centered on Christ, have a "mountaintop experience," similar to the one Peter, James and John had. But sooner or later we need to come back down to earth and face the cross that comes with living out the life of discipleship.
An authentic Christian life involves choices: will we accept the standards of living proposed by the world in its insatiable appetite for success, power, possessions, fame, etc? Or, will we choose Jesus' way of service, peace-making, self-denial, etc.? If we accept Jesus' way, we will also be accepting the suffering that accompanies it.
Jesus invites us to take up his cross and the suffering that inevitably come with it. But he isn't glorifying suffering just for the sake of suffering. There is a kind of suffering that is redemptive. For example, the suffering that comes with a commitment to justice for others. In this redemptive suffering comes the power to love even when resistance and hate are directed our way. With redemptive suffering also comes strength and perseverance as we work to help others who are unfairly treated by our society.
Like Peter, we like to live in a fantasy world where everything is exciting and upbeat. We want to hold on to good times and happy feelings. The downside is that we tend to deny bad news, if we can.
Jesus asks us to take up his cross: to live in loving relationships with others, even when opposed and taken advantage of; to respond in love to enemies; to serve and embrace, as our sisters and brothers, the poor and outcasts; to practice peacemaking in a world of violence, etc. In other words, to give our lives as Jesus gave his, for the sake of new life. Jesus was transfigured on the mountain and his disciples saw his glory. Through his death and resurrection, he transfigured the cross by revealing it as the means to new life for those who would take it up to follow him.
There is one small and tender moment in today’s gospel that should give hope to us this Lent; we who are trying to pick up our cross to follow Jesus. When the disciples heard the voice from the cloud they, “fell prostrate and were very much afraid.” Then, Matthew tells us, “Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise and do not be afraid.’” This is a detail only Matthew tells. In the gospel Jesus’ words and touch have been healing, empowering and life-giving. The Transfiguration depicts the disciples, weak humans like us, falling prostrate and afraid before the divine revelation about Christ. But Jesus’ touch and encouraging words give us all the courage, desire and ability to renew our commitment to follow him this Lent. Jesus tells us this Lent, “Rise up and do not be afraid.”
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him.
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
Meditations
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
Read Matthew 17: 1-9 (The Transfiguration). Imagine that you are Peter, and you have been invited by Jesus to accompany him to the top of this mountain for prayer. Put yourself completely in his shoes for this entire experience, trying to be present in the event as he was. Take time to sit with each question as you insert yourself into the events of that day with Jesus: What are you expecting as you set out on this experience? At what time of day do you start out? What is the weather like? What do you see? Smell? Hear? Is the journey easy or tiring? What do you four chat about along the way? How long after you all reach the top do you see something happening to Jesus? How do you react when you see Jesus transformed right in front of your eyes? Are you frightened? Exhilarated? Confused? What expressions or reactions do you see on the faces of James and John? What do you think when you see Jesus conversing with Moses and Elijah? How do you know that is who they are? Why do you suggest building three tents? When a cloud envelops all three of them and you hear a voice, do you know who is speaking? Is it because in your Jewish culture no one looked directly on the face of God, and because your stories of Moses tell you that God spoke to him from within a cloud? Why are you afraid when God speaks the words telling you that Jesus is God's son and you are to listen to him? In what instances up until now have you been too dismissive of what Jesus was telling you about what his mission is, what his fate will be, and how you are to be conducting your life--about your mission? How do you react when Jesus quietly comes upon you and touches you, telling you not to be afraid? Are you less afraid? Have you recovered and reverted to your first sense of wonder and awe? Are you apprehensive? Why do you think Jesus tells you to speak of this event to no one until after his resurrection from the dead? Do you even get what he means by talking of being raised from the dead? Has he spoken of his death before now? Did you believe him? ********* Sit with this experience for a few moments, then imagine a transformative or exceptional experience in your own life. Recall if you fully understood what was happening while it was happening, and what you have learned about yourself and about life after having some time to digest the meaning of the experience. T.S. Eliot, in "Four Quartets", writes: " We had the experience, but missed the meaning". Have you taken time in your own life to process an event which was pivotal in some way? Try to recall such an event, and see if you can hear Christ speaking to you in the aftermath of that experience. Were you listening? Are you listening now?
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Read Isaiah 42:1-9. “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” We all know that this passage is taken by Christians as a reference to Jesus. But if we are followers of Jesus, if we Listen to Him, then it should apply to us as well. In your journal, write your own response to the Lord who calls you "my chosen" and says that the lord's spirit is upon YOU, that YOU have been given as a covenant to God's people. How do you respond to this awesome honor/task? Speak from your heart about your desire to follow in Jesus' footsteps.
Poetic Reflection:
Thomas Merton, OSCO, a monk, mystic and poet, saw transfiguration everywhere. In this following meditation from Thomas Merton, A Book of Hours, edited by Kathleen Degnan, Psalm, adapted from Merton’s book New Seeds of Contemplation,( pp 30-31 excerpted) reflects the joy and total exuberance of God’s presence in our natural world: Psalm/ transfiguration/transformation/Nature The forms and individual characters of living and growing things of inanimate beings, of animals and flowers and all nature, constitute their holiness in the sight of God. Their inscape is their sanctity. It is the imprint of His wisdom and His reality in them. The special clumsy beauty of this particular colt on this day in this field under these clouds is a holiness consecrated by God by His own creative wisdom and it declares the glory of God. The pale flowers of the dogwood outside this window are saints The little yellow flowers that nobody notices on the side of that road are saints looking up into the face of God. This leaf has its own texture and its own pattern of veins and Its own holy shape, and the bass and the trout hiding in the deep pools of the river are canonized by their beauty and their strength. The lakes hidden among the hills are saints. and the sea too is a saint who praises God without interruption in her majestic dance. The great, gashed, half naked mountain is another Of God’s saints. There is no other like him. He is alone in His own character; Nothing else in the world ever did or ever will imitate God In quite the same way. That is his sanctity. But what about you? What about me?
Closing Prayer
Adapted from Sacred Space 23, a Service of Irish Jesuits:
Jesus, transfiguration is about you and about us. When we are with you, we are with the divine; when you are with us, you are with the human.
Your love, grace, sacraments, and compassion can transfigure us. And when we look around us and see as you see, we find there are others in our loves capable of transfiguration. Help me to be present in prayer to your light and brightness; allow me to know that the light given to me at Baptism is never extinguished. Help me to light the lives of others.
