As people of faith, we are commissioned to spread the glory of the Lord

Second Sunday of Lent (B) 

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b). St. Paul’s dramatic question in his Letter to the Romans reveals a faith completely certain of God’s providential love for his people. In Paul’s mind there was no question that God would always intervene to bring about the ultimate salvation of those whom he redeemed even at the cost of his only Son’s blood. This sense of assurance is the theme of our readings this Second Sunday of Lent.

Certainty in God’s offer of salvation does not imply, however, that Christians expect to live stress-free lives void of all suffering. In fact, this Sunday’s readings indicate that salvation and suffering often go hand in hand. Christians, like everyone else, are destined to endure their share of trials; we are assured, however, that such trials are not signs of divine disfavor or abandonment. Suffering unites us with the Person of Jesus Christ whose own passion was the privileged means of redemption and exaltation for all people. 

Our first reading from the Book of Genesis lays before us the quintessential exemplar of faith, the patriarch Abraham. At this stage of his life, Abraham had already learned that faithfulness to God’s will could sometimes involve quite extraordinary effort. He had already moved from his ancestral homeland to the land of Canaan. Having left behind all that was familiar, God now demanded from Abraham the seemingly unthinkable-- the life of his only son. 

Scripture does not recount the agony which this request brought to Abraham, speaking only of his absolute trust that if he followed God’s will, everything would work out for the best. In the end, Abraham’s intention to sacrifice even his son for God was enough – God ultimately did not demand of Abraham that which he himself was to endure – the sacrificial death of a beloved Son. While the people of the Old Testament saw this event as implying God’s desire to end human sacrifice, for Christians Abraham also serves as a model of perfect faith lived out among adversity.

With this background in mind, we come to this Sunday’s Gospel reading, St. Mark’s telling of the Transfiguration story. Set here near the beginning of our Lenten observance, this Gospel is intended to reassure us that, for those who follow God’s will, everything will work out for God’s glory and our good. This Gospel shores us up for the terrible, necessary events that are to follow.

This pericope begins six days after Jesus’ difficult moments in Caesarea Philippi. He had begun to reveal that his mission had more to it than simply working miraculous cures for the crowd. Obsessed as they were with his wonderful powers, the crowds and even his disciples themselves proved much less interested in the themes of sacrifice, suffering, and the cross which were also to characterize his ministry. 

The Gospel tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and John (the three privileged disciples who were with him at very intimate moments of his ministry) and went up a high mountain (the traditional place of divine revelation). Once there, these favored disciples saw Jesus revealed in his divine glory. Along with Jesus were Moses and Elijah, representing the Old Testament Law and prophets which Jesus had come to fulfill. St. Mark recounts that Peter and the others were awestruck. Peter, sensing the divine Presence before him, asked to build three booths, three permanent dwellings, so that these celestial figures would remain there forever. 

Suddenly, they were all surrounded by a cloud (a symbol of divine glory) and God the Father spoke, claiming Jesus as his beloved Son and commanding the disciples to listen to him. As soon as they had received this commission, Peter, James, and John found themselves standing alone again with Jesus.

This extraordinary moment of grace served to reassure the disciples that their faith in Jesus would never be in vain. It would hopefully carry them over the difficult moments which lay ahead. The message of the Transfiguration is a message that all shall be well, that despite all the trials and suffering which we encounter, the love of Christ is inexorably drawing us all closer and closer to his heart. This Gospel also serves to remind us of the dual nature of all encounters with Jesus. First, of course, each encounter with the Lord is an opportunity for us to bask in his presence, but each encounter with the Lord is also always an experience of being commissioned. 

Just as those early disciples were commissioned by the Father’s voice booming forth, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” (Mark 9:7b), so also, we are commissioned to spread the glory of the Lord that we ourselves have been are privileged to witness. These commissions serve to raise us up as people of faith, like Abraham, who trust in the Lord’s ultimate salvation enough to embrace our role as fervent disciples even despite the crosses which seem to threaten our way.

Msgr. Fell is a Scripture scholar and director, diocesan Office for Priest Personnel.