Second Sunday in Lent B

During the Great Lenten Journey, we reflect on Jesus' act of love in Jerusalem. The Transfiguration reveals the glory of God in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. We read from Mark's Gospel, where Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain and is transfigured before them. Moses and Elijah appear, and a voice from a cloud says to listen to Jesus. This encounter signifies the new covenant and the importance of following Jesus. We are invited to meditate on the passage and embrace what speaks to us personally. We should strive to walk with Jesus and listen to him in our daily lives. Greetings friends, what a joy to share the Gospel. We have together begun the Great Lenten Journey. Recall as we already reflected, Lent is that period of 40 days in which we set our hearts with Jesus on Jerusalem. Jerusalem, that place of Jesus' act of love in which he gives himself for us in trusting obedience to the Father. Lent moves toward the cross. Today's Gospel will seek to open us to the Kabod, which is the Hebrew word for glory. In the Transfiguration, the glory of God is manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, and most fully so in his free gift of himself on the cross. Let's take a moment to quiet our inner selves. If you will, take a deep breath slowly in and slowly out. Come, Lord Jesus, allow your Holy Spirit to bring your word to life in me. May I hear your voice, Good Shepherd. The ancient prayer of Lectio Divina invites us first to simply read a passage from Scripture. By reading, we begin to grow in familiarity with the narrative, opening ourselves, importantly now, to the movement of the Holy Spirit carried on the words of the Gospel. On this second Sunday of Lent, we read from Mark's Gospel, chapter 9, verses 2 through 10. After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them, along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He hardly knew what to say. They were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them. Then from the cloud came a voice. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Notice first off, my friends, that phrase, after six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain. What this follows immediately upon is Jesus' first prediction of his passion, that he would face crucifixion, death, in Jerusalem. This passage, therefore, seeks to reveal the inner meaning of the crucifixion of Jesus' death on the cross. Permit me to direct our attention to this. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them. From the cloud came a voice. This recalls so powerfully Mount Sinai and Moses, who goes up the mountain, and God who, in the cloud, comes down on the mountain. See, for instance, Exodus chapter 19 verse 16. This is a theophany, a divine encounter and revelation. But friends, not just any encounter. The encounter of God and Moses on Mount Sinai was a covenantial encounter. God revealing the terms of his relationship with his people in the Ten Commandments. The new covenant is now being revealed from the voice in the midst of the cloud that has descended upon the Mount of Transfiguration. Notice, please, what are the terms of the new covenant. The voice is clear, isn't it, that we listen to the beloved Son of God. By inclining our hearts and minds toward Jesus, we discover the commands of God, his will for us, his plan for our lives. This, too, is the significance of those two figures, Elijah and Moses, the great prophet and the great lawgiver. In Jesus, the prophetic word and the life-giving law are now fully encountered, fully given, and revealed. We move now to read the passage a second time. Please recall, friends, sacred scripture is more than an account of past events, let alone just cleverly devised myths. They announce divine realities in order to mediate those realities to us here and now. God seeks to reveal to us in the depths of our spirits, by the hearing of the word, his kabod, his glory, present now in his Son transfigured before us, his clothes dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. The word, remember, mediates the reality. To avail ourselves to this encounter, as the passage is read, we allow our imaginations to be opened up, exposed to the living word. We become attentive to a word, a phrase, perhaps a movement within the narrative that stands out for us in a particular way. Once again, we read Mark 9, verses 2 through 10. After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them, along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He hardly knew what to say. They were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them. Then from the cloud came a voice. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them. As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. We have come to the second step of Lectio Divina, which is, after reading, meditation. In meditating, we pause to embrace the word, phrase, that movement of the passage that has spoken most powerfully to us. What is speaking to you at this moment? Two things speak to me most powerfully as I share this Gospel now. One is a movement, Peter's desire to build booths, thereby somehow holding on to this moment of intense revelation and glory. How often I have wanted to grasp a moment of close spiritual experience with God just to stay there. Or at other times, I have regretted being frustrated by the lack of a clear, present experience of God's glory with me. Second is that phrase, coming down from the mountain. This speaks so much to me at this moment. It reminds me that my life is about moving with Jesus many times for sure into the valley of daily life. Yes, often into the daily grind, but always with Jesus, always seeking to listen to Him. This, it seems to me, is the heart of the spiritual life, not the intense moments of ecstasy, as precious as they are, but that walking with Jesus, listening to Him. Loving Father, reveal the glory of your Son to me, deep in my spirit. May I always walk with Him and listen intently to Him. Friends, let me invite you once again to continue to sit with this gospel passage. Notice, what is it saying to you? Speak with Jesus about what His Word is doing in you at this moment. Before leaving prayer, be sure to intentionally place the Word you have received deep in your spirit, where the Lord might bring it growth throughout this week ahead. And friends, it is a joy to share the gospel with you.