Reflection for Second Sunday of Lent

No wonder Peter, James, and John were terrified. What was happening to them was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Here was Jesus, transformed before their eyes into an indescribable figure talking with Moses and Elijah, all of them clothed in dazzling whiteness. A voice which seemed to come from a cloud enveloping them thundered “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him”
They had known Jesus as a wonderful man. He was a charismatic rabbi who preached exceedingly well and held throngs of people hanging on his every words. They had seen him do marvelous works. He cured the sick, even a child who appeared to have died. He overpowered the wind and the sea, he walked across the water. Peter had put into words what others were thinking, that he was the Messiah anointed b God to save Israel. But this was something else altogether. For just a moment these disciples caught a glimpse of the majesty of Christ’s divine nature, and it overwhelmed them.
We ordinary people who believe in Jesus seen only his human nature. We can relate to him since he was born human like us. He has the same kind of emotions, the likes and dislikes, the desires and fears. We believe, however, that he is the Son of God, the divine Word in human flesh. Unlike us he knows the perfect good and steadfastly chooses it over the apparent good which leads away from unity with his Father. By his words he teaches us what we must do to perfect our humanity and make it conform to the Father’s will. By example he shows us how to do this.
When you stop to think of it, Christ’s incarnation was an amazing act of love on the part of our Creator. Since mere people could never endure the presence of divine power in its awesome proper form, God became a human being. The Son of God, in the person of Jesus, took on our human nature with its frailties and even its mortality. He went so far as to allow himself to suffer a terrible, painful death in reparation for our sins.
In the Old Testament account. Abraham was ready to offer God the life of his beloved only son, Isaac, to show his willingness to sacrifice that which meant most to him. Though acknowledging his good intention, God would not allow this sacrifice. Abraham’s anguish
, however, help us understand the enormity of Christ’s death on the cross. God’s beloved only Son came into the world to lead people into the eternal kingdom of God’s love. But he became the victim of the hatred and sinfulness of human nature.
Jesus freely chose to allow himself to suffer and die to obtain forgiveness of our sins. By his death and resurrection he showed us how to triumph over the forces of evil which beset our human life. Suffering as a human being like us, he taught us how we can give meaning to our own suffering. By offering ourselves to God, trusting in the Father’s promise of eternal life in the divine kingdom of love, we, too, can share in Christ’s resurrection.
The life of Jesus, including his death and resurrection, gives meaning to our life. If we believe in him and follow his teachings our human nature can become suffused with the divine spirit of love. Then everything we do as human beings, our thoughts, our words, our actions, and even the tribulations we must endure take on a new spiritual significance. We become transfigured, as beloved children of God.
God bless you!
Fr. Dominic
Your brother in Christ