2nd Sunday of Lent

Lent 2, 4 March 2012

Mark 9:2-10, The Transfiguration

Today’s Gospel is about that mountain experience of the human with the Divine.

It is to encounter a love that transforms us.

It is to encounter a love with which we love the world.

We all have an interior mountain that we need to learn to climb in order to draw nearer to the Transforming Love of God.

Moses’ Mountain revealed God in the burning bush, and later the 10 commandments.

Elijah’s Mountain revealed God in the still, small voice.

The Apostles Mountain on Tabor reveals God in Christ, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.”

These are mystical experiences that since Pentecost, the whole people of God are called to enter into.

Notice that the Word of God is at the center of each Divine experience

• Moses and the Burning Bush (“I AM sent you”)
• Elijah and the still small voice.
• Jesus’ Temptations (Jesus quotes Scripture in response to the tempter)
• The Transfiguration (Moses and Elijah, Law and Prophets)

The Sacred Scriptures are at the heart of our Lenten journey to the Promised Land of Resurrection

We need to learn to center on the Word of God in order to be consumed by the burning bush of God’s love, to hear God’s still, small voice in holy silence, to know and abide with the Risen Christ.

Acts of Justice on behalf of others are some of the consequences in drawing near to God

1. After the burning bush, Moses led the people of Israel out of slavery.
2. After the still small voice, Elijah returned to his people and led them out of the errors of a culture turned from the living God.
3. After the Transfiguration and Resurrection, the apostles lived and proclaimed Love, forgiveness and liberty in Jesus Name to the entire world.

As we are transformed in our relationship with God in Christ, we as the Church, have a natural responsibility and desire to reach out to those around us trapped in darkness and despair, not knowing the transforming love of Christ.

Sharing in the ministry of Salvation

Our Lenten pilgrimage is not just about renewing and deepening our own knowledge and experience of the Divine, it is about committing ourselves to the Church’s mission to reach out to, meet and draw others into the Promised Land of Freedom, the eternal life of Love in Christ Jesus.