HOMILY FOR THE 2nd SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR B


1.Gn22:1-2,9-13,15-18
Romans8:31-35,37
Mk 9:2-10

THEME OF THE READINGS “ Let go what is precious to us for the sake of God’s Kingdom.”
In our daily lives we have got many things that we value precious, it is under this background some people find it difficult to detach themselves from the things valued as precious. As we celebrate the second Sunday of Lent Year B, the story of Abraham and Isaac seem to be a drama, and at the same time seem to be the contradiction to God’s promises that Isaac would continue and pass on Abraham’s line into the distant future. The act of God requesting Abraham to sacrifice Isaac was a trial of faith than obedience to speak. Abraham’s heart was pierced by his innocent son Isaac that “where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Finding it impossible to tell the truth, Abraham responded that God will provide, this is an invitation that we have to trust in the providence of God in all situations. God is one who provides our needs in all situations whenever we feel have nothing to offer to him.
We can put these questions before us to be pondered on that “why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son?” and why did Abraham obeyed? Indeed why God did allowed His own divine son to be sacrificed? Here we have the connection between the two that is Abraham in accepting to sacrifice his own son, Isaac was the pre-figuration of our Lord Jesus Christ being sacrificed on a hill as Abraham wanted to sacrifice his own son Isaac on a hill. Our Lord Jesus Christ was to sacrificed on a hill he was to carry his own cross up to the hill of Calvary. In making further contrast between Isaac and Jesus we find that Isaac was a bridge between Abraham and Jacob.          In contrast Jesus during his transfiguration was shown to his three apostles as the figure of miraculous glory, truly God’s son and messenger to the World. From the scenario of Jesus’ transfiguration we learn the sharp contrast between the transfiguration and his passion at the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus sweat his own blood anticipating his own passion.
Unlike Isaac, Jesus knew what he was to undergo “the son of man must suffer.”(Mk 8:31). Jesus told his disciples what he was about to undergo, one of his disciples, Peter in response he prayed that God would not allow such thing to happen to Jesus, Jesus in giving severe response to Peter he said “ get behind me Satan you are thinking not as God does but as human do.” (Mk8:33). In our daily lives in order to make a good encounter with God we must have faith and trust in Him.
Our call in this 2nd Sunday of Lent is to let go all what possesses us/what makes us to be slaves for the sake of the Kingdom of God. It’s not easy to let go what is precious. For instance the more precious the person is before our eyes, the more it becomes difficult to let him/her go. The more attractive that person is to us the more we feel inclined to possess that person. As Christian we are invited in this Sunday to let go all what we value precious so that we can receive the other back as the gift.

From the Gospel reading we are all invited to have a spirit of being attentive, the spirit of listening and acting according to the will of God. Peter, James and John are taken up a high mountain by Jesus and thus they had an experience of God’s presence in their midst, this was the experience that was so precious that Peter could not let it go, to an extent he asked Jesus to build three tents there, one for Jesus, one for Moses and the other for Elijah. Beauty always attracts, a human being never want let that to go. They had to let all manifestations to go and do one thing that was to listen to Jesus’ instructions. We are invited to make what is called in economics “an opportunity cost” to let the other party go and welcoming the other as the gift.
From the sermon by Saint Leo the great, Pope he had this to say about the transfiguration of Jesus at the mount that " the great reason for Jesus' transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of his disciples and to prevent the humiliation of his voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of those who had already witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed. With no less forethought he was also providing a firm foundation for the hope of the holy Church. The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation  that it would receive as his gift. The members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head."
The Lord had foretold this when he spoke the splendor of his coming, that is " the just will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their father."( Mt13:43). Moreover st. Paul gives testimony to this truth when he says "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not to be compared with the future glory that is to be revealed in us" ( Rom 8:18). This transfiguration according to the words of Pope the great teaches us the lesson that the disciples of Jesus became strengthened by this transfiguration and it lead them  to the fullness of knwoledge of Jesus.

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Chapisha Maoni