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Homilies are posted no later than during the week
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2 Lent
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Second Sunday of Lent - Cycle B - Mark 9:2-10
The New York Times reports that whenever Time,
Newsweek, and US News & World Report want to increase circulation,
they put Jesus on their covers. He increases sales by 45%. The editors
hold Him in gratitude and awe. Unhappily you and I are much too casual
around Him. We have learned to take Him for granted. We treat Him like
a good uncle when in reality He is a cyclone.
There is always something intriguing about a
ghost story
for young and old alike. Shakespeare in his Hamlet days knew
that and so do the reigning moguls in Hollywood, USA.
Perhaps we hope these tales will tell us about
our lives beyond the funeral parlor. On that count, the Transfiguration
arguably is the most important ghost story ever told. Christ allows us
a peek at our transformed selves.
There is a long standing tradition that the
Transfiguration occurred on Mount Tabor near Nazareth. In Christ's
time, there was a fortress on the top. No doubt He and His boyhood
friends used to climb the mountain for fun. It is 1,000 feet high.
This time, however, He would climb it not for
play but
for prayer. The fact that He took Peter, James, and John was
a clue that something spectacular was about to happen. Usually, when He
went to pray, He went alone.
By the hour the party of four finished their
climb, they
were done in. Unhappily for them there was no water up there.
And Gunga Din, if you remember, was out in India making a
film with Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks.
But, thirsty or not, Jesus went to His
prayers. His apostles busied themselves building shelters. The three
looked forward to an early night. Intriguingly, they built no shelter
for their Employer. It was every man for himself. They were angry at
Him for dragging them up there. They wanted to be lounging at the base
camp with their buddies.
Then the show of shows began. "And his
clothes," writes Mark, "became shining white, whiter than anyone in the
world could wash them." The Master was allowing His divinity to shine
through Himself. His brillance surpassed the colors the noonday sun
brings when it breaks through stained glass. This was their Leader in
living color. At the very least, He deserved an Oscar for special
effects.
Matthew in his account (17:1-13) tells us the
apostles
did what we would do. They fell on their faces in fear. In addition to
looking on Christ's majesty, they caught a glimpse at what their own
future state would be - a condition we hopefully will share. There is
much to look forward to after our death.
In the Bible, people who meet God are overcome
with fear. Think of Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:2) or the
apostles at the sight of Jesus walking on the water (Mt 14:26) or the
writer of the Book of Revelation (1:17) falling down as though dead
before the Son of Man.
Nor did God want people to look upon a meeting
with Him
as something quite ordinary. At the Transfiguration, the
Teacher did not say, "Cool it, fellows. I'm just an ordinary
guy like you." Obviously, God wants us to look at a meeting
with Him as something out of this world.
There is no doubt that God wants us to feel at
ease in
church when we come to worship each weekend. But what happens
in His house should be a happening altogether different from our other
activities during the week. God said to Moses in Exodus (3:5), "Remove
your sandals. You are standing on sacred ground."
We come to church to worship God before whom
the angels
are advised to veil their faces. This is the same God at whose sight
Peter and his fellow apostles broke out into a cold sweat.
Unfortunately, too many of us bring a laid-back air to worship. Think
of the chattering so many adults indulge in. It is we who teach
children how to behave in church. Think too of the way we dress coming
into the presence of the King of kings. Some of us resemble "unmade
beds." One man came into church drinking a cup of coffee for his
child's First Confession. I wager the wrong one went to confession.
We would do well to take a page from Muslim
ritual. When they enter their mosques, they follow the advice of Exodus
and remove their shoes. They wash their hands and faces to remove the
world's grunge before worship. Then they are ready to worship God. They
realize He is not a good uncle but rather a cyclone.
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2 Lent
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Second Lent: Climbing the Mountain of Faith
A
number of years ago I went to the canyon lands of Utah and Arizona for
my summer vacation. One of the national parks I visited was, I
feel, one of the most beautiful parks in the country, Zion National
Park in Southwest Utah. Sometimes you see pictures of some of the
huge rocks that line the Zion Canyon. The most famous is called
the Great White Throne; it used to be the symbol of the Western Pacific
Railway. Anyway, while I was there I got the brainstorm that I
should go mountain climbing. Not a bright idea for a sometimes
hiker from New Jersey. I had a guidebook that said a Ranger would
lead a hike up to the pinnacle of Angel's Peak. It said that it
was a steep hike and moderate climb. Joe Athlete as I am, I
figured this would be no problem. So, with most everyone else
dragging behind, I went bouncing up to what I thought was the
top. As I looked at the view, I thought, "There really is nothing
to this climbing stuff." That's when the Ranger pointed to this
rock that was behind me that seemed to go straight up for about 400
feet and said, "That's where we are going." Now I could not see
how it was possible for 1) Anyone to get there and 2) for me to get up
the courage to get there. I hated the thought of going that far
and quitting almost as much as I hated the thought that the Ranger, a
woman, was enjoying watching my macho run out of me as fast as the
blood ran out of my face as I looked straight up. But, male pride won,
and I pulled myself up to the top where my first consideration was
whether or not I had enough money to pay for a helicopter to come and
get me. After a little while, though, I looked out and saw the
most beautiful view I had seen before or since. I also felt that
God was very close. It was as though He was saying to me, "That
was difficult, but I have a special reward for you for your labors."
Today's readings present us with three famous mountain climbers:
Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Moses climbed Mount Sinai and was
given a gift for the people--he received the Ten Commandments, the
Law. This was God's Word for Israel. The people treasured
the Law as a personal guide from God on how to serve him. Elijah
climbed Mount Carmel and was given a gift for the people--the power to
conquer the evil that was in the land, the evil prophets of the pagan
god Baal. Elijah restored God's gifts to a land that had listened
to the wicked Queen Jezabel. Jesus climbed the mountain of the
Transfiguration with His most trusted disciples and was given a gift
for the people--the gift was an understanding of how God was going to
accomplish the salvation of His people. Moses, representing the
Word of God in the Law, and Elijah, representing the Prophetic Word,
meet with Jesus, the Word Made Flesh. Together they discussed the
fulfillment of God's plan.
We
have many challenges in our lives. Many times we have mountains
that seem greater than we can conquer. These challenges may be a
chemical dependency in one or several of the members of our family; the
problem may be emotional or psychological. The problem may be
physical, or financial, or, simply, a relative who has perfected ways
of being difficult. Whatever the challenge, if we take it
up and put our trust in God to help us, God will provide. If God
is with us, what could possibly keep us from our deepest desire, the
desire to be happy with him forever. "Nothing," St. Paul says, "can
keep us from the love of God.” To paraphrase Romans 8:35-39, neither
persecution nor pain, nor suffering nor chemical dependency, nor
psychological conditions nor even difficult relatives can destroy His
presence in us. Happiness comes from within. Happiness
comes from recognizing that the One who has shared His intimate life
with us, the One who dwells within us from our baptism, refuses to
desert us as we climb the each challenge life presents.
During the last century we experienced many examples of people who were
happy in the most desperate situations. Two particularly stand
out. The great Catholic priest Maximillian Kolbe showed
heroic virtue in a concentration camp during the Second World
War. He offered his life to replace that the father of a family
when the Nazis decided to kill a certain number of the prisoners as an
example to the rest. In this midst of terror, Maximillian Kolbe
found the peace of the Lord and as a result the Church was given a new
saint. The second is the great American Cardinal, Joseph
Bernardino. He was challenged with a spurious allegation and then
was challenged with cancer. He died happy and in
peace. One of the most beautiful books I have ever read is
Cardinal Bernardine's The Gift of Peace. Treat yourself.
Buy it, enjoy it and watch how Cardinal Bernardine's climb will
encourage you to climb the mountains of your life. God alone turns
tragedy into triumph. Yes, we struggle, we climb, we grope for
every inch as we go up our latest mountain, but God cares for us and
provides for us.
In
this era of information, when the computer reigns and the Internet
opens the world of knowledge to every home, we have to admit that
information is not the solution to every problem. We don't have
the answers for all the problems of the world and of our lives. We
don't even know all the right questions. We are called upon
simply to trust. We are called upon to trust in God and to have
faith. We know that God is with us, if he is with us than he will
transform our lives. He has always provided for us and he always
will as long as we have faith in him.
Lent
is a journey of faith. We are called today to trust in the Lord in our
deepest struggles. We are called to trust in him when we need him
the most. Maybe the real mountain we have to climb, is the
mountain of faith. We don't climb this mountain alone. The
one gift of the Lord that is never denied is the gift of faith.
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http://www.geocities.com/seapadre_1999/
* available in Spanish - see
Spanish homilies
2 Lent
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A
Glimpse of the Mystery
(March 8, 2009)
Bottom line: God can give a glimpse of the mystery of Jesus - and the
human person.
On the Second Sunday of Lent we always read a Gospel account of the
Transfiguration. It reminds us that we only see a tiny part of the
mystery of Jesus - or, for that matter, the mystery of another human
being.
Dr. Peggy Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat International, tells a
dramatic story about a woman who glimpsed the mystery of her unborn
child. The young woman was seeking an abortion. She simply could not
handle having a baby at this time. But she agreed to an ultrasound.
When the baby appeared on the screen, the woman was amazed to see the
perfectly formed body, the tiny legs and arms moving inside her womb.
But the woman kept saying, "No, no, I have to have an abortion." Dr.
Hartshorn felt sad. She knew that seventy-five percent of women who see
an ultrasound decide to keep their baby - but that a quarter,
nevertheless, still have the abortion. It seemed like this woman would
be in that twenty-five percent. All of sudden, Dr. Hartshorn's
assistant said, "Reach out and take your baby's hand." Dr. Hartshorn
thought, "Oh, gosh, why is she saying that?" But the woman raised her
hand and touched the monitor. As if by some divine cue, the baby
stretched out his arm to the exact place of his mom's hand. On the
screen his tiny fingers met hers. She kept her baby.
There is a mystery inside each one of us - the mystery of the image of
God. How beautiful it is when we glimpse the divine reflection in
another person. Maybe we had looked at that other as an inconvenience,
even a nuisance. But then God showed us something marvelous about the
other.
We certainly see that in today's Gospel. Jesus was taking the apostles
to Jerusalem, where he would become an object of shame they would run
away from. On the way, however, he lead them up a high mountain and, as
St. Mark says, "he was transfigured before them and his clothes became
dazzling white." They saw a glimpse, a tiny glimpse, of who Jesus was.
That would sustain them through some dark moments.
Now, God can reveal himself instantly as with the Transfiguration of
Jesus - or the ultrasound of that tiny baby. But we need to prepare our
hearts. Jesus had spent long months teaching and conversing with the
disciples, especially Peter, James and John. Only then did he give them
this glimpse of his inner reality. Likewise, we need time with Jesus -
by praying and studying his Word - to open ourselves to who He is.
This Sunday we will have some help. At the end of Mass, you will hear a
testimony inviting you to study the Bible. We have a program to read
the Bible and Catechism in one year.* And we have an in-depth program
called Catholic Bible Study that devotes an entire year to a single
book. This year, for example, we are studying Genesis.
Set aside time to pray and study God's word. Open your heart to God. He
can give a glimpse of the mystery of Jesus - and the human person. Like
Peter we will say, "It is good that we are here!"
**********
*The program will require a half hour to forty-five minutes a day. I
suggest first getting an overview of the three readings each day, then
focus on a verse that resonates and use it for some more intense
minutes of prayer. Sometimes it might be a line from the Catechism that
most inspires prayer.
Intercessions for second Sunday of Lent (from Priests for Life)
Spanish Version
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http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
2 Lent
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http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/homilies/index.lasso
2 Lent
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Gospel
Summary Return to All Homilies
Mar, 08, 2009
Mark 9: 2-10
Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.
Second Sunday of Lent
Gospel Summary
Today's gospel brings us a story about the illumination of Jesus on a
mountaintop in the presence of his closest disciples, Peter, James and
John. Tradition tells us that this mountaintop was Mt. Tabor. However,
the name of the mountain is not given in any account of the
Transfiguration and so we are invited to ponder the symbolic
significance of this major event in the ministry of Jesus.
The illumination of Jesus has traditionally been interpreted as a light
from heaven to show divine approval of his mission after he has just
announced to his disciples that "the Son of man must suffer many
things" (8:31). This creates a problem, however, because only three of
the disciples are present and future developments do not show that they
were reassured. It is far more likely that the light is coming from
within Jesus as his face glows in a full awareness of the surprising
nature of the mission that his heavenly Father has assigned to him.
Jesus certainly must have wondered about a mission that would result in
his becoming a political Messiah, bringing violence and war, as his
disciples and the crowds expected. Now he sees clearly that his mission
of salvation is through loving and ultimately dying for others. His
illumination, therefore, would be an ecstatic moment of discovery. And
that is why Moses and Elijah join him there, for they too have
experienced God's revelation on a mountaintop!
In this moment of mystical experience, Jesus also hears a voice from
heaven, which repeats the words heard at baptism but then adds, "Listen
to him" (v. 7). This suggests that he is now prepared to share the
ultimate wisdom of God, namely, that loving and sacrificing are the
only way to conquer sin and death…and thus to enter into resurrection
glory.
Life Implications
There is something very comforting about the fact that Jesus
experienced a kind of mystical illumination that was followed by his
direct movement to Jerusalem and the climax of his mission as our
Savior. For this reminds us that we too need to reexamine the basic
orientation of our lives and to ask whether we are willing to adopt the
wisdom of Jesus which counsels us to put aside the dominant quest for
satisfaction and security in this life and to accept a new way of
living that is marked by a desire to be of service to others.
When we realize that the words, "Listen to him," are directed to each
one of us, we must take very seriously the implications of such a
command from God. This surely must mean that we too are expected to
"visit" this mountain of the Transfiguration, where we can be
"illuminated" by the sure knowledge that, when all is said and done,
the most important thing that we can do in this life is to "die," as
Jesus did, because we love and care for others.
We may think that this means nothing but self-denial, but the fact is
that those who seek the happiness of others more than their own
satisfaction turn out to be the happiest people of all. This doesn't
mean becoming a doormat or catering to obsessive dependants, but it
does mean that we are sensitive to others and truly committed to their
welfare. This daily "dying" leads to ultimate resurrection life. It is
also an excellent way to keep the spirit of Lent.
Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.
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http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
2 Lent
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Second
Sunday
Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Psalm 116;
Romans 8:31b-34; Mark 9:2-10
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Holiness is the best defense.
Military planners believe that conventional "over-there" warfare is a
thing of the past. Enemies now will zap computer systems, plant bombs
in civilian buildings, cultivate terrorist cells within the borders of
their opponents, destroying them from within.
Americans once prided themselves on their national security and
internal peace. The UN building and Oklahoma city prove that those days
are over; risk comes both from without and from within. Violence of all
kinds is on the increase, and millions are spent in search of perfect
security.
Recent lessons confirm the wisdom of the ages: the only true solution
to man's slavery to fear of suffering and death does not come from this
world. In the transfiguring glory which Christ reveals to the select
few on the mountain is the answer to man's desperation. "...he was
transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely
white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them." (Mk 9:3) His
appearance reveals the eternal power of God, which comes not from this
world and which no earthly power can vanquish.
Holiness is the answer.
Jesus Christ is the way for every man and woman. Security comes not
from physical defense, for power ever escalates and the forces of
nature are unpredictable. Weapons of destruction fall into evil hands
every day and all of us live with the threat of violence. Peace cannot
come through higher walls, more locks on the door or a move to the
"country". The wise man will seek the security that can never be taken
away: the fortification, the stronghold of God's grace, realizing that
the only true threat is the evil that he embraces with his intellect
and will, not that which he suffers at the hands of another. The
strength of a holy life is possessing and living Christ's own life, the
Resurrection and the Life which is victorious over every power. Jesus
Christ is the only power which can promise us that, though we may
sustain every torture or means of violence that man has sinfully
devised for the destruction of the body, our heart, mind, soul and
strength can yet be with God at every moment. No matter what may come
in this life, no matter what the future may hold, we know and believe
that a holy life is the only certain security, for in it lies the seed
of heavenly glory.
Anything which destroys the glory of God in us is rejected as evil by
those who sincerely seek holiness. The worst violence is the
destruction of God's image through man's own complicity, at an epidemic
level today. The culture of death is at once the most ignored and the
greatest threat. The moral evil of surgical sterilization in voluntary
vasectomy, hysterectomy, and tubal ligation is a violation of the human
person, yet a growing means of regulating births. Abortion is not only
the murder of a child, it is at the same time dehumanizing and
degrading for the mother. Sin is most evil for it renders man and woman
incapable of glorifying God in their bodies.
"The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: 'Take my yoke upon
you and learn from me.' 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one comes to the Father, but by me.' (Mt 11:29; Jn 14:6) On the
mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: 'Listen to him!'
(Mk 9:7; cf. Deut 6:4-5) Jesus is the model for the Beatitudes and the
norm of the new law: "Love one another as I have loved you." (Jn 15:12)
This love implies an effective offering of oneself, after his example.
(Cf. Mk 8:4) " (CCC 459)
We glorify God in our bodies through a self-offering configured to the
Cross and consecrated in the glorified and risen Christ. He reveals his
glory to strengthen us for our share in His suffering which comes with
total rejection of evil.
I look forward to meeting you here again next week as, together, we
"meet Christ in the liturgy", Father Cusick (Publish with permission.)
www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/
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http://www.ctk-thornbury.org.uk/
2 Lent
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Father Bonar will not be posting homilies for Cycle B to allow himself
time for other projects. His collection of homilies (including homilies
for Cycle B) is available at www.clydebonar.com.
2 Lent |
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These
homilies may be copied and adapted for your own use;
however, they may not be commercially published without permission of
the author. |
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