{"id":2441,"date":"2018-02-25T12:28:29","date_gmt":"2018-02-25T17:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2441"},"modified":"2018-02-25T12:28:29","modified_gmt":"2018-02-25T17:28:29","slug":"2nd-sunday-of-lent-year-b-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/2nd-sunday-of-lent-year-b-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"

2nd<\/sup> Sunday of Lent, Year B<\/a>
\nGenesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
\nPsalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19 (9)
\nRomans 8:31b-34
\nMark 9:2-10
\nFebruary 25, 2018<\/p>\n

I remember back almost twenty years ago before I started seminary.\u00a0 I was preparing to do a Communion Service and was looking at the readings.\u00a0 The gospel reading was the same as today, the story of the Transfiguration.<\/p>\n

As I read it, I was deeply moved by the thought of seeing Jesus transfigured.\u00a0 I knew that the presence of Elijah and Moses had to signify something important but I didn\u2019t know what that was.<\/p>\n

So, here I was deeply moved by this passage that I had to give a reflection on yet I had no idea what to say.\u00a0 I did the only thing I could.\u00a0 I read the footnotes in my Bible.\u00a0 In those few sentences in the footnotes gave me the material I needed to preach. \u00a0That\u2019s why it is important to have a Bible that includes footnotes!<\/p>\n

Since then, I took seven classes on Scripture in seminary and earned a Master of Divinity degree.\u00a0 I know a lot more but I still check the footnotes.<\/p>\n

To understand the Transfiguration and why it happened at this point in the gospel, we need to look at the passages leading up to the Transfiguration.<\/p>\n

Starting in Mark 8:27, we hear Jesus ask the disciples, \u201cWho do you say that I am?<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 Peter responds, \u201cYou are the Messiah<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Good for Peter for, indeed Jesus is the Messiah.<\/p>\n

However, Peter and the others did not yet know what it really meant for Jesus to be the Messiah.\u00a0 They expected an earthly king to defeat the Romans.\u00a0 Jesus is king but not on earth but in Heaven.<\/p>\n

Jesus knows they don\u2019t understand this yet.\u00a0 To help prepare them for what is to come, (beginning in verse 8:31), he told them for the first time of his coming Passion, how he will be rejected by the elders, killed, and rise on the third day.<\/p>\n

Peter is astonished.\u00a0 There is no way he is going to let Jesus be killed.\u00a0 Peter, having just called Jesus the Messiah, rebukes him.\u00a0 Amazing!\u00a0 Jesus scolds Peter.<\/p>\n

So, the disciples are now troubled by Jesus\u2019 prediction of his Passion.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t make sense to them and it isn\u2019t what they expected. \u00a0They are greatly troubled by this.<\/p>\n

Now we come to today\u2019s passage.\u00a0 Jesus goes off to pray.\u00a0 Most often, when Jesus goes off to pray, he does so alone.\u00a0 This time he takes Peter, James, and John up on the mountain with him.<\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0 Because he knows they are troubled by what he has said.\u00a0 He also knows they will need reason for hope when his Passion begins.\u00a0 He knows they need reassurance.<\/p>\n

So, Jesus deliberately brings Peter, James, and John with him to allow them to see him transfigured.\u00a0 He becomes dazzling white, white symbolizing purity.\u00a0 They see Elijah there signifying that Jesus is the fulfillment of the what the prophets foretold.\u00a0 Moses appears signifying that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law.<\/p>\n

Peter is amazed by this.\u00a0 \u201cHe hardly knew what to say.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 He says, \u201cLet us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Peter may not understand all that is happening but he knows it is an awesome experience and he wants it to last.<\/p>\n

On top of all this, they hear the divine voice say, \u201cThis is my beloved Son.\u00a0 Listen to him<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus is not just \u201cmessiah\u201d.\u00a0 He is the Son of God!<\/p>\n

Truly an awesome experience.\u00a0 Peter, James, and John were pleased to have been there.\u00a0 We are blessed that this experience of Jesus\u2019 transfiguration has been writing down for us.<\/p>\n

Experiences like this don\u2019t last forever but they are always important to us.\u00a0 They sustain us in the difficult times.\u00a0 The Transfiguration is an important image for us as we look forward to eternal life where we too will see Jesus in his glory.<\/p>\n

For me personally, this image of the Transfiguration is important in my prayers.\u00a0 It ranks right up there with Jesus on the Cross.\u00a0 Looking at the Crucifix symbolizes God\u2019s love, that he sent his Son to redeem us.<\/p>\n

It is our goal, our desire, to one day be in Heaven.\u00a0 We are not there yet.\u00a0 We still have work to do.\u00a0 We need to prepare ourselves.\u00a0 This means following Jesus.\u00a0 This means giving our whole lives over to him.\u00a0 This means letting Jesus change us.<\/p>\n

Is there anything we are holding back on?\u00a0 Is there something we don\u2019t want to give up?<\/p>\n

We need to be willing to give up everything for Jesus.\u00a0 I mean everything.\u00a0 Look at our first reading.\u00a0 Abraham had waited a long time for a son.\u00a0 Now that he has Isaac as his son, God tells him to offer Isaac as a holocaust, a sacrifice.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m never sure what is more amazing, that God tells Abraham to do this or that Abraham is willing to do it.\u00a0 Yet, Abraham has absolute faith in God.\u00a0 He holds nothing back.<\/p>\n

When we suffer, we turn to God for help.\u00a0 We rely on the images of the Transfiguration and the Cross to give us hope.\u00a0 Is there anything you are holding back on?\u00a0 Are you ready to let Jesus change you entirely?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 Psalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19 (9) Romans 8:31b-34 Mark 9:2-10 February 25, 2018 I remember back almost twenty years ago before I started seminary.\u00a0 I was preparing to do a Communion Service and was looking at the readings.\u00a0 The gospel reading was the same …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B – Homily’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[82,260],"tags":[410,264],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pMTPk-Dn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2441"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2443,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441\/revisions\/2443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}