Second Sunday in Lent March 4, 2007

Genesis 15: 5‑-18 Psalm 27 Phil 3:17 ‑- 4:1 Luke 9:28 b‑-36

Theme: Jesus was transfigured

1. The Temptations and the Transfiguration. We begin Lent with these two Events in the life of Christ. We can relate to Temptations and sin, we have been there and done that. The story of the transfiguration seems to be a different story. This is not an every day experience for us and hence it is beyond the grasp of both our understanding and imagination. However it is the hope and promise, it is the fulfilment of the Covenant made with us by God. It is a covenant made way back several thousand years ago with our ancestor. In fact he is the ancestor of three Major religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It is a covenant made with Abraham as we read in the first reading.

2. The covenant is still raw and rudimentary. His name is still Abram which means “the father is exalted.” It has not yet been changed to Abraham which means “the father of multitudes” or many nations.

Abram has not yet been given a new identity, a new power, a final covenant. There will a gradation of covenants. The final one come with Abraham’s obedience, when he is ready to sacrifice even his son Isaac. It will be sealed in blood, the blood of a lamb which God himself will provide.

3. There are three remarkable details of the covenant which are significant for our lives today.

First there is DARKNESS. The darkness is that of the evening. But it could also stand for the darkness of Sin and Temptation. We remember the three temptations of Christ in the wilderness.

Second there is TERROR. The Terror is natural. Abram sits with dead animals and birds for a whole day. The stench of decaying flesh in the hot sun is overpowering. The carrion birds would easily mistake the silent and motionless Abram as their prey. It is the same terror we could feel when surrounded by danger and temptation. We do not know where to turn.

Third there is the acceptance by FIRE. It is a fire that both accepts and consumes the sacrifice of Abram. God accepts, consumes and Transforms us. That is the Transfiguration.

4. In our Second Reading, Paul picks up the theme of transfiguration, transformation, Change. We are new citizens by Baptism. We are no longer bound by the Law and the Prophets. These are superseded by a new law. This is the new commandment that Jesus gives us. Jesus is new prophetic witness both to the new law and the origin of the Law. It is the Law of God.

One of the after effects of 9/11, we have to get new passports to prove our citizenship. We know the hassle we get at the border and at checkpoints. Those who have a middle eastern features, those who have a beard, if you have the slight semblance of a terrorist - these are pulled out of the line and questioned. With a genuine and valid passport, you can bypass the checkpoints, the hassle, the border interviews. Suspicious characters, new immigrants, refugees who do not have necessary identification face all the above mentioned difficulties.

We can therefore relate to the picture Paul is putting before us. The Judaisers wanted the Gentile Christians to toe the Line of the Law and the rite of Circumcision. However, these Christians are new citizens of the Kingdom established by the Blood of Christ. They do not have to submit to the mosaic law and other rituals. All that has changed.

5. It has been Changed. Jesus is Changed. Luke is the only one who does not use the Word: Transfiguration. Jesus’ appearance and demeanour is changed. It is only a prelude, a promise, a preview of what is to come. Jesus will only be Transfigured with his Cross and Resurrection. On the Cross, a soldier will declare, “Truly this is the Son of God.” This confession would be quite appropriate on this Mount of Transfiguration - but none of the Three Apostles can make it.

We too will be transfigured as we die to sin, as we live out our baptismal promises. The words we hear on this Mount of Transfiguration are words that take us back to the Baptism of Jesus. “This is my Son, my Chosen.”

6. We have the appearance of Moses and Elijah. They are the foundation of Jewish Life and Identity. They are the Law and the Prophets. They are however only a Preview to the Real thing. They vanish when Jesus appears on the scene. He IS the new Law. He IS the Prophet who will Witness.

This episode is the turning point in Luke’s Gospel. After this Jesus has “his face set towards Jerusalem.” He is on the final lap of the Cross and Resurrection. This is “the opportune time,” words that ended last Sunday’s Gospel of the Temptations will now be fulfilled. Now Jesus will truly be Transfigured. There is no more need of Moses to represent the Law. There is no need of Elijah who is the Prophet that gives Witness. They have finished their tasks.

7. The story of the Transfiguration is vital to the Season of Lent. It is not a story of the glory that is to come. It is rather a prelude to the Cross, which will bring about the final change, the final victory over Temptation and Sin. We have definitely experienced temptation and sin in our lives, we now hope for and work with God for the transformation, the transfiguration as we live out our Baptismal Promises which we will renew at the Easter Vigil.