Second Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, February 28, 2021 (EPISODE: 281)
Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish Homily and Mass - For Sundays and Special Feasts ______________________________
Second Sunday of Lent. Year B - Sunday, February 28, 2021 (EPISODE: 281)
Readings for Second Sunday of Lent. Year B FIRST READING: Gen 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 Ps 116: 10+15, 16-17, 18-19. “I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.” SECOND READING: Rom 8: 31b-34 GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. Matt 17: 5). Glory and Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! from the shining cloud the Father's voice was heard. This is my beloved Son, hear him. GOSPEL: Mark 9: 2-10 - Transfiguration
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID: 1344423617. Tiberias, Israel - 4/7/2015: Mount Tabor in the Lower Galilee region of Northern Israel, Jezreel Valley, Afula, Tiberias, Israel. The Church of the Transfiguration and the Franciscan Monastery By Tomanovic Violeta
The story of Abraham being asked to deliberately sacrifice someone he loved, (more than his own life), is really horrifying. It is vital to keep in mind that it is, after all, God who is the one stopping the hand of Abraham. In fact, this incident is a foretaste of what God alone proposes to do to save humanity - For out of astounding love and faithfulness to us who were not worthy, God the father did not even spare his only son (Jesus) –in order to save everyone… Because God’s love is so profound that he is willing to sacrifice himself in love, in order to save us all. (And it is the Father and the Son united who willingly sacrifice so much for us. God spares nothing and goes to the ultimate length to share complete solidarity with us.
In life and death, in joy and devastation, God gives us everything he has. God holds nothing back. It is impossible to truly understand the depths of this unmerited love and commitment that God has given to us.
This Sunday we hear of Abraham and of the Transfiguration story. Despite its vividness, the drama and even the horror of Isaac’s near-sacrifice - the main point of this passage… shown in such stark, unavoidable clarity…… - is that Abraham’s faith in God is utterly complete. Abraham, in his journey of faith, has learnt utter trust in God’s promises. Abraham and Isaac’s unswerving obedience to God, and trust in God’s faithfulness… (and particularly trust that God will provide), is a foreshadowing of the absolute generosity, faithfulness, sacrifice and love that God the Father, and the Son show for the world…
Abraham and his sacrifice is a proto-type for Christ’s death for us on the cross.. the comparisons are deep. Abrahams beloved son even carries the wood of his own sacrifice.. Jesus carries the wood of his own cross for his sacrifice. A Ram is found caught in thorns, and replaced Isaac as the sacrifice… Jesus is crowned with thorns.. ….Abraham goes to mount Moriah for the sacrifice…… this place would later be known as the city of Jerusalem… Our Lord offers his life in Jerusalem. and so on.. Only God would give up so much out of love, to save us.
Peter, James, and John also find deeper faith on the mountain: They see Jesus as he truly is, in his full glory. These scenes give us a taste of Easter glory to come and challenge us to believe that Jesus is truly and completely everything he says he is.
Even the disciples didn’t always or fully see Jesus clearly, and this is so, even though they had the singular benefit of being with him all the time. (Did they become so familiar with them, that they occasionally stopped seeing him… stopped learning from him…. and took him for granted, or projected onto him their expectations (or even lack of expectations at times), instead of being open to what he truly was offering.
Abraham, too, misunderstood the God he followed for such a long time.
In lent, let us take some time to try and see Jesus more clearly. Let us not allow familiarity to obscure his glory and his challenging message.
We all need a transfiguration of our image of God once in a while to ensure we see God more clearly. May this season of Lent ensure that we are not fashioning God according to our convenience, or according to our own image and likeness…..but rather encountering God in Jesus in the fullness of his radical message.
Can we, like Abraham, put our complete and utter trust in God. Trust God even when we don’t understand the meaning of what might be happening to us at any different moment of our lives. Will we trust utterly in Christ and be humble and completely obedient to his vision.
Lent is about removing obstacles to our faith but also about choosing to let Jesus be the meaning of our lives. Let us walk in the light of the Lord.
And, (Just as Jesus is transfigured), may we be changed. ++++++++ Homily: Fr Peter Dillon: 2nd Sunday Lent – Year B -2021
When Father Richard Leonard S.J., who is leading our parish Mission in March, wrote his famous book, “Where the Hell is God?” he begins by telling us the tragic story of his sister Tracey becoming a paraplegic, following a vehicle accident. In an attempt to comfort him, some person suggested that God might be testing his faith during this difficult time. Richard then tells us, that he realised he couldn’t believe in a God who would send pain and suffering as a test of his love and faithfulness. But his question was, “why is God in the middle of all this chaos?” While he acknowledged that this was a very testing time, it was more about keeping God close amid all the stress and confusion.
In times of uncertainty and upheaval, we often get flooded with questions that don’t always have an easy answer, or perhaps we are in such a state of mind that no explanation makes sense at the time. When we are looking for causes and solutions, we sometimes look to apportion blame and sometimes God is in the firing line.
Why would God do this? Want does God want from me? Have we made God responsible for all that is good, and therefore all that is bad in the world? What happens to us if we don’t pass the test? How can we proclaim God as loving and kind and yet would make us go through agony just to see if we really loved God? There are so many questions that arise in our minds if we accept that God imposes suffering in our lives. But what if God is not the cause but the consolation, the comforter in time of suffering?
When we hear the story of Abraham and Isaac in today’s first reading we are understandably shocked. What we find most disturbing is the image of God that comes across. What God appears to be asking of Abraham is so cruel and unjust. We are revolted by the idea that the elderly Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his Son Isaac.
The aim of the story is supposed to evoke horror at the very idea that God would demand human sacrifice. It is the very opposite of our first impression. Abraham lived among the Canaanites who practised human sacrifice, so Abraham somehow got the idea that this is what God wanted. But God intervened and showed him otherwise. This story was meant to put an end to seeking pain and suffering as proof of our love for God.
What Jesus made very clear was that God does not mete out hurt for hurt, pain for pain, life for life, but this was not really understood by those who lived in Old Testament times.
One thing the story clearly tells us is the depth of Abraham’s faith. He was prepared to sacrifice that which was dearest to him. His extraordinary faith was rewarded in an extraordinary way. No wonder we call Abraham “our father in faith”.
The story condemns the idea of honouring God by taking a life. But Jesus introduced something that is much more challenging; the idea of honouring God by giving our lives in the service of God and others. He set the example himself. God didn’t demand his life from him. He gave it freely in the service of his brothers and sisters.
It is this very point that Paul is making to the Romans when he says, that with God on our side we can face anything. Even as Jesus must have sensed that in going to Jerusalem a violent death awaited him, he must have reflected on what he heard on Mt Tabor ‘You are my Son, the beloved: I am pleased with you’. This assurance would have given him the strength to face the future, whatever it held.
To know that nothing can separate us from the love of God, revealed in Jesus, is our strength in time of weakness and our hope in time of trouble. +++++ References: Fr Paul W. Kelly
Pitre, Brant/ Bergsma, John. (2018). A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament: Vol 1. San Francisco, California. Ignatius Press.
Life Application Study Bible Large Print. 2007. Carol Stream, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
also, Abbot’s Homily, Monastery of Christ in the Desert;
Prepare the Word resources.
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. ID: 1344423617. Tiberias, Israel - 4/7/2015: Mount Tabor in the Lower Galilee region of Northern Israel, Jezreel Valley, Afula, Tiberias, Israel. The Church of the Transfiguration and the Franciscan Monastery By Tomanovic Violeta
Second Sunday of Lent. Year B (Sunday, February 28, 2021) (EPISODE: 281 ) The Lord be with you. +++++++++++++ {{Joy and peace to everyone}} welcome everyone, we gather - Reflect upon the Holy Scriptures and the values of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries. Lord Jesus, you came to reconcile us to the Father and to one another: Lord, have mercy//You heal the wounds of our sin and division: Christ, have mercy// You intercede for us with the Father: Lord, have mercy// May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +++++++++++++++++++++ Memorial Acclamation 2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PREFACE: Sunday Lent II EP II ++++ {May God's grace strengthen your faith hope and love, and may the Lord' love surprise you, even in the trials and challenges of this week. }
No comments:
Post a Comment