Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

Listen to the Beloved Son of God

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year A

St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Folks, it’s the transfiguration of Jesus. And on this fine morning, Jesus took three of his friends, Peter, James and John to a high mountain for a prayer session. By the way, the mountain is a place of encounter with God. Moses encountered God on the mountain, so did Elijah. While on the mountain, Jesus went into serious prayer, and as he was praying, the spiritual eyes of his three friends were opened and they saw the glimpse of reality which their physical eyes would never had seen. They saw two great figures of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah having a conservation with Jesus. The whole atmosphere was so perfect. The environment was unspeakably peaceful, gloriously beautiful, profoundly amazing and indescribably awesome. Their perfect longing and yearning were instantaneously met. Oh! The experience was so good that Peter did not want to let go of the place. He did not want to depart from that presence. So, he pleaded with Jesus: “Lord, is is (really) good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Peter was simply telling Jesus that he did not want to walk away from the place and from the experience. But while he was still speaking, the Father spoke from heaven and said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” 

The presence of Moses, Elijah and the voice of the Father confirming the beloved Sonship of Jesus were all the confirmation they needed to believe even more strongly and boldly that Jesus was indeed the long awaited Messiah. Jesus is the expected Savior, that was why he was the only one whose “face shone like the sun and his clothes became as dazzling white as light.” Moses was the one who received the Law from God on Mount Sinai. Elijah was regarded as the greatest of the OT prophets. So, on this mountaintop experience of Jesus, there was the Law and the Prophets in conversation with Jesus Christ the New Testament/Covenant. And this supports Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” So, the Old Testament and the Father in heaven have confirmed that Jesus is indeed the long awaited Messiah. Because he is the true Messiah, the Father urges us to:  “Listen to him.”

A Christian by definition is a follower of Jesus Christ. A Christian is the person who listens to Jesus because you cannot follow someone you are unwilling to listen to. And listening to Jesus entails obeying his commands. Listening to the Lord also entails keeping silence. Psalm 46: 10 says, “Be still (be silent) and know that I am God.” God is not a noise maker. When God speaks, he tends to whisper.

This is the season of Lent. During this holy season, the Church emphasizes the practice of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. The Gospel reading on Ash Wednesday taken from Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18, Jesus speaks of how we should give alms, how we should pray, how we should fast. The Lord does not want us to blow our trumpet when we give alms as the hypocrites do. He does not want us to showcase our prayer in public places just to get people’s praise as the hypocrites do. Jesus also does not want us to appear gloomy when we fast in order to alert people that we are fasting. He wants us to give alms to pray,  and to fast. But alms-giving, fasting and prayer are not the goal. They are not the end. They are means to the end.

When we talk about prayer, many Christians have a good understanding of what it means, and many Christians do pray. When we speak about almsgiving, they understand that it means sharing their resources with the less fortunate ones in the society. But when the topic of fasting is mentioned, many of us have a very narrow view of what it means. We regard fasting only as abstinence from food. But apart from fasting from food, there are also attitudes and behavior we need to fast from. At the transfiguration of Jesus, the Father asks us to listen to his beloved Son. And during this Lent season, the Son is definitely asking us to do the following:

Fast from judging others; feast on God that dwells in them

Fast from emphasizing our differences, instead feast on our oneness

Fast from the darkness around us; feast on the light of Christ

Fast from thoughts of illness, feast on the healing power of God

Fast from words that polite; feast on words that purify

Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude

Fast from deep seated anger; feast on the joy of the Lord that is our strength 

Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism

Fast from worry; feast on trust and confidence in God

Fast from guilt; feast on God’s forgiveness and mercy

Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation

Fast from stress and from working without rest; feast on self-care

Fast from hostility; feast on letting go and on friendship

Fast from bitterness; feast on pardon

Fast from selfishness; feast on compassion for others

Fast from discouragement; feast on seeing the good

Fast from religious apathy; feast on enthusiasm and passion for the Lord

Fast from suspicion; feast on goodness

Fast from gossip; feast on spreading the good news

Fast from seeing evil everywhere; feast on the ever presence of God 

Fast from noise; feast on quiet silence

Fast from talking; feast on listening

Fast from hate; feast on love

Fast from always trying to be in control; feast on involving others

Fast from sin; feast on righteousness and uprightness 

(Culled from Fr. Tom Clark)