2^nd Sunday of Lent (A); March 8, 2020

Gen 12:1-4a   Ps 33   2 Tim 1:8b-10   Mt 17:1-9

Deacon Jim McFadden

 

Our magnificent first reading is a short passage from the beginning of the 12^th chapter of the book of Genesis. Prior to it are chapters 3-11, which describe, not the world that God intended, but the world we live in. As result of The Fall, we see a world rife with jealousy, rivalry, anger, murder, imperialism, arrogance, drunkenness; indeed, a wickedness has spread over the entire face of the earth. So what does God do? Does he give up on Creation? Does He give up on us! No! Instead, He sends a rescue operation, which going to come in the form of a people trained to listen again to the voice of the Lord. During this season of Lent we must also become a people trained to listen so as to be rescued by the Resurrection.

So, the first thing we hear in chapter 12 is that God spoke to Abram, making this extraordinary promise. Listen: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Gen 12:2). The whole Biblical story of Salvation History will hinge on the next moment. Will he listen? The whole history of Salvation History will flow from Abram’s response.

With infinite relief, we read, “Abram went as the Lord directed him” (v. 3). Now, our eyes could pass quickly over this one little line, which may very well be the hinge of the whole Bible. Abram went, not according to his own designs, his own will, but as the Lord directed him. It’s as if all of Creation breathes a sigh of relief at this moment. As long as human beings went along their own way, they failed to live up to their calling to be stewards of the Garden, which has now turned into a desert. But, from Abram’s willingness to listen and follow the promptings of a higher voice, God’s grace could flow once again into his world. Human beings could once again discover their proper identity.

And, see Israel, born of Abraham’s faith would be a people at their best who would listen to God. Think of the other Patriarchs—Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph—of Moses, the Judges—Joshua and Samuel, King David, the prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, women such as Deborah, Esther, and Ruth. Going into the New Testament, our Blessed Mother Mary, Peter, James, and John, and Paul—they are all spiritual descendants of Abram and what did they all have in common? THEY LISTENED TO GOD!

Now, fast forward about 1,800 years from the time of Abram to a rabbi climbing a mountain with three of his disciples in the Holy Land that God has promised Abraham. Suddenly, the rabbi’s clothes become dazzling white and he’s transfigured, metamorphosed, before his friends. A bright cloud covers them and from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Mt 17:5). See once more the children of Israel are being asked, instructed “to listen”—to listen to the Word of the Lord now incarnate in his beloved Son, Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, this is the Church: go from Abram, to Jesus Transfigured to us: we’re all the sons and daughters of Abraham. We’re all people of Faith—which doesn’t mean we’ve abandoned our reason. No, it refers to people who have abandoned the Ego-drama and have replaced it with the Theo-drama. People who ask not what we want, but what God wants.

So, it goes in the spiritual order: God speaks in a thousand ways. God speaks and we learn to listen, even when it seems counter-intuitive. We learn to listen, not to ourselves, but to the Lord, which is why the Church recommends as one of its principle devotional practices during Lent prayer. What is prayer? It’s a lot of things, but overall, it is an attentive listening to God. When we do that, we fulfill the Biblical revelation and we become sons and daughters of Abraham and of Christ. Amen.