March 12, 2017

 2nd Sunday of Lent A Genesis 12: 1-4; 2 Timothy 1: 8-10; Matthew 17: 1-9 It seems that all of us are very well acquainted with traveling. We have experienced packing our suitcases and we try to bring everything we need for our journey whether it is long or short. Today on this second week in Lent the theme is to go deeper in understanding our journey of faith. When traveling we want to make sure that we have the proper clothes, meds, toiletries and the odds and ends necessary. We pack, and like many, I pack too much. What do we need during these holy weeks leading to Easter to continue to get closer to the Lord and most especially allowing God to be closer to us? In the first reading we hear about our Father in Faith, Abraham. He plays a prominent role of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A good starting point is to reflect on the legacy of Abraham: what did he do and how is he leading us closer to the Lord? In other words what were his attributes. James 2:23 says: “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God.” Why? God regarded Abraham as His friend because he was faithful to God and always submitted his will to God’s. Do I listen to God? Do I pay attention to and live God’s ways? In my life, unfortunately there is still too much of myself present. Nearly every action in Abraham’s life shows his great faith in God. He left his country and people never to return. He believed the promise of a son though such a birth was naturally impossible. He cast out a son, Ismael, when both Sarah and God commanded it. He was even willing to offer Isaac when God demanded it. He was obedient doing whatever God wanted him to do. He obeyed God without question. Not only was he obedient but he influenced others, especially those in his own household, to do the same. He was peaceable. He seemed to be able to defuse situations when bitter disagreements occurred. We can classify him as a peacemaker because he regarded others better than himself. On my daily journey to the Lord, I am called to be God’s friend and show it. I am called to trust and have faith in God as well as always being obedient to His way and showing this to others. Overall, I am called to be a person of peace, to be a person of love. Isn’t it amazing that God calls each of His followers in the same way. He tells us to leave all the earthly things behind and go on a path of faith were He is leading us. He tells us not to worry about where it is. When we get there, He’ll be with us. Trust in God, as Jesus says, “I call you My Friends.” Paul is now in the Roman prison as his death approaches. You would imagine that he is lonely and asking all the ‘What If’ questions. This is not the case as we can see in today’s writing to Timothy, his faithful assistant. Paul reminds him that God will give him the strength he needs to face all the challenges of preaching the Gospel and being a person of faith and love. Jesus won the test of faith on the cross, bringing to completion God’s plan. So we can totally trust in God’s plan of salvation leading each of us to eternal life and salvation. Why am I hesitant to believe? We come to the amazing account of the Transfiguration. Jewish rabbis maintain that to understand the meaning of a passage of Scripture, one should read what comes immediately before and after. In Matthew 16: 21-28 Jesus has told his disciples that He is to be a suffering Messiah. He will be handed over to the elders, chief priest and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. Who would ever want this to happen to their leader? Peter is the spokesman for the others and tells Jesus that this is a ridiculous idea. Jesus says it is not. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” After coming down from the mountain they encountered a man who asked Jesus, “Lord have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Jesus cures the boy. After this the disciples asked Jesus in private, why they couldn’t drive the evil spirit out? Jesus told them it was, “Because of your little faith. Amen , I say to you, if you nave faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Do I have the faith Jesus is describing? It’s all about faith. The Transfiguration scene ties together the need we all have to see Jesus as our Friend and to see that He is leading us to be with the Trinity forever in heaven. Moses, Elijah appeared with Jesus on this mountain; Moses representing the Law and Elijah the prophets. Both of these men had experienced suffering and glory in their leadership of God’s people. Both had gone to Sinai Mountain to seek the wisdom that they needed. Peter wanted to stay on the mountain. He wanted to build memorials there but he was silenced by the voice from the cloud: “This is My Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him. This is a great focal point for our reflection today. How much do I listen to the Lord? How much do I reflect on what Jesus tells me to do? Am I loving God by being obedient, peaceful, loving and showing others this by my example? Am I loving the people in my life, with no exception. It is fairly easy to love family most of the time and friends, fellow workers and students. But what about the others that I don’t know or listen to tales about them that could be so untrue? I am to love myself because I am loved. Do I love the part of me that continually commits the same sins? Do I ask God for the grace to leave this sin behind or is there a part of me that enjoys this sin especially when I’m feeling down or unloved? Am I trusting God and the direction He is leading me? Am I living His life? Am I loving like Jesus? So I reflect on: • Abraham was willing to go into the unknown, realizing that God was always with him. Am I willing to trust God in the unknown and known future areas of my life? Do I bring my worries to God and listen? • How am I like God in my kindness to family, friends, fellow workers, classmates, and we add telemarketers, people from different cultures, religions, races. Do I trust that God gives me the grace to deal with all or do I still hold on to my prejudicial security blankets? • Do I really want to be holy? Am I tempted to think that I (and not God) am the designer of my holiness? • We need safety and our security: good examples that show the power and glory of God are hurricanes and thunderstorms and they are also frightening. Do I trust in God’s plan and love? Sacred Space 2017 says: “The disciples were privileged to see Jesus in glory, to recognize that their friend could be fully present to them and to God. Jesus saw that the experience was too much for them and told them to keep it in their hearts as they headed back toward the everyday. I thank God for the inspiration and encouragement I discover in my prayer and ask that I may know how best to carry it into everyday life. A listening heart is a heart warmed by the love of God and taught by His words. Prayer is better described as listening than speaking. Spend some time echoing His words, or just listening to the mood of love and peace in prater