SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

 

First Reading (Gen 15:5-12,17-18)

 

The great dream of many nomads living in the desert is to come into possession of a piece of land where to settle down with their family. Abraham is one such nomad, who came from a faraway country and for years moved from place to place like a traveler without an aim. His life seems to be destined to end in total failure. But one day God reveals to him that he will soon come into a land of his own (7 and 19) and will generate descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. (5). "Abraham puts his faith in Yahweh” (6). It is the first time that we read in the Bible of a man putting his faith in God.

What is the meaning of "putting one's faith in God" or "believe in God"? Somebody may immediately think that this is to "be convinced of his existence". But this is not true. Take for instance a woman who declares: "I believe in my husband", she is not just meaning, "I believe that he exists", she is saying much more than that. Her words testify that she trusts him, she is sure of his faithfulness and quite certain that he will make her happy. A woman who truly “believes in her husband" is convinced of his love even if certain appearances contradict her belief. The unconditional trust of this wife is an image of the faith of Abraham in his God.

The reading of today is the reply of God to the faith of Abraham: God sealed his promise with the rite of the covenant.

Among the ancient Middle East peoples an important binding pact or promise was accompanied by a ceremony: an animal (a bullock, a kid, a sheep) was quartered and those taking the oath would pass between the pieces laid out in rows proclaiming: "let what happened to this animal happen to me if I am unfaithful!

In the second part of today’s reading we are told that God did this rite of covenant. One day Abraham had a kind of vision: God, after his promise, told him to kill the animals and to place their pieces lined up in rows along the two sides of a footpath; he then passed through the victims like a ball of fire. Note well: only God made the rite of covenant, Abraham was not asked to pass in between the killed animals. This means that God's promise was unconditional.

This account signifies that God's undertaking with human being is a totally gratuitous. He is not saying "I will give you a reward, if you behave well". He promises his blessings without setting any condition, without asking anything in exchange, like a faithful and generous husband telling his wife: “Even if you betray me, I will keep loving you forever."

Does it then make any difference to behave well or act badly? It certainly does. If you do not follow God's ways, you will surely ruin your whole life, though God never breaks off his friendship with anyone; he keeps loving this person all the same. There is no sin that is stronger than God's love. We can be sure that in spite of our failures and wretchedness, he will lead every person in such a way that all may have the chance to open up their hearts to his love.

 

Second Reading (Phil 3:17-4:1)

 

When we hear speaking of "enemies of Christ”, we might immediately think of Moslems, members of other religious sects or pagans. But in the passage of Paul's letter that we read today instead, the “enemies of Christ" are identified as a group of Christians of the community of Philippi. The Apostle says of them "their god is the stomach; they glory in what they should think shameful, since their minds are set on earthly things" (19). But what do they do? They reduce the faith to the observance of some traditional practices: circumcision, abstention from certain foods, fasts. They have attitudes and practices, remarks Paul rather sarcastically, all related to their stomachs!

We certainly see also today people whose "god is their stomach” in the sense that they indulge and worry about their own welfare, pleasures and immorality. But we have also Christians that behave like “enemies of Christ" (18). How does one behave like "friends of the cross of Christ"? Has one to suffer, accept self-denial, give up all things one likes? Self-denial is a kind of self-destruction, and we all want to live, not to die. Death, whatever way we look at it, appears always an evil. But not all that appears to us as life is in fact such. Take for instance a life busy only in looking for pleasure, passing time to enjoy oneself, wandering around, abusing girls, getting drunk: this may look life, but it is in fact death, the destruction of existence.

The friends of the cross of Christ give up this form of selfish life because they know that they are foreigners on this earth; they see themselves as nomads, like Abraham and keep moving towards their country that is in heaven.

 

Gospel (Lk9: 28b-36)

 

The gospel today gives us an account of an event that some interpret as an anticipation of the heavenly experience for some disciples, by benign concession of Jesus. But it is not so. We have here a passage that through images wants to tell us about Jesus and his mission. Let us try to see how.

The accounts that Matthew, Mark and Luke give us of this event are all very similar. The version of Luke (the one we read this year) has however some significant details worth examining.

Let us begin with the first. This evangelist is the only one to tell us why Jesus goes up the mountain: he goes there "to pray" (28). He normally gives a lot of time to prayer. Why? Commenting on the gospel of last Sunday we drew your attention to the fact that Jesus did not know from the beginning what would happen during his life. He did not know the way his Father would lead him; he only discovered it gradually through the enlightenment that he received in prayer.

It is during one such spiritually intense moment that Jesus sees how he will not save humankind through a triumph, but through a defeat. Jesus begins to see the first signs of this failure: the crowds, at first enthusiastic about him, now leave him, some take him as mad and an extremist, his enemies start planning his death. Therefore, he seems to argue with himself, the Father wants to lead me along a way of humiliation and failure.

As he was praying, "the aspect of his face was changed" (29). Luke does not speak here of "transfiguration" as the other evangelists. This splendor is the sign of the glory that enwraps anybody who is in contact with God. Even the face of Moses had become brilliant when he had come into contact with the Lord (Ex 34:29-35). Every true encounter with God leaves some kind of visible mark on the human face. We too can verify how after the celebration of the word that was well prepared and well conducted, all return home in a happier mood, more serene and smiling, more tolerant and more inclined to do good and to forgive. On such occasions our faces, too, become resplendent, don't they?

The light on the face of Jesus is telling us that during his prayer he understood the plan of salvation of the Father and accepted it as his own. He saw how his sacrifice was not going to be a defeat, but was only a step towards glory and resurrection.

During this spiritual experience of Jesus we have the appearance of two important persons: Moses and Elijah (30-31). They represent the Law and the Prophets, i.e. the whole Old Testament. All the Holy Books of Israel must lead to a dialogue with Jesus, they are all oriented towards him. The Old Testament is meaningless without Jesus, and Jesus himself, without the Old Testament, would be a mystery. On Easter day, in order to let his disciples understand the meaning of his death and resurrection he will have to explain the Old Testament: "Starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself" (Lk 24:27).

Luke is the only evangelist to bring in the dialogue between Jesus and the two personalities: "they were speaking of his passing" from this world to the Father. Here is then where Jesus got the final light that revealed to him his mission: the word of God contained in the Old Testament. That is where Jesus discovered how the Messiah was not destined for glory, but would have to suffer much, be humiliated and rejected by people, as Isaiah says of the Servant of Yahweh.

And what do Peter, James and John understand all this? (32-33). Note a curious detail: whenever something turns up that has something to do with the passion and death of Jesus, these three disciples are "heavy with sleep". The same will in fact happen also in the Gethsemane: they fall asleep (Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:45). Strange, isn’t it? How is it that their eyes are heavy with sleep during these most sensitive moments?

Their sleep has a symbolic meaning: its significance is that they do not understand what is happening to Jesus. When he was working miracles or other wonders, or when crowds acclaimed him, they are wide awake, but now that he begins to speak of giving up his life, of having to take up the last place, of serving the poor, they refuse to understand, they slowly close their eyes and begin to sleep, and can thus keep dreaming about applause and triumphs.

The three shelters are the most difficult detail to explain (and the evangelist remarks that even Peter himself who spoke of them isn’t quite sure what he is speaking about). Whoever puts up a hut is tired of walking, wants to fix his abode in a place and remain there, at least for some time. But Jesus is always on the move: he must do his “passing" - as the gospel of today is telling us - and his disciples are invited to follow him. The three shelters are thus the wish of Peter to stop and prolong forever the joy he experienced during the intense prayer with his Master. We certainly have had the same experience: after a long dialogue with God we are not quite willing to resort to our daily life, since its concrete problems and dramas frighten us. But we also know that listening to the Word of God is not everything; we can’t pass all our time in the chapel, we must get out and serve our fellows, help the suffering, be close to those who are in need of love. After discovering the road in prayer we must start off on it, we must set out with Jesus who goes up to Jerusalem to give his life for the salvation of all.

The cloud (34), as we read in the Old Testament, stands for the presence of God. So the three disciples were introduced into the world of God and saw the course of suffering laid down for Jesus and understood also that this is what every disciple must expect. This is why they are afraid.

A voice (35) comes from the cloud: it is God's interpretation of the whole event. The Father acknowledges that Jesus is his “Chosen One”, the faithful and beloved servant. Anybody wanting to please God must follow in his steps.

At the end of the episode (36) Jesus remains alone. Moses and Elijah have disappeared. What is the meaning of this? That the purpose of the Old Testament is to lead to Jesus. The word of Christ is now enough for the one who seeks to understand reality.

 

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

Theme of the Sunday

IT IS DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT TO GIVE UP
ONE'S LIFE IN LOVE

 

The gospel, making use of images, show us one of the most important moments in the life of Jesus: the enlightenment about the fulfillment of his mission. Such a mission will not take place through a success or a triumph but through humiliation and defeat. Jesus' endeavors to have his disciples accept the plan of the Father fail. Only after his death will they start to understand how the way of the cross is the way that leads to life.

The second reading continues with this gospel idea and invites all to die with Christ. And the death we speak here is the destruction of our selfishness.

The first reading completes the message of the liturgy of today by presenting us Abraham, the man who placed his trust in God and, because of this faith, was promised a land and numerous descendants. Also the Christians who will have the courage to place their trust in God, though in human eyes may appear to be total failures, will in reality have numerous descendants.