Second Sunday of Lent

Gospel Reading: Mark 9:2 - 10

2 Jesus took with him Peter and fames and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves. There in their pres­ence he was transfigured:
3 his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them.
4 Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.
5 Then Peter spoke to Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said “it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
6 He did not know what to say; they were so frightened.
7 And a cloud came, cover­ing them in shadow; and there came a voice from the cloud, “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.”
8 Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
9 As they came down the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
10 They ob­served the warning faithfully, though among themselves they dis­cussed what 'rising from the dead' could mean.

Gospel Meditation

We often refer to this story as the Transfiguration. In fact, how­ever, Jesus' appearing in glory was merely a new stage in the journey the apostles made with him.

From his first manifestation in the world, Jesus was clearly visible as Saviour of all those in need of help. He appeared so es­pecially to those who felt they were in some sort of need and so wanted to turn to him in their prayer for healing and forgive­ness.

The gospels often tell us about this element of Jesus' journey. People were attracted to him for this reason alone, which is also why Jesus withdrew from the crowd and took the decision to live on his own.

Those who went looking for his healing power found it very difficult to find him (Mark 1:40). This was why it was said so fre­quently that all found it difficult to really recognise him - al­though they kept coming to him in ever greater numbers.

This incident on the mount of Transfiguration shows us that something radical happened then. Jesus' divinity was now linked to his lowering himself to be with the smallest of all peo­ple. He was getting down to the reality of the cross.

This was always the truth of Jesus, he always had it within him. He would now be following in the steps of his two great ancestors -Abraham and Moses. He would be leading God's people to sal­vation by identifying with the least of them.

This would be the path Jesus would now have to follow. This was why it was so important to Peter and the other disciples to take possession of the place and never give it up for somewhere else.

This was also why the Father, in the words "This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him,' showed that this was Jesus at his best and all had to entrust to him their choicest gifts. This was also the reason he made clear to his followers that they would only be able to share this with the others 'after the Son of Man has risen from the dead.'

It is very striking that after Jesus had descended from the holy mountain, he met a devil who, he said quite openly, could only be driven out by prayer. This was the new identity revealed at the Transfiguration.

We reflect on this new identity of Jesus, both for himself and for his chosen disciples. Later on, he began to announce this news to his other people. He had made up his mind that he must go to Jerusalem, die after lengthy persecution by the authorities, and then after his death he would rise again.

This was the triumph of his death and resurrection.

• Verse 2: The high mountain is a symbol of the painful jour­ney the apostles must make with Jesus before he can be transfig­ured in their presence.
• Verses 3 to 6: The glory of Jesus is beyond the capacity of any earthly power, it is from God alone. Note St Mark's com­ment on why St Peter proposed building three tents: he was des­perately afraid of losing the moment.
• Verse 7: The relationship with Jesus is covered by a cloud and yet from within the cloud they experience a renewed com­mitment to Jesus.
• Verse 8: The apostles are alone with Jesus and they come down the mountain together.
• Verses 9 and 10: It is only when they have seen Jesus die and rise from the dead that the apostles will understand the full sig­nificance of the experience.

Prayer

The dogmas of the Church would be raw flesh without theology -or a tree without leaves. As devoted feelings clothe the dogma on the one hand, so does the teaching of theology on the other. 
Cardinal Newman

Lord, we thank you for the transfiguration experiences that you favour us with during this Lent when for the first time we see Jesus in his truth as our lowly saviour

• a Bible passage suddenly becomes deep and enriching for us;
• during a parish mission we feel the power of the message of Jesus;
• we celebrate a liturgy that fills us with consolation;
• we realise that the following of Jesus has deep implications for all of us.

At that moment we experience a glory that is not from this earth but from you yourself, and we cry out from the depths of ourselves that it is wonderful for us to be here.

Lord, we thank you for the long journey we have made with our spouse, our closest friend.

We remember the day when they first appeared glorious to us, with a glory we had never thought possible.

We found it wonderful that we should be together, in fact so wonderful that we were afraid of losing the moment.

We know now that a relationship cannot remain there.

So a dark cloud came over and covered the relationship with a shadow.
But within the very insecurity of that time we discovered that this was your beloved whom we wanted to commit ourselves to forever.

Shortly afterwards, the relationship was stable again and we came down the mountain together.

But we knew in some vague way that we would have to live through
many deaths and resurrections before we could understand the journey we had made.

Lord, we don't take time to know the people we live with:

• we are too busy with our own affairs,
• we judge others by their appearances, how they dress, what they have achieved.

If only we let them lead us up a high mountain where we can be alone by ourselves,they can be transfigured in our presence and we will see the glory that is within them and comes from you.

Lord, we ask you to send wise spiritual guides to your church who will help us grow in our relationship with you:

• who will encourage us to let ourselves be led up whatever high mountain you call us to;
• who will be part of the transfiguration experience, conversing with Jesus like Moses and Elijah;
• who will stay with us when the cloud comes and covers us in shadows;
• and who will warn us that we must not speak of these things
  until we have seen the Son of Man rise from the dead.
  

Lord, we pray today for those who have committed themselves to a noble cause;help them to move freely beyond the first experience of joy and excitement, to remain with their commitment when a cloud comes and covers them in shadow, for it is from the cloud that they will learn for sure that it is your work they have given themselves to, and they can find you in it.

Lord, from time to time you give us beautiful experiences, moments which bind us to a person or a cause.
But it is only when we have come down from the mountain and seen that person or cause die and rise from the dead that we will be able to speak about what happened on the mountain.