Second Sunday of Lent Gen 12:1-4; 2 Tim 1:8-10; Mt 17:1-9 (year a)
Lent is a season of repentance underpinned by a clear vision of hope. It is a journey that begins from the humble confession of where sin has brought us, and concludes with the joyful celebration of what we are becoming in Christ Jesus and the power of his Resurrection.
The call of Abraham, recorded in the Book of Genesis, clearly illustrates the journey that Lent sets before us. We first encounter Abram in the familiar circumstances of home and family. This was the place in which he had built his life, the place that provided his security.
God’s call, when it came, challenged these securities: “Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you.”
Our circumstances are very different from those of Abram, but we should be willing to face the same challenge at the beginning of Lent. Are we willing, like Abram, to break with the ingrained habits of a sinful life so as to journey into the presence of God? Whether consciously or unconsciously, we must decide whether we remain as we have been in the past, or accept God’s call to become like him.
The narrative of Abram’s call concluded with the surrender of faith: “So Abram went as the Lord told him.”
If faith is genuine, it will always involve the surrender of our cherished securities, our fears and uncertainties, to a God who calls us to himself. This is the first step of true repentance, and, for most of us, it does not come easily.
Abram had been invited to set off for a land that God would show him. The Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration can be understood as a prefiguration of journey’s end. Abram must have wondered where his journey might lead. We cannot begin another Lent without seriously questioning where this might lead.
Those first disciples, who had accepted Christ’s call, must have wondered where their journey was leading. In the Transfiguration of Jesus the disciples experienced a wonder that can never be described in human language. They glimpsed what it is to live in the presence of the Father and the Son, and in that presence to experience the fulfilment of every longing.
“Lord, it is wonderful to be here.” These simple words describe Lent’s ultimate goal. We surrender our sinful lives to the Lord in repentance, and we allow him, through our journey into his death and Resurrection, to lead us into his presence.
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