The appearance of his face underwent a change

Second Sunday of Lent – Year C 

While he was praying, the appearance of his face underwent a change 
Lk 9:28b-36 

Renewed now with heavenly bread, by which faith is nourished, hope increased, and charity strengthened, we pray, O Lord, that we may learn to hunger for Christ, the true and living Bread, and strive to live by every word which proceeds from your mouth. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Gn 15:5-12, 17-18

God made a covenant with Abraham, his faithful servant.

A reading from the Book of Genesis

The Lord God took Abram outside and said,
“Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.
Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”
Abram put his faith in the LORD,
   who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.

He then said to him,
   “I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans
   to give you this land as a possession.”
“O Lord GOD,” he asked,
   “how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
He answered him,
   “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat,
   a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Abram brought him all these, split them in two,
   and placed each half opposite the other;
   but the birds he did not cut up.
Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses,
   but Abram stayed with them.
As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram,
   and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.

When the sun had set and it was dark,
   there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch,
   which passed between those pieces.
It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram,
   saying: “To your descendants I give this land,
   from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”

The word of the Lord.

Ps 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14

R. :

℟. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
   whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
   of whom should I be afraid?

℟. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
   have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.

℟. The Lord is my light and my salvation. 

Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
   Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
   You are my helper: cast me not off.

℟. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
   in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
   be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

℟. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Phil 3:17-4:1 or 3:20-4:1

Christ will change our lowly body to conform with his glorious body.

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians

Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
   and observe those who thus conduct themselves
   according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
   and now tell you even in tears,
   conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
   their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
   and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
   to conform with his glorified body
   by the power that enables him also
   to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
   whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
   in this way stand firm in the Lord.

Or: [Shorter Form]

Brothers and sisters:
Our citizenship is in heaven,
   and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
   to conform with his glorified body
   by the power that enables him also
   to bring all things into subjection to himself.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
   whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
   in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved.

The word of the Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel

Cf Mt 17:5

From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, hear him.

Lk 9:28b-36

While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
   and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
   and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
   who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
   that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
   but becoming fully awake,
   they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
   “Master, it is good that we are here;
   let us make three tents,
   one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
   a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
   and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
   “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
   tell anyone what they had seen.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Reflection 

On the Second Sunday of Lent, each year we listen to the account of the Transfiguration which proclaims to us, beforehand, the glory that is to come as we contemplate the passion of Our Lord during this holy season. 
St Luke sets this account in the context of Jesus who prays. This detail is important because it reminds us that this was a revelation of Jesus’ true identity: the Son of God made man, whose prayer was a moment of intimacy in the bosom of God himself, in the bosom of the Trinity. Through prayer Jesus experiences the fact that He is the beloved Son of the Father. The appearance of the bright light and dazzling white garments are a visible expression of the holy intimacy of God. It is a prayer that dialogues with the revealed Word of God. With Jesus appear Moses and Elijah. Moses is considered as the author of the first five books of the Bible, which are the most revered books by the Jews. Elijah is the representative of the prophetic voice in the Word of God. This scene reveals to us the mystery of prayer and what takes place during prayer. 

Meanwhile, how many times have we prayed, hoping to experience what the disciples did on that day on the mountain, but to no avail. This is because we are under the impression that prayer is separated from the reality of our everyday lives. Prayer is the contemplation of the mystery of God in the ordinariness of our daily lives. Moses and Elijah speak with Jesus about His death, which was to take place in Jerusalem—it is true that they spoke about his glorification, but this had to come through the Cross. 

How often do we, during prayer, expectantly wait for the Tabor moment and, like the disciples, we hope that it doesn’t pass? During times when we feel the Lord’s presence, when everything is going well and we feel great, we want to remain there forever, just like the apostles. 

How difficult are the times when we feel that the Lord is absent and cannot be felt! The times in our daily lives in which everything feels mundane. How challenging do we find these moments, in which we can get caught in a cycle of apathy—since nothing is happening, it feels like nothing truly is. 

While this experience of Christ reminds us that our journey through life is not only the monotony of daily life, it is not only illnesses and pain, psychological issues and anxiety, but also a journey towards glory, toward the light, towards our complete encounter with Jesus, who from this moment begins to lighten our path as long as we don’t expect to always remain on Mount Tabor. We must live our lives with all its ups and downs, its uncertainties and disappointments, and its short-lived joys. We must embrace all these in our lives because they gradually prepare us for the glory that we will experience in the end. 

Jesus’ aim was to strengthen the disciples for when the trial of the cross came to pass—a plan that was not very successful. But for us who know how the story unfolded, that after the tragedy of death there is the glory of the resurrection, we can live in this hope. We can allow our prayer to be marked with the sign of hope, not just simply praying to not be led into temptation, but that through prayer, from this moment, we begin to savour the glory and the love of God in Himself, even when we do not initially recognise Him or find it difficult to accept Him.

Talba:

Lord, give us the grace that this season of Lent will be a time in which we truly recognise your fidelity, that you do not leave us but walk with us because you are our light and our salvation. Amen. 

 

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