March 8, 2020

2^nd Sunday of Lent (A)

“We Need the Heavenly to Deal with the Earthly”

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

Last week the Gospel transported us to the desert of the Lord’s temptations. This week it transports us to the mountain of his Transfiguration. In this stupendous event the human veil over Our Lord’s divinity was lifted for a moment so that the apostles might behold his heavenly splendor. Years later, St. John and St. Peter would recall this experience in their epistles.
 
Why did Jesus allow this experience? He had been speaking to the apostles of his impending passion and death and because he knew well their weakness, the Transfiguration was a reassurance, a way of strengthening them for what was to transpire in Jerusalem. In effect he was saying, “Remember this glory when the dark clouds of Good Friday overshadow you. Remember this splendor when the time of your martyrdom arrives.”
 
How did the apostles respond? Well, St. Matthew tells us that they were very much afraid. But his focus is on St. Peter. Peter was so mesmerized that he wanted to remain, to dwell on the mountain. While he was still speaking, the voice of the Father is heard: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
 
Up until this point, the apostles had not been good listeners. Despite living with the Lord, witnessing his miracles, hearing his words, they struggled to understand the person and mission of Our Lord. In fact, Jesus would reprove them time and time again for their fear and their lack of faith.
 
St. Peter was offended and scandalized by the cross. He was drawn to the glory of the moment but he shunned the prospect of suffering and the cross.
 
Are we any different? No one wants to suffer. No one seeks a cross to carry. Still, the Lord tells us that discipleship involves taking up our cross each day. There is an Italian proverb that goes, “O di pioppo o di noce, ognuno porta la sua croce.” [Whether of poplar or of walnut, everyone carries their cross.] Crosses come in various shapes and sizes. Their weight can discourage and depress us.
 
The late Cardinal Basil Hume of Westminster admitted that “...the unrelieved diet of dramatic crises, tragedies and conflict, leave many, especially the housebound, the elderly and the anxious, with ample grounds for pessimism and depression.”
 
But a disciple is a person of hope. A disciple knows that the Lord is at his/her side in every situation and at every moment. Just as the apostles needed to be strengthened in their weakness, the same is true of us. The Lord brought the apostles to Mt. Tabor. He invites us to experience the Mass. The Mass is Mt. Tabor— heaven come to earth. It is the experience of the heavenly so that we might deal with all that is earthly.
 
Consider how we use the time after receiving Communion. We can make it a precious time of intimacy with the Lord when we speak to him about our burdens, our struggles, our loved ones both living and deceased; a time to thank him for his blessings and surely a time to ask him to keep our hope strong, to remember the brilliant glory, the splendor to come when dark clouds overshadow us; when we are asked to take up the cross and follow him.