Second Sunday of Lent - March 17, 2019

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Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18  Philippians 3:17-4:1  Luke 9:28b-36

When I was a child, some ninety years ago – before TV, X-boxes, iPhones and the like occupied the free time of youngsters – my siblings, cousins and I used to sit beneath the stars at night in wonder. We used to locate the Milky Way, yell out when we saw a fallings star and try to identify a planet or plane in the sky. In like manner, God called Abraham’s attention to this vast universe to demonstrate what God had in store for him.

In today’s gospel, Jesus is transfigured with Moses and Elijah before Peter, James and John. He gave them this other worldly experience illustrating the greatness and majesty of God – much like, but greater than, the wondrous universe of the stars – to show them what God had in store for them as followers of Jesus.

Transcendent experiences such as these gave Abraham and Jesus’ three disciples a vision of the power and majesty of God. These visions would help them see their everyday life as a small part of their existence in total. Today we are in the midst of the ordinary days of Lent. As adult Christians, we look forward to Easter when we will celebrate the redemption of Christ on the cross and his glorious resurrection. Like the view of the sky, the stars and the Transfiguration of Jesus, we see Passion and Resurrection as the promise of the greatness of what God has in store for us.

Though I have enjoyed for ninety years God’s many blessings and happiness, I realize I am nearing the end of my time here on earth. Like Abraham and the three disciples, I still look forward to the yet greater things God may have in store for me.

Q:  Am I using the days of Lent to make my journey through life a journey to the new life that God has in store for me?


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