Lent is a journey, to be sure, but where are we going?
Who are we trying to find?
I heard about a salesman who had been working in Virginia and was being transferred to California. The move had been the principal topic of conversation around the house for weeks. Then, the night before the big move, when his five-year-old daughter was saying her prayers, she said, "And now, God, I'll have to say goodbye forever because tomorrow we are moving to California." (Source: esermons.com)
My friends, God is in California too! But, more profoundly, is God in us?
Maybe we must see within ourselves … what we could be….
“He was transfigured before their eyes
and his clothes became dazzlingly white.”
Our journey, our salvation, consists in reproducing the image of God in ourselves. We make choices don’t we? There is a story about two young brothers who were caught stealing sheep. The punishment back then was to brand the thief's forehead with the letters ST which stood for sheep thief. As a result of this, one brother left the village & spent his remaining years wandering from place to place indelibly marked by disgrace. The other remained in the village, made restitution for the stolen sheep, & became a caring friend and neighbor to the townspeople. He lived out his life in the village - an old man loved by all.
One day a stranger came to town and inquired about the ST on the old man's forehead. "I'm not sure what it means," another told him. "It happened so long ago, but I think the letters must stand for … saint." We have a choice. We can lay down the cross we have been given to bear & passively live life with no challenge to change or we can take it up & be transformed, living for something greater than ourselves:
the Kingdom of God. The choice is yours: Take it up! (Adapted: esermons.com)
We have this choice … to transform, to be transfigured.We journey this Lent to find God inside of us, just as Jesus found God within himself – and his clothes became dazzling white.
On our journey through life, there are times when we have to face hardships, those crosses, over which we have no control. We can only trust, as Abraham did when asked to offer up his only son, Isaac, that God will provide. In the 2nd reading, Paul assures us that we can face all manner of hardships with God on our side: nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Jesus himself, after his transfiguration, reminds his disciples that he 2 must die & rise from the dead; there is no pain or sorrow of ours that Jesus does not share with us. In that sure confidence life is different.
We can deal with the joys & the sorrows as Jesus did ….
A father diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) called his children to him. “Remember when I taught you soccer, rock climbing & rappelling? Remember when I danced at your weddings? Very soon I’ll get weaker by the day. Soon after that I won’t walk, my speech will be garbled. I’ll hardly look like myself, and soon after that I will die. I accept that, it just has to be. But I’ll still be them same person who danced at your weddings. Trust that the day will come when we’ll do more than that together again.”
(Source: Celebration 3/12)
Can you see the divine light shining through this human father?
He chose to be better, not bitter.
Every year, we face the same Lenten journey, walk the same way of the cross, listen to the same readings. We participate in the same rites with catechumens & candidates. Marked with ashes, we fully plan to make this the Lent the one where we pay attention to the conversion that the Gospel calls us too. We don’t mean for time to slip away-yet time flys by. We have the best of intentions. Yet, we may still arrive at Easter without the transformation we intended & wanted to have.
Perhaps we need a few speed bumps on our path to shake us from our complacency & awaken us to the inner journey of Lent. We need to be jarred from everyday experiences. Do we face our journey with the same radical faith that Abraham carried up the heights, prepared to offer what we hold most precious … to show our deep trust in God’s mercy and grace?
Can you say, “Here I am.”
What will make us pay attention? What speed bump will help us hear God’s words about Jesus that were spoken to the disciples:
Listen to him … and become who you really are.
We are all people in need of reconciliation & reform. When it comes to changing out hearts, we each have a journey to make, one that includes soul-searching & personal examination.
When we gather for this very Eucharist, we carry our concerns and our gifts. Some of us struggle with health issues; others with the pain of a broken relationship, financial hardship, or unemployment. Although we may feel helpless in such difficult situations, we can come to the altar full of hope, knowing that we have a merciful God whose love has no limit.
(Some ideas: Celebration 3/12)
Choose to listen, choose to meet Jesus on the mountain top,
choose to shine!