2ND SUNDAY OF LENT (C)

His face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.

Lk 9: 28b-36

GOSPEL EXPLANATION

About eight days after he said this….

What happened eight days before the Transfiguration? Jesus and his disciples were at Caesarea Philippi. There Jesus asked them who people think he was. And then he asked them who they think he was. Peter answered for all of them: You are the Christ of God! Immediately Jesus told them that he would suffer and die but on the third day, would rise again.

With the words “eight days after”, St. Luke wanted to connect the Transfiguration with Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus and Jesus’ prophecy about his death and resurrection. Where was the connection? At the Transfiguration Jesus gave a glimpse of his glory as the Christ of God and of the glory of his resurrected body. St. Luke said that “his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.”

He took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray.

Jesus went up the mountain to meet his Father in prayer. As Satan was believed to dwell in the desert, so God was believed to dwell on the mountain. Tradition identifies Mt. Tabor as the mountain of the Transfiguration. Mt. Hermon is the other possible location of the Transfiguration.

This was no ordinary prayer. It was a decisive moment in his life, similar to the Baptism at the Jordan and his sojourn in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. There at Mt. Tabor Jesus faced once more the temptation to accept the cross or to reject it and find another way to save mankind. How do we know this? Luke says that he spoke with Moses and Elijah about his exodus – his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension.

This temptation to accept or reject the cross will be repeated for the last time at Gethsemane. There as here Peter, John and James were present. Here they were perhaps present so that having seen the glory of Jesus, they would not lose faith when they see Jesus crucified. On the other hand, they were near Jesus at Gethsemane so that Jesus may find moral support in them as his arrest drew near.

Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

Did Peter have in mind the Tent of Meeting during Israel’s stay in the desert? It was the dwelling place of God among the Israelites. In Exodus (25: 8-9) we read: “They shall make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst. This Dwelling and all its furnishings you shall make exactly according to the pattern that I will now show you.”

Or did Peter mention the tents because he wanted all of them remain at Mt. Tabor and relish this moment forever?

Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him."

The cloud and the voice manifested the presence of the Father who Jesus had met in prayer.

With the words “This is my chosen Son; listen to him” St. Luke also connects the Transfiguration with the Baptism at the Jordan. At his Baptism the Father presented Jesus as Son and as Servant of Yahweh (Is 42:1). Here at the Transfiguration Jesus is presented as the Prophet that all must listen to (Acts 3:22; Dt. 18:15). Moses spoke of this Prophet. He said: “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen.”

1ST SUNDAY OF LENT (C)

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.

Lk 4: 1-13

The Holy Spirit came down on Jesus at his baptism. The same Spirit is with him as he begins to carry out his mission.

The desert is not a desert of sand but of rocks. Hence, it can also be called a wilderness. It is believed to be the home of Satan. By going to the wilderness, Jesus begins the war against the devil. The battle between Jesus and the devil takes the form of temptation.

He ate nothing during those days.

As Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness, so we also fast during Lent, a period of 40 days.
Somehow fasting disposes us to prayer. It also strengthens us against tempta-tion, probably by strengthening our will power and self-discipline.

The gospel narrates the three temptations of Jesus. All of them are basically the same. The devil was trying to make Jesus choose a way of saving mankind different from the way willed by the Father. The Father wanted Jesus to save mankind through the cross. The devil, on the other hand, was trying to convince Jesus to save mankind through a show of power and glory.

If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.

At his baptism, the Father declared to Jesus: “You are my beloved son.” Now the devil tells Jesus: “If you are the Son of God, then you must possess extra-ordinary powers. Show your power by turning these stones into bread. Then people will follow you.”

The devil was tempting Jesus to not follow the way of the cross but the promise of material things

“I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.”

The devil was offering political power to Jesus. With political power, Jesus would be a Messiah who would chase away the Romans and restore the kingdom of Israel. But if he were to take the path of political power, Jesus would be the Messiah of the Zealots instead of the Messiah sent by the Father.

“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

People will follow you if they are convinced that you are from God. You can do that if you jump from the top of the Temple into the Kidron Valley below and then come out unharmed. But if you end up suffering and dying on the cross, how can people ever be convinced that you come from God?

OVERCOMING TEMPTATION AND SIN

Jesus models for us what Lent should be. It should be a time of spiritual combat against the devil. It should be a time of victory over the devil. During this time we should not fall into sin and instead, overcome temptation.

To win we must have a strategy. We must identify our weak spot and then guard it.

We need to identify our weak spots because that will be the target of the devil. Is my temper my weak spot? Is it my tongue? Perhaps my flesh is weak? Or is it my pride?

Once we identify our weak spot, we have guard it against the attacks of the devil. Guarding our weak spot means being alert. For example, if my weak spot is my temper, then I have to be conscious when I am getting angry. Once I am conscious that I am getting angry, I will be ready to control myself. If I am not conscious of my temper, then I will not be ready to control my anger. Then my anger would get hold of me and I am bound to say or do hurtful things.

But this is not enough. We need reinforcement. Reinforcement means streng-thening our defenses. There are three things we can make use of in order to fortify ourselves against temptation and sin: confession, prayer and sacrifice.

1. Sacraments. They are traditionally called channels of grace. Confession is not only a channel of the grace of forgiveness. It is not only a channel of sanctifying grace. It is also a channel of actual grace, that is, through confession God comes to help me overcome temptation and sin. After a good confession, it really feels a lot easier to be good.

2. Prayer. In time of temptation we should rush to God for help. We should say a little prayer. In the Life of St. Anthony of Egypt we are told that he went as a youth to live the life of a hermit. There the devil assaulted him with all kinds of temptation. But according to his biography he did not fall because of his great faith and constant prayers. But by prayer we are not only referring to prayer at the moment of temptation. We are also talking about the general attitude of prayer which means giving time to get in touch with God throughout the day.

3. Sacrifice or penance. It means giving up something that we like. It means going against our desires. In this way we strengthen the muscles of our will o will power. Giving up smoking during the Lenten season can be tough for most people. If they manage to say ”no” to cigarettes, then they probably will have enough will power to say “no” to the temptations of the devil.

CONCLUSION

Lent is a time of spiritual combat. If we are to defeat the devil, then we need to identify our weak spot and guard it against his attacks. We also need reinforcement: confession, prayer and sacrifice.
We are not alone in this spiritual combat. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus. The Holy Spirit is also with us. He was given to us in Baptism and Confirmation. To-gether we can do it.

6th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)

Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

Lk 6:17, 20-26

GOSPEL EXPLANATION

Comparison between Matthew and Luke

Matthew                                                                           Luke
Sermon on the Mount                                                         Sermon on the plain8 Beatitudes                                                                          4 Beatitudes and 4 Woes
Blessed are the poor in spirit                                               Blessed are the poor 
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness      Blessed are you who are now hungy

Blessing in Disguise

The prevailing thought at the time was that affliction and sorrow were punishment due to sin. Jesus now says that they are blessings in disguise. 

But for who are they blessings in disguise? For the Anawim! They are those people who lack material goods and therefore, who can rely only on God. We have to note that the Anawim are blessed not because they lack material goods but because they rely on God.

But it is also true to say that between the rich and the poor, the poor will feel the need for God. Between those who are who have nothing to eat and those who are always have something to eat, those who have nothing to eat will feel the need for God.

Are Christians then forbidden to become rich? No. But we are warned that when we become rich, it is easy to forget God.

There is another way of understanding the Beatitudes and the Woes.

If you set your heart on those things which the world values, you might indeed get them. But that is all that you will ever get. But if you set your heart on God and on the things of God, you may run into trouble, you may seem to be unfortunate in the eyes of the world, but much of your payment is still to come and it will be life eternal.

First, we must accept the fact the reward from God comes at the end. The reward is not on earth. It is in heaven.

Second, to receive that reward, you must not find contentment in the things of this world. If you find your contentment in the things of this world, then there will be no reward for you at the end because you have already received it in this world.

Does this mean that we shall not give importance to our life here on earth? Certainly not! Our life is God’s gift to us. But what we make of our life is our gift to God. Would it not be embarrassing if at the end, the life that we will offer to God would be a wasted life?

5TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)

Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.

Lk 5:1-11

GOSPEL EXPLANATION

“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”

Greek has two words for “master”: didaskalos and epistates. Here “epistates” is used by the disciples to convey their faith in the authority of Jesus. That was why Simon Peter obeyed the command of Jesus to cast the nets.

“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”

Now Simon calls Jesus “Lord” to indicate that he was aware that the authority of Jesus was divine. And in front of the hand of God, Peter became also aware of his being a sinful man.

...and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon.

In Luke the first disciples of Jesus were Simon Peter, James and his brother John. Andrew, the brother of Peter, has not yet been mentioned.

Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

The image and the trap were images used in the Old Testament for punishment. To be called fishers of men means that the mission of the Twelve was to help men avoid the coming punishment and enter the Kingdom of God.

They left everything and followed him.

In first century Judaism, those who followed a rabbi were expected to render him respect, obedience and service to their master (rabbi).

Following Jesus was different. (1) The disciples do not choose their master. It is the master who chooses the disciples. The disciples still owe the master their obedience. (2) The disciples were not only hearers but collaborators, witnesses and workers in the harvest. (3) The disciples do not just adhere to the teachings of the master but to the master himself. Jesus was not just like any rabbi. (4) Following Jesus meant carrying one’s cross.