March 16, 2025 - Second Sunday of Lent

Topic: When Our Vices and Not Our Virtues Take Charge.

Gospel - Luke 9:28b-36 - The Transfiguration of Jesus.

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.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031625.cfm

Message

The Gospel of St. Luke 9:28-36 is where this story comes from. It's about how God showed his disciples a glimpse of what Christ would be like after he rose from the dead. This was to help them get through the tough times that were coming up, like the crucifixion. God could see that his disciples were weak and that they were going to be really shaken by what was about to happen. So, he gave them a preview of the good stuff that was waiting for them if they stuck with their faith.

We're in a similar situation today. We believe in God and we know that Christ was sent to help us get to heaven. But, just like the disciples, we're not perfect and we struggle with our faith. We've got more proof now that Christ is the real deal - not just a messenger from God, but actually God's son. But, we're still human and we're prone to making mistakes.

The disciples had to go through a tough test of their faith when Christ was crucified. But, now we know that Christ's suffering was actually part of the plan to help us get to heaven. We can see how good God has been to us and how much he wants us to be happy. He's given us an eternity of happiness, which is basically the ultimate human goal. And, all he asks in return is that we stick with him for a short time.

It's not always easy, though. We've got moments when we're tempted to give up our faith for something more immediate and tangible. But, there's always hope as long as we're still alive. We can still make things right with God. And, the best part is, we get to be adopted sons of God and get a brand new body that's free from pain and corruption. It's going to be amazing!