Sunday, March 10, 2019



SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT – CYCLE C – 2019

INTRODUCTION
*      Every year on the second Sunday of Lent the liturgy invites us to reflect on the Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus.   
*      Last Sunday we reflected on the mystery of Jesus being tempted as any one of us. We learned from him to fight against the temptations with the Word of God.  
*      Today, let us be filled with the light of the Transfigured Lord, and let us listen to Him as the Father invites us.  
*      Our reflection on the readings will be from the point of view of the Covenant.    
FIRST READING  Gn 15:5-12; 17-18    

This reading speaks of one of the covenants that God made with Abram. God had not yet changed his name.   

«  The Hebrew word for covenant is   berit (used to describe the relationship between a lord and his servant, it is a unilateral promise, wholly gratuitous and free on the part of the lord). The Greek word for covenant is  diatheke.  With these two words the Bible describes different kinds of covenants. Let us see some of them:
o   The first and the most gratuitous is the covenant of creation. Creation comes from  the gracious and loving initiative of God, who could not even consult us since we did not exist yes. Creation is continuous act of God,  thus the covenant made by God with his creation is permanent and continuous.   

o   We find different types of covenants in Scripture:  

§  God gives without asking anything in exchange = promise  Gn:8-11; 12-17 

§  God enters into a covenant  through a rite:  Gn 15:7-10.17

God enters into a bilateral covenant with his people:   Jos 24:1-28
«  The covenant we find in the first reading belongs to the second type of covenant: the covenant between God and Abram is made through a rite.  
Let us  analyze the biblical story 
«  Before the verses we will read this coming Sunday, God says to Abram “do not be afraid, because your reward will be abundant.” To these words of God Abram replies “what use do these gifts do to me since I do not have children, and my servant is the one who is going to inherit my possessions?”  
«  Let us reflect on the reading for this Sunday
o   The descendants of Abram will be as numerous as the stars in the firmament. Abram believes that YHWH can do what he says and thus he is justified, made just, saved.  
o   The promise is this: I will give to you the land you walk on    
o   God reminds Abram of all that he has done for him up to that moment. The faith of Israel and the Christian faith, as well, is grounded in tradition, in the memory of God’s mighty deeds for us.  Last week we read how Israel repeats his tradition in prayer “My father was a wandering Aramean” 

o   Abram asks God how will he know that the land will be his.   

o   God enters into a covenant with Abram. God relates to us in the way we understand according to our own culture, so that we may understand his message given to us.  

o   In the ancient religions the divinities were the witnesses to the covenants made by men, here in this text of the Bible YHWH himself is the witness and at the same time the one who makes the covenant. 
o   Abram prepares everything for the ceremony of the covenant God is going to make with him.    
o   He prepares the wood for the fire and on it in two separate  piles of wood he puts the cow that had previously being cut in two. Each part is put on a different pile of wood facing each other.   
o   The persons who entered into the covenant   had to walk between the two parts of the animal and say: let it be done to me as it has been done to this animal, if I am not faithful to the covenant I am about to enter.   
o   Abram feels asleep, and at the same time, terror invades him.  
o   The presence of God is very attractive to the human being, but at the same time it is terrifying, because God is the OTHER, completely different from us. 
o   Then Abram sees in the midst of the darkness of night something like a burning torch passing between the two parts of the cow. 
o   In the burning torch, he discovers the symbol of the presence of YHWH who is passing   between the two parts of the animal. God commits himself to be faithful to the covenant. 
o   As we can see this type of covenant is unilateral, only God commits himself, Abram is only an observer.

o   After that YHWH pronounces the words of the covenant which he makes with Abram on that day “To your descendants I will give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River Euphrates.”
SECOND READING : Phil 3:17- 4:1
ü  Paul invites o exhorts the community of Philippi to be faithful and to look towards those who live according to the teachings he (Paul) has given them. 
ü  He repeats with words full of tenderness and love “continue to be faithful to the Lord”   
ü  We are in the season of Lent, in which we reflect more deeply on the meaning of the Paschal Mystery of Christ, the New Covenant sealed in his blood on the Cross. On the cross, he forgave our sins; he paid for us the price of the covenant to which we have not been faithful.
ü  In the same way as the ancient prophets, Paul reminds them the need to be faithful to the New Covenant. 
o   Covenant in which the land that is given to us is heaven, eternal life forever.
o   However during our earthly God gives us “the land” a dwelling place, a restful place which is Jesus himself.
GOSPEL  Lk 9:28-36

§  Before the event of the transfiguration, Jesus makes the first announcement of his passion and explains the conditions of discipleship. 

§  Luke says that 8 days later,  it refers to the announcement Jesus makes of his passion.   
§  Jesus goes up to a high mountain to pray and takes with him the three closest disciples, the same that went with him to Jairus’  home and were witnesses of how Jesus gave back the life to the girl. They will be also invited by Jesus to be witnesses of his greatest weakness and vulnerability in Gethsemane. These disciples are Peter, James and John. 
§  While he is praying Jesus changes  his aspect and at the same time Moses and  Elijah appear talking to him
o   Moses en Elijah the whole Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets.   
o   They speak with him about his exodus, which will be consummated in Jerusalem. 

§  Jesus, as well as the two men, is radiant and his clothes are white, all of this is a sign  of the divinity.   
§  Luke says that the disciples felt asleep, would that be the same thing that happened to Abram in the presence of YHWH? Or what happened to the disciples at Gethsemane? 
§  When they awake, they see the glory of Jesus.  
§  They do not understand the true meaning of what is happening on the mountain. Peter speaks for the three of them, he wants to remain in that situation which is so marvelous,  he has forgotten the invitation of the Lord to follow the Master in his passion.   
§  The cloud covers them; the cloud is a symbol of the presence of God throughout the Old Testament and in the New Testament in the narrative of the Annunciation. 
§  Like Abram who felt fear, the disciples are afraid when the cloud covers them and they hear the voice of the Father. 
§  What does the voice say? THIS IS MY CHOSEN SON, LISTEN TO HIM.    
§  This voice of the Father relates the two narratives of the transfiguration and of the baptism. 

§  But here the Father adds “Listen to him” 

§  The three of them have been invited to follow the Master as disciples, and one thing that a disciple has to do is to listen and to obey. 

They shall not  say anything to anyone, probably because before the resurrection this event could not be understood correctly.    


 CLARETIAN CORNER

Beside what I saw in these sacred letters (without seeing anything with my bodily eyes as I have said above) an interior voice in the depths of my soul, was explaining me their meaning and the way to practice (…)  To my understanding I saw everything in Christ Crucified who, as he was teaching me the divine letters, was explaining me their meaning. As this was the first time that our Lord spoke to me, I did not understand of these things and I did not know how to comply with his commands. I was crying abundantly and I told his Divine majesty, whom I had very present, that seemed to me that I was speaking face to face with the Majesty of God and said…  Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters,  6.
The reason is that, as I have said, I am so soft-hearted and compassionate that I can't bear seeing misfortune or misery without doing something to help. I would take the bread out of my own mouth to give it to the poor. In fact, I would abstain from putting it into my mouth in order to have something to give to those who are asking for it. I am even scrupulous about spending anything at all on myself when I think of the needs I can remedy. Well, then, if these momentary physical misfortunes affect me so much, it is understandable what I feel in my heart at the thought of the everlasting pains of hell--not for me, but for all those who willingly live in mortal sin. Saint Anthony Mary  Claret, Founder  of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography 10.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Anthony  Mary. Autobiography.

PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiography

RAVASI, Gianfranco. Según las Escrituras – Ciclo C. San Pablo 2006. 

SCHÖKEL , Luis Alonso, La Biblia de nuestro Pueblo.

SAGRADA BIBLIA, Versión Oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española

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