Second Sunday of Lent

It-Tieni Hadd tar-Randan   

Messalin C 150

Reading 1                 -           Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18

The Lord God took Abram outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.  Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.”Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.He then said to him, I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.” “O Lord GOD,” he asked, “how am I to know that I shall possess it?”He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”Abram brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up.Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them.As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him. When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.”

L-Ewwel Qari   -    mill-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi15, 5-12, 17-18

F'dak iż-żmien:  Il-Mulej ħareġ lil Abram 'il barra u qallu: Ħares sewwa lejn is-smewwiet u għodd il-kwiekeb, jekk għandek ħila tgħoddhom."  U żied jgħidlu:  "Hekk għad ikun nislek."  U Abram emmen fil-Mulej, u dan għaddhulu b'ġustizzja. U qallu: "Jiena l-Mulej li ħriġtek minn Ur tal-Kaldin, biex nagħtik din l-art  b'wirt." U qallu Abram:  "Sidi Mulej, kif inkun naf li se niritha?" U wieġbu:  "Ħudli għoġla ta' tliet snin, mogħża ta' tliet snin, muntun ta' tliet snin, gamiema u ħamiema." U ħadlu dawn kollha, u qasamhom min-nofs, u kull nofs qiegħdu biswit l-ieħor, imma l-għasafar ma qasamhomx.   U niżlu l-għasafar tal-priża għal fuq l-iġsna mejtin, imma Abram gerrixhom lura. Hi u nieżla x-xemx waqa' fuq Abram ngħas qawwi, u waqgħu fuqu biża' u dalma kbira. Meta x-xemx kienet niżlet u kien dalam, kenur idaħħan u lsien nar iżiġġ qasmu minn bejn il-bċejjeċ tal-laħam. Dakinhar il-Mulej għamel patt ma' Abram u qallu: "Lil nislek nagħti din l-art, mix-xmara tal-Eġittu sax-xmara l-kbira, ix-xmara tal-Ewfrat." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm     -     PSALM 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14

R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?                                       R/

Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.       R/

Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.                           R/

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.                  R/

Salm Responsorjali    -    SALM  26 (27).

                R/           Il-Mulej id-dawl u s-salvazzjoni tiegħi.

Il-Mulej d-dawl u s-salvazzjoni tiegħi,

minn min għandi nibża'?

Il-Mulej hu l-kenn tiegħi,

quddiem minn għandi nitwerwer?                 R/

Isma', Mulej, leħen l-għajta tiegħi,

ħenn għalija u weġibni.

"Ejja" għidt f'qalbi, "fittex 'il-wiċċi!"

Jien wiċċek infittex, Mulej.                             R/

La taħbix wiċċek minni,

la twarrabx bl-herra l-qaddej tiegħek.

Inti l-għajnuna tiegħi

tħallinix u titlaqnix,

Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi.                             R/

Nemmen li għad nara t-tjieba tal-Mulej

f'art il-ħajjin.

Ittama fil-Mulej, żomm  sħiħ u qawwi qalbek,

ittama fil-Mulej.                                               R/

Reading 2                             Philippians 3:17—4:1

Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and observe those who thus conduct themselves according to the model you have in us.For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction.Their God is their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.” Their minds are occupied with earthly things.But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.He will change our lowly bodyto conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord.

It-Tieni Qari   -   mill-Ittra lill-Filippin 3, 17-21;4,1

Ħuti, ixbħu lili, u ħarsu lejn dawk li jimxu  skont l-eżempju li rajtu fina.     Għaliex hawn ħafna – dan għedthulkom bosta drabi, imma issa ntennihulkom bid-dmugħ f'għajnejja – li jġibu ruħhom bħal għedewwa tas-Salib ta' Kristu.  It-telfien għad ikun tmiemhom; alla tagħhom hu żaqqhom, jiftaħru b'dak li jmisshom jistħu minnu, u moħħhom biss fil-ħwejjeġ tad-dinja. Imma aħna pajżani tas-sema; minn hemm bil-ħerqa nistennewh jiġi, is-Salvatur tagħna Sidna Ġesu' Kristu. Hu għad irid ibiddlilna l-ġisem imsejken tagħna fis-sura tal-ġisem glorjuż tiegħu, bil-qawwa tas-setgħa li għandu li jġib kollox taħtu. Għalhekk, intom, ħuti li intom l-għożża u x-xewqa tiegħi, ferħ u kuruna tiegħi, żommu sħiħ fil-Mulej, maħbubin tiegħi.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                   Luke 9:28b-36

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.

L-Evanġelju   -    skont San Luqa 9,, 28b-36

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' ħa miegħu lil Pietru, lil Ġwanni u lil Ġakbu, u tala' fuq il-muntanja biex jitlob. U ġara li huwa u jitlob, id-dehra ta' wiċċu tbiddlet u l-ilbiesi tiegħu saru ta' bjuda li tgħammex. U kien hemm żewġt irġiel jitħaddtu miegħu, Mose' u Elija,   li dehru fil-glorja, jitħaddtu fuq it-tmiem ta' ħajtu li kellu jseħħ f'Ġerusalemm. Pietru u sħabu kienu mejtin bin-ngħas,  imma baqgħu mqajmin sewwa,  u raw il-glorja tiegħu u ż-żewġt irġiel li kienu miegħu. X'ħin dawn it-tnejn kienu se jinfirdu minnu, Pietru qal lil Ġesu': "Mgħallem, kemm hu sew li aħna hawn!  Ħa ntellgħu tliet tined, waħda għalik, waħda għal Mose' u  waħda għal Elija!"   Ma kienx jaf x'inhu jgħid. Waqt li kien qiegħed jgħid dan, ġiet sħaba u għattiethom u huma beżgħu kif daħlu fis-sħaba. U minn ġos-sħaba nstama' leħen igħid:  "Dan hu Ibni l-maħtur,lilu isimgħu!" Malli nstama' l-leħen Ġesu' sab ruħu waħdu. Huma żammew is-skiet,u għal dawk il-jiem ma qalu xejn lil ħadd minn dak li kienu raw. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

//////////////////////////////////////////////

Commentary by Larry Broding

Looking to the Future in a Rearview Mirror

What do people fear about the future? Why do they harbour such fears?

As much as we are focused on the present moment, we like to peer into the future. To see visions of what can be, to dream about what is possible. To let go of the baggage from the past, to feel the freedom of tomorrow. Of course, change means the instability of the unknown. So, we may no longer want to rush to the future. We may want to conserve what we have and what we understand.

The stress we feel in our culture is the tussle between the rocky rush to the future and the comfort the past gives. We might be pulled between the fresh and the stale. But, we stand between the uncertainty of the unknown and the certainty of the already known.

Thisd Sunday’s Gospel takes us with Peter and his partners as they followed Jesus up the mountain to pray. There, they experienced a vision that gave them a choice. What was to be vs what they relied on. Personal change may be reflected in past experience, but it can be of an unknown origin, or even the promise of the future. We need trust in God's will to cope with such change. And we find God's will in prayer.

Jesus invited his earliest disciples and closest friends to pray with him. Several verses earlier in Luke, Jesus revealed the type of Messiah he would be; he predicted his death and resurrection. Now it was time for the power and meaning of the prediction to set in; so, Jesus prayed and shared his prayer time with Peter, James, and John.

The power and meaning of Christ's prediction revealed themselves as a heavenly vision. Glorified, Jesus discussed his coming death with the two pillars of the Jewish faith: Moses, the Law giver, and Elijah, the first of the prophets [29-31]. The presence of both represented the two divisions of the Jewish Scripture, the Law and the Prophets. Hence, the discussion between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah symbolized the Passion as the fulfillment of Scripture.

Did Peter, James, and John fully understand the implications of Jesus' prediction and its meaning? Hardly. They were asleep; not only were they in slumber (the literal meaning of sleep), they didn't understand (the figurative meaning of being asleep). This scene would be repeated when Jesus took these same disciples with him to pray at the Agony in the Garden.

From his slumber and lack of understanding, Peter wanted to build three booths or tents. Tents built on the side of a mountain were references to the Festival of Booths, when the Jews had a post-harvest celebration. During the multi-day festival, people lived in temporary shelters around Jerusalem. At one point they carried palm branches into a procession. In the centuries before the birth of Jesus, the festival took on Messianic overtones:

The symbols were all here: the light, the central focus on Jesus, climbing the mountain to worship (just as Jerusalem was built on a mountain). But Peter wanted to celebrate a past revelation (i.e., Moses and Elijah as the Law and the Prophets: the Jewish Scripture) and a past understanding of the Messiah (i.e., Jesus as the political and religious Messiah).

Peter failed to realize Jesus was speaking about a future event and a future revelation. The past meant no change, but the future meant uncontrollable change. The past merely required certainty; the future required faith. In his fear, Peter lacked faith; he just didn't know what he was saying.

To confirm the revelation, the cloud and the voice from heaven (both symbols of God's presence) appear. From the cloud the Father affirms his Son's prediction with the words: "This is my chosen Son; listen to him." The word of God given through the Law and the Prophets was now given through Jesus. The focus of the past now became the focus on the future.

We may take comfort in the past, in the Tradition of Faith. And so we should. But that comfort should not mask the possibilities the future holds. Ultimately, change lies in the hands of God, in divine providence.

What is divine providence? Divine Providence is the wise and loving act of God which guides all creation from its origin to its ultimate end. We take part in divine providence by freely cooperating with God's plan for our lives, to trust in God's will. Even when we place our trust in God, we can still experience the results of sin. After all, evil lurks in the world.

Why does God permit evil in the world? When we ask this question, we can also ask, "Why did the Son of God die on the cross?" The answer to both questions is the same: to allow a greater good to come from the evil. Christ died in order to rise from the dead. The faith that believes in the risen Lord will also give us hope that a greater good comes from an evil act.

At the Transfiguration, Peter, John, and James experienced the living tradition of the past and the promise of salvation in the future. But, that promise came at a price. The death of the Master they loved.

What challenges to faith have you experienced? How did God guide you through them? Did your experience of divine providence increase your faith in God? Why or why not?

We Christians may not be immune from the stresses of future promise. But, we have a unique perspective on the future. We look forward to God's will and the coming of the Lord in glory through the eyes of a faith two millennium old. We are, in effect, looking at the future through a rearview mirror. Such a view should not blind us to the possibilities of the future. It should just give our view perspective.

How should we cope with future shock? How did Jesus? In prayer. Prayer is time with God's will and our future. How we spent that time is a clear measure of our trust in God and his ways that change us.

The challenge of the future should give us pause. And a chance to pray. What challenges lie on your horizon this week? How have you placed them in prayer?

////////////////////////////