March 9, 2022 at 4:02 p.m.
This Season of Lent, we are drawn into the ‘cloud’
This Season of Lent, we are drawn into the ‘cloud’
This was not how it was done in Abram’s time. The First Reading this Sunday tells what seems like a grisly story, but what is being described is the “cutting” of a covenant between God and Abram. The graphic point is that if either party breaks the contract, then they would meet the same fate as the animals. This really underscores the seriousness of the agreement!
The Lord God promises Abram’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens and the land on which they will dwell. Abram promises fidelity to God: “he put his faith in the LORD (a reference to the sacred name which could not be spoken) and it was credited to him as an act of righteousness.” During the covenant ceremony, Abram falls into a deep trance and was enveloped by a terrifying darkness. He experiences a vision of a “smoking fire pot and flaming torch which passes between the pieces.” In this awesome experience of the living God, Abram and his LORD have sealed the covenant!
This is an intensely spiritual moment for Abram and his descendants. Jesus too is experiencing an intensely spiritual moment in the Gospel. In the verses before this story, Jesus has just foretold his death and resurrection. Now, he has come away to pray with his inner circle. Perhaps he wants to give encouragement to the disciples. Perhaps in his own humanity, Jesus needs reassurance about his mission. Jesus enters into this moment of deep encounter with his Father. He is also being heartened by the presence of two giants of the First Testament – Moses and Elijah. They have lived out the covenant in difficult times – suffering from the ridicule of their own people and often in danger for their lives. Is this what they are sharing with Jesus?
Jesus has a moment of respite. Here he is enveloped in the cloud of the presence. Now he is dazzling and robed in glory, now he again hears the voice of his Father: “this is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him.” Jesus is reassured in his mission and in the love of the Father.
But, the disciples are terrified! Awakened from their sleep, they are overcome by the cloud, the vision of Moses and Elijah and the dazzling light surrounding Jesus. Can we feel their awe? Can we taste their terror? Like the disciples, Jesus invites us onto the mountain. He invites us to be drawn into the splendor and the challenge. He invites us to experience the presence of the living God.
This blessed Lenten time leads us up the mountain of the Transfiguration to experience Jesus’ life giving presence in a deeper way. We are drawn into the “cloud” which offers us time for reflection on the Scriptures and encounter with Jesus, especially in the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation. We are urged by the Father to pause and “listen” to his Chosen One in our daily prayer.
We are encouraged in our faith. St. Paul promises that “the Lord Jesus Christ will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body …” We get a glimpse of that glorified body in the Transfiguration. But the promise of that glorified body is also within us now. Can we use this Lenten time to gentle our own bodies? To be kind by slowing down, by taking care of our health, by exercising and enjoying the abundance of gifts the Father has poured into our lives? Can we extend this gentleness to others in our families, at work, in the supermarket, in traffic, at our parish?
The Lord is my light and my salvation as Psalm 27 affirms. This dazzling light, this strength, this celebration of graces of the NOW and the promise of the fullness of life to come – this is what we have come to experience on the Mount of the Transfiguration!
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250 X 250 AD
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