In our first reading today we witness God's promise to Abraham, a promise of salvation. Pleased with Abraham's faith God promised that Abraham's decendents would be as numerous as the stars in the night sky and gave Abraham all the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates. To this God pledged a covenant with Abraham.
Our Gospel today is the record of the Transfiguration of Jesus according to Luke. Peter and James witness the transfiguration and this is a covenant between us and God concerning His promise of what is to come for all of mankind. Think first about the fact that God emptied Himself of everything that is God and became human, just like us, with the exception of sin. We should be able to see right away that to be human is something pretty fantastic...after all God personally designed us to be in His image and likeness...it is we who deny that glory and that LOVE. It is we who consider ourselves less than disireable. God keeps trying to tell us that we are in His grace and that we are loved with a love that is so perfect and so selfless. As a human who loved perfectly Jesus was killed. He gave to us, for us, everything that he had to give as a human ending with his death. You can't give more than that, you're done. In fact on the cross Jesus' last words were, "It is done." What is done? He was done...he had given all he could give. It was over.
Here on this hilltop Peter and James are blessed with a preview of what is to come for all mankind. Moses and Elijah have been dead centuries yet here they are in shining glory talking to Jesus about what is to happen to Jesus...about his death. Jesus is resplendant in glowing white robes and his face shone like the sun. This is a man that will die within 24 hours...talking to men who have been dead centuries...do WE understand what we are being told and described here? Poor Peter was so confused he offered to set up tents for the three of them. God had to speak, for the second time, proclaiming that Jesus is his beloved son, LISTEN TO HIM!
If God creates something, and "it is good" then he loves it and it exists in His grace forever. We were created by God, who personally DESIGNED us in His image and likeness, to be what we are and there is nothing lowly about being human. We are being given the opportunity of a sneak preview of what is to become of us AFTER human death. We will remain in the grace of God. We remain in His perfect love. We will be as Jesus, Moses and Elijah. THAT is our destiny.
Each day we are on the journey to that new beginning. Each day God loves us with His perfect, selfless love. Our guidebook tells us to do this one thing: Love God with all our heart, soul and mind AND love one another as God loves us. That means we have to recognize that ALL humans are graced by God. We must love with a perfect love, totally focused outside ourselves. Remember always that if something exists it exists by the grace of God. ALL humans are LOVED by God with his perfect love.
Lent is a time to sharply re-focus on our journey and our destiny and to increase the closeness of our personal relationship with God. Love is a very personal thing that happens between people. God is in a relationship with you and me. A relationship where each party gives unconditionally. Perfect love does not wait for reciprocation, it continues to love and focus that love on another. God does not stop giving of his perfect love. It is we who do not maintain our side of the relationship by denying that love with our despair. God has made the ultimate sacrifice to show us the perfect love He has for all of us. He became human...do you think God would do that if He thought being human was somehow lowly or that He would do that if He didn't intend for us to have an eternal loving relationship with Him?
Our Psalm this week is Psalm 33: Lord Let Your Mercy Be on Us. Also on that site are the Lenten Gospel Acclamations. Please remember that we do NOT sing or say Alleluia during Lent, but sing “Praise To You Lord Jesus Christ”. There is a lead sheet available for all the weeks of Lent, each verse corresponds to a week of lent, 1, 2, 3,..etc. This week sing verse 2.