Readings (Year C):
Genesis 15:5 – 12, 17 – 18
Psalm 27:1, 7 – 8, 8 – 9, 13 – 14
Philippians 3:17 – 4:1
Luke 9:28b – 36
Reflection: Repent and believe
Lent is a powerful and poignant liturgical season in the church. During this time, we have the opportunity to contemplate the suffering and death of Christ, await his resurrection with joyful hope, and come to grips with our own human frailty.
We started off this season with Ash Wednesday. When we received ashes on our foreheads, we also received the reminder that we are vulnerable, finite, and journeying towards death. I find that this ritual “jolts me awake,” taking me out of the mundane repetitions of my daily life and reminding me of how precious each day alive is.
As a child, I was used to hearing my parish priest say, “Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return” when he would give ashes. At my current parish, the priest usually says, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” I’ve grown to appreciate the second saying, as it shows us what facing our frailty should do. Understanding that we will die should not only jolt us awake but should also move us towards repentant actions that align with the gospel message.
In today’s gospel reading, we see that three of Jesus’ apostles—Peter, John, and James—are also jolted awake—specifically by the Transfiguration of our Lord. As the reading explains, the three and Christ had climbed a mountain to pray. The three had then fallen asleep but were then awakened by Christ in his divine glory: magnificent, glowing bright, a true light for the world.
I like to think of Lent as a time of being jolted awake. We are drowsy amidst the great glory of God—and the simultaneous calamities of our time. In our culture, it’s tempting to remain in this state of drowsiness, to ignore the death-dealing actions of leaders and institutions and to be lulled to sleep by earthly comforts.
And it’s even more tempting to be pulled into this death-dealing orbit. Today we see politicians and corporate leaders gleefully pursuing profits, extracting natural resources with reckless abandon, and pursuing geopolitical battles, with little regard for the vulnerable people and communities harmed in the process. Our culture heralds these displays of power and gives the people displaying them glory.
Yet as the second reading reminds us, those who act this way “conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.” This occupation with worldly things lacks a grounding in God; so as Paul explains, “their end is destruction.”
Christ’s death on the cross confronts us with an alternative kind of power and glory. Through self-giving love, Christ shows us true glory. And through death, Christ reveals his power. Christ’s actions sharply contrast with the power-hungry of today, who find glory not in giving of self, but in taking from many, and who see vulnerability as weakness, not power. In contrast to a culture that glorifies greed, today’s readings call us to embrace God’s call to give of ourselves in love. As I reckon with this paradox—the power in self-gift— I am reminded of how countercultural our faith truly is.
The Lenten season presents us with the opportunity to redirect our sights, from the temptations of greed towards the example set forth by Christ. Though I’ve said much about death today, the readings remind us that this is not our ultimate destiny. Our faith teaches that death does not have the final word, not for Christ and not for us. Our citizenship lies in heaven, and our journey ends in new life with Christ.
So while we wait for our arrival into our true home, let us spend this time bringing the beauty of heaven to Earth, through actions that glorify God. In doing so, we can best embody Paul’s invitation to “stand firm in the Lord.”
Add comment