Second Sunday of Lent
Last Wednesday, Pope Francis was in the unlikeliest of all places - the US-Mexico border. He visited the border town of Cuidad Juarez, once known as the most violent place in the world. Before he celebrated mass for about two hundred thousand people, Pope Francis laid flowers at the memorial which remembers the immigrants who have lost their lives. The Pope’s gesture added fuel to the already fiery and controversial issue of immigration in the United States. While in Cuidad Juarez, he also visited the local prison, where, just a week before, 47 inmates were killed in gang-related riots. He said to the to the prisoners, “Jesus urges us to have the mercy that embraces everyone and is found in every corner of the world. There is no place beyond the reach of his mercy, no space or person it cannot touch.”
The Pope’s visit to these dangerous and controversial places raises many questions. Why could the Pope not be like the other dignitaries? Could he not visit the religious and political leaders, say masses for large crowds, mingle with the few people there, and then go home? Why take the risk of creating unwanted controversies, or for that matter, risk losing his life?
Perhaps, the answer lies in today’s gospel. If we understand today’s readings correctly, we will realize that the Pope is treading the way shown by Jesus. Today’s first reading and the gospel reading describe two spectacular sight. It is possible for us to be immersed in these experiences. However, the deeper points lie under the surface of these experiences. In my three points, I would like to reflect on the deeper points of these readings.
God Makes A Covenant
For a moment, think about he spectacular sight that Abram saw. A flaming torch consumed the sacrifice that Abram had prepared for God. However, the reading ends with the words, “It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram….” The deeper point of the reading is this - that God made a covenant with Abram and in way entered human history. Through this covenant God entered into a permanent relationship with us. By this covenant God bound God’s self with human destiny. God cared enough to enter into our lives, speak with us, love us, live among us, and give us hope. Finally, God took the risk of coming to us in a radically new way - through Jesus. At the transfiguration, the voice from heaven said, “This is my chosen Son.” Yes! God was indeed among us! Just like the Pope visiting places and people that other dignitaries would not, God came to us in our weakness and became part of us. It was dangerous; it was risky; it was controversial. Yet God embraced us and our human history. God is with us! Yes! God is among us!
Jesus: The Eternal Covenant
For a moment, let us get back to the scene of the first sacrifice that Abram prepared for God. God said to Abram: “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 did what God asked him to do. Except for the birds, he split the animals into two and laid them at the altar. Abram’s sacrifice was only a foreshadow of things to come. The transfiguration of Jesus parallels the covenant God made with Abram. The vision the disciples saw was of Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus. What did they speak about? Luke says, they “spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.” We know what that “exodus” looked like. “This is my chosen Son,” the voice from heaven said. The “new exodus” would be accomplished by a new kind of sacrifice. This sacrifice was not to be offered by human beings, but rather, by God. This sacrifice was not the flesh of animals and birds, but rather, the flesh and blood of the “chosen Son.” The new exodus is the new and eternal covenant. We are people of this new exodus, the new sacrifice, the new covenant!
Covenant: A Invitation into the Depth of Divine Life
The sacrifice offered by Abram and the sacrifice offered by Jesus reveal another great reality to us - that God has invited us into the very depths of God’s divine life. When the sacrifice that Abram prepared was consumed, he experienced the splendor of God. At the transfiguration of Jesus, the disciples were invited into the very depths of the glory of God. In other words, the movement is a two-way movement. Not only does God come to us in the covenant that God made with Abram and in Jesus, but God invites us to move toward our eternal destiny. How do we do this? I think Pope Francis is showing us the way. Mercy, compassion, genuine love, caring about and for another, keeping the gospel at the center, trying to love like Jesus did, letting Christ loose in our lives, rejecting the lure of scandalous wealth, greed, self-serving power - these are the ways in which we move toward God. This the way of Jesus. The voice from heaven was very clear: “This is my chosen Son. Listen to him.” Let us listen - not only with our ears, but with our lives.
This Eucharist is our chance to experience what Abram and the disciples experienced. The Eucharist is the new Covenant. The Eucharist is an invitation to enter into the depths of God’s life.
- Fr. Satish Joseph