2nd Sunday of Lent 2022 - On mountains and Masses

Throughout Scripture, mountains are special places of faith, prayer, and encounter with God. Abram climbed Mt. Moriah with his son Isaac for sacrifice. Moses encountered the glory of God after climbing Mt. Sinai. God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper on Mt. Horeb. After his victory over the false prophets of Baal, the prophet Elijah withdrew to Mt. Carmel to pray. The Temple was built on top of Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. And on top of Mt. Tabor, as we heard on the Gospel today, the apostles beheld the Lord in Transfigured glory and heard about his forthcoming exodus to the cross, which took place on another mountain, Mt. Calvary. 

People of all ages have felt drawn to mountains. Mountains, so close to the heavens, are places of clarity. They offer a different perspective—helping us to see more than we can when we’re immersed in so many things on the ground. St. Francis of Assisi withdrew to Mount La Verna for prayer and there received the holy stigmata. As a young priest, Pope St. John Paul liked to lead mountain retreats and go skiing. 

Coming to Mass is a lot like climbing a holy mountain; if you have young children, it might even require similar amount of energy. We climb to the altar of God inside of a church building—in order to offer our most sacred act of worship, the Eucharist, to commune with God, to receive some clarity for our lives, and breathe a breath of the Spirit’s fresh air that we can’t get sitting on our living room couch. 

There are many parallels between the celebration of Mass, and our Gospel today on top of Mount Tabor. The Gospel began with a procession up a mountain, Peter, James, John, and Our Lord processing upon the mountain. So too, Mass begins with a procession up towards the altar.

Sometimes non-practicing Catholics will say that they don’t need to go to Mass in order to pray: they can pray anywhere.  That’s true.  But, one, you can’t fulfill your Sunday obligation by just praying anywhere, and two, we see Jesus in the Gospel leading his disciples to special places to pray: a mountain, a secluded place, the upper room where he celebrated the last supper, and the cross—the mountain of Calvary where the Lord offered the most perfect sacrifice to the Father, himself.

Having reached the top of the Mountain, the Lord became transfigured in dazzling white. On that mountain, his disciples saw the Lord clearly. This certainly reminds us of how at Mass, the Eucharist is held up for all to see. At the transfiguration, of course,  the Lord’s face and clothes change in appearance—his divinity is undeniable. At Mass, on the other hand, bread and wine don’t change in appearance. Rather, they change on the supernatural level—bread and wine are changed into the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ, a change we recognize not by sight, but by faith.

Next to the transfigured Lord appeared Moses and Elijah. The presence of these Old Testaments figures reveal that Jesus is the fulfillment of the salvation foreshadowed by the Law and the Prophets. We read almost every week from either the law or the prophets at Mass and we see scenes from the prophets and the books of Moses in our stained glass windows and our Church ceiling.

Next, the Lord speaks with Moses and Elijah about his Exodus. And at this Peter exclaims it is good that we are here. What part of the mass does this remind you of? The homily of course! The priest speaks and everyone says, it is good that we are here…right. But there is a parallel with the homily here, isn’t there. Jesus gives explanation about his mission, just as in the homily drawing from Old Testament and New, the priest gives explanation about our Christian mission, the Christian life. 

St. Luke tells us that the Lord spoke about his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. And here’s the reason we read the story of the Transfiguration on the 2nd Sunday of Lent each year. We are given this reminder, from the Lord’s own lips, that though he must tread the road of the cross, he goes there to accomplish our salvation. And the story will not end there. He goes to the cross for you and may, so that we may experience the glory that he revealed on Mt. Tabor. 

And we need this reminder, don’t we? Because our crosses are heavy and entail great suffering. Our toils often so overwhelming that we can loose sight of the promises God makes to us.

In the proceeding passage in St. Luke’s Gospel, the passage immediately preceding the story of the transfiguration, the Lord says, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily.” And you might think, why should I? Why should I endure the suffering that the Christian life entails. Why should I practice fasting when there’s so much good and delicious food and drink. Why should I practice prayer when there’s so many entertaining shows? Why should I give my hard-earned wealth to the poor? Why should I risk professional advancement by publicly practicing my Catholic faith? On top of the Mountain of Transfiguration the Lord answers a question raised on the mountain of Calvary. Because the cross leads to transfigured and resurrected glory. 

Backs bent over by the weight of their crosses will be straightened. Wounds caused by nails in our flesh and the laceration of the whip will be healed. Wounded hearts, pierced with swords of sorrow will be made new and filled with joy.

That’s why we climb the mountain to come to Mass every week. For one, because it is here, where God begins to heal our wounds, now, giving us glimpses and foreshadowings of heaven, to give us fortitude for carrying our earthly crosses. And two, because it is here at Mass, that our daily crosses are joined to Christ’s on the altar of sacrifice, and we are given the heavenly food, that gives us strength for the journey, to walk the royal road of the cross that leads to the resurrection.

If you think the Mass is just about checking a box so that God has to let you into heaven, boy, is that missing the big picture! The Mass is Mt. Sinai, where we receive the Lord’s commandments. The Mass is Mt Moriah, where we prepare the sacrifice of what we hold dear out of faithfulness to the Lord. The Mass is Mt. Horeb where we hear the Lord’s voice, not in fire and earthquakes, but in tiny whispers. The Mass is Mt Carmel where we retreat from earthly business to contemplate the Lord’s presence. The Mass is Mt. Zion where we enter the temple of the Lord for divine worship. The Mass is Mt. Tabor where we get a glimpse of Transfigured glory. And the Mass is Mt. Calvary, where the Lord goes to accomplish the work of our salvation.

The Lord has led us to this holy mountain, thanks be to God. And with Peter we say, it is good that we are here. For in our Eucharistic celebration, the Lord wishes to give us a glimpse, through faith, of heaven, and feed us with the food that strengthens us for the entire Christian life, that the crosses of our life, may not crush us, but lead to resurrection, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

2nd Sunday of Lent 2018 - Desert & Mountaintop

Last week, the Lenten liturgy presented us with the Gospel of Jesus' temptations in the desert; we reflect this week on the extraordinary event of the Transfiguration. Pope Benedict once commented, that these two episodes serve as “pillars on which to build the entire structure of Lent until Easter, and indeed, the entire structure of Christian life.”

On one hand, Jesus’ struggle in the desert, shows us how Jesus shares in our humanity, even in our human temptations. He hungered as we hungered, he thirsted as we thirst, and he was tempted, as we are tempted.

Now, his temptations were on a bit different scale than ours. We are not tempted to turn stones into bread, or to use divine power to become a sort of world ruler, like Jesus. But we are tempted according to our situation in life. A 5 year old is tempted to do what he knows is wrong, stealing the toy from his sibling, obstinately refusing the wishes of his parents. A 15 year-old is tempted with 15-year old sins. Spouses and parents are tempted with sins against the patience and kindness and faithfulness for spouse and children which should rule over their hearts. Politicians are tempted to misuse their power and influence for selfish reasons.

But the Lord’s temptations were real, just like ours: to misuse the power, the time, the goods, we have for selfish means. And this struggle against temptation is the great struggle of the Christian life.
But the Lord was prepared for his desert temptations because, over those 40 days, he had fasted and prayed. And so the Lord sets the model for us, his human brothers and sisters, he sets the pattern for our own Lenten journey. We too are to fast from earthly pleasures—snacks, desserts, entertainment, rich food and drink—in order to remember that “man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

Some people think that they don’t have to fast during Lent, they’ll just perform extra acts of charity. But that is not consistent with our Catholic Tradition, the scriptures, the prayers, the writings of the saints and the Popes, or the example of Our Lord Himself, who Himself fasted, and taught that his disciples would have to fast, as well. Lenten fasting helps us to deepen our hunger for the “true food”, which is doing the will of God.

The first sin of the human race involved food and grasping for power that didn’t belong to us. And so, If Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command, that he should not eat the forbidden fruit, the believer, through Lenten fasting, submits himself humbly to God. And that humility is a bedrock basic attitude for the Christian life.

So, the Lord going out into the desert, to fast and pray and face his temptations serves as the first pillar of Lent.

The second pillar is the Transfiguration atop Mt. Tabor, which we read every year on the Second Sunday of Lent.

The Mountain Top in scripture is always the place of divine encounter. It is where faithfulness is exercised and God is revealed. On Mount Moriah, Abraham showed his faith, and God revealed that he did not desire human sacrifice, he desires something greater, the total surrender of our hearts. Abraham was to be the father of the holy nation of Israel, a people who offered their whole hearts in surrender to God’s will, God’s plan.

So too, Moses encounters God on Mount Sinai. Moses, who faithfully led the Israelites in their exodus from Egyptian slavery to the promised land, encounters God, who reveals his law, his commandments, that his people may refrain from evil and sin, which are another form of slavery. God desires that his people be free not just from physical slavery, but spiritual slavery as well.

Elijah, too, with whom Jesus converses during His Transfiguration also encountered God on a mountain. On Mt. Carmel, the faithful prophet Elijah confronted the priests of the false Canaanite god Baal, who did demand child-sacrifice by the way. Through faithful Elijah, God reveals he is the One True God, and the futility of the false religions.

So, now Jesus and his closest disciples ascend Mount Tabor. And we see that same pattern again. Jesus, shows himself to be the faithful Son of his Father, willing to undergo suffering, crucifixion, and death. Then God’s glory is revealed. Jesus becomes transfigured, the dazzling glory of his divinity shines forth, and the voice of the Father speaks from heaven, “This is my beloved Son.”

If in the Desert Jesus showed his share in our humanity, on Mount Tabor he shows that through Him, Humanity will share in His divinity. That the cross is not the defeat of God, but rather the royal road of heaven for man; that our sufferings and the fortitude we exert in resisting temptation, when united to Christ leads to life.

So, the Lord’s white garment on Tabor prefigures the robe of his glorious resurrection, as well as the white garment of the baptized. For through baptism, we receive the white garment of the saved; we are united to Christ in his saving death, and are promised that we will rise with Him, in glorious resurrection.

Two pillars of the Lenten season: Desert and Mountaintop. In Lent, we are to be desert travelers with Jesus, fasting with him, turning away from creature comforts and earthly pleasures, to strip away the non-essentials that we may trust all the more in God. And in Lent, we are to be fellow mountain climbers with Christ, seeking the face of God and the will of God in our Lenten prayer, strengthening our Hope in Christ’s promise of resurrection and an eternal Easter.

So every day, we must climb the mountain of prayer. As we heard on Ash Wedneday, each day we are to go to a secluded place, shut the door, and listening to the Word of God. Our prayer will sustain us as we carry our crosses and encounter our hardships and face our temptations, our prayer will bring us the sweetness of God in the bitter times of life, the refreshment of God in the arid times of life, the peace of God in the chaotic times of life. Pope St. Leo the Great said, “when it comes to obeying the commandments or enduring adversity, the words uttered by the Father should always echo in our ears: This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

After facing temptation once again in the Garden of Gethsemene, on Good Friday, Jesus, the faithful son, climbs the final mountain, mount Calvary. God’s divine love, God’s love for us sinners, is fully revealed on that mountain, the mount of the cross. May His Divine Life, that radical aversion to sin, that burning desire to do the will of the Father, fill our hearts and lives as well, for the glory of god and salvation of souls.