Homily Lent 2C: Working for our citizenship is in heaven

 Homily for 2^nd Sunday of Lent Year C 2022

Genesis 15:5-12,17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28b-36

Introduction

"Our citizenship is in heaven," we just heard St. Paul say in the second reading.  What does he mean? Is he suggesting that because we are Catholic, we are not American citizens, Ugandan citizens, Canadian citizens, Mexican citizens?

Fortunately for us, there is a thing called dual citizenship.  For example, I can be both a Ugandan and a US citizen.  Someone can be both a Canadian and a US citizen.  And some European countries like Italy, Spain and France allow you to claim citizenship if at least your great grandparent was a citizen of that country, so that you can be both an Italian and a US citizen.

For us as Catholics therefore, we are dual citizens; we are citizens of this world and citizens of heaven.  Moreover, as St. Paul and indeed our readings today remind us, we are citizens of this world only for a short while; our permanent citizenship is with God in heaven.  And story of the Transfiguration in the gospel, gives us a glimpse of that heavenly citizenship.

Scripture and Tradition

In last Sunday's gospel we saw that the desert was the place where God prepared his messengers for their mission: Moses and the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, the prophet Elijah and Jesus for 40 days and nights.

But when he wanted to reveal himself, he met them on mountains.

·        It is on Mount Sinai that Moses often met God and from where he came down with God's message, including the Ten Commandments.

·        Elijah too went to meet God on that same Mount Sinai (1 Kg. 19).

·        And in today’s gospel we heard that "Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray."

But while Moses and Elijah only conversed with God on the mountain, they did not see his face.  God revealed himself to them only in partial way, like a shadow or a silhouette.  In the case of Jesus, however, he reveals himself fully.

·        We heard that: "While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white."  This is what the disciples saw.

·        Even the appearance of Moses and Elijah, revered messengers of God, symbols of God's Law and the Prophets, testified to who Jesus was.

·        And to top it off, there was the voice of the Father himself from the cloud saying: "This is my chosen Son; listen to him."

What Moses and Elijah had only seen partially on their previous trips to the mountain, the three disciples could now see fully in the transfigured Jesus.  The disciples had a foretaste of the heavenly citizenship that awaited them.

Moreover, Jesus had a special purpose in bringing with him up the mountain these three, Peter, James and John, his inner cabinet, the closest of the Twelve.  For a week earlier, he had just announced to his disciples for the first time that “he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”  The disciples found this message difficult to understand or accept, since for them, a Messiah was someone who would come in glory and power; not someone who would suffer.  Jesus had even told them that every one of his disciples would also have to deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus.  His painful fate would be their painful fate.

And so, having proposed this rather stark picture of what it means to be a disciple, Jesus now provided a morale booster, an antidote, if you like.  By giving them, this experience of the Transfiguration, he assured Peter, James and John that this suffering, both on his part and on their part, is not for nothing.  It is the means by which they will share in the glory of the Father, their true citizenship.

·        And so, in this experience of the Transfiguration, they have a sneak-peek of that glory, to which they must look forward, for which they must work.  Like a preview of a good movie entices you to go and watch the real thing, a preview of heaven, would make them work for the real thing.

·        This experience might also be compared to a plastic surgeon showing his patient what he or she will hopefully look like after the procedure.  In this way, the patient might be more inclined to undergo the pain and suffering.  Similarly, the disciples, were able to understand the Cross, because they saw the glory that comes from it, their true citizenship that would follow.

Christian Life

What this experience did for Peter, James and John, it should do for us today.  And coming as it does on the Second Sunday of Lent, this story should help us understand why we have to go through the harshness of the desert, that is, of Lenten Penance, as well as of the difficulties of our daily lives.  This gospel should remind us that the prospect of heaven (and for that matter the avoidance of hell), must always be at the forefront of our thoughts.  We must never forget as St. Paul told us that our true citizenship is in heaven.

·        In virtually all sports, coaches always tell their players to keep their eye on the ball, if they want to win.  For us Christians, the ball is heaven, which we must never keep far from our thoughts and actions. 

·        And for those who use the GPS for navigation, it only works if you enter the correct destination.  If we enter heaven as the destination of our life's journey, even when we take the wrong turn, as we tend to do with sin, it should recalculate and keep on the true path that leads to heaven.

Besides reminding us about our true home in heaven, this story of the Transfiguration also gives us the two ways of getting there: ascending up the mountain and descending down from the mountain.

We climb up the mountain, whenever we pray.  Luke's gospel tells us that Jesus went up to the mountain to pray.  And it is during his prayer, that this marvellous experience of his glory happened.  We too, can experience something of God's glory, both in our private prayer and in our community prayer.  We come to prayer, to leave behind, at least temporarily the cares of our current citizenship and have a foretaste of the other citizenship.  We come to the Eucharist, Confession, devotions and personal prayer, to acquire strength, be anchored and properly oriented for the difficult journey we are making towards heaven.  That is why prayer is not only one of the three Lenten practices, it is also one of the seven spiritual works of mercy; it reminds of our heavenly home.

But then we must climb down from the mountain of prayer.  We cannot like Peter want to build three tents and remain there; rather we must bring our experience from the mountain-top to the valleys and even the deserts of everyday life.  We must let that sneak-peek experience of heaven we get in prayer inform the rest of our life.  For Peter than meant coming down and enduring the suffering and death of his Lord and Master, and later his own.  For us, coming down from the mountain means that we must return to the world ready face the daily hustles of family life and work life, to face questions such as why is all that death and suffering happening in Ukraine, why did Hurricane Ida destroy our homes, why are family and friends, or even ourselves in poor health.  When the deacon or priest after Mass dismisses us saying: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” he is essentially saying, start climbing down the mountain; go back to your daily lives and live out what you have received here.  And particularly during this season of Lent, our sneak-peek experience of heaven, should inspire us to do this by fasting and almsgiving, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Conclusion

And so, may the experience of the three disciples on the mountain, inspire our own lives, especially during this Lenten season, by both climbing the mountain in devout prayer to have a foretaste of the heavenly citizenship, and climbing down the mountain transform our current citizenship in word and action.

Let us eagerly look forward to that day, when we finally get to heaven, to the mountain of the Lord, where there will be no more ascending and descending.  There we shall take up permanent residence and citizenship, with Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with the Father, in the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.