Homily Lent 2A: Climbing the mountain of the Lord for a sneak-peek and descending to work

Homily for 2^nd Sunday of Lent Year A 2023

Introduction

I often find myself having to explain to my American friends that Africa, where I come from, is a diverse continent in terms of people, language, food and the environment.  That it is not all desert and scalding 100-degree temperatures.

Well, similarly, the Scriptures are also full of diverse geography, which variety the Bible writers use to deliver their messages.  For example, last Sunday’s gospel was set in a desert, where Jesus was tempted for 40 days and 40 nights.  The desert is a good symbol for Lenten penance, especially the hardships of fasting and prayer that are like a desert experience.  But on this second Sunday of Lent, our gospel passage takes us to a different environment, the top of a mountain, where Jesus reveals his glory to a close group of his disciples.

Scripture and Tradition

Jesus did not pick this location randomly.  In the Bible, mountains have a special role, as the places where God reveals the most important things about himself.  For example, Moses often met God and received the Ten Commandments from him on Mount Sinai; and Elijah defeated the false prophets and showed them that the God of Israel is the one true God, on Mount Carmel.

Jesus does something similar, when he brings Peter, James and John to the mountain.  Just before this field trip, Jesus 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 unthinkable.  How could their Messiah suffer?  How could someone who should come in glory and power be killed?  In fact Peter even suggested that Jesus was out of his mind!  To which Jesus responded quite sternly: “get behind me Satan.” Jesus even went further and told his followers that they too would have to suffer like him.  For “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

And so, having proposed this rather stark picture of what it means to be a disciple, Jesus needed to give his disciples a morale booster.  You could say he did what marketing experts do and gave them a preview or foretaste or a sample.  For example, the Movie industry gives you a sneak-peek or preview of a movie, so that you can then go and see the full thing.

And so Jesus takes this inner group of three to show them 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.  And so on the mountain, they experience the transfiguration of Jesus and so have a sneak-peek of that glory, to which they must look forward, for which they must work hard.

Perhaps an even better image is that of plastic surgeon, who shows the patient, what they will look like after all the cutting, tucking and stitching, so that they can endure the pain and suffering.  Similarly, at his Transfiguration, Jesus shows these disciples a foretaste of what he will look like after the Cross.

·        They saw the face of Jesus shining like the sun and his clothes becoming white as light.

·        They saw Moses and Elijah, two Old Testament heroes, appearing in glory, standing there and chatting with Jesus.

·        But best of all, a large cloud enveloped them and a loud voice cried out: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Any of us would have been impressed, not just by the facelift and wardrobe change of Jesus, but especially by the appearance of revered dead men and the voice of God the Father himself.

And so, this transfiguration experience gave them a preview of who Jesus really is, the Son of God, and what living with him in heaven will be like.  It is an experience that will enable them to understand the suffering and death of Jesus and give them hope in the resurrection that he promised them.

Christian Application

And that is why the expression “mountain-top experiences” has come to mean a powerful and inspiring incident, especially a spiritual one.  We Christians also need this encouragement that Jesus gave to his disciples.  We too need these mountain-top experiences like the Transfiguration to give us a sneak-peek, or preview or sample of what heaven is like, to encourage us on our journey of faith, especially, the difficult journey of Lenten penance.

And indeed the Lord has not left us without encouragement; he has provided us with various mountain-top experiences.

·        Sometimes this sneak-peek into things heavenly is our experience of nature, like a beautiful sunset, a breath-taking mountain or even a refreshing evening at the beach.  In the wonderful works of nature we see the hand of God who created an orderly and beautiful world.  We see a little of what Adam and Eve gave up, what Jesus won for us.

·        Sometimes this sneak-peek into things heavenly is our experience of the goodness of others, of the innocence of children, or even of falling deeply in love.  In all these things we see God at work.

But the most compelling mountain-top experience should be our prayer and the celebration of the liturgy especially the Mass. Thoughtful as ever, Jesus left us this weekly mountain-top experience we call the Mass.  Like the three disciples who went up the mountain, we come to Church every week and temporarily leave behind the cares and concerns of the everyday world, so as to have a foretaste of what life with God will be like.  The weekly Eucharist is for us the mountain of the Lord, where we experience and receive Jesus himself in a very special way, in his Word and in his Body and Blood.

But then having experienced this special communion with the Lord, we must come down from the mountain and live life fully.  We cannot like Peter want to build three tents and remain on the mountain; rather we must bring our experience from the mountain-top to the valleys of everyday life.  Just like we cannot just keep eating the samples in Costco or Sam’s Club without buying anything, or watch only previews of movies without seeing any of them, we must let our spiritual mountain-top experiences inform our daily lives.

For Peter that meant coming down and enduring the suffering and death of his Lord and Master as well as his own; for us this means that we must return to the world ready face the daily hustles of family life and work life.  And indeed if we let ourselves enter into the experience of the Mass fully, we can proudly leave Mass reassured that the crosses of our daily life are not in vain; there is light at the end of the tunnel.  That is why when the deacon or priest dismisses us: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” he is asking us to come down from the mountain and get to work.

I recently came across the words of Martin Luther King, in the speech he gave at Memphis on the day before he was assassinated, ominous words in which he speaks about the mountaintop. He says:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

King went up the mountain of the Lord, saw the glory of the Lord and decided to come down and continue doing God's will, working for racial justice.

Conclusion

You and I also have been to the mountaintop of the Lord many times.  At Mass, in the confessional, in the adoration chapel; there our eyes have seen the glory of the Lord.  Have these mountaintop experiences inspired us and strengthened us to pray more during this Lent, give up more in fasting and abstinence, give to others more in almsgiving?