The Homily

Lent 2

Sunday, March 08, 2009
Gn 22:1-18 + Ps 116:10-19 + Rom 8:31-34 + Mk 9:2-10
Audio version of homily

The opening line of our first reading today sets the focus for our week:
"God put Abraham to the test."
Last week it was a test for Jesus in the desert, and as I said then,
such experiences need not simply be a time of trial and temptation.
They may also result in an unmistakable encounter with God
who is always there in the wilderness.
Abraham faces a test and meets the God who had promised him so much!

Our Gospel today is also the story of a test - a test for Peter, James, and John.
Jesus is not the only one who has an encounter with the divine on that mountain.
These followers of Jesus have one as well.
Their test is about obedience and about what they see when they look at their Rabbi.
Do they see a carpenter's son who might be a political messiah
leading them to freedom from Roman occupation?
Or do they see someone who will be handed over and rise again?
Can they follow a man whose destiny and whose vision they do not understand?

It is important to notice that their experience on the mountain is communal not individual just as the experience of Pentecost was not private or individual in an exclusive way; but communal and mutually formative and supportive.

This is an experience available to us when we have assembled on this mountain.
What we see here is a "transfiguration" so to speak.
If Peter, James, and John no longer saw a man from Nazareth but the glory of his exaltation, then we no longer see bread on this altar; but what it becomes for us.
If Peter, James and John no longer saw the man they followed up that mountain
but saw the glory of divine life in him, then we no longer see each other just a neighbor or a stranger for by grace that same glory shines in each of us.
If Peter, James, and John heard a voice that said: "Listen to him." So have we.
If Peter, James, and John can take the risk of following Jesus even when they did not understand where he would lead them and what it would mean, so can we.

The risk of standing back and hearing this Gospel as though it was about something that happened to some apostles a long time ago takes the life out of the Word of God.
This is the Living Word that we proclaim here in the midst of a living community.
These are the stories of our faith today with Abraham, Peter, James, and John.

For Jesus, what happens there is strictly an act of God who allowed those apostles to see Jesus in his glory.
For the Apostles, for Abraham, and for us all, we are confronted with a divine command on this mountain: "Listen."
In this season, our time for change is at hand.
It can and it will proceed for those who will listen and heed the voice of God that affirms the importance of Jesus in our lives.

The risk of moving forward when we may not understand is made more possible by the example of Abraham and these disciples. "Playing it safe" has never been the style of serious disciples of Jesus. Knowing all the answers or having perfect understanding has never led anyone the truth either. This is not the posture of a disciple it is simply a pretense and often an excuse for not listening. If you do not always understand what God asks of you, and sometimes are confused about what it seems to mean, just keep listening. That is what led Peter, James, and John deeper into the mystery of Christ in their midst, and it was what ultimately saw God's promise to Abraham fulfilled.

— Fr. Boyer