2nd Sunday of Lent

God took Abram outside and asked him to look up at the sky and promised him that his descendants shall be as many as the stars. Abram believed God. He had faith in God and it was credited to him as an act of righteousness. And the Lord made a covenant with Abram because he put his trust and faith in Him. We are children of Abram, like him we are called to have faith in God.   Trust and have faith in the Lord who is our light, salvation, refuge and our helper.
 
St. Paul made a very powerful statement. “Join with others in being imitators of me.” Paul can make this statement because his life was a total reflection of the life of Christ. His life had been totally transformed into Christ. As he said, “for me to live or to die is Christ.” In another place he said, “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me…” Gal 2:19-20. He calls on us not to act as enemies of the CROSS. Our stomach should not be our God, nor should we allow our minds to be occupied with earthly things. But we should see ourselves as citizens of heaven, where our savior is, who will come and change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body. LENT is a time to focus and to devote more time to things of GOD and his heavenly Kingdom.
 
Jesus took Peter, John and James and went up the mountain to pray. Dear friends, LENT is particularly a season of greater commitment to prayer. Simply put, it’s a time to be passionate about prayer. While at prayer we are told the appearance of Jesus changed and his clothing became dazzling white. So, something tremendous happened, there was a change. LENT is a time for change through conversion, repentance. That is why we are encouraged to seek change by approaching the Sacrament of renewal, Confession, for true transformation and change. 
 
Moses and Elijah appeared to them. Moses is the law giver and Elijah represents the prophets. The transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of those two great servants of the LORD was to strengthen the faith of the apostles ahead of the public suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross. Moses and Elijah were the most authoritative voices of the whole holy history of Israel. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake they saw his GLORY. 
 
They saw the glory of GOD, the glory of his rule, the kingdom of heaven. The glory of God invested on man at creation that was lost by sin is here being restored by Christ, through his suffering, passion, death and resurrection. A cloud came and cast a shadow over them. Cloud in the Old Testament represents the presence of GOD. A voice came from the cloud, “This is my chosen Son.” God Himself here confirms the identity of Jesus to clear all doubt about who he is. He is the chosen Son of God.  His authority is far greater than that of Moses and Elijah. The voice of the Father confirms and affirms that Jesus is the right path with his mission to the CROSS for our salvation. God finally said, “Listen to him.” During this holy season of LENT, God invites us to listen to his Chosen Son. We listen to Jesus through prayer and daily reading of the Word of God. We listen to Jesus when we put his teachings/the church into practice in our daily lives. “THIS IS MY CHOSEN SON, LISTEN TO HIM.”