2nd Sunday of Lent: Our Citizenship Is In Heaven

It seems that most fitness programs encourage people to set goals before embarking on the often arduous regimen of diet and exercise.  The science seems to support the fact that clear goals not only help us stay focused but also motivate our resolve, especially,  when the going gets tough.

Today’s gospel serves a very similar purpose. Our Lenten journey takes us through the mountain top where Jesus is transfigured in the presence of Peter, John and James. The three disciples get a preview of Jesus’ glory.  They need that even though they will not understand the significance of this event until after the resurrection.

Several verses before today’s gospel, Peter responds to Jesus’s question “who do people say that I am?” with the inspired response “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Then Jesus explains what it means – he will be rejected and killed.  Jesus’s assertion about the rejection and death clashes with the common expectations of what the Messiah would accomplish.  Surely, death is not part of that expectation. That’s why they need to get the glimpse of Jesus glory in the context of his announcement of his death. They need to understand the necessity of the cross as central to God’s plan of salvation. 

This is further confirmed by what the disciples see and hear.  Jesus, Moses and Elijah speak "of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem." This "exodus" means his cross, death and resurrection. It is part of the divine plan, it is not an accident of history or a result of bad circumstances.  The word “exodus” naturally brings to mind the great exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, through the Red Sea and the wilderness, to the Promised Land under the leadership of Moses.  This is intentional. Jesus will lead us from slavery of sin to the freedom of God’s children, and from the realm of human self-centeredness to the Kingdom of God.  Again, this cannot happen without the cross.  

Those who follow Jesus and want to be part of his kingdom cannot escape the cross either.  The cross has many manifestations: forgiveness, self-sacrifice, fidelity, generosity, humility and others.  Each one of us has his or her own cross to bear and death to face.  It is not easy to die to oneself so we are reminded that there is no glory without the cross.

Lent, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, helps us to embrace the cross of discipleship as we refocus our vision and reorganize our priorities.  It invites us to remember that the goal of our life is to be with God for all eternity.  This goal should help us stay focused and motivated.   Lent reminds us that we can attain our union with Christ in the life to come only if we die to ourselves and grow each day closer to Jesus here and now.  We can grow closer to him by obeying the words spoken by God at the time of Jesus’ transfiguration: “Listen to him.”  If we listen to him, trust him (like Abraham trusted in God), and live by the principles of his kingdom now, even though it will cost us, it will be worth it.  In other words, Lent simply reminds us that if we want to go to heaven, we ought to live in a way that will get us there!