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Last week's scriptures told
the story of sin coming into the world. We heard how God created us for
greatness but through our own freedom, we broke the covenant with God
and sin became part of our human condition.
Today's readings pick up the story with God's plan of salvation. God
chose Abram to be the bearer of God's promise of salvation. We know
little about Abram. He was a person of some wealth for he had
flocks and slaves. At the age of 75, Abram had a powerful experience of
God which caused him to leave his friends and homeland to journey with
the Lord. Imagine what tremendous faith it would take to accept the
Lord's promise, "I will make of you a great nation..." Though he had no
idea how God would fulfill the promise, Abram trusted in the Lord. We
are told that this one man's obedience will forever be a blessing for
all mankind.
In the second reading Paul reminds Timothy and us that God has saved us
and called us to live a holy life as disciples of the Lord. We are
called to live our faith fully, to share it freely, and to transform the
world in Christ. There will be difficulties and hardships that must be
born, but we can rejoice in the knowledge that
Jesus has already won the victory over sin and death.
Today's Gospel is the story of the Transfiguration. Jesus reveals to his
disciples and to us a deeper understanding of his role as the Son of God
and Messiah. This is a powerful and symbolic moment. Moses and Elijah
appear in the presence of the Lord. They are the fulfillment of the
covenant of the Old Testament. The bright cloud manifests the
presence of the Father who completes the vision with the instruction,
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." We
come to know who Jesus is from different sources. We experience the Lord
in the scriptures, through the sacraments, in prayer, in the witness of
others, all along our journey in discipleship with the Lord.
In each of the readings today we are taught about God's desire to
empower us for our life's journey with the Lord. There should be a great
joy here for us. God's plan is to call us out of our experience of
failure and of sin into salvation and holiness. The only thing that
stands in the way of God's plan at work in our lives is our willingness
to bear our share of the hardships the Gospel entails. Only we can open
our hearts to trust in the salvation God has won for us in Jesus our
Lord.
As you continue your Lenten journey with the Lord you might ask
yourself: What is Jesus asking you to leave behind? Where is he calling
you to journey with him? To whom does he want you to be his
witness?
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