Listen To Christ

Homily 02 24 2013
2nd Sunday of Lent C 01

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Many of us may be familiar with the story of Abram recounted in the first reading, but I'm not sure that all of us have the experience to fully appreciate what God's promises meant to Abraham.

Most of us know the joy associated with the promise of children; however fewer of us know how the promise of a land could have altered Abraham's future and outlook on life.

He was a nomad who traveled with family and flocks from watering hole to the next. He had no permanent camp, no fixed place to hang up his turbans .

Therefore for Abraham and his descendants, God's promise of a place on earth to call their own was to be given an identity and roots, and a sense of belonging.

Some of us may have a sense of Abram's wandering existence as careers often cause us to leave our home and live out of suitcase for jobs. Yet often we return to the place we call home.

Others know rootlessness and displacement, forced from homes, searching for new beginnings as refugees. There are also homeless persons who can't get jobs or receive social security or financial aid.

We are aware of such devastation, and today's liturgy, invites our assembly to actually acknowledge the blessedness of the place we call home, and also offering a helping hand to those without.

The experience of Abram reminds us that we are journeying together to a place we will call home for all eternity. In Paul, we recall the transitory nature of our human existence and affirm that we are called to citizenship in heaven.

By virtue of baptism we are called to lend our hands to build the kingdom, and there is no better time to respond than during this season of Lent.

In the Gospel today, Luke offers us a glimpse of the glory to come, reflected on the face of Jesus.

Jesus would not let Peter set up a tent, but rather focused on exodus that he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. Only Luke's gospel reveals a topic of conversation between Jesus and the Old Testament prophets.

By his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus made heaven's homeland available to each of us.

This weekend's readings underscore a truly Lenten insight, that as our own "exodus" moves us toward Jerusalem, we must not remain occupied merely with earthly things, but with the passion and glory present in the Crucified and Risen Lord.

While Jesus was transfigured in the Gospel, everything around him was transformed: the grass, the mountain, the birds and insects, Peter, James and John.

The Voice was heard.

Listen to him.

Do what he suggests; change yourself according to his model, according to his Spirit, and all the rest will follow.

During these weeks of Lent, we might attempt to be more earnestly attentive to Jesus as he speaks to us through the needs of others, and especially be attentive to the homeless, to those without food, to the displaced, to refugees and all our other companions on life's journey who are seeking a place to call home.

I especially want to encourage all of you to be generous with the Rice Bowl and to try and attend our Friday evening Rice Bowl meals.

We are also invited to listen to God's Word. Lent provides an opportunity.

The Annual American Bishop's Overseas Appeal will be taken up in two weeks.

Sometimes such collections seem more like a burden than an opportunity, yet as a nation we experiences abundance, it becomes important that we in the local parishes respond and use the envelopes for the Overseas Appeal as an opportunity to be Church, and to reach beyond our small local focus to the world to work for justice and peace.

jjl

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