SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT A

[cappie]

On the first Sunday of Ordinary Time, we encounter Jesus at the Jordan River. Matthew tells us, “And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘ This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him’”

Sound familiar? Today, we hear a similar proclamation in the Transfiguration story: “ This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him”

The divine proclamations call our attention to Jesus, God made flesh. Ours is a God who is transcendent, yet immanent; set apart, yet ever drawing near.

Because we encounter Jesus in our lectionary readings from week to week, we are used to him. While that’s a good thing, these familiar stories can become predictable. Our God-made-human may begin to seem ordinary, par for the course.

 Matthew tells us, “[Jesus’] face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light” Moses and Elijah appear with him, a bright cloud overshadows them, and God speaks. One might say that in the midst of the ordinary, these disciples experience the extraordinary.

It must be faith-affirming to experience God in such an amazing way, quite different from our run-of-the-mill encounters with Jesus in the lectionary. Seeing the face of God would certainly solidify one’s belief.

The desire to glimpse Jesus in unexpected and miraculous ways is understandable. It would make believing easier, but we do not typically encounter God in the miraculous. Instead, we encounter God in more subtle—yet equally important—ways.

  But Peter, James, and John, must eventually walk back down to level ground. Even an extraordinary event can become an ordinary one after someone has a chance to turn it over in their head.

Instead of standing idle and waiting for God to be revealed to us in some extraordinary way, we are called to get up every day and look for Jesus’ presence in our ordinary lives. Admittedly, recognizing God at work in ordinary life can be difficult, especially when we face setbacks, sorrow, or general annoyance. But rest assured, God is there.

 All of God’s people have bad days; the trick is learning to look for Jesus anyway. That’s a habit that truly would be extraordinary! Anybody can recognize Jesus when times are good there is nothing wrong with seeing God in the good; nor should it be our goal to see God exclusively in the bad, but it is necessary for us to look for God in the ordinary because the ordinary is what we have the most of.

Startling revelation is not necessary to convince us of the validity of our faith. Faithfulness does not grow out of God’s unanticipated intervention but from a life spent looking for Jesus at all times, and in all the ordinary places.

Our tradition gives us plenty of ways to look for Jesus. A couple of daily doses of prayer should do the trick. Reading the Bible helps. Talking to God out loud is also a healthy thing to do, especially when you’re angry.

Coming to Mass is also important, not for the sake of average Sunday attendance, but for the sake of your relationship with God, a relationship fuelled by hearing God’s word and participating in the rituals of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

The task is simple. Look for Jesus. When you finally do catch a glimpse of him, your perspective will change in an instant. He may not always appear in the way you want him to, or in the way you think he should, but nevertheless, he will be there.

So, watch for him. By faith we have been made children of the covenant with Abraham. He calls us, too, to a holy life, to follow His Son to the heavenly homeland He has promised. We know, as we sing in today’s Psalm, that we who hope in Him will be delivered from death.

So, like our father in faith, we go forth as the Lord directs us: “Listen to Him!”