‘Listen to him …!’ Lent is a season of seeking out and listening to the Lord. Every year on this Second Sunday, we read an account of the Transfiguration: a transforming spiritual encounter linking Jesus to the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets. Here we see a foretaste of the glory of the Risen Christ: a vision of how our lives are transformed by the presence of Christ within us.
The First Reading tells of a meeting between God and Abram. Through Abram’s faith, God makes an eternal covenant with the people of Israel.
The Psalm is a song of longing and hope in the faith of the Lord: a call to prayer that encourages us to seek God’s light, guidance and strength.
In the letter to the Philippians (Second Reading), we are entreated to be united in our faith. Christ will transfigure us.
In Luke’s Gospel account of the Transfiguration, Jesus takes his close companions with him to pray. Here Jesus is placed firmly in the context of the fulfilment of God’s Covenant to the people of Israel. There are echoes of the past, and glimpses of Jesus’s coming death in the weariness of the disciples praying with him. This short passage has a very clear message for us today: ‘Listen!’.
As we enter into prayer this week, let us remember we are never alone as we pray. As companions in Christ, we are part of an eternal community united by the light of Christ within us. Christ is our help and our stronghold: together let us answer the call and listen to him.