SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT A

[cappie]

Because we encounter Jesus in our readings from week to week, we are used to him. While that’s a good thing, these familiar stories can become predictable. It’s not often that God comes to us in sudden bursts of revelation as he does to Peter, James, and John in this morning’s Gospel reading. Matthew tells us, “[Jesus’] face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.” 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. Seeing the face of God would certainly solidify one’s belief.  

The desire to glimpse Jesus in unexpected and miraculous ways is understandable. It sure 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.

There may well be those among us who have had a “mountaintop” experience.  But even they, like 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. Somebody’s cancer is cured; they give the credit to God. Somebody meets an old flame and falls in love all over again; they claim that their prayers have been answered. Somebody gets a long-awaited raise; they give God the glory.

Just to be clear: there is absolutely 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. Saying “I love you” is a good start. 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 and receiving the Eucharist

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. And listen, too. You’ll know it when you hear it—that voice from heaven that rings in your ear, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased.”

Edited March 7, 2020 by cappie