B Cycle – 2^nd Sunday of Lent 24

Mk. 9:2-10

We cannot escape the fact that during our lives we will experience moments of immense joy and moments of great sadness. The highs and lows of daily existence are inescapable and are a reality we will face from the moment of our birth.  Those native moments will impact us and forge habits within us that shield us from the physical and mental effects caused by that event.  Those shiels become barriers which isolate us from others and from God. 

That barrier can become impenetrable and since they have their beginnings in the past, we never grasp their impact on our ability to receive what God offers us.  Yet, we yearn for those wounds to be healed and seek to heal them by every means but allowing God to fill those needs. We are deceived into believing something other than what God is anxious to show us.  

Today we have heard two stories detailing two different encounters between faithful believers and God.  Abraham’s and Issac’s experience had to be extremely agonizing at every step of their journey up the mountain.  Peter, James, and John’s experience had to be exhilarating and yet confusing for them.  Life is that way, the agony, and the ecstasy of daily life.  The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  Moments of great, wonder and moments of great bewilderment.  This is the spiritual journey we are invited to experience as we follow Jesus.  We want what God offers us and yet we want it on our terms.  We find a way to fit Jesus into our lives instead of us adapting to His life.   

We prefer predictability, stability, repeatability in our relationships, including our relationship with God. But our God if you have not noticed is a God of surprises. I find it interesting that the account of Abrahams journey begins by telling us he was “put to the test.”  Those words can lead us to believe that every trial in our life is a test of faith. 

As I sit with a young couple weeping over the death of their infant son, I do not believe his death is a test of faith initiated by God.  Does getting through that pain demand faith from them?  Of course, it does and if their faith is not as strong as Abraham’s then it could take them longer to get through that pain. It is not so much a test of faith but a question asking us “how much do we trust in the promises of God.”   

Every day is a test of our faith and challenges us to respond to God’s desire for us to experience life in the fullest. How many times have I heard individuals tell me about a retreat, a conference, a talk that energized their relationship with God.  Each time I could sense their excitement and their joy as they described the event as life changing.  How could I tell her that within a week, they would fall back into their normal routines and return to their comfortable faith.  

God loves us deeply and because He loves us deeply, He will do everything to challenge us to trust where He is leading us.  That was the test Abraham faced.  Did he trust God enough?  That was the test Issac also underwent, trust in his father’s actions was for his good and to teach him a lesson he would never forget.  That was the test Peter, James and John underwent on the mount of transfiguration.  It is a test we can expect to encounter with the risen Christ.  What will our response be at that moment. Will we have the courage to listen and learn from the event?   

If we could daily repeat the experience of our most glorious encounter with Christ would that be enough to fuel us to lives as disciples.  If we remember Mother Theresa wrote in her book after hearing clearly what God required of, he, she never heard the voice of God again. We like her, Abraham, Peter, James, and John can be bolstered by an encounter with God changes everything.    

That is why we must strive to overcome the desire for predictability. For a comfortable faith that requires us to show up, participate in worship and be comforted by the familiar.  Literally, to build a booth where God exists and we can like Peter, be in awe because Christ is present before us. But we like God to remain in the booth with us. But God calls us to live a life of uncertainty, depending on Him for all things, especially our ability to help other experience the transforming power of Gd. 

That is what faith does for us, has us believe what we cannot see or even imagine is possible.  Our God is the author of everything that brings wonder to our eyes and fills our hearts with absolute amazement.  God does not want us to build a booth and stay there.  God desires us to come down from the mountain top experiences and do the demanding work of living our faith.  Expectantly looking forward to what lies ahead, to the wonders will God work before our eyes. 

The disciples, after Pentecost, began to connect all their experiences with the words of Christ.  They began to tell the stories of God’s promise of redemption, forgiveness and healing available to all who believe.  Their ability to tell the story of redemption did not come from their heads but from their hearts.  It came from the failures and rejection they experienced from their friends and neighbors who chose not to believe.  They never let the struggles, trials, and the contempt of others deter them from the mission. 

It is a challenge to be constant in our belief and to trust in God.  These two stories contain a message for us that is extremely hard for us to admit.  We attempt to understand before we act, instead of acting first and then gaining understanding because we acted on faith.