2nd SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR B)

March 8, 2009

Gen 22:1-2.9.10-13.15-28
Rom 8:31-34
Mk 9:2-10

To be a Cadet Officer for Citizens Army Training (CAT) in the mid 1970s was very tough. A candidate had to hurdle dangerous obstacles to succeed. I could not forget one which was called “Tarzan”. With ropes dangling in equal distances under the branches of big mango trees, the candidates’ goal was to reach the other side by swinging through the ropes. At first I told myself, “chicken feed.” But after a failed first attempt, I discovered how tough it was. I realized that the hanging ropes are positioned in such a way that to be able to reach for the other rope-end, I had to let go first of the rope I was swinging with. It was sort of a nightmare experience! Finally, I scooped all the courage I had, swung, let go, flew…caught the other rope-end, swung again, let go, caught the other rope-end…more rope-ends…then came the triumphant YEEHEEEE! When I was watching others struggling to the finish, I kept thinking, letting go is very hard, dangerous, painful, and costly. But knowing that on the other side a more secured “rope-end” is waiting was indeed a great relief. All I needed was a total dependence and surrender.

The first reading on this second Sunday of Lent presented to us a man who demonstrated a total dependence and surrender to God’s will. Abraham survived the most painful, confusing and challenging hurdle of faith when God asked him to offer his only son Isaac in sacrifice. A “letting go” that was very costly but otherwise so rewarding and self-fulfilling. Let us hear once more what the book of Genesis in the first reading say about this “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore…”

In the Gospel, Jesus saw the need for the Apostles to let go of their Jewish Messianic expectations so he brought Peter, James and John up in a mountain. Earlier in their dialogue, Peter reacted in protest when Jesus told them he was going to suffer and die in Jerusalem. St. Matthew says that when Peter heard this, he cried out, “God forbid it, Lord! That must never happen to you!” Jesus in reply addressed Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don’t come from God, but from man.” (Mt. 16:22-23) The Messiah for them must never undergo such humiliating fate. So to facilitate such necessary “letting go,” the Gospel tells us that “Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them…” This glorious phenomenon witnessed by the three Apostles opened a new paradigm in their relationship with the Lord. They have come to terms with the impending death of which the son of man will rise to glory after three days.

In Lent, Christians are invited to let go of the many “Isaacs” in our lives as part and parcel of holy sacrifices. To give up drinking, smoking and food abuse are just few among the common “Isaacs”. To let go of old ways of thinking and living are painful and hard but like what I learned in my CAT training, the triumphant success was not possible without me letting go of my “security ropes.” Lenten sacrifices find their significance and meaning only when we are ready to leave everything behind and face what is ahead no matter how costly it is.



Fr. Emil Pati, SVD
PHN Mission Secretary
Divine Word Missionaries
Pindangan, Parian, San Fernando City
La Union