2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
The commentaries over these 6 weeks of Lent are presented by Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix.
Prayer
God our Father, help us to hear your Son. Enlighten us with your word, that we may find the way to your glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Commentary
1st Reading: Genesis 12:1-4
Our readings today, beginning with Genesis, invite us to listen up!
Abraham received a call from God while in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans (Iraq, along the Persian Gulf).
God initiates a covenant with Abraham and his descendants with a promise that he will make of them a great nation.
Abraham, the Patriarch of our faith, is honored as one whose faith begins with listening to God. He hears God’s call and he responds. “Abraham went as the Lord directed him.”
Lent invites us to put God first in our lives and listen to the Lord. In order to respond to God’s call, we must use our ears to listen. In order to listen, we must take the time to quiet ourselves and be present to the Lord.
Listen Up! God is calling us to do His will!
Questions
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Do I have a quiet place in my home – a meditative place – where I can focus my attention on God?
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2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 1:8-10
Listening to God is more than just hearing God speak to our hearts. True listening requires trusting in God. Many of us may hear a homily at Mass that could change our hearts. But, unless we place our trust in what we hear, we cannot respond. For example, we hear that we must love our enemies. These words sound nice but fall on deaf ears unless we actually make an attempt to “love our enemies.”
St. Paul’s letter Timothy encourages us to not only hear the Gospel (the Good News) of Jesus, but to place our trust in it. The temptation is to trust only in our own works and designs for our lives. Instead, Paul invites us to place our trust in the saving work and grace of Jesus who destroyed death and offered life eternal.
After all, who among us – using our own designs – can conquer death or fight our way into heaven? Only Jesus can! This is why we must listen to Him and trust in Him alone.
If we trust that Jesus conquers death and gives life, then why would we fail to listen to him and trust him in other things that affect our lives?
Listen Up! Jesus is calling to trust in Him!
Question
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How have I trusted God lately?
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Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke each have the Transfiguration account. In each of the Gospels, we read about the appearance of Moses and Elijah and Peter’s response, “It is well that we are here.” Also, in each account, Peter expresses a desire to make three booths for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.
Only Matthew (not Mark or Luke) inserts the words, “He [Peter] was still speaking, when” God spoke from a cloud. In Matthew’s Gospel, God interrupts Peter and tells him to listen to Jesus.
When we have something to say, we don’t want to be interrupted. Lent, however, challenges us to stop talking and to Listen up! In these forty days of Lent, God wants to interrupt our normal way of doing things and listen to His Son!
The Gospel tells us that when the disciples heard the voice of God, they fell on their faces in awe. Lent challenges us to be in awe with the voice of God and of his Son. To be awestruck is to be alert to the fact that God is speaking.
This Lent, we should allow God to interrupt us – even disrupt us.
Listen up! God may just have something to say!
Question
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This Lent, in what way am I allowing God to interrupt – disrupt – my normal way of life?
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This Week’s Task
Find time this week to visit the church and sit quietly before the Blessed Sacrament. Try not to say anything! Simply place yourself before the presence of God and listen to Jesus speak to your heart. Let Him interrupt your busy thoughts.
If you can’t make it to church this week, try to find a quiet place at home and simply rest in the quiet.
Group Prayer
The leader invites each member to pass around a crucifix. The participants are invited to venerate the cross with a kiss or some other form of reverence. As a member holds the cross, s/he will say:
Lord of Abraham,
help me to trust in You.
Father of Jesus,
help me to listen
as I place my trust in You!
Continue with Psalm 33.
Psalm
Response: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the Lord,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the Lord,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Conclude with an Our Father
Used with permission. All rights reserved. Christ in Our Neighborhood is a Scripture program designed by Bishop John P. Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix.