2nd Sunday of Lent

Gospel Bullet Points (Luke 9:28b-36)

• The transfiguration of Christ presented this second Sunday of Lent offers Peter, James, and John a glimpse of Christ’s glory. The experience must have been so super that Peter wanted to prolong the encounter, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But Jesus demands that Peter, James, and John come down from this mountain and face the reality of life. They have to go off this mountain experience and face the challenges of real life, seldom blessed with extraordinary visions.
• The transfiguration of Christ was a preview of the glory of His resurrection, but that glory had to be achieved with the greatest of pain— through His suffering and death on the cross.
• Strictly speaking, Jesus didn’t have to go through the pain of suffering. Mankind could have been redeemed without Jesus shedding a single drop of blood. Why he chose the way of the cross is a mystery. But behind the mystery is an important message: you cannot achieve glory without the cross; you can get something for nothing. A Christian without the cross is a contradiction in terms. Like the apostles, we need to go down the mountain and face the hard realities of Christian lives.