The liturgy of this Second Sunday of Lent is marked by the Gospel story of the Transfiguration. Today's scene transports us to a different geographical and spiritual landscape. Last Sunday we were in the desert, contemplating Jesus' victory over the tempter, a victory that prefigures our own. Today, instead, we are led to the mountain, where we contemplate the transfigured Lord.
The desert and the mountains: two landscapes that profoundly shape the spiritual journey of Lent. Both dispose us towards one of the fundamental pillars of this time: prayer. As Pope Benedict XVI reminds us: “we could say that these two Sundays are like two pillars on which the whole edifice of Lent until Easter rests.”. The temptation in the desert and the Transfiguration on the mountain anticipate the Paschal Mystery: “Jesus” struggle with the tempter preludes the great final duel of the Passion, while the light of his transfigured body anticipates the glory of the Resurrection.".
The Church, in her wisdom, carefully arranges the readings for each Mass so that they form a coherent whole, guided by a common thread - a theme - that helps us to enter more deeply into the mystery being celebrated. The Gospel of the Transfiguration that we hear today has a different accent from the one it receives when it is proclaimed on the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6. On that feast, our attention is directed primarily to the radiance and glory of Christ. Today, on the other hand, the emphasis is on revelation and obedience, on the voice of the Father: “The Father's voice is the Father's voice.“This is my Son, the Beloved... Listen to him.".
The theme of listening to God and obedience runs through all the readings. In the first reading we hear the vocation of Abraham, the father of God's people. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds Timothy that God calls us with a holy vocation and brings us into his light. And in the Gospel, Christ is revealed as the beloved Son of the Father, with the clear indication that we must listen to him.
Abraham is an example of this listening. God said to him: “Go forth from your country, from your homeland, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.”. And the Scripture tells us simply: “Abram departed, as the Lord had said to him.”. His vocation, his entire life journey, was marked by radical obedience. He was asked to renounce everything: his land, his homeland, his security. Yet from this total availability to God flowed an extraordinary fruitfulness: the promise of a great nation, of a great name and of blessing for all the families of the earth. By listening without reserve, Abraham himself became a source of blessing.
In the Gospel, Peter, James and John are overwhelmed by the vision of the transfigured Lord on Mount Tabor. In the midst of their astonishment, they hear the voice of the Father: “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him”. The Transfiguration is, above all, a moment of prayer. Jesus enters into an intimate dialogue with the Father. When the Father tells us to listen to Jesus, he is inviting us to enter into a dialogue with his Son. Prayer, one of the fundamental practices of Lent, is precisely this attentive listening.
Lent is, therefore, a privileged time for listening to God. This second week reminds us in a special way of the importance and fruitfulness of prayer. We are called to spend time with Christ: to listen to him, to dialogue with him, to meditate on his Word and to unite our will to his. And listening to Christ also means listening to the voice of Sacred Scripture-the Law and the Prophets, the Gospel-letting the Word of God shape our life and guide our steps on the way to Easter.
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