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Scripture Reflection - March 13, 2022

Second Sunday of Lent

Gen. 15:5-12;17-18, Ps.27:1;7-9c;13-14, Phil. 3:17-4:1, Lk. 9: 28-36

“This is my Beloved Son. Listen to Him”

Sisters of Saint Dominic of Blauvelt, New York Scripture Reflection

Has your life ever been so hectic that you longed for some time alone to reflect on all that was happening? If so, then today’s Gospel reading will resonate with you.


Chapter 9 of Luke’s gospel begins with an account of the Apostles being sent out on their first preaching mission where they were successful in proclaiming the good news and curing diseases. On their return, they witnessed the feeding of the 5,000 and Peter’s confession of his belief in Jesus as the Messiah.


Life was good but then reality hit. Jesus had a difficult conversation with his disciples, particularly Peter, about His true identity and the suffering and death He would endure. Then He warned them that the cost of discipleship would be to take up their cross daily and follow Him.


That was not easy to hear and Jesus knew it. So, Luke tells us, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain to pray. They had been through quite a lot and needed time to reflect and process all of it.


Their walk up the mountain must have been tiring because they fell asleep until the glory of God, revealed in the face of Jesus, woke them. Then they saw a transfigured Jesus in conversation with Moses and Elijah.


This experience transformed them. It affirmed their trust in Jesus and their decision to follow Him. They could now believe with certainty that Jesus was who He said He was. The voice from the cloud had confirmed it. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”


What do you need to hear this Lent so you may be affirmed in your decision to follow Jesus? What needs to be confirmed for you so you can respond to what God is asking of you now?


Will you listen more closely to what Jesus is saying to you in the Lenten scriptures, in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, through the homeless person you meet, and even though those with whom you disagree? Will you take time to reflect on all of this and then, in the silence, hear what is being asked of you?


God asks each of us to listen so we can distinguish truth amid all the confusing rhetoric we hear from the media, politicians, the corporate world, even from family and friends.


As Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB writes in her book, The Breath of God, it is “In listening to everything that is happening to us, we find God’s will for us.”


Blessings on your Lenten journey.


Sr. Michaela Connolly, OP

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