Second Sunday of Lent reflection by Jeff Koch
Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 33; 2 Timothy1:8-10; Matthew 17:1-9
“Of you my hearts has spoken; seek His face, It is your face, O Lord, That I seek; Hide not your face from me.”
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” These are the words to an old hymn of the church. As we journey through the Lent, these words call us to look above and beyond our situation to the words, the life and ‘face’ of Jesus. As the words of that song echo in our minds, our scriptures this second week of Lent call us to look to God, in the face of Jesus. Paul tells us, “It was God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
We look to Jesus . . . how can we see Jesus in our readings. The promise to Abraham was to depart from his homeland and settle in a place that God shows him. That place was Canaan, which eventually would be called Israel. And Israel was the place that the ‘word made flesh’ would come to dwell. That the ultimate blessing to all the earth would come from Abram’s journey of trust in God. Paul as he writes to Timothy, tells this young pastor that God would save us and give us the grace planned from “before time began.” And that this grace is now manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus. He would destroy death and bring life, through the gospel. Jesus came to Israel, and the whole world to show us God, in the face of Jesus!
But, as Jesus and his three of his disciples went to the mountain to pray, this light eternal, this glory, literally enlightened the face of Jesus, the glory of God from all eternity was seen in Jesus transfigured. What a sight that had to have been! So much could be said here about what Luke, in 9:30,31, tells us about Moses and Elijah talking to him about his departure; his trial and condemnation, his scourging, crucifixion, and death were all ahead, but also his resurrection and ascension. But I think there is a deeper lesson here.
I love the way that Luke’s record of this event reveals to us. Peter, seeing this amazing glory filled even, just started talking, and making suggestions, and talking and figuring out what to do. It was as Luke tells us; he talked and talked because “he didn’t know what to say.” (Luke 9:33) Finally God silences Peter with a cloud of His presence, by saying, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. You listen to him!” I can’t help but wonder, when Jesus leaned down and “raised their eyes” it says, “they saw no one else but Jesus alone.” But I wonder how they saw him. Before he was Jesus the hopeful Messiah that would help them conquer the Romans, they saw him heal the sick and raise the dead, feed the hungry and argue with the religious leaders; but now . . .? Jesus had been transfigured with the glory of God. What did they see in the face of Jesus? I must
believe that they saw him differently. They knew him physically or prophetically, but now. . . as God! When they looked at the face of Jesus, they were changed, they had questions, they looked at him differently. How do we see Jesus?
I love liturgical worship. We come together and read the scriptures about the coming of Jesus in the Old Testament. We praise this coming one, and the fulfillment of God’s plan, by singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to celebrate what God has done in our midst. We say the prayers of the church. We hear how life is to be different from the Epistles. But it is in the gospels that we see Jesus, face to face. I think that each time of worship is a chance for us to experience our own Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. Are we changed? Do we look at his life differently? Do we look at, and live our lives differently each week, because we have seen and been with Jesus in worship? Especially as we gather with others and sit with Jesus’s presence at the table. I pray as we look into the face of God in Jesus, we are changed.
This shows me something; no matter what we are going through, no matter what we are troubled by or what is ahead, even when we have all kinds of thoughts about what needs to be done, rehearsing our thoughts and commentaries on the things around us. We need to let the presence of God surrounds us, to silence our minds and hear God say, THIS is MY Son, listen to HIM! And as we raise our eyes and look in the face of Jesus, we can hear, “Rise up and do not be afraid.” The words are true, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” Jesus says to us, “Peace be with you, do not fear.”
O God, who have commanded us to listen to your beloved Son, be pleased, we pray, to nourish us inwardly by your word, that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen!