May the Lord grant you grace, and peace in this second week of Lent. It is on 05th March 2023. We reflect on Genesis 12:1-4; 2 Timothy 1:8-10 and Matthew 17:1-9.
Change is inevitable. Without a healthy change in our mindset, we become a burden for ourselves. We are invited to reflect on a change that could be noticed by God during this Lenten time. God will not be impressed with the reduction of our body, food, and the way we look outwardly. But God wants a radical and fundamental change in our behavior that includes the plan of God however challenging and risky it might look.
God is impressed by the way Abram responded to God’s call by uprooting his existence from a comfortable zone to a confronting unknown space. In that way, Abram set a tone of faith for us all. If we too are willing to move away from our casual, usual, and pleasurable sins, we too become a blessing.
In Baptism, we are assured that we are children of God and God repeats this assurance whenever we are willing to take a risk for God. God is pleased with us when we are willing to go through a certain amount of uncertainty, confusion, meaninglessness, and despair. It is through these painful yet powerful moments, God walks through in our lives even carrying us without any harm or hurt.
The young man announced that he is going to walk above Niagara Falls On a rope. The people who heard him speaking thought he was running mad. But on a fine Sunday morning, if demonstrated what he said. Everyone was happy and was applauding him. Surprisingly he made another announcement telling them that he would be walking on the same rope carrying one of them on his shoulders. But alas no one came forward out of fear.
Jesus too has performed so many miracles in front of our eyes yet we are not willing to take up our cross and follow Him.
We are invited to persevere in our Lenten resolutions. Do you still remember them and practice? St. Paul encourages us to share the sufferings of Paul in prison. We are all special recipients of grace when we are willing to suffer or even share the sufferings of others.
Unless we are ready to suffer for and with Christ, we cannot show the loving and merciful face of Jesus to the world.
Jesus reveals His Divinity on the holy mountain. His death must precede the revelation of His glory at the resurrection. God speaks to us through the Prophet, the Law, and His Only Son Jesus. Lent is a favorable time to listen to Jesus and be willing to embrace the cross and the path of truth, justice, and peace. Do we understand the mystery of suffering in our life? Does suffering for a noble cause and for the welfare of humanity make sense?
May the Lord help us focus on the inward change to be applauded by God. May God bless you.