Sunday before Lent
“‘Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!””
Summary
“In Lent we keep Jesus company as he journeys towards the end of his earthly ministry. Today, the last Sunday before Lent, we are reminded of the start of that ministry. The voice of God, heard by the disciples in Luke 9:28-43a, tells them that he is God’s son just as the voice of God spoke at his baptism claiming him as his own beloved child. Jesus appears transfigured, transformed, somehow different to the everyday Jesus they knew. The voice tells them to listen to him, to pay attention.
By the time they return to the bottom of the mountain, the blinding light and the divine voice are gone and Jesus is the same Jesus he always was. Here we encounter another parent and another son. This son is sick and, because he is beloved, his father begs Jesus to pay attention to him and Jesus does. The love with which God claims Jesus as his own enables Jesus to claim this child too, as loved, as worthy of value and attention. It is this divine love which heals and makes whole.
The voice of God is there at our baptism too claiming us as beloved, chosen, worthy. This love will, if we allow it, transfigure us, give us the capacity to be filled with the power of God; a power to perceive others as chosen, special, worthy of attention. We, like Christ, are children made by God’s love to be a channel of that love to a world in need of transfiguration.
GOSPEL
Luke 6:28-43
‘Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not realizing what he was saying. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
