2nd Sunday of Lent
(2015)
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St Dominic/OLR, NOLA
Two
mountains: Mt. Moriah and Mt. Tabor. Two fathers: Abraham and God the
Father. Two only sons: Isaac and Jesus. And two stories of
sacrificial obedience and the glory that obedience brings. Abraham's
almost-sacrifice of his son Isaac foreshadows the Father's
coming-sacrifice of his Son, Jesus. Because Abraham obeys the Lord on
Mt Moriah, God showers him with blessings, promising him “descendants
as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore.”
Jesus brings three of his disciples to Mt. Tabor and shows them who
he will be after his sacrificial death on the cross and his
resurrection. Abraham listened to God; he obeyed. Jesus is
transfigured and the Father's voice calls out, “This is my beloved
Son. Listen to him.” When we obey – listen to – the Lord, we
too are showered with blessings and transfigured, abundantly gifted
and made new in Christ. If we will survive these forty days in the
desert and arrive with Jesus in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, then we
will listen to him and claim as our own his victory over sin and
death.
How
do we survive the forty desert days? For that matter, how do we
survive until Christ returns? Paul writes to the Romans with part of
the answer, “If God is for us, who can be against us?. . .Who will
bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us,
who will condemn?” Every year with begin Lent with the story of
Satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. We know that Jesus cannot be
truly tempted b/c everything Satan tempts him with already belongs to
him. Jesus participates in this little desert side-show with the
devil to show us that the fight against temptation is not a fight to
be won. It is a fight
already won. By him. For us. Paul grasps this truth when he writes,
“If God is for us, who can be against us?. . .Who will bring a
charge against God’s chosen ones?” Temptation is a test, a trial.
We are the accused. The devil is the prosecuting attorney. Sounds bad
until we remember that Christ is our defense attorney; and he's also
the judge and jury. Temptation is never a fair trial – for the
devil. We are acquitted by God before the trial even opens. How do we
survive these 40 days and all the days until Christ returns? We
listen to our defense attorney and give the devil no evidence against
us!
The
first truth that Christ needs us to hear is that the trial against us
is rigged – in our favor. There is nothing and no one for us to
fight when Satan comes around with his accusations and lies. As
children as God, we are already acquitted of all charges. The second
truth that Christ needs us to hear is that if we believe in and live
in that first truth – that we are already, always free – we will
be changed, transformed as he himself is transfigured on Mt Tabor.
Christ's transfiguration is a promise like the Father's promise to
Abraham. Listen to me and the blessings will flow. We could think of
these blessings are rewards for being good boys and girls, but there
is a better way of understanding this truth: when we choose to align
our wills with God's will for us, we see the obstacles to our freedom
for what they really are – lies and illusions. Paul asks, “If God
is for us, who can be against us?” If we are with God, what lie or
illusion has the power to lure us away? None! No lie or illusion has
the power to lure us anywhere. . .unless we empower the lie with our
sin. Lent is that time of year when we practice hardest at not giving
life to the devil's lies and illusions, the temptations that bait us
and attempt to lure us away from the verdict Christ has already
reached and announced.
All
this sounds wonderful in theory, right? How to put it into practice?
First, you have recognize a temptation when you see one and treat it
for what it is. Temptations are trials. Think of yourself as The
Accused. You've been charged with a serious sin. If you actually
committed the sin, then you throw yourself on the mercy of the judge
– Christ – and receive his forgiveness through sacramental
absolution. If the Accuser is truly testing you, dangling a sin
before you to see if you will bite, remember: you are free in Christ
Jesus! Tell the Accuser: “Christ the Just Judge has already
acquitted me. You have no power to test me.” Never give the Accuser
the power to test you. Recall Christ's transfiguring promise on Mt
Tabor. That is your goal, your end. That's where we will all end up
if we believe in and live in the transfiguring promise of Christ. And
there is nothing – literally, nothing – the Accuser can do to
prevent the fulfillment of that promise if we do not give him the
power to do so. Be careful: “Fighting the Devil” is dangerous b/c
it tempts us to imagine ourselves as mighty warriors fighting against
a great evil. That's the Accuser testing us with Pride. There is no
battle to fight. Christ won. Christ is winning. Christ will always
win. On the Cross and through the Empty Tomb. As his brothers and
sisters through baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are
heirs to his victory.
So,
spend your Lenten days practicing the fine art of being heirs to his
victory!
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