|
Greetings, SBT Readers:
This week, people around the world were shocked and saddened by the death of Russian dissident, Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny, Vladimir Putin's nemesis. Even though he was imprisoned under the harshest of circumstances in an Arctic penal colony, Navalny somehow threatened Putin's agenda of Soviet-style domination. What was it that so terrifies Putin about a man he had put behind bars and who, even in death, seems to threaten his policies? Why, after several days of demanding to see her son's body, is Navalny's mother being urged to hold a "private burial" or else?
What we are seeing in this situation is the classic conflict between a dictator who bullies his way through life with an arsenal of weapons and a defenceless folk hero whose "inner power" is what gave him the courage to withstand attempts on his life, torture, separation from his loved ones, and the cruelest of imprisonments. While the dictator needs the military to prop him up; the folk hero relied on his own courage and moral fortitude. And while the dictator enforces allegiance through terror, the folk hero inspires admiration and respect from beyond the grave. Truth cannot be silenced and no matter how many Russians are arrested for placing flowers on memorials to Navalny, his memory will not be erased.
Lenten Blessings!
Elizabeth
+++
SUNDAY REFLECTION
Link to Readings
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain where they were alone.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared, along with Moses,
and they were talking with Jesus.
Then Peter said, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud cast a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Mk 9:2-10
Arbitrary Readings?
As I write, I'm struggling to find a satisfying connection between our first reading and the Gospel. On the one hand, both the story of Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac and Mark's account of the Transfiguration involve heavenly affirming voices: God is pleased with Abraham on account of his devotion, faith and obedience, and with Jesus for being his beloved Son. Both narratives take place on isolated mountain tops and both portray extraordinary events. And both are about sons -- Abraham's beloved son, Isaac, and Jesus, God's beloved Son. That's where I find the similarities end. Of course, there may be some personal bias at work here as I read the Genesis text as a tale of terror: Isaac, the innocent victim, may foreshadow Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb, but this does not make the text any more palatable, despite the "happy ending" -- and I doubt whether Sarah was too thrilled when she heard Isaac's holocaust story, either!
Now, our second reading provides a "bridge" of sorts between the Genesis text and the Gospel. God spares Abraham's beloved son, but does not spare Jesus: "He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?" (Rom 8:31b-32). So perhaps what connects all three lectionary readings is the sparing/ not sparing of beloved sons. Seen in this light, the Transfiguration could be viewed as
1) Jesus being glorified because he has acquiesced to his death and resurrection; 2) Jesus being glorified for the benefit of Peter, James and John, to prepare them for his death and resurrection, the operative word here being "Listen" -- they must listen to what Jesus has to say regarding future events and not attempt to stand in his way.
Lenten Relevance
God's great love seen in light of the Paschal Mystery is one message we can ponder over on this Second Sunday in Lent; another message is that Lent can be a time in which we, too, can be transfigured if we dare let go of our old, ego-driven selves and allow God to transform us into a new creation. This "transfiguration," however, is different than what the disciples behold on the sacred mountain: Peter, James and John see what is already there and what they have not previously been capable of seeing; it is not that Jesus is suddenly transformed but their way of seeing him has changed. For a few moments, they are dazzled by radiating Love, by a manifestation of the Divine. Hearing God's voice is part of the Theophany experience, but seeing Jesus transfigured is as well: he does not become something "new" but reveals who he already is. This is radically different than our spiritual journey. While it is important to remember that we are made in the image and likeness of God, originating in "clouds of glory" (cf. the poet William Wordsworth), our task is to restore that glory, through God's grace. This demands nothing less than dying to the sinful self so that the Christ-self may reside in us instead. And in that is our glory, our transfiguration...
| 
