Please read the passage noted before the commentary.
This is the second Sunday of Lent. It is four weeks away from Easter. The date of Easter is set for the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. The date of the second Sunday of Lent, since it is a month before Easter, is always within a week of the last full moon of winter. Since full moons are exceptionally bright, the Church uses the annual full moon on the second Sunday of Lent to celebrate the transfiguration of the Lord. This is to remind us of the goal of Lent.
Last week we went into the desert with Jesus. Today we look forward to his exodus, his passage through the Red Sea and the desert to the homeland of the Father. This journey to glory through death and resurrection we shall celebrate sacramentally in the glory of Easter, the glory of the risen Savior, the glory of the those receiving baptism, the glory of our renewal of our baptismal commitment.
For those tired of Lenten penance, this is the light at the end of the tunnel. For those in doubt, this is the promise of fulfilment. For the Christian, the moon is the faithful witness in the heavens: that always returns to watch over our nights.
Today, then, is the transfiguration of Jesus, the transformation of or lives into Christ. Today the Father sys of each of us, “This is my chosen child, listen to him or her.”
The seasons of the year and the climate proclaim transfiguration and transformation. Let us join with the whole of creation and all the forces of nature in celebrating our transformation into Christ. We are not alone. We are one in Christ with the who le of creation in this process of transformation into Christ.
Spring is the time for cleaning. Lent is the Church’s spring cleaning. God gives life to what seems dead. God strengthens what is weak. The cobwebs of our laziness, the dust of our failings, the sins of our weakness God cleanses, strengthens and heals. The Lord calls us to the cleansing, to the strengthening and to the healing God has for each.
This is God’s gift to us, that we enjoy God’s favor as the whole of creation reawakens after a hard winter. May the full moon of Christ gladden each of us.
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