In the Book of Genesis, the patriarch Abraham receives a double promise from God the Father. The elderly, childless Abraham and his barren wife Sarah are guaranteed offspring through the birth of a son Isaac. Abraham, the wandering, landless Aramean is also assured a vast tract of land “from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates (Gen.15:18).” And these were no idle pledges. God the Father sealed his words with Abraham through a profound, personal experience of God’s own presence and power: “As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him. When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram (Gen.15:17).”
God the Father’s providence over his believing and beloved people would continue through the age of the patriarchs, through the Mosaic years, throughout the Davidic Kingdoms and through several foreign occupations. Then, in God’s fullness of time, the promises made to Abraham and Sarah about progeny and provinces would be even more gloriously fulfilled through the arrival of a new offspring of Abraham and a new homeland for the people of God. In this coming Second Sunday of Lent’s second reading from Phillipians, St. Paul alerts his readership to the true and everlasting homeland that awaits all believers as well as to the one and eternal shepherd who will guide all believers there: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself (Phil.3:20-21).” Resurrection on the last day would be the ultimate fulfillment to all of God’s Promises, those made under the Old Covenant and those made under the New Covenant.
God the Father had originally secured his promises to Abraham by the mystical experience that the Church wisely recalled in the first reading for this Second Sunday of Lent. Now with equal wisdom the Church’s Lenten liturgy reminds the faithful of another mystical experience that announced to the believing world God the Father’s new plans for leading his people out of the fallen world of sin and error and to a new promised land of final and eternal fulfillment. “While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my chosen Son; listen to him.’ After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone (Lk9:28b-36).”
The New Covenant would not be sealed by this Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor in Galilee. No, the New Covenant would be sealed by the Crucifixion of Christ on Mount Calvary outside Jerusalem. This final saving event — the whole Paschal Mystery — is, of course, the “exodus” that Moses and Elijah were discussing with Christ while they appeared in glory. Christ’s majestic transfiguration was not the saving event itself but rather a strengthening and supporting preparation on behalf of Peter, James and John who would witness firsthand the passion, death and burial of the Jesus they would come to know and love.
Folk wisdom knows that God’s ways are not man’s ways and that often the promises of God and the plans of God are difficult to understand and to accept. Even Abraham had hesitated when promised a new homeland: “O Lord GOD,” he asked, “how am I to know that I shall possess it (Gn15:12)?’” So, now, how would the chosen three disciples ever be able to endure the rejection of their promised savior, their beloved Jesus, at almost every turn and still be able to believe in the promises of God? The future of Jesus’ public ministry would not be too reassuring for his close followers. Hence, the heady memory of Christ transfixed on Mount Taber no doubt offered some resolve and some determination to these favored three. In the meantime, these “pillars of the Church” as St. Paul would later designate them, were rendered speechless: “They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen (Lk9:36).”
