2nd Sunday of Lent 2023

A man who goes on a long journey asks himself many questions. He worries about how he will endure the hardships of the trip? What awaits him at the destination upon arrival? How to pack a suitcase, what things to take with him? These uncertainty creep into the heart of the traveller, who nevertheless hopes to make a happy trip and return                                                             Abram – the hero of today’s first reading – is invited by God to go on a journey: ” Leave your country, your family and your Father’s house…” And yet he was fine there.  He didn’t desire anything. However, God had other plans for him and commands Abram: “To go to the land I will show you.” So God offers him a journey into the unknown. Probably he had doubts, because he did not know where he would get to, what awaited him in his new country.

After all, he knew what he was leaving behind, and he knew that what he would find was only a promise. He did not receive any guarantees from God. Despite these temptations and doubts, Abram believes and sets out.                                                                                                            The apostles, who witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, must come down from it and face the difficulties that await them. They are coming down from the mountain following Jesus, who goes to experience the Passion. They too will be persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.   God invites each of us on a journey of faith. We received this invitation at Baptism. Therefore, the Church invites each of us to take this journey, to consciously live out this choice of faith. Lent is a good opportunity to revive this choice, which may have fallen to the further plan of our daily urgencies.

This is a good time to enter the path of conversion, and in fact it is an invitation to repeat and imitate the attitudes of Abraham, as well as the Apostles from  Mount Tabor.                                   The Liturgy of the Word invites us to get out of the routine of our daily life in which we have arranged ourselves comfortably, where we feel safe.

To set out for the country the Lord will show you, that is, a future based on faith, opening ourselves to God’s promises, is our vocation. For Abraham, the country indicated by God was the promised land. For us it is the Kingdom of God. Toward him we set out on our journey of faith. The path that God shows us may be difficult, as we may face adversity in the form of:

–admitting to the faith, before people who despise God and the Church;

–difficult discussion in defence of Christian values;

–spiritual and physical suffering.

However, we must not give up and remain only in the realm of words and good intentions. But it is necessary for us to be ready to show with a concrete gesture, a deed our “yes” to God.      We make these gestures especially during Lent by making renunciations and resolutions to renew our spirit.

God is speaking to us today: “trust in Me, I will guide you in life. The path I will show you may be difficult, but it leads to happiness and true peace.”