2024 2nd Sunday Lent (B)
Have you ever had a mystical experience? You know, something extraordinary. Something you didn’t understand and certainly weren’t expecting. I ask this strange question in the knowledge that I know some of you have had. It may simply have been seeing a ghost. I say simply! But it is strange and can be frightening. Did you tell anyone? Probably not. Who would believe you.
I bet the 3 apostles never told anyone what they saw: no one would believe them; just as they didn’t when the women said we saw Jesus risen from the dead. You can imagine three apostles coming down from the mountain. Pinching themselves to see if they were dreaming. But a collective dream?! Who would believe their story: “listen up lads. We were on the mountain top with Jesus. We saw him go all funny. It was like a light shining out of him. And, oh yes, we saw Elijah and Moses talking to him. Yes, that’s right: that Elijah who died one thousand years ago. And Moses, who was even older. How did we know it was them? Well, we just did. These things happen don’t they?
Imagine the reaction of the others. “Well lads, I think you need a good holiday, a good rest. You’ll soon get over it.” What happened on Mount Tabor was an extraordinary event; literally something out of the ordinary. But it does happen in life. You can look at some people an there’s a glow. Take a bride walking down the isle. Isn’t there a glow coming from her? I remember my mother’s 80th birthday; again, there was a glow coming from her. Inside each and everyone of us there is something extraordinary, something so beautiful; that is God and it is love.
We need reminding sometimes that life isn’t just about what you can see and feel and taste. There is another dimension to life. There is more to life than Strictly Comes Dancing, or Coronation Street or Match of the Day. Today’s gospel is a reminder of that. Jesus extraordinary experience. Lent is a time to reflect more on him. To get to know him better. To know that he loves us. And when we know we are loved it brings the best out of us. Sometimes we say, when we see someone smiling for no apparent reason, you must be in love. Because love does that. It makes us smile. It makes us feel good about ourselves. In Lent Christ wants us to feel good about ourselves; to know that we are loved. To know that in our hearts and above all our souls there is God. God who is love. Our clothes may not shine brighter than any earthly cleaner but there will be a difference. When you believe this, when you know that you are loved, you instinct will be to share it with others. In fact, you have a duty to do that. Every baptised Christian is called to share the love of God with others. Let His love transform your lives, then you transform other peoples’ lives.
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