Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Second Sunday of Lent

LECTIONARY
25

FIRST READING

GN 12:1-4A

The LORD said to Abram:
"Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.

"I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you."

Abram went as the LORD directed him.

PSALM

PS 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

Response: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.

Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.

SECOND READING

2 TM 1:8B-10

Beloved:
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel.

GOSPEL

MT 17:1-9

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him."
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
"Rise, and do not be afraid."
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
"Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

Daily Reflection

Today’s Gospel will sound very familiar as we listen once again to the account of the Transfiguration. So, why the repetition? As we journey through Lent toward the Crucifixion, the church, in her wisdom, reminds us that our faith does not end at the Cross. We are an Easter people and we must look beyond to the Resurrection.

Jesus, too, knowing that his disciples could so readily be disheartened – their faith shaken, tested and tried - by his gruesome passion and devastating death, gives Peter, James and John a foretaste of the reality of his divine nature, of heaven and the glory of God. This will also enable them to spread the Gospel message with authenticity and conviction, because they now know the truth.

We, too, are invited through today’s readings to an equally intimate relationship with Christ – in effect, a mountaintop experience – so that having met him there, we can share the Gospel message in the valleys ‘with the strength of God’.