RENEWsletter for February 28, 2010 - 2nd Lent

Good morning dear friends--
As we enter the second week of Lent, it is a good time to lift our heads above the cares and perils that surround us these days, and wait for the promise of the coming Son-rise. Reading the Scriptures set for next Sunday, I find parallels between Abram's situation and my own. I list my woes and my fears and I can almost hear that venerable patriarch saying, "Not to worry! Been there, done that... With Yahweh... no problem!"

The readings for this Second Sunday of Lent are found on the web at http://www.usccb.org/nab/022810.shtml, and in your Bible at:

Genesis 15.5-12, 17-18
Psalm 27.1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14
Philippians 3.17 -- 4.1
Luke 9.28b-36

To Abram, as the First Reading shows, prosperity was measured in descendents. In our day it is measured differently. In my case, where I am now, I measure prosperity in terms of my financial state... my retirement fund in particular. I have some concerns there. Abram had some concerns as well. He was old. He had no children. His retirement prospects were nil! But God led him out under the dark skies of Palestine some 4000 years ago and bade him count the stars (Gen. 15.5). These were not the stars of our modern light-polluted skies where only the very brightest shine through the city glow. There were millions of stars visible to Abram's eyes! God promised Abram that his descendents would total up to that order of magnitude (v. 5 again).

God gives us the same kind of promise today. We will be taken care of. Applying verse 7 to my own situation, I read "I am the LORD who brought you out of Omaha of the Midwesterners to give you this condo as a possession." Doubtful, I respond, "But how am I to know that I'll be able to make the payments?" (see verse 8). God understood Abram's fears, and he understands ours. A "terrifying darkness" fell on Abram. Yeah, I relate to that. Not being able to see the future can be terrifying. But God will light our way, a step at a time, as he did for Abram (vs. 13-15).

The psalmist got the same type of promise in our Responsorial Psalm (Ps. 27.1). And he believed it: "I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living" (v. 13). We can claim that promise too. It may not come to be until the future, but "the land of the living" is not a graveyard!

Paul, in the Second Reading, was well aware of God's promise to him. And his mission was to share that information with as many as he could. "Be like me," he admonishes us (Phil. 3.17). With some, "their god is their stomach," wrapped up with trying to feel good (v. 19). "But our citizenship is in heaven" (v. 20). We will win with Jesus. With that to look forward to, we can "stand firm in the Lord" (ch. 4 v. 1).

Peter, John, and James got a small preview of what it will be like with glorified bodies. Luke tells us in the Gospel Reading that Jesus's "face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white" (Luke 9.29). Moses and Elijah, two men long dead, appeared in the same brilliantly shining form (v. 30). "Wow!" exclaimed Peter. "This is cool! Let's build three shrines! One for each of the three of you!" (v. 33). I imagine Jesus just looked at him and smiled.

Then the glory faded and became part of the past. Even the bright day became shadowed by a cloud (v. 34). God himself spoke out of the cloud, "Listen to what my Son has to say" (v. 35).

Talk about terrifying! It shut Peter up. It shut all three of them up (v. 36).

What does Christ have to say? In one place he says "Destroy this temple and in three days I'll have it rebuilt" (John 2:19). In another place he says "Don't worry about tomorrow..." (Matthew 6:34). And in another he says, "Let the dead past bury itself" (Luke 9:60). That covers the future, the present, and the past.

What Christ has to say to me all sounds like "Don't be afraid. I'll take care of you." What does Christ have to say to you?

Randy Jones
"Those who cannot hear Jesus say the future is bleak!"