Food for the Journey: Reflection on the Readings for the Second Sunday of Lent 2014

1st Reading: Genesis 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.




Food for Thought:

All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.
Words for a wanderer, the beginning of a pilgrimage.
What do those words mean to you?
What communities of the earth do you belong to?
How do you bless your communities?
How do your communities bless you?
Which communities have you "gone forth" from?
Do you remember to honor those communities?
Which communities are you a part of that have lost members that "went forth" from you?
How are those who have left still a part of you, even though not present any longer?
How are you still a part of those who have left?
What members are coming into your community and "into a land that God has shown them?"
How are the newcomers in your communities blessings to you?
How are you a blessing to the newcomers in your communities?

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

2nd Reading II Timothy 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.

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.
This is Lent, the season of remembering the passion of Christ.
This is Lent, He saved us and called us to a holy life.
Christ brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Life and immortality.


The Gospel Reading is a transfiguration reading.
Jesus took his friends up to a high mountain
and he was transfigured, his face became like the sun
and his clothes shone like light.
They saw prophets from of old.
He showed them life and immortality, in the person of himself.
And He told them not to tell anyone
until he had risen from the dead.

He showed them a land, from the high mountain
This is the land he showed them
He showed them a land
Where Jesus, the Law and the Prophets
converse with one another
where the law and the prophets melt away
into the person of Jesus Christ.

But don't build a tent there.
We're not there yet.
Treasure those moments of transfiguration in your life.
They are food for the journey.





Peace in Christ,

Gazelle