In the First Reading from the Book of Genesis this Second Sunday of Lent, a trance falls upon Abram and he experiences a deep, terrifying darkness. There appears to him a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch out of the dark: symbols of light, safety and security. He hears the voice of the Lord who makes a covenant with him and his future descendants. The voice and the promise are as a light in the dark for him. In the Gospel of Luke we hear the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration—he becomes for us the light of the world, our safety and security. We hear the voice of God identify Jesus for us: “This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.”
In the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, he urges us to “join with others and be imitators of me” (and Jesus). He gives us the model. He tells us that other ways of acting and being are “destruction…their minds are occupied with earthly things…our citizenship is in heaven.” We are to reflect the light of Christ in the world—and be imitators of him.
The Responsorial Psalm (#27) this week is: “The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom should I be afraid?” Last week we prayed in Psalm 91 that the Lord be with us in times of trouble—the Psalm this week acknowledges His presence, the comfort of God’s love and mercy for us—and it could only be really just a ‘glimmer’ of the full truth of God’s compassion for us. This Psalm is a standard funeral psalm. It is a gift and a grace to know that there is nothing of which to be afraid, no reason to live in fear. The Lord is our light and our salvation, and our citizenship is in heaven. Knowing this, owning and understanding this psalm refrain will make it easier for us to be imitators of Christ—and to live out our baptismal promises.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
In the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, he urges us to “join with others and be imitators of me” (and Jesus). He gives us the model. He tells us that other ways of acting and being are “destruction…their minds are occupied with earthly things…our citizenship is in heaven.” We are to reflect the light of Christ in the world—and be imitators of him.
The Responsorial Psalm (#27) this week is: “The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom should I be afraid?” Last week we prayed in Psalm 91 that the Lord be with us in times of trouble—the Psalm this week acknowledges His presence, the comfort of God’s love and mercy for us—and it could only be really just a ‘glimmer’ of the full truth of God’s compassion for us. This Psalm is a standard funeral psalm. It is a gift and a grace to know that there is nothing of which to be afraid, no reason to live in fear. The Lord is our light and our salvation, and our citizenship is in heaven. Knowing this, owning and understanding this psalm refrain will make it easier for us to be imitators of Christ—and to live out our baptismal promises.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
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