BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (# 16)
Second Sunday of Lent, Year B – March 16, 2003

“This Is My Beloved Son”

 

BIBLE READINGS:
Gn 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 // Rom 8:31b-34 // Mk 9:2-10

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS 

One of my few prized possessions is a picture of the faces of students enrolled at Maryhill School of Theology, to enable the professors to memorize their names more easily. This particular picture contains the faces of the seminarians who participated in the course, “The Word of God in the Liturgy” which I taught in 1993. This “souvenir” is particularly meaningful for it includes the youthful face of my celebrity student, Fr. Rhoel Gallardo, a young Claretian missionary who worked in the thickly Muslim populated and rebel infested island of Basilan, in the southern Philippines. The Abu Sayaf rebels, notorious for their lawlessness and ferocity, kidnapped him, together with some female catechists, for ransom a few years ago. Fr. Gallardo was subjected to various forms of torture. His toenails were pulled out and he was commanded to rape his catechists, which he refused to do. He was humiliated for his heroic fidelity to prayer. Finally, as the Aba Sayaf rebels were retreating when the government forces attacked, he was shot in the head and died as a true pastor and martyr for the faith. I would show this “souvenir” to new students and, pointing to Fr. Gallardo’s image, proudly proclaim, “This is my beloved student!”

In today’s Gospel, we hear a similar acknowledgment in the authoritative voice coming from the cloud. It is the voice of the heavenly Father making the divine affirmation, “This is my beloved Son …” This affirmation echoes the acknowledgment the Father made at the baptism in the Jordan: “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased” (cf. Mk 1:9-11).

In the Gospel episode proclaimed last Sunday (cf. Mk 1:12-15) about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness and his subsequent proclamation of the Good News from God, we caught a glimpse of the uncompromising fidelity of the Son to his baptismal covenant with the Father. In the transfiguration of Jesus that we are called to contemplate today, we get a glimpse of the glorious fulfillment of Christ’s paschal journey and the magnificent destiny of his covenantal fidelity to be at the complete service of God’s saving will. Indeed, the words from the cloud, “This is my beloved Son,” received their full meaning from Jesus’ willingness to be sacrificed and from the willingness of the Father “not to spare his own Son” (cf. Rom 8:32).

In the context of the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, who was called to offer his own son, Isaac, and in the light of Paul’s declaration that God “did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us,” the Father’s avowal, “This is my beloved Son…” takes on a deeper meaning. Jesus, the beloved Son, is the primordial sacrament. He is the sacrament of the Father’s covenantal fidelity to save us. He is the presence of the Father’s tremendous love for us. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, our Savior, his most precious One (cf. Jn 3:16). Indeed, God did not deny his own Son that we may be saved. The sacrificial aspect of the Father’s love and the beloved Son’s submission is the cause of our salvation. This is such an astounding reality that, with St. Paul, we can exclaim: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

According to the authors of the book, Days of the Lord, vol. 2, page 84: “As far as God and Christ are concerned, our salvation is assured. Far from lulling us to sleep, this certainty keeps us awake because it makes us conscious of our responsibility: this divine work will be operative in us in the measure we live in faith and trust, faithful to God’s limitless love.” 

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART 

A.   This is my beloved Son …” Do we believe that Jesus, revealed in his transfigured glory, is the primordial sacrament of God’s love and his covenantal fidelity to save us? 

B.   Do we listen and follow him as the beloved Son of God? Do we believe with our whole heart that “If God is for us, who can be against us?” How do we respond to the Father’s great gift to us: Jesus, his most precious One. 

C.  Do we allow ourselves to be transformed by this wonderful gift? How do we contribute to the healing and transformation of our wounded society today? 

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD 

  • Leader:
    Loving and merciful Father,
    you have made us your sons and daughters
    in your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

    He is the primordial sacrament of your covenantal love for us.
    Transform us; transfigure us; Christify us.
    Hear our humble supplications
    and grant us the grace we need
    in order to face the challenges
    of being your own beloved children
    in today’s world that needs healing.
    You live and reign forever and ever.
     

  • Assembly: Amen.

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD 

            The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it. 

            “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” (Mk 9:7) 

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION 

  1. ACTION PLAN: Pray the Holy Rosary, contemplating the five Mysteries of Light, especially focusing on the fourth Mystery: Christ’s transfiguration.
  1. ACTION PLAN: Do something for the youth, especially the most rejected, that will enable them to feel that they are beloved by God.

 

Prepared by: Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang, PDDM

SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave.,
Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 or (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US

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