3rd Sunday of Lent, April 7, 2024

 As preached by Sister Cecelia
Holy Wisdom Church

Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Peter 2:21b-25, Luke 9:18-27

The last sentence in this morning’s gospel was: “There are some standing here who will not taste death before seeing the kingdom of God”. What did Jesus mean by those words? And how should we understand them? Several different interpretations have been offered. The next words in Scripture are those describing Jesus taking Peter, James, and John up the mountain, where he was transfigured before them.  That is one way of interpreting His words. Those three men certainly viewed a bit of heaven when they saw Jesus transfigured.

Another thought is that many of Jesus’ disciples would themselves be transformed and would also see others transformed when they believed the teaching of Jesus. Before dying, their transformation IS the kingdom of God on earth. For the apostles became convinced Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, but He was not the Messiah they had been taught to expect. He even indicated he was to suffer and die—another hurdle for them in their transformation.

What is our response to the unexpected that comes into our lives? Have we learned to turn to God in prayer? Asking help from God is a sign that dependence on God has become a part of our approach to life. In some mysterious way, we know that God will come to our assistance. It is the kingdom of God affecting our lives. Help will come, whether by removing or reducing the causes of our trouble, or by increasing our inward resources, making us better able to cope with the situation. The petition in Psalm 70, “O God, come to my aid, O Lord hasten to help me,” can come to mind in many situations we face every day, as well as in the emergencies that confront us.

When life delivers experiences which are contrary to our preferences and expectations, we can become upset. Sometimes the degree of our disturbance is greater than the situation calls for. We are not reacting to the triggering event but to a more deep-seated source of resentment.

  A misspoken word or momentary delay can occasion anger that is out of proportion to its supposed cause. Remembering God and our prayer, “O God, come to my aid, O Lord make haste to help me,” serves as a counter-balance for the many irritants that undermine life. Bad things do happen, and sometimes others are blameworthy, but we must take charge of our own perspective on life.

Even if we do not face overt persecution on a daily basis, there can be many occasions when we face negative reactions from someone. While these sometimes grow into open hostility, at other times they can take subtler forms: distance, indifference, non-responsiveness, and rudeness. Whether we know the reason or not, we can just regard the difficulty as a reminder of our human condition, and use it as a springboard to strengthen our relationship with God. We can simply determine not to allow these everyday strains to grow into a major fracture. Rather than praying for vengeance, let our prayer be that our own hearts be expanded to make room for a wider acceptance of others who are different. When we learn to enter the sphere of divine compassion, we become a little less ready to hand down harsh judgements on others. We learn to look upon their obnoxious behavior more in pity than in blame.   Instead of despairing of repairing a broken relationship, we may be inspired to add a few grains of sand to the hourglass to bring about a balance so a measure of harmony is eventually restored.

For centuries the church has used the prayer of Saint Ephrem to remind us of one way of being in charge of our perspective on life:  

“Dispel from me the spirit of discouragement and slothfulness, of ambition and vain talk. Instead, give me the spirit of prudence and humility, of patience and charity.

Yes, my king and Lord, let me look at my own sins and refrain from judging others:
 For you are blest for ages of ages, amen.”

Christ is in our midst!

 

Some ideas from Michael Casey “the Longest Psalm”