Second Sunday of Lent
Also Read: Mass Readings for 16 March 2025 Sunday Reflection by Maryanne – 16 March 2025
Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18
This foundational story of Abraham is a powerful testament to his faith, but is also a profound example to us of the virtue of hope. There has already been discussion of the idea that God called upon Abraham to “count the stars” despite it actually being daytime (it is after this scene in verse 17 that it says “the sun had set”). This means that he was being told to see something he could not yet see, but knew was there. Similarly, when we hope in Christ we too are meant to see something, or Someone, there whom we cannot yet see, at least not in the way we expect to see. We look forward like Abraham was meant to look forward to the fulfilment of God’s promises.
Psalms 27: 1, 7-9, 13-14
Just like the stars are producers of light, so this Psalm tells us the Lord is our light. In the darkness, this light is one’s salvation if one is traveling. Ancient travelers used the stars to travel, knowing which direction they were going based on their placement. It was the light they produced that allowed you to get to your destination. The light of the moon, which we know is produced by our star, provided light to see where one was going. We are travelers moving toward a much greater light and destination. The little lights of the Saints point us to the Great Light of Heaven, God Himself.
Philippians 3: 17 – 4: 1
Similar to the two ways presented by Moses in Deuteronomy, that of life and of death, St. Paul gives us a New Testament application of this idea in that which one imitates. One can imitate the “earthly things” that will eventually pass away, so then we too will pass away, or we can imitate the one who is eternal, Jesus Christ, and so share in his eternity. Ultimately, we are throwing our hope in with one or the other more by our actions than our words.
Luke 9: 28b-36
Abraham was told to look at the little lights of the stars as evidence of God’s promise. The Apostles, we see, are given a great light and the glorious presence of Jesus. This presence had been veiled his entire life but is now revealed briefly as he gets closer to his sacrifice. What completes this event is that the biggest “little lights” from the Old Testament, Elijah and Moses, are in the presence of this great light. These two, because of the ambiguity associated with their deaths, create an important image for the Apostles as this is a heavenly reality being presented to them.
