Homily - Mar 20 - Suffering to Glory

(This homily was given on a televised Mass intended for the handicapped and homebound).

In St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans he offers a phrase that puts a lot of our life into perspective. He says, “The sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed” (Rm 8:18). This idea, as challenging and as encouraging as it is at the same time, creates a sort of thread throughout our readings for this Second Sunday of Lent.



In our first reading, Abram was asked to leave his native land, undergo a long and arduous journey, and settle in an unknown place. All things which would bring him suffering. But he trusted the promise of glory given to him and did as the Lord asked.

St. Paul encourages us Timothy, in his second letter to the young Bishop, to “bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.” Why? “Because he saved us” “through … Christ Jesus who destroyed death and brought life and immortality.” The hardships, he’s saying, are as nothing compared with the grace of new and eternal life.

Our Gospel treats this theme of suffering and glory in a bit more of a complex way. Before the scene of the Transfiguration, which we just heard, Jesus had just told his disciples that he was on his way up to Jerusalem to “suffer greatly” as he says, “and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Now you probably remember how Peter reacts to this announcement. Peter, who suffers from FOOT-IN-MOUTH syndrome, responds, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Jesus, of course, is not deterred. And after he rebukes Peter for his lack of Godly sight, Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Jesus has a soft spot in his heart for Peter, however, and he decided that his disciples would need a little extra encouragement to get them through what was about to happen. So he chooses three - Peter, James, and John - and takes them up a high mountain where he is transfigured: He is changed before their very eyes and shines like the sun as he converses with Moses and Elijah, who represent the wisdom of the Law and the Prophets. (In Luke’s account of the Transfiguration he informs us that they were speaking about what he was to accomplish in Jerusalem…).

You see, the disciples were beginning to see that suffering was a big part of Jesus’s mission, and they began to intuit that that meant they too would probably suffer. But in the midst of those sufferings, Jesus gives pauses a minute. He always wants his followers to have consolation enough to keep going forward. He does not want us to be paralyzed by our fear, especially our fear of suffering. And he does not want us to despair – he always wants us to be able to find meaning in the midst of suffering. His solution to both fear and despair, is to assure us that he has walked the road before us AND that he is walking the road with us.

Peter, of course, is overjoyed to catch a glimpse of Jesus’ glory on the mountaintop, since he had been so bogged down by the distressing news about his suffering and death. He wants to build some tents so they can remain on the mountain. In a book of daily meditations called “In Conversation with God,” Father Francis Fernandez identifies the error in Peter’s thinking. Fr Fernandez says, “what is good, what really matters, is not to be in this place or that, but always to be with Jesus, wherever we are, and to be able to see him behind all the circumstances in which we may find ourselves” (Fernandez, 68). Whether we are catching a glimpse of the glory to be revealed or whether we are sharing in the bitter suffering of the Cross, the only thing that matters is to be with Jesus.

“When the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone.” FINDING JESUS, seeing Him in our ordinary life, is more important than seeking him out in extraordinary ways. He is there, “in the midst of our work, out in the street, in the people around us, in our prayer,” as Fr. Fernandez says. He is there especially in the Sacrament of Confession and in the Holy Eucharist. [[[“Normally he does not show himself to us with any special manifestations. Rather, we have to learn to find Our Lord in what is ordinary, every day, and we must flee from the temptation of ever wanting anything extraordinary (Fernandez, 71-72).

I know that in some places out there you who are watching and praying with us are in considerable pain or are experiencing great suffering – loneliness, rejection, confusion, uncertainty. Whatever it might be, it’s so hard to see beyond that suffering. It can indeed be a long journey up to Jerusalem and to Calvary. But in the midst of our sufferings, there is only one rule: just stay with Jesus. If we stay with Him, He shows us, from time to time, a glimpse of what will one day be revealed – the blessedness of heaven. He tells us, “rise, and do no be afraid.” He renews us to continue on our journey towards Jerusalem – our journey towards an ever greater conformity with Jesus. Through that journey we become ever more one with Jesus in His Passion, Death, and ultimately His Resurrection.

My prayer for you today, my dear friends, is that you heed the Lord’s invitation to go up the mountain with Him. Especially as you unite yourself with this sacrifice of the Mass and the offering of the Eucharist, Jesus desires to share with you a glimpse of His glory. Then you will say with St. Paul, “The sufferings of this world are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed.”