Homily: Second Sunday in Lent
March 1, 2026
My dear brothers and sisters, we are on the second Sunday of our Lenten observance. Each year in the second Sunday of Lent, the Church recalls the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ to remind us that our Lenten fast and observances are not just only about accompanying Jesus through his passion, suffering and death, but also, we are following Jesus to His resurrection. In our Lenten journey, we are ultimately preparing for the eternal glory that is to come when this our mortal bodies will be transfigured to be like that Christ in His glorious body.
In this mount of Transfiguration, Jesus purposely allowed His glory, His beatific vision to shine out here on earth for some minutes before some of His disciples to remind them that this earth is indeed not the final destination, the cross of Calvary would not be the end of His mission, the world and all its glories and suffering one day will give way and the Shekinah glory of God will shine forever just the same way a glimpse of it shined on the mount of Transfiguration. We can see the same witnesses: Peter, James and John who followed Him to the Mount of Transfiguration were the same witnesses He took to His agony in the garden of Gethsemane. By this action, the message of Jesus is clear, the agony of Gethsemane, the cross of Calvary is the pathway to the Transfiguration at the glorious Mountain of the Lord, there is a strong connection between the two events. Similarly, our sincere Lenten observance is connected to our own forthcoming transfiguration before the throne of God.
During this Transfiguration of Jesus, from the cloud a voice said, “this is my Son, the beloved, with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him.” Brothers and sisters, this message is for us, we must listen to Jesus, we must listen to the Word of God. All the actions of Jesus, His teachings and works were all pleasing to His Father. When we listen to them and live by them, we too shall also be pleasing to God. We must bend down on our knees in prayers and listen to the voice of God speaking to us. We must be in dialogue and communion with God through the reception of the Sacraments and other charitable acts that we are called to practice in this season of Lent. By following Jesus and listening to Him, He can never leave us alone, one day we too shall be transfigured to glory like He did.
In the first reading of today, we saw how the Father Abraham listened to God. Abraham was asked to abandon his homeland and life that had given him security and set out on a new unknown course. Most probably, his life in his homeland, among his people and friends must have given him some satisfaction, a certain tranquility, and pleasure but God asked Him to abandon all these and relocate to a land and place hitherto unknown to him. It must have been a moment of test and cross for Abraham, but he said yes to God and commenced the spiritual journey. His faith was again put to test when God later asked him to sacrifice his only son Isaac to Him. Abraham said yes to God and tied Isaac’s hand and legs and wanted to roast him like a barbecue for God, only that God intervened.
It is this extraordinary faith in God that made Abraham the father of faith. This his attitude of paying heed to God made him the father of the Covenant, his total surrender to God made him the father of the multitude of nations. We are called to have Abrahamic faith, trust and dependence on God. Like Abraham, in this season of Lent, we must courageously leave behind those comfortable and pleasurable options that prevent us from embracing the divine covenant. We must join in the spiritual journey to the Promised Land. Like Peter, James and John, we must accompany Jesus to the Holy Mountain, where this our mortal body will be transfigured. Even the movement of climbing this mountain is enough work, we must not be afraid to begin this work that will win our salvation for us.
