Second Sunday Of Lent: Hoping Against Hope

Lectionary Readings:

• Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18. By a covenant God renewed the promise to Abram (Abraham) of many descendants and their own land.
• Philippians 3:17-4:1. We eagerly await the coming of our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will then give a new form to our lowly body.
• Luke 9:28-36. At Jesus’ transformation, Moses and Elijah appear and speak with him of his “exodus”.

Thoughts for your consideration: By John Gonzalez

In the fourth Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans St. Paul offers a wonderful perspective on the faith and hope that Abraham had when God made his covenant with him:

He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was, “Thus shall your descendants be.”

The readings today reflect the Christian spirituality of hoping against hope. In Genesis, Abraham accepts this promise that God makes with him in faith and he does so until his dying day since even then his only son, Isaac, never possesses the Promised Land as his own. In the second reading Paul, who at this time is mindful of his own impending death, instructs the early Christian community to place their hopes not in the tangible goods of this world whose “God is their stomach and their glory is in their “shame.”” Instead Paul tells them to place their hope in their “citizenship” in heaven and in Jesus Christ who “will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body.”

And then we finally come to the Gospel passage where immediately sandwiched between the first and second affirmation of His own passion and death Jesus is transfigured with Moses and Elijah in the presence of the apostolic pillars of the early church. In this instance Peter, James and John are shown the transfigured glory that is to come and they placed their hope and faith in this new covenant even though they could neither comprehend it in the moment nor easily accept that negative social ramifications that is accompanied with following the transfigured Christ.

Like Abraham, Paul, and the first Apostles we too are called to hope against hope. We are called to place our hope not in the tangible and social dimensions of our reality but in a mystical and unseen purpose that transcends these social dimensions. This message from Scripture is all the more vital for us who are living in these difficult times. We have placed our hopes in economic and political ideologies that have unraveled. Here in the United States and throughout the western world we have become complacent with a certain lifestyle that is no longer sustainable. Even now, as we are struggling with the economic and social challenges of our time, are solutions are still based in the hope of bringing back a social model that was comfortable for many of us. But this is not the hope that Scripture is offering us.

Our hope is in a cosmological vision that transcends our reality but which also dictates our reality. The reason our former lifestyle is no longer feasible is because it was never sustainable. The principles of Catholic social teachings are calling us to envision a hope of a transfigured world where the love of God is visibly expressed through the deepening of our relationship and concern for one another and for the dignity of creation itself. In the Encyclical Spe Salvi Pope Benedict XVI tells us that: “Our hope is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me too.”

Let us take some time to reflect on the readings and to consider the Christian message of hoping against hope in relationship to shared concern for all living things and in light of the social, economic and environmental situation we are facing. I also encourage any Catholic who would like to deepen their understanding of Christian hope to download or purchase the Encyclical Spe Salvi and to meditate on the pastoral message that Pope Benedict XVI is offering us in this encyclical letter.