2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
1st Reading: Genesis 12:1-4a
Abram and Lot
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[1] Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and
your father's house to the land that I will show you. [2] And I will make of you a
great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will
be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I
will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves."
[4] So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.
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Commentary:
12:1-6. God's call to Abraham (the name he would give him instead of Abram: cf.
17:5) marks the start of a new stage in his dealings with mankind, because his
covenant with Abraham will prove a blessing to all nations. It means that Abra-
ham has to break earthly ties, ties with family and place, and put his trust entire-
ly in God's promise -- an unknown country, many descendants (even though his
wife is barren: cf. 11:30) and God's constant protection. This divine calling also
involves a break with the idolatrous cult followed by Abraham's family in the city
of Haran (apparently a moon cult) so as to worship the true God.
Abraham responds to God's call; believing and trusting totally in the divine word,
he leaves his country and heads for Canaan. Abraham's attitude is in sharp con-
trast with the human pride described earlier in connection with the tower of Babel
(cf. 11:1-9), and even more so with the disobedience of Adam and Eve which was
the cause of mankind's break with God.
The divine plan of salvation begins to operate by requiring man to make an act of
obedience: in Abraham's case, he is asked to set out on a journey. This plan will
reach its ultimate goal with the perfect obedience shown by Jesus Christ "made
obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:8), whereby all mankind will
obtain the mercy of God (cf. Rom 5:19). Everyone who listens and obeys the
voice of the Lord, all believers, can therefore be regarded as children of Abraham.
"Thus Abraham 'believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.' So
you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the scripture
foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel be-
forehand to Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all the nations be blessed.' So then,
those who are men of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith" (Gal 3:6-9).
Jewish and Christian tradition sees the three things God requires Abram to give
up as epitomizing the demands of faith: "Through these three departures -- from
country, kindred and father's house," according to Alcuin's interpretation, "is
meant that we have to leave behind the earthly man, the ties of our vices, and
the world under the devil's power" ("lnterrogationes in Genesim", 154).
Abraham's response also involves an attitude of prayer, an intimate relationship
with God. Although prayer makes its appearance at the very start of the Old Tes-
tament (cf. 4:4, 26; 5:24; etc.), it really comes into its own with our father Abra-
ham, as the "Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: "When God calls him,
Abraham goes forth 'as the Lord had told him' (Gen 12:4). Abraham's heart is en-
tirely submissive to the Word and so he obeys. Such attentiveness of the heart,
whose decisions are made according to God's will, is essential to prayer, while
the words used count only in relation to it. Abraham's prayer is expressed first
by deeds: a man of silence, he constructs an altar to the Lord at each stage of
his journey. Only later does Abraham 's first prayer in words appear: a veiled
complaint reminding God of his promises which seem unfulfilled (cf. Gen 15:2-3).
Thus one aspect of the drama of prayer appears from the beginning: the test of
faith in the fidelity of God" (no.2570).
Abraham gets as far as the central part of Palestine, [whence] he moves south,
building as he goes altars to the Lord, to the true God, in places which will be-
come important shrines in later periods. The biblical text shows that Yahweh ac-
companies Abraham and that the latter renders him acceptable worship, in con-
trast with the idolatrous cult practised by the inhabitants of the country (given the
generic name of "Canaanites"). God, for his part, in all his appearances to the pa-
triarch, promises to give this land to his descendants (cf. 13:15; 15:18; 17:8; 26:
4). In this way the text is showing the radical source of the legitimacy of Israel's
possession of the land of Canaan. However, this promise of a land to the descen-
dants of Abraham goes beyond the empirical fact of acquiring territory, and be-
comes a symbol of the blessings and the divine gifts in which all mankind will
share.
Speaking about Abraham's faith in the word of God, St Paul interprets Abra-
ham's "descendants" in the singular, as referring to one descendant only, Jesus
Christ, because only he, being the Son of God and making himself obedient unto
death, possesses all the divine goods and communicates them to man: "Christ
redeemed us [...] that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon
the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit. [...] Now the promi-
ses were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, 'And to off-
springs,' referring to many; but, referring to one, ' And to your offspring,' which
is Christ" (Gal 3:13-16).
2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 1:8-10
St Paul, Herald of the Gospel
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[8b] take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God, [9] who saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his
own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, [10] and
now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abo-
lished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
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Commentary:
9-10. There is a theological basis for courageously confronting the difficulties the
Gospel brings with it--the fact that we have been called by God, who has revealed
himself as our Savior. As elsewhere in these letters (cf. 1 Tim 3:15ff; Titus 3:5-7).
St Paul here speaks a succinct hymn in praise of salvation, probably using ex-
pressions based on some liturgical hymn or confession of faith. The salvation
which God brings about is viewed in this passage as it applies to Christians (v. 9)
and is manifested in the incarnation of Christ (v. 10). Four essential aspects of
salvation are identified: 1) God has already accomplished salvation for everyone;
2) it is God, too, who calls all men to avail of it; 3) it is entirely a gift: man cannot
merit it (cf. Tit 3:5; Eph 2:8-9); and 4) God's plan is an eternal one (cf. Rom 8:29-
30; Eph 1:11).
"The appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ" (v. 10) refers in the first place to his in-
carnation ( cf. Tit 2: 11; 3:4) but it includes his entire work of redemption, which
culminates in his appearing in glory and majesty (cf. 1 Tim 6:14; 2 Tim 4:1, 8).
The Redemption has two wonderful effects--victory over death (physical and spiri-
tual) and the abundant and luminous gift of everlasting life. "He is the true Lamb
who took away the sins of the world. By dying he destroyed our death; by rising
he restored our life" ("Preface of Easter", I).
"Ages ago": literally, "from the times of the ages", a primitive expression meaning
the same thing as "eternity".
Gospel Reading: Matthew 17:1-9
The Transfiguration
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[1] And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain apart. [2] And he was transfigured before them,
and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. [3] And
behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. [4] And Peter
said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three
booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." [5] He was still
speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud
said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." [6]
When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe.
[7] But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." [8] And
when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
[9] And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, "Tell
no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead."
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Commentary:
1-13. Realizing that his death will demoralize his disciples, Jesus forewarns them
and strengthens their faith. Not content with telling them in advance about his
death and resurrection on the third day, he wants two of the three future pillars of
the Church ( cf. Gal 2:9) to see his transfiguration and thereby glimpse the glory
and majesty with which is holy human nature will be endowed in heaven.
The Father's testimony (v. 5), expressed in the same words as he used at Christ's
baptism (cf. Mt 3: 17), reveals to the three Apostles that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God, the beloved Son, God himself. To these words--also spoken at Christ's
baptism--he adds, "Listen to him", as if to indicate that Jesus is also the supreme
prophet foretold by Moses (cf. Deut 18:15-18).
3. Moses and Elijah are the two most prominent representatives of the Old Testa-
ment--the Law and the Prophets. The fact that Christ occupies the central position
points up his pre-eminence over them, and the superiority of the New Testament
over the Old.
This dazzling glimpse of divine glory is enough to send the Apostles into a rapture;
so happy are they that Peter cannot contain his desire to prolong this experience.
5. In Christ God speaks to all men; through the Church his voice resounds in all
ages: "The Church does not cease to listen to his words. She rereads them con-
tinually. With the greatest devotion she reconstructs every detail of his life. These
words are listened to also by non-Christians. The life of Christ speaks; also, to
many who are not capable of repeating with Peter, 'You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God' (Mt 16:16). He, the Son of the living God, speaks to people also
as Man: it is his life that speaks, his humanity, his fidelity to the truth, his all-em-
bracing love. Furthermore, his death on the Cross speaks--that is to say the in-
scrutable depth of his suffering and abandonment. The Church never ceases to
relive his death on the Cross and his resurrection, which constitute the content
of the Church's daily life [...]. The Church lives his mystery, draws unwearyingly
from it and continually seeks ways of bringing this mystery of her Master and
Lord to humanity--to the peoples, the nations, the succeeding generations, and
every individual human being" (John Paul II, "Redemptor Hominis", 7).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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