Second Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 26

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.

IN today’s gospel, we hear a Voice from heaven declare, “This is my beloved son; listen to him!” When John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, a voice also came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 

But there is no indication that the Baptist or anyone else heard the voice. As Saint Mark tells the story, God spoke only to "you," to Jesus. He was known only to God, and is otherwise alone and unrecognized among the crowds who came to be baptized. 

Other gospels, of course, give us a different story: Saint Luke will tell us Jesus and John are related on Mary's side; Saint Matthew describes John's knowing Jesus and whether he should baptize his superior. And in the Fourth Gospel, the Baptist pointed directly to him and shouted, "Behold, the Lamb of God...." 

But Saint Mark's Jesus is shrouded in anonymity and mystery. We cannot know how he felt about the incident. He said nothing to anyone. And he seems to have arrived without a plan for, "Immediately the Spirit drove him into the desert."

That is why the Voice which Peter, James, and the disciple John heard on a high mountain shocked the disciples. It might have sounded familiar to Jesus but the fishermen were dumbfounded. 

As we hear the story told on this Second Sunday of Lent, the Church points our attention to the unique relationship of Jesus and God. He alone is "my beloved son." The word beloved immediately sends us back to another mountain in the distant past where God spoke to Abraham, 

"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,

and go to the land of Moriah.

There you shall offer him up as a holocaust

on a height that I will point out to you."

But, not many years after hearing that astounding voice, Saint Peter obviously knows the only begotten Son of God. At the risk of his own life, he declares in front of friends and enemies, 

There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” 

This knowledge comes by revelation to Peter, the disciples, and to us, the Church. “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

In a popular movie several years ago, George Burns, playing the role of God, said that "Jesus was my son. Buddha was my son. Muhammad, Moses, you, the man who said there was no room at the inn was my son." 

Excuse me for being Catholic and complaining about the great comedian, but that was rank heresy and a direct attack on our faith. And yet many people ate it up, and many Catholics believe it. 

We are called to be a people peculiarly his own and our most peculiar characteristic is our complete and absolute faith in Jesus Christ. We believe he is the only beloved Son of God; he is the Word made flesh; he is the Word who was with God and the Word who is God. 

His death alone saves us from ourselves and our sins; the sacrifice of his life alone must teach us the mercy and justice which God demands of us. There is no salvation without him; there can be no hope for those who deny him. As we hear in the Gospel of Saint John,

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.

The Lord calls us, a people peculiarly his own, during the Season of Lent to prepare us for the judgment day of Good Friday and the great revelation of Easter. 

We take the season seriously because we know we cannot save ourselves, our nation, or our planet. Now is the time to beg God for salvation, deliverance, and mercy. During an election year, as the United States faces a critical test of our democracy; and as we watch antichrists rising to power in many nations, we hear the Voice of God tell us in no uncertain language, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." And we hear Jesus, the Crucified Messiah reassure us, 

I am the LORD, there is no other,

there is no God besides me.

It is I who arm you, though you do not know me,

so that all may know, from the rising of the sun

to its setting, that there is none besides me.

I am the LORD, there is no other.