2nd Sunday of Lent, C


Remember the Covenant

  Luke 9:28-36


How do we prepare for Holy Week in this second week of Lent?  Let us reflect on the readings for this Sunday.

In the first week, Jesus was triumphant over temptations of wealth, power, and pride. 

Now, these already cast aside, I believe that the Church now invites us to explore the depth of who we are and invites us to come closer and remember our Covenant with God himself, in an unbreakable bond of agreement sealed in fire, water, and blood of His Only Begotten Son.


Who are we?  We have just entered into the covenant with God.  God is our God and we are his people.  Remember, we are nothing without God.

Secondly, remember our covenant with God. What is this covenant which we are to renew?  Married couples renew their covenant every year.  A covenant is a solemn oath.  God entered into a solemn oath with us.  It is funny how God can make a covenant with such unworthy creatures capable of breaking bonds.  Thus, this covenant is not about us; it is about God sealing His eternal love to us.  A covenant is definitely a mark of God.

A covenant marks also our humble response.  What is the response for the overwhelming goodness of God?  Greed?  Selfishness?  Hurting neighbors?  Then, we have not sealed the covenant enough.  But since this is a story about God; He is the divine Covenant sealed in the body and blood of His very own Son, this covenant indeed has merit and we as the other party also respond in love and in thanksgiving.

The covenant is Jesus himself by which a sound is heard, "This is my beloved Son; listen to Him."

The covenant entails deep listening.  There are a lot of good natured people around us; but are they doing God's will?  Are they in close connection to Jesus?  The moment we are, our work becomes Jesus' work; our hearts become Jesus' heart.  Even we cannot detect who we are, because we're simply transformed into the image and likeness of His Son.  Have we changed to the image and likeness of Jesus?

Then we have so much to do regarding the Covenant.  Don't let go of the Covenant.  Respond well, and see the fruitfulness of the Covenant in the way we live Christian lives.

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