A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 17)
2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A – March 20, 2011 *
“Seeds of Transformation… of Becoming”
BIBLE READINGS
Gn 12:1-4a // II Tm 1:8b-10 // Mt 17:1-9
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
The word of God sown into our hearts in the liturgy, Sunday after Sunday, is transforming. As “seeds of becoming”, the word that we celebrate on this second Sunday of Lent challenges us to respond to God’s call that we may attain our sacred destiny and become what he intends us to be.
In the Old Testament reading (Gn 12:1-4a), we hear of the call of Abraham and his vocation to glory. Plucked out of obscurity, this wandering Semitic chieftain was chosen by God to be the father of nations. As patriarch of the covenant people and immensely blessed, he would be a sign and means of blessing for others. But Abraham’s call and response did not come without sacrifice.
Harold Buetow remarks: “It is not difficult for us to imagine Abram’s hardships in having to leave his home, his family, and all things that made up his world, to face the perils and uncertainty of the unknown. But Abram loved God and lived his life searching for God’s voice and, being a good man, when he heard it he took the risk of letting go of all that was secure and familiar, to journey by faith into the completely unknown. Striking as it is that he obeyed, even more striking is his swiftness. There is no sense of self-protection of the kind that too often characterizes our world.”
In the life of patriarch Abraham are “seeds of becoming” that blossomed into the full sacrifice of his progeny Jesus Christ. In the event of the Lord’s transfiguration (cf. Mt 17:1-9) is a glimpse of his definitive glory achieved by obedience to the divine saving plan. The transfiguration of Jesus gives us a vision of a future glory rooted in the paschal mystery. By “becoming” truly our Savior on the cross, the divine blessing promised by God to Abraham was copiously poured out into the whole universe and bore abundant fruits of glory.
Saint Leo the Great asserts: “In the presence of chosen witnesses the Lord unveils his glory, investing with such splendor that bodily appearance which he shares with the rest of the human race that his face shines like the sun and his clothes become white as snow. The primary purpose of this transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of Christ’s disciples; the greatness of his hidden glory was revealed to them to prevent their faith being shaken by the self-abasement of the suffering he was voluntarily to undergo … May we all therefore be confirmed in our faith through the preaching of the holy Gospel, and let no one be ashamed of the cross by which Christ has redeemed the world. None of us must be afraid to suffer for the sake of justice or doubt the fulfillment of the promises, for it is through toil that we come to rest and through death that we pass to life.”
The mystery of the “seeds of becoming” that was at work in Abraham’s faith response and which reached its radical fruition in Christ’s life-giving sacrifice continues in the life of the Church. This Sunday’s Second Reading (II Tm 1:8b-10) underlines that we are called “to become” holy. Holiness, however, is not a personal achievement, but a response to the divine initiative to save us in Jesus Christ, who overcame the power of death and gave us the gift of eternal life. Responding to Saint Paul’s exhortation, we must take our part in suffering for the Good News as God gives us the strength for it. Personally and as a community of faith, by proclaiming the Gospel with great love, generosity and sacrifice, we sow the “seeds of becoming” and nurture their growth.
Our vocation-response to holiness entails small steps and humble beginnings. Our transformation in Christ is a gradual process. Our glorious destiny as children of God has the dynamism and energy of the “seeds of becoming”. Indeed, “little seeds, little deeds” are the starting point of miraculous transformation. The Scotland-based writer, Margaret Silf explains this beautifully in the following article (cf. “Little Seeds, Little Deeds” in AMERICA, November 22, 2010, p. 9).
Our economic troubles in the United Kingdom may soon be over. A 6-year-old girl heard our prime minister speaking of the hardships that lie ahead in the effort to bring the nation out of recession. She had just lost one of her baby teeth, and the tooth fairy had left her a pound coin in its place. Realizing the severity of the nation’s economic plight, she taped her pound coin to a letter that she sent to David Cameron with the request that he should use it “to make the country better and pay for jobs”.
The story touched all our hearts, and, of course, the pound was sent back to the sender, thanking her sincerely for her generosity but suggesting that Mr. Cameron would like her to spend it on something nice for herself. He was, however, reported to observe that if we all sent our tooth-fairy money, Britain would soon be on the road to recovery.
Would that it were so simple! Yet this story touches a deep truth. A 6-year-old gives away all she has so that someone else might benefit. She has it completely right. Miracles happen when we put the common good before our own personal gratification. The tiniest thing can be the start of a miracle. In fact, the smaller the better, if Jesus’ parables are an indication of the divine dynamic. Little seeds, little deeds are the almost invisible beginnings from which transformation grows.
Perhaps our problem with miracles is that we try to get at them from the wrong end. We strive to see the end of the miracle – the great transformation, the unexpected cure, the new life where there was none before. But we very rarely notice the start of the miracle. This is a great pity because, actually, these almost small beginnings of the miraculous are all around us. It is a bit like going through the countryside and, because we are in the right place in the right season, happening to see a tree laden with fruit or a field ripe with corn.
What we do not see is the puff of wind that blows a seed through the air to land in the place where new growth might begin or the moment when a little bird flies off with a berry in its beak and drops it in a place where it can germinate and grow into a whole new berry-bearing plant.
Many years ago, I spent a morning in the Spanish Pyrenees meandering along the banks of a tiny mountain stream. That night in the apartment where I was staying, I was kept awake by the constant roar of the nearby power plant, which was keeping the entire region supplied with electricity. The trickle of clear mountain water that had delighted me in the morning had become the means of sustaining life for a whole community down the valley.
I had witnessed the start of a miracle, and when you have seen one miracle beginning, you start to notice some of the many others gestating in the world around you. You may see, for example, how a word of encouragement turns a whole life around from despair to hope or how an apparent misfortune can open our minds to fresh perspectives and change the direction of our lives. The thing about miracles, of course, is that they usually take time. Perhaps that is the hidden gift of time – the opportunity to grow miracles in it.
I was spooning some cauliflower cheese into my baby granddaughter’s eager mouth one day, when a sudden realization dawned. “Do you know what?” I asked her, “You are performing a miracle here. We are turning a cauliflower into a little girl!” She smiled her approval and went on with her part in the miracle as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Perhaps it is. Perhaps the kingdom of God is the endpoint of the entire miracle we call life on earth, and each of us carries a seed of its beginnings, to plant and water or not as we choose. We may never see what it becomes, but time will.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
How does the response of Abraham to the call of the Lord God affect or inspire you?
What personal insights do you glean from the beautiful event of the Lord’s transfiguration?
What is our response to the divine call to holiness? In the challenges of our daily life as Christian disciples, do we allow the life of Christ to grow? Are we willing to plant “small seeds … small deeds” to bring about the miracle of transformation? Do we welcome the mystery of the “seeds of becoming” and the dynamism of our vocation to glory?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving God,
we thank you for calling Abraham
to make the journey of faith
that would make him the father of nations
and the patriarch of your covenant people.
We thank you for your Son-Servant Jesus Christ
and for his obedience to your benevolent plan to save all.
We thank you for the Lord’s transfiguration on the mountain
and for grace-filled glimpses into his divine glory.
We thank you for small beginnings
that lead to miraculous transformation.
We thank you for “seeds of becoming”
that bear glorious fruits.
We thank you for giving us strength
to sow the “seeds of the Gospel”.
We thank you for our privileged destiny
in your heavenly kingdom.
We thank you for allowing “small seeds … small deeds” to grow
into fruit-laden trees along the river of living water.
For these and for all, we give you glory and praise,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Bear your hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. He saved us and called us to a holy life.” (cf. II Tm 1:8b-9a)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray that the “seeds of transformation… of becoming” may continue its dynamic growth in today’s world. By your acts of solidarity and charity to the needy and victims of calamity, especially the Japanese nation recently devastated by earthquake and tsunami, allow the light of Christ’s glory to shine upon all.
ACTION PLAN: That the “seeds of transformation … of becoming” may grow and bear abundant fruit, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 17).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US