Homily for Second Sunday of Lent | 1 March 2026
How is the Lord calling you to change? What journey are you being invited on this Lent?
What is the most challenging thing you have ever had to do in your life? Think in terms of big decisions or difficult things you had to overcome. It could be entering into marriage or starting a new business venture. Perhaps moving cities or countries. Our catechumens and candidates are certainly leaving old countries. Perhaps one day some of our younger parishioners will be open to a call to priesthood or the religious life and what a big thing this will be for them.
I remember how it all started with me: how I picked up an information card about the priesthood at the back of a church; how I made sure no one was watching and hid it quickly in my jacket; and then how long it took to fill it in; and how much longer still it took for me to post it to the vocations director. Letting go of that envelope and hearing it fall inside the post box felt like I had signed my life away — perhaps a bit like Abram leaving behind everything familiar and travelling to a new country, as we heard in the first reading from the book of Genesis. So, what is the equivalent big, risky decision you have made in your life?
God called Abram to leave his country, his family, his people, and go to a new land. That call involved a physical journey, of course, but it is not hard to imagine the very real psychological and spiritual shift it must have required — stepping out of his comfort zone, taking the risk of going somewhere far away, to a place where the language and culture were different, and where he would have to make a life from scratch.
The relevance of this for us today is that Lent is frequently described as a journey. In fact, our human lives are a journey, a pilgrimage. Our vocation is to journey with Jesus to a new place. We need to be challenged and nudged if we think that remaining in the same spiritual place is what our faith is about. Lent is our prompt to move, to grow in our relationship with God. We should be desiring more, seeking more, wanting more for ourselves as beloved sons and daughters of God. As you ponder the readings today, consider where you have come from, where you are now, and where the Lord is calling you to go.
The Cutting Edge of Discipleship
There is always a cutting edge for disciples of Jesus. It is about growing in love of God and growing in holiness. There is nothing comfortable about it. C.S. Lewis said: "If you are looking for a religion that will comfort you in every situation, I certainly do not recommend Christianity. A glass of port might be better." And Pope Benedict XVI said: "The world offers you comfort. But you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness." This cutting edge is what we are seeking to engage with on this journey through Lent.
The psalm we prayed after the first reading expresses our confidence to set out on this journey. Three times the psalm refers to the merciful love of the Lord. The point is that we can trust God because of his faithfulness and his merciful love. A big part of this Lenten journey is thinking back to how we have already experienced that merciful love in our own lives. In what sense do you long to experience this God more deeply as you go forward?
The second reading from St Paul's Second Letter to Timothy encourages us to persevere and to have courage in the face of difficulties on the journey. We are reminded that it is God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling. On our journey there will be difficulties — from within ourselves and from outside. We may doubt ourselves. We may feel overwhelmed by our weakness and frailty, racked by temptation and failure. But the power of God in Christ Jesus, his merciful love, will carry us through.
A Glimpse of Glory
In the Gospel, Peter, James and John went on a journey with Jesus — a physical journey up a high mountain. I have had the privilege of going up Mount Tabor several times, but I remember the first time, many years ago, as a young man, which was, as it happens, a direct consequence of dropping that envelope in the post box. It was a cold winter's day, and the mountain was covered in heavy mist. When I arrived at the magnificent church on the summit, I was the only one there. I sat alone, and it seemed as though the mist outside was drifting into the church itself. The light filtering through the mist and through the stained-glass windows made it feel mystical and otherworldly. It was not hard to imagine the Transfiguration — Peter, James and John encountering something entirely beyond words.
But more than a physical journey, Peter, James and John made a spiritual journey that day — in their understanding of who Jesus is, in the reality of the suffering and death that would be integral to his mission, and in the glimpse of resurrection they received in the transfigured Christ.
In the Transfiguration, the divinity of Jesus shone through his humanity. His conversation with Moses and Elijah — representing the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament — reminds us that Jesus is the fulfilment of all that came before. This event is also a confirmation of the promise made to Abraham in today's first reading. The great story of the Bible is this: following the covenant with Abraham, God raised up in succession Moses, the Prophets, King David, and finally Jesus, to fulfil his promise to Abraham, our father in faith. We are asked to see ourselves as part of this story — part of God's plan from the very beginning, connected to Abraham and to all those figures of the Old and New Testaments whom God raised up to carry out his purpose.
The Transfiguration gave Jesus' disciples a reason to hope in the face of what would soon appear a deeply hopeless situation. Shortly afterwards, they would journey to Jerusalem, where Jesus would be utterly broken on the cross. To strengthen them for the scandal of the cross, Jesus revealed his glory — giving them a glimpse of the resurrection to come. This can serve as our strength too. Remembering who Jesus is, and recalling his merciful love for us, can hold us up in times of confusion, doubt, and suffering.
Each of us has had, and will continue to have, our own mountain-top experiences — moments when we could have said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here." Think of those moments: moments of goodness, of knowing God's faithfulness. Let them give you the courage to leave old countries, old places of safety, to answer a call from God, to begin something new with Jesus — or perhaps simply to persevere through a difficult time, to endure a suffering you did not choose. Just as Jesus touched the disciples on the mountain and said, "Rise and have no fear," he says the same to us today: "Do not be afraid."
This Lent, let us seek the presence of the God who is ever faithful and full of merciful love. How is the Lord calling you to change? What journey are you being invited on this Lent? Let us not be afraid to give ourselves completely to Jesus. May we pray: "Lord, I say yes to anything you ask of me — even before I know what it is. Amen."
