2nd Sunday of Lent 2014
Robert VerEecke, S.J.
Flashback: Last Sunday. Do you remember where Jesus was? In the desert.
The Spirit led him into the desert where he fasted for 40 days and where he
encounters Satan or perhaps “his demons”. The desert in the scriptures is a
place of encounter. It’s in the desert that the people of Israel come to
encounter the God who has delivered them from the Egyptians. It is in the
desert that they test God, challenge God, complain against God. But it is in
the desert where water flows from the rock, and manna mysteriously appears
to feed them. In a real sense, one can say that the desert is the place of
meeting with one’s self, demons and all. It is for Jesus. It is where he
confronts his own demons and comes to know himself.
Flash Forward: Next Sunday. The Woman at the well.
Right before my very eyes is a well. You really can’t see it from the back of
the church so at some point you might want to come to the well. At this
point, it’s a dry well. No water yet but I’m told that by Easter the well will
be “welling”.
Why the well? Well, the well, like the desert, is a meeting place. In ancient
times it was the place of graced encounter. You never could predict whom
you would meet at the well or what moment would happen there. This is
what happens to the Samaritan Woman as she comes to the well and meets
this mysterious Jewish man who, against all custom, asks her for a drink.
The woman’s conversation with Jesus at the well is the longest one-on-one
conversation in the Scriptures. She models for us what it means to enter into
conversation with Jesus. Throughout this whole Lenten time we are invited
to come to the well and, well, simply share our thoughts, our desires with
Jesus who offers us “living water”.
This offer of “living water” is the reason that the well for Christians is a
symbol of baptism. The water I give you will spring up to eternal life. In
every Lenten season we are asked to focus on those elect who are coming to
the well of baptism for the first time. Our prayer is meant to strengthen them
on their journey. Our mission as disciples of Jesus springs from our baptism,
our immersion in the life and death and rising of Jesus. Each time we enter
the church (at least through the main entrance) we encounter this reminder
of the source of our Christian life, the baptismal font.
So if you are wondering “Why the well?, it’s because it is a privileged place
of human encounter, and, as baptismal symbol, it reveals the meeting of the
human and divine. In the baptismal ritual, we hear the words “See that the
divine life within you is kept safe from sin and always grows stronger in
your heart.” The divine life in each of us. That’s truly awesome. We are
God’s dwelling place. How often do you wake up in the morning and think,
“I have this divine life within me.” Is this for real? What difference will that
make in my life today? How will I be with others, knowing that God’s is not
just with me on my journey but mysteriously “in” me.
Flash! Finally, Today’s gospel.
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No, I’m not avoiding the story of the Transfiguration because it is so “white”
and I like many of you have had it with snow /white. Don’t you ache for
color? For greens and reds and purples and yellows—anything but white.
But here we are with his “face shining like the sun and his clothes whiter
than light”. Here we are again with the gospel writer trying to describe what
this moment of meeting was like for Jesus and those who witnessed it.
Everything about the scene takes those who see it to a place beyond
imagining. The conversation with Moses and Elijah, the transfigured Jesus,
the overshadowing presence of God in the cloud, the voice echoing the
words of the baptism: This is my beloved son, listen to him. The disciples
are rightly described as falling on their faces in fear for what they are
witnessing is truly awesome.
Putting aside the special effects in this scene, what’s it really about? It’s
about encounter, a moment of meeting. The mountain, like the well, is a
privileged place of meeting. It is the place par excellence where the human
encounters the divine. Whether it’s Moses who speaks with God on Mount
Horeb or Elijah who hears the still small voice in the cave on the mountain,
it’s an encounter. But this meeting on Mount Tabor is meant to be more than
a handing down of the Law or the inspiration of the prophetic word. This is
the meeting of the human and divine in Jesus. More than any place in the
scriptures before the resurrection, here we get a glimpse of what’s deep
within Jesus. In this moment, the divine life within shines forth and those
who witness it are speechless, except to say: Oh well.
Desert: meeting place with oneself. Have you had any desert days lately?
Have you had so many distractions or demons tempting you to stray from
your best and most authentic self?
Well: meeting place with the other. Have you had any “well” days, where
conversations with another really made you stop and think about the need
for changes in your life?
Mountain: meeting place with the OTHER: Other with a big O. Have you
had any mountaintop experiences lately, where the sense of God with you
and in you brimmed over in exuberance like water from a well?
Oh Well. Thanks be to God.