2009 LENTEN PROGRAMME
Music:
LENT – WEEK 2: The MASK of KNOWLEDGE
U2 – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Lookin’ For” or "God Is" (Monica Brown).
Centring Prayer: (have a few moments of silence)
Lord, let me put my worries and busy schedule to one side
and help me to focus on listening to You
speaking to me through the Holy Spirit,
who animates and touches each member of this group.
If appropriate, say the Our Father... slowly!
Gospel:
Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-10)
The condition of following Christ (this sets the context for the Transfiguration)
8:34 He called the people and his disciples to him and said, 'If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself
and take up his cross and follow me...
The Transfiguration
9:2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone
by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured:
9:3 his clothes became dazzlingly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them.
9:4 Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.
9:5 Then Peter spoke to Jesus: 'Rabbi,' he said 'it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for
Moses and one for Elijah'.
9:6 He did not know what to say; they were so frightened. And
9:7 a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and there came a voice from the cloud, 'This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.'
9:8 Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.
Discussion Points:
1. Introduce the concept of MYSTERY in the context of KNOWLEDGE.
2. Negatives: Is mystery just an excuse for lack of knowledge?
Is the illusion of knowledge a mask of certainty and confidence?
3. Positives: Knowledge helps people live with more dignity.
Mystery helps us remember we are not God... that gives the reason for Faith.
4. What do you find mysterious? What do you find mysterious about God?
How do we make sense of mystery and not be afraid of it? = LISTEN: still the mind, don’t empty it!
Why does the world like to be surrounded by noise and activity... is it a MASK to avoid mystery?
5. Use Scripture to explore a variety of God images.
Try getting each group member to answer the Q.: “God is like...?
6. Reflect on WHO AM I? Are there mysterious aspects to YOU? Do you wear MYSTERY MASKS
that prevent others from knowing the real you? Discuss why do people do this. Why do you?
7. Explore the different Covenants that God uses to reveal the MYSTERY of God to the world.
8. Introduce the concept of TRANSFORMATION / TRANSFIGURATION as "change".
How might this tie in with the season of Lent where we are called to REPENT (change our heart).
Encourage students to identify ways in which they desire change in their lives.
9. Write a Lenten promise/prayer about your life and Knowledge/Mystery.
Plan an action for the week ahead, that flows from your prayer.
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord, in whom we live and move and have our being,
guide us in the ways of mercy and truth
that in all the cares and pre-occupations of life
we may keep cool heads and loving hearts
as we walk the way of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
5 of 12
2009 LENTEN PROGRAMME
LENT – WEEK 2 – A REFLECTION
The Mask of KNOWLEDGE/MYSTERY
The God of my life has always been a God of justice and compassion. The God of my life, since my earliest
youthful memories, is the God of intimacy and challenge.. The God who walks with me, sometimes in the
darkness, often in the silence, usually in the shadows, is the God I know I can trust The God also, who won't
let go, who refuses to be dismissed, who can't even begin to tolerate the thought of abandonment.
The God of my life is demanding and persistent, challenging and then, more challenging. And yet a God who
knows the limits of the little ones and who will not use Her / His Godliness to get Her /His own way
Freedom of choice or no choice at all!! A God who lets out the rope and leaves the scissors near by in case I
change my mind!
The God of my life is certainly a God of mystery – but also a God who wants to be known, not as mystery but
as intimacy. A God whose desire is to be revealed in the joy and pain, the myth and the magic, the born and
the unborn. A God who transforms and translates fear into faith, anxiety into authenticity, cowardice into
courage. The God of mystery is the God of the covenant, the one in intimate relationship with all of creation.
The God committed to contracts and bound by bounteous love. The God of my life wears no masks.
Who is your God?
Acknowledgement Î this programme is a modified version of the work by:
Rina Wintour, Sacred Celebrations for Lent, (Mountjoy Enterprises, Bris, 1999).
Permission is given by the author for the purchaser to reproduce...
The purchaser is The University of Notre Dame Australia.
6 of 12