2nd Sunday of Lent. March 1, 2026

 

2^nd Sunday of Lent. March 1, 2026

Genesis 12:1-4a; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10; Matthew 17:1-9

 

Theme: The Lenten Season is a Journey of Faith 

A. A Brief Exegetical Analysis of Matthew 17:1-9

 

1.      Historical and Literary Contexts

Before our Gospel story, Jesus predicted his Passion, Death, and Resurrection to his disciples for the first time. Peter objected to this announcement on behalf of all the disciples, refusing to let Jesus undergo his Passion and Death (16:21-23). In response to their objection, Jesus taught them the conditions of discipleship, which include denying oneself, taking up one’s cross, and following Jesus (16:24-28). These two teachings of Jesus disturbed the disciples, and they were on the verge of quitting their discipleship. Then, in our Gospel, Jesus uses the scene of his Transfiguration to strengthen his disciples’ hope and trust in him as they are about to begin the journey toward Jerusalem, where his prediction of his Passion, Death, and Resurrection will be fulfilled. Our Gospel passage is immediately followed by an explanation of the coming of Elijah (17:10-13) and the healing of a boy with a demon (17:14-21).     

 

2.      Form, Structure, and Movement

Our Gospel text is a narrative with metaphors. V. 1 serves as an introduction, and v. 9 as a conclusion. The body of the text (vv. 2-8) unfolds in two movements. The first movement (vv. 2-3) describes Jesus’ transfiguration and includes Moses and Elijah in the scene. The second movement (vv. 4-8) recounts the disciples' experiences of the events surrounding Jesus's transfiguration. 

 

3.      Detailed Analysis

V. 1. The Bible does not explain why Jesus chose Peter, John, and James as his inner circle. He made them witnesses to special events, including the “raising” of Jairus’ daughter (Lk 8:49-56), the Transfiguration, and his prayer in Gethsemane (Mt 26:36-38). The mountain: Although the Synoptics do not name this mountain, Tradition identifies it with either Tabor or Hermon. By not specifying a particular mountain, the Synoptics likely focus on its theological meaning rather than its geography. If so, this mountain in the Transfiguration story recalls Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:12-18) and Elijah on Horeb (1 Kgs 19:8-18). Horeb is another name for Sinai. In the biblical context, a mountain typically signifies a place of prayer and an encounter with God.

  V. 2-3. Moses and Elijah joined Jesus in this glorious moment and conversed with him. Matthew does not reveal the topic of their conversation. Readers learn the topic from Luke’s account. For Luke, Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were conversing about Jesus’ exodus that he would accomplish in Jerusalem (Lk 9:31). 

Vv. 4-8. Peter’s request to make three tents, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, reflects their eagerness to remain in that glorious state forever. God intervenes in this scene through the “bright cloud” that casts a shadow over them. In the Old Testament, the cloud signified God’s presence among his people (see Ex 40:34-35; 1 Kgs 8:10). In this Gospel, the “bright cloud” represents God’s presence. The shadow signifies that God’s presence enveloped these disciples, enabling them to experience the mystery of Jesus’ glorification.

All three Synoptics mention the three disciples’ fear, with little difference. For Mark, they were terrified before the cloud cast a shadow over them, linking their fear to Jesus’ Transfiguration and the appearance of Moses and Elijah. According to Luke, they became frightened once the cloud cast a shadow over them. Matthew, however, connects their fear to the voice from the cloud and its message.

From the cloud, God’s voice says: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” “Listen to him” is an order addressed to all disciples, through Peter, John, and James, to dispel the doubts, shocks, and discouragements that had arisen in them because of Jesus’ earlier announcement of his Passion. God orders them to listen to Jesus when he reveals that he is not the “army-conquering Messiah,” as they expect him to be, but the suffering Messiah. The three disciples fell prostrate when they heard God’s message.

V. 9. Jesus forbids these three disciples from telling anyone about the Transfiguration until his Passion, death, and Resurrection are accomplished, because people will understand it only in the light of his Resurrection. 

 

4.      Synthesis

All the disciples were disappointed, shocked, and ready to abandon their discipleship when they heard Jesus predict his Passion for the first time and explain that self-denial and accepting one’s cross are the conditions for being his disciples. Jesus drew on the experience of his Transfiguration to strengthen their hope and trust in him and to encourage them not to give up their discipleship, since the glory of the Transfiguration they had experienced awaits those who follow him to the end. These three disciples heard God’s voice confirming that Jesus was his beloved Son, with whom God is well pleased. God’s voice also commanded them to listen to Jesus.

 B.  Pastoral Implications 

1. Liturgical Context

The Scripture readings for this Second Sunday of our forty-day penitential journey remind us that the Lenten season is our “Journey of Faith” toward Easter, and that our earthly lives are also a Journey of Faith toward God’s kingdom in heaven. The Transfiguration of Jesus, which we heard in our Gospel, marks the beginning of Jesus’ Journey of Faith toward Jerusalem, where the Paschal Mystery (Jesus’ Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension) will unfold. Our first reading recounts the beginning of Abraham’s Journey of Faith toward the promised land. The second reading speaks of the crosses we encounter in our Journey of Faith, which we should not avoid but carry with courage, standing firm in the Lord and putting our faith in him.

 

2. What the Church Teaches Us Today

Matthew begins his Gospel by teaching us that Jesus selects you and me for his inner circle. He leads us to our “mountain,” our local Churches and families, where we encounter God in prayer. Peter’s request to make three tents, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, shows how eager they are to remain in that glorious state forever. I found two interpretations of why Peter made this request: (1) Through his request, Peter wants to enjoy Jesus’ glorification without passing through his Passion and Death. Many of us sometimes act like Peter here. We enjoy celebrating Easter but do not like Lent because we do not want to engage in the works of repentance: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, which prepare and lead us to Easter. There is no Easter without Good Friday. There is no glory in God’s kingdom without accepting to die with Christ through our resolution to repent every time we sin.

(2) By asking to build three tents, Peter expressed his desire to remain in this heavenly glory forever rather than return to their ordinary lives. We experience the glory of the Transfiguration at every Mass we attend. However, we cannot “build three tents in our Churches” and stay here forever, enjoying the heavenly glory alone while many people are still in the darkness of this world. Instead, Jesus expects us to go out at the end of each Mass to share our experience of the Transfiguration with our brothers and sisters so that they, too, may follow Jesus and come to have the same experience.

Matthew reports that the presence of God, through the cloud, casts a shadow over these three disciples and us. Then God’s voice tells us that Jesus is his beloved Son, with whom he is well pleased. He finally commands us to listen to him. God continues to cast a shadow over us, especially in the Eucharistic celebration, and tells us that Jesus is his Son, inviting us to listen to him. We are called to listen to Jesus, especially when he tells us that he is not a suffering Messiah, so we should follow in his footsteps. Listening to Jesus involves observing the Lenten works of penance (Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving) and faithfully following God’s commandments and the Church’s teachings, even when they challenge us.

At the end of the scene, the disciples find Jesus alone, without Moses and Elijah. The Transfiguration is over. Jesus is alone now. It is time to come down from the mountain and accompany him on his “journey of faith” toward Jerusalem. Our first reading tells us the story of Abraham’s “journey of faith.” God called him to leave his land and go to an unknown land that God himself would show him. God promised to make Abraham’s descendants a great nation (Gn 12:1-3). We, too, are on our “Lenten Journey of Faith” toward Easter, which prefigures our “Journey of Faith” toward our heavenly home. As we continue our “journey of faith,” Saint Paul, in our second reading, advises us to bear our share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God (2 Tim 1:8b).  

  Jesus forbids these three disciples from telling anyone about the Transfiguration until his Passion, death, and Resurrection are accomplished, because the Transfiguration will be understood only in the light of his Resurrection. Let us strengthen our relationship with Jesus during this Lenten “Journey of Faith” so that we might share our own experience of Jesus’ Resurrection with our brothers and sisters at Easter.

May the liturgy of this Mass enable us to become men and women of prayer, listening to the Beloved Son of God. Thus, at the end of our Lenten “Journey of Faith,” we can celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord well, and at the end of our daily “Journey of Faith,” we will inherit the promised land in God’s kingdom. Amen.

 

Fr. Leon Ngandu, SVD

Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church in Jackson, MS &

SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator