A homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, March 1, 2026
Genesis 12:1-4a, 2 Timothy 1:8b-10, Matthew 17:1-9
Blind dates can be wonderful, terrible, or just meh. Even in an age of internet matches, we don’t know a lot about someone when we meet them for the first time, and often we make sure we know where the exit is when we get together.
Even a first date with someone we’re already introduced to … that can go well or be a total disaster.
In either situation, how well the relationship develops — or collapses — depends on how much we learn about each other.
Our aha moments. Our moments of epiphany.
The Transfiguration of Jesus was his adult Epiphany, giving his closest friends an aha moment like never before and never since.
[F]rom the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
That was not the voice of a Nazarean carpenter or his wife.
Peter, James and John heard the voice of God identifying Jesus as his Son, and further declaring that what this itinerant preacher and healer was saying and doing was completely in tune with the Almighty’s divine will.
Those Apostles began to know Jesus in far deeper, far more profound ways. And the more they learned, the more they wanted to know. Even though some of it turned out to be unknowable.
Two millennia later, we are those disciples.
Two millennia later, we are Peter, James and John.
Two millennia later, we make time often, maybe even several times every day, to think about what we know about Jesus, about the person of God we call Father, about the person we embrace as the Holy Spirit.
Even though some of it still turns out to be unknowable.
We think about the state of our relationship with the Trinity, about our state of grace, about our maturity in faith.
And, realize it or not, we approach our relationship with God the same way we approach any relationship.
Which is terrific!
Mostly.
When we forge a friendship or a romance with another human, we spend time and energy getting to know them as best as we can. Their likes and dislikes. Their depth and breadth of knowledge. Their experiences. Their quirks.
Strong relationships often start because of shared interests or similar careers. Sometimes it’s chemistry.
Relationships deepen as we find the ways we fit together as a pair or as a group.
Sometimes there’s a hierarchy at the beginning; sometimes, one develops. Or there is a meeting of equals.
Jesus came to Earth to save us from our sinfulness, but he also walked the dung-strewn trails of the Holy Land to give us a glimpse at the awesomeness of God. To hint at the infinite and mind-blowing nature of the Creator of Everything and the Source of Love.
Jesus came to Earth to give us somebody to hug. Someone in a huggable-size body, yet totally in sync with the singular ultimate power and wisdom who said, “Let there be…” and The Big Bang happened.
Jesus came to Earth to speak our language, to carve every branch of knowledge, every law of nature, everything about everything, and then some, into digestible nuggets and sound bites.
Jesus came to Earth to make God approachable without diminishing I Am one iota.
And so, we want to get to know Jesus better. We try to understand everything he said and did. We imperfect disciples seek, as best as humanly possible, to be like him, to act like him, to think and speak like him.
We’ll always fall short, but not for lack of trying.
In a season like Lent, and in all the seasons of our lives, we can do our individual best to know God as deeply as possible, to deepen and strengthen our relationships with our Triune God, in the exact same way we build our bonds with the people God sent into our lives.
We may never know everything about our lovers, our friends or our acquaintances, no matter how hard we try. That’s life; that’s reality. And we accept that.
We definitely will never know everything about God; that’s beyond our itty-bitty human brains’ capacity. That’s also life; that’s also reality. And we accept that because of faith.
We do know this: Who Jesus is and what Jesus did on Earth and still does in our lives makes his Father happy. So when we follow in Christ’s footsteps, living the Gospel, we likewise make our heavenly Father happy.
And that’s good to know.
