2nd Sunday of Lent, Cycle A (2026)

I recall speaking with someone about the idea of meditating upon the crucifix as a means of trying to help her deal with a sort of suffering. This prompted her to ask why we Catholics so prominently display the suffering and crucified Jesus, considering the good news that followed his crucifixion: that he was raised from the dead. Why this fixation on such a morbid image, especially when it’s not the end of the story?

Undoubtedly, you’ve noticed how most Catholic churches bear an image of Jesus crucified, but many display what I’ve heard described as a resurrexifix—an image of the resurrected Christ, ascending in glory from the cross. In non-Catholic churches, you’re more likely to see a bare cross. All these images express a different truth about our faith. It’s true that while Jesus suffered and died, he was afterward raised in glory.

Today’s Gospel deals with these two truths. But to help us understand it, we need to look at the verses that immediately precede this event. Jesus had just told his “his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised” (16:21). He makes it clear that his suffering will be followed by being raised from the dead and the realization of the Father’s glory. Suffering, followed by glory. And please take note: a few verses later, Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (16:24).

And those words of Jesus were followed by his Transfiguration. Rather than merely telling them about the glory that is to follow his suffering, he allows them to see it. With his inner-circle of disciples—Peter, James and John—he went up a mountaintop, and St. Matthew describes the event as well as mere words can: ”his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light”.

Well again, what was this for? Jesus knew that they were going to see him dehumanized and overcome. He also knew that they too would undergo great suffering and hardships in their own lives. With all this in mind, he wanted to give them a glimpse of the glory that would follow—something to hold onto for a later time, an emergency ration of hope and strength.       

They were dumbstruck at seeing Jesus transfigured, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and hearing the voice of Father that loomed from the heavens. To all this Peter declared “Lord, it is good that we are here.” He had just experienced the wonder of God—as it’s called, a theophany—and he undoubtedly didn’t want to leave it. Who would? But Jesus knew that they couldn’t remain there. He led them back down the mountain, back into the world and all its harsh realities.

So back to the question about why we bear an image of the crucified Jesus: it’s because it reminds us that’s where we are now and through this lifetime. And let’s face it, there are a lot of crosses in the world to be carried; there is no shortage of suffering. The lonely, the poor, the mentally ill: all forms of suffering, crosses to be carried, are why we can’t remain on the mountain top. In any way we would shelter ourselves from the harsh realities of the world around us, our Lord would tell us can’t. We must go and help others carry their crosses, even as we shoulder our own.

We are now about 11 days into the Lenten season, this 40-day journey which leads us to the cross, and eventually the glory beyond it. May we never forget about that glorious end—lest we lose hope. But we’re not there yet. You and I, in this moment, are given a mountaintop experience here at this altar—a glimpse of his glory, to hold onto and to strengthen us. But our Lord then sends us back into the world, to reveal what we experienced. We can’t remain here, and the crucifix, the image of his suffering, reminds us of the harsh realities of our world that await us.

Our dismissal from this Mass, with the Eucharist within us, is not unlike Jesus accompanying the disciples down the mountain. And it can be daunting if we take it seriously. At the Transfiguration, the disciples “fell prostrate and were very much afraid”. But we remind ourselves that we needn’t fear. This same Jesus came to the disciples and touched them saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid”.  

And I believe he would further say to us, “I’ll be with you, to help you bear the cross that awaits you. Take with you, this experience of me that you received in this Eucharist—the grace within it. Hold onto that as you accept and bear your crosses. And as my presence strengthens you, so you must go and be strength for others. But go.”