Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent

The Fulfillment of the Covenant: From Abram to the Transfiguration

St. Augustine famously said, “The New [Covenant] is in the Old concealed; the Old [Covenant] is in the New revealed.” Nowhere is this truth more apparent than in today’s readings, which unveil the deep continuity of God’s salvific plan. In them, we see the covenantal foundation laid with Abram and its glorious fulfillment in Christ’s Transfiguration.

To grasp the significance of the first reading, we need to understand the ancient practice of covenant-making. One of the most solemn ways to enter into a covenant was through a ritual involving the division of animals. The two parties would walk between the split carcasses, effectively saying, “May I be like these animals if I break this covenant.” When God promises Abram that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars, He instructs him to prepare the animals for such a covenantal act.

Yet, something extraordinary happens: Abram does not walk between the pieces. Instead, as the sun sets, a deep sleep falls upon him. This “deep sleep” is not mere exhaustion but a state of profound transformation—echoing the sleep of Adam before the creation of Eve. In this, we see a foreshadowing: God is about to bring forth something new. Abram himself will be changed, soon to be renamed Abraham, “father of a multitude.”

Then, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch pass between the pieces. Who is passing through? God alone. This is not a covenant between equals; it is a divine promise in which God binds Himself unconditionally. As Scott Hahn observes, this unilateral act reveals that God’s faithfulness does not depend on human effort. Abram is not the guarantor of this covenant—he is its beneficiary. He is called to trust, to believe, and to receive.

This covenantal backdrop prepares us for the Gospel, where we encounter another profound divine revelation: the Transfiguration. The Gospel tells us that this event takes place “eight days later.” Eight days after what? Eight days after Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Eight days after Jesus first declares that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and rise again. The timing is not accidental. The Transfiguration is given as a gift of strength and clarity to the Apostles before the scandal of the Cross.

Benedict XVI, reflecting on the Transfiguration, writes that it is an event where “Jesus’ being in communion with the Father becomes perceptible to the senses.” This moment reveals the truth of Christ’s identity and mission. The glory of the Transfiguration is not separate from the Cross but anticipates it. Just as God’s covenant with Abram required sacrifice, so too does the New Covenant, sealed not with the blood of animals, but with the very blood of Christ.

What, then, does this mean for us? St. Paul reminds us that through Christ, we are made members of this new and everlasting covenant. Faith and baptism grafts us into the family of Abraham—not merely in an earthly sense but as heirs of the promise. The Promised Land is no longer a strip of earth but the Kingdom of God, open to all who unite themselves to Christ.

This is why, as Paul exhorts, we must live even now as citizens of heaven. The Transfiguration calls us to conversion. If we truly belong to the new covenant, then we must turn away from sin and live as members of God’s family.

This renewal takes place most intimately in the Eucharist. Every Mass is a renewal of the New Covenant, as Christ offers His very body and blood for us. As we receive Him in Holy Communion, let us give thanks for the gift of the covenant fulfilled, praying that He may strengthen us to live as faithful heirs of His promise. Amen.