PROJECT COMPASSION WEEK 2

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT – Week 2 Thai-Burma Border
Mark 9: 2-10

Lent is a time of transformation. We look to prayer, fasting and almsgiving – the traditional practices of Lent – as ways by which we can experience it in our lives.

In today’s Gospel, when Peter, James and John are alone with Jesus, they experience something that renews and invigorates their commitment to follow His example. They see Jesus in conversation with Moses and Elijah and then he is transfigured before their eyes. “His face was shining like the sun and his clothes were dazzling white”. A voice from a cloud announces: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”

For the disciples, this moment is a defining one. They see Jesus linked with Moses, who delivered the ancient Hebrews from slavery and oppression and with Elijah, the prophet of the people. They see clearly their mission to bring the Good News to the poor, and freedom to the oppressed. And the work is waiting for them. “Get up and do not be afraid,” Jesus tells them and he leads them back down the mountain to do that work.

The Project Compassion story this week comes from the Thai-Burma Border and is also about transformation. Khin and her family escaped the poverty, violence and instability in Burma by crossing into Thailand. Once there, they and many other refugees and migrants found that life was still difficult. They faced the daily struggle of making a living in a country where language and cultural differences made them feel alienated.
A program supported by Caritas Australia and its partners has established community-based learning centres – particularly for the children of migrant workers – in Ranong province, Thailand. In this way, communities have their right of access to education so they can adapt to life in Thailand with hope and dignity and plan for a more stable future.
If we want peace, we must work for justice. This program is working for justice. We can recognise the call to be partners in this work. We can support such opportunities for those who have experienced conflict and displacement. We can, like the disciples, “get up and be not afraid”. The work is waiting for us, too.
This season of Lent is a time for us to recommit to it.

Click on the image below to go to the Caritas website.