His face shone like the sun

icon of Transfiguration - Church of the Metamorphosis (Transfiguration) at the foot of the Acropolis; Athens, Greece

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him!" And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." And his disciples asked him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptist.

- Matthew 17:1-13

After several important readings on faith and its nature in us, today we are presented with the Transfiguration. We recall Peter's confession, then Jesus' rebuke to Peter "Get behind me, Satan!" when Peter chastised Jesus for his teaching on how he must suffer. Both of these readings were preceded by the incident in which Jesus took the disciples to task for failing to understand what he meant when he said to "beware the leaven of the Pharisees," when he called the disciples "You of little faith." My study bible has extensive notes on today's important reading which I will try to incorporate here.

"Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light." My study bible, first of all, refers to this event as a theophany - a manifestation of God, "especially of the divinity of Christ, through a display of his uncreated, divine energy." It notes that "several elements of the Transfiguration show that Christ is Messiah and God. (1) Because God is light (1 John 1:5), the bright cloud, the shining of Jesus' face like the sun, and the whiteness of his garment (verses 2 & 5, above), all demonstrate that Jesus is God. (In some icons this light is shown as beyond white, a blue-white, ineffable color, indicating spiritual origin)." Of course this description recalls another "mountaintop" experience, that of Moses on the holy mountain. The radiant light, reflected in Moses' face, is something that permeates all of Christ as he is transfigured, including his clothing. The root word for "transfigure" in the Greek is metamorphosis: to be changed, to transform. We recall in Matthew 13:43, when Jesus explained the parable of the tares of the field to his disciples, that he said that "the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" when all is easily revealed. Light, therefore, has already come to us (and the apostles) as a divine sign.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. My study bible says that Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, respectively: "Moses represents the Law and all those who have died. Elijah represents the Prophets and -- since he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ. Their presence shows that the Law and the Prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament. The presence of Moses and Elijah also manifests the communion of the saints (Heb. 12:1). Both men are immediately recognizable and talk with the Lord." It's interesting, in light of the words from the explanation of the parable of the tares, that the apostles immediately understand all that is happening; this is in a kingdom that is present to those on earth: where all is known and understood.

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." My study bible says that Peter has immediately understood the presence of the kingdom. "Knowing that the Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, he asks to build booths, as was done at that feast, to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the kingdom." Again, we recall the words about the righteous, in the day of judgment and the coming of the kingdom, shining forth as the sun. It is important to understand the nature of this indwelling among the just: He is the light of the world, but he has also told his disciples that they also are the light of the world when they glorify God.

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him!" My study bible has two important notes that apply here. "The Father bears witness from heaven concerning His Son. He does not say, 'This has become My beloved Son,' but 'This is My beloved Son,' indicating that this divine glory is Christ's by nature. From eternity past, infinitely before Jesus' Baptism and Transfiguration, he is God's Son, fully sharing in the essence of the Father: Jesus Christ is God of God." Another note reads: "The Transfiguration not only proclaims Christ's divine sonship, but foreshadows his future glory when he as the Messiah will usher in the long-awaited kingdom. The bright cloud recalls temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present." It is as if it is a confirmation of Peter's understanding of the reality of the presence of the kingdom, conveyed by his suggestion that booths (or tents, or tabernacles) as at the festival. We also are to understand by this scene the manifestation of theophany - the full presence of the Trinity. As at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist, we have a manifestation of Father, Son and Spirit revealed here. My study bible notes that, "Christ is transfigured, the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Jesus' divine sonship, and the Spirit is present in the form of a dazzling light surrounding Christ's Person, overshadowing the whole mountain." This is the reality of theophany, the revelation of Trinity in this event, and why it is such an important day in the life of the church.

And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. At this sign, it is too much for them to bear -- the voice of the Father is an awesome thing (quite literally), and so "they were greatly afraid!" But Jesus comes to them once again as the familiar Teacher, and tells them not to be afraid. The reality of the power of the Kingdom is an awesome thing, but we see dimly, in part, in our daily lives. But the disciples have now been "face to face" - they have seen "fully." We recall not only the words from the explanation of the parable of the tares, but Paul's words of 1 Corinthian's 13, which I have dwelt upon and returned to in these recent commentaries on faith and its nature.

Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." And his disciples asked him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of John the Baptist. My study bible notes here: "The disciples are able to understand Jesus' words that 'Elijah has come already,' referring to John the Baptist. Their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Mal. 4:5,6) refers to one coming 'in the spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself." John the Baptist remains the Forerunner: he has gone before Christ in all of his experiences, including death by martyrdom at the hands of the powerful, the rulers. And we refer to John the Baptist in this episode of theophany, as well: the voice of the Father, the revelation of the Son, the presence of the Spirit. It is he who proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom, and sought to prepare the way - in all forms that we can include.

So, in our trilogy of readings on faith and identity, we return to the themes expressed in these powerful passages: Peter's confession that Jesus is Christ, Jesus' teachings that he will suffer and Peter's rejection of that vision, and finally, the revelation of Transfiguration, or "metamorphosis" in the Greek. What strikes me is that we have solidly attached to the images of transcendent power and greatness and glory the firmly affixed understanding that Jesus is to suffer in this world. The kingdom is not a magical act that confers a perfect life immediately. Peter's suggestion to build booths or tabernacles (or tents) is not taken; it is not yet time for this at all. But the indwelling of this kingdom will happen in ways that are revealed through faith. We still live in a world in which we see only "in part." That day of the kingdom when the righteous will shine forth as the sun is not yet with us. And we are still in this time of the apostles and their difficult discipleship. We do not have "perfect lives." This is not a magic show given for our benefit in which life takes on a perfectly charmed reality. Instead, we are here to do as he did: we struggle to be that light and that salt he taught us to be, in the midst of a world that is far from perfect, in which we see only in part. The way is not easy and not simple! It's often not always clear. But faith is the key to it all. Faith is what gives us the power to go forward, and to say yes, and to be that salt and light -- to be what we can be as carriers of that kingdom within ourselves. We are meant to help to transfigure, to change, to transform the world. This great responsibility is a challenge not because we are meant to suffer, but in effect because we are chosen for a greater responsibility than that of merely being sheltered and fed and somehow leading an elite life free from care. We are here to help to build a kingdom in the world, to be endowed with the blessings of that faith, to share in their courage, their strength, and their possibilities as exemplified by the apostles and disciples, the saints who have come and who will come. We share in the building of that kingdom that dwells even among us, though we know only in part. We have a greater gift for which to be thankful than "charmed lives." We live for a purpose, we are called to a greater honor than that.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9