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Transfiguration of Jesus - Theophanes the Greek (1408)
Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
- Luke 9:28-36
In Wednesday's reading, we had skipped ahead in Luke's Gospel, to chapter 12. We read that Jesus said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He cloth you, O you of little faith? And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
In today's reading we return to where we left off at the end of Monday's reading, in which Jesus had taught, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God." This came just after Peter had spoken for all the Apostles when asked by Jesus, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."
Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As in the healing of Jairus' daughter, here we note that Jesus brings only His inner circle with Him on this day of prayer on the mountain. It's important that we note these frequent retreats alone for prayer, and do likewise!
As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. My study bible says, "The Transfiguration demonstrates Jesus is the Lord of glory, despite the fact that He will later suffer and die on the Cross. Jesus' humanity was filled with splendor, was made Godlike, deified. His Transfiguration is the most evident expression of our hope for glorification in God's eternal Kingdom. St. Paul writes, 'Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed' (1 Cor. 15:51). And St. John writes, 'We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is' (1 John 3:2). For eternity, we shall be like Jesus as He appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration." We recall also that these verses in the Gospel come just after Peter's confession of faith, when Jesus strictly warned and commanded the disciples to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."
And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. My study bible gives us two notes on these verses: "Christ's Transfiguration is witnessed to by Moses and Elijah, appearing in the glory which reveals the transfiguration of our humanity. Moses and Elijah, as representatives of the Law and the Prophets, appear to the apostles showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament." Let us note these witnesses, and remember St. Paul's teachings about the "great cloud of witnesses" who surround us, and with whom we pray in the communion of saints. My study bible also tells us that "decease in Greek is exodos. This term makes it clear that through His death Jesus will perform an exodus from Jerusalem, in which He will deliver mankind from the slavery of the evil one. It is revealed to the disciples at His Transfiguration that He will suffer, so when they see Him crucified, they will remember this day of glory and that His suffering is completely volitional." Indeed, what we are to understand is that on this mountain, in prayer, we witness a kind of conference about the Passion and what is to come at Jesus "exodus" as a human being. This is an awesome revelation about our faith and the life of Christ.
But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. There are times in the Gospels when sleep overtakes the Apostles, because what is happening is too overwhelming to be taken in. This happens in the Garden before Jesus' betrayal and arrest, again when He has taken them to be with Him while He prays. This time, it is a different kind of awe in an overwhelming spiritual revelation.
Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said. If we consider that the Feast of Tabernacles was a time of commemorating the wandering of Israel, and was also the feast of the Coming Kingdom, perhaps Peter's words -- although something of a confused mystery at the time -- make a certain amount of sense, at least in terms of an internal connection of thought! It is an awestruck comment from one has hasn't quite taken in what is really happening here.
While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. The cloud and the voice tell us once again of the presence of God: Father, Son and Spirit. It is a clear revelation of God the Trinity. To "listen" to Christ (the imperative command of the Father's voice) is to hear the Word of God.
When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. They are left with Jesus alone, out of this truly "awesome" experience. It is a kind of revelation that teaches us, indeed, about God's presence, even as what we view is somehow mundane in the world. My study bible notes that "Peter, James and John kept quiet because the Lord commanded them not to speak of this experience in those days, meaning until after the Resurrection."
One thing we need to consider in this appearance of the Transfiguration is the necessary silence to which Jesus now consistently commands the disciples, especially this inner circle. There is first of all, in the previous reading in Luke's Gospel, the revelation of Jesus as the Christ, as the Messiah. Jesus immediately strictly warns and commands the disciples to tell this to no one. And then He informs them that He "must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day." All of these things are somehow, at this point, a secret -- a necessary secret, revelations that are secrets by command of Jesus. But this does not mean that they will remain a secret forever. And so we come to an important understanding that is hidden in the narratives of these events, and that is the nature of spiritual experience and revelation. While what is revealed to these disciples will eventually be proclaimed to all the world (even now 2,000 years later through this blog and many, many others like it), at the time of revelation both Jesus' Messiahship -- His identity as Christ, and the Transfiguation, are required to be kept strictly a secret, even through the warnings of Christ Himself. What is given that will shape and form community is not immediately revealed to anyone outside of this inner circle. Sometimes when we are in prayer we must remember that things that we are given to understand, that help us on our own faith journey toward Christ and with Him are meant not to be spread to the whole world, at least not in the ways which seem immediately available to our limited perspective. Things happen and are revealed in God's time, not our time. We can take a note from Jesus' "conference" here with Moses and Elijah about the necessary cooperation with this great communion of saints, the "cloud of witnesses" that exist all around us in the spiritual truth of the Kingdom, and understand that God's ways are not our ways. What may seem obviously good news to immediately be spread to the world is really something that depends upon God's time. All things meant for the edification of the Kingdom and believers, that will form and shape community, will come to be given to the world one way and another. But it really depends upon God's time. Throughout many faith traditions among Christians there have been truths and expressions of God's love and grace at work. But let us remember that even the ways that these expressions of grace work within us and among us also depend on God's time and God's plan. Let us remember that sometimes what is private is kept so for a reason, and that we wait upon God and God's grace for how that will be used in the Body of all believers. Let us remember Christ's Transfiguration, and how it teaches us about our faith, God's light that is with us, the spiritual reality of how He is revealed. His light is always with us.
