His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light

Transfiguration icon - Theophanes the Greek, 14th century

 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

Yesterday, our reading told us that after Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

  Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves . . .   My study bible points out that a "high mountain" in Scripture is often a place of revelation (Ex. 19:3, 23; Is. 2:3, 2 Peter 1:18).

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  Light, we understand, is a sign of God, of divinity.  My study bible says, "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 all demonstrate that Jesus is God."  In some icons, this light is painted as whiter-than-white, with a blue tinge to it -- my study bible calls it "beyond white, a blue-white, ineffable color, indicating its spiritual origin."  The light itself perhaps tells us of revelation.  This is a Theophany, a revelation of God.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  My study bible says that 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.  It notes, "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."  Together with this inner circle of Christ's most trusted disciples (Peter and the brothers John and James Zebedee) we do truly get a sense of Old and New, all one together in Christ.  Here, with Moses and Elijah, there is no time, or perhaps no limitation of time.  It is a story of the reality of the communion of saints, of eternal presence.

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."   A note tells us that the signs here are of the coming Kingdom, and Peter recognizes them. His suggestion of building booths corresponds to the Feast of Tabernacles (the feast of the coming Kingdom), and so he suggests building booths or tents as is the custom of that feast (a recollection of the time when Israel wandered in the desert) which "serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom."  The word in the Greek means "tent" but it is also translated as "booth" here and "tabernacle" elsewhere.

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.  The bright cloud, of course, recalls the temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness (my study bible tells us this is one of the things prompting Peter to suggest building booths).   But the cloud and the voice from the Father suggest an extreme "otherness" -- something of God so far away from us that it can't be represented except in these ways.  It is also a Theophany in the revelation of Trinity:  the Father's voice which testifies (as in Friday's reading when Jesus told Peter it was the Father who revealed Christ's identity to him), the dazzling light of the Spirit surrounding Christ and overshadowing the whole mountain, and Christ as Son.

 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.  My study bible says that in addition to the presence of Moses and Elijah, who speak together with Christ, the communion of saints is also manifest in the fact that the disciples are able to understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has come already" -- referring to John the Baptist.  It notes, "Their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) refers to one coming 'in the spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself."

Once again we return back to worldly life with the reminder from Jesus of all that He will suffer.  He has been revealed to them, the Kingdom has been revealed to them, and the communion of saints has also been revealed to them.  All these things are ever-present realities, just as my study bible calls the bright cloud overshadowing them "the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present."  It's a little awe-inspiring to understand that this revelation isn't given simply to impress anyone, but in fact, their confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ has already been made, by Peter speaking for the rest of them.  It is their faith that allows the revelation, just as Jesus is never coerced into a providing a sign on demand, a proof that others might require of Him.  Rather, all the signs come to the faithful.  This tells us something about faith, and what it unlocks and makes possible in us.  The signs of the Kingdom extraordinarily present, God's presence and revelation, and the communion of saints manifest here -- suggest to us the timeless eternity present in Christ (Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), and the reality that is beyond all the limitations and definitions of our worldly lives.  In the context of this eternal reality lies the suffering which Jesus will face in His life as Son of Man, and we encounter therefore limitation, stumbling block.  (See Saturday's reading in which Jesus tells Peter he is an offense to Him -- skandalon, or "stumbling block" in the Greek --  in suggesting He avoid the Cross.)  In contrast to the reality of the presence of the Kingdom Jesus brings into the world is the limitation of this world, and the work of its "prince" or "ruler" -- stumbling block, pain, snare, toil and heavy burden.  This contrast, in fact, tells us of the victory of the Kingdom.  As its head, Christ comes into the world as a liberator, here to free us, and this is the real story of the Gospels.  By facing all of these obstacles, bearing His Cross, and thus serving as sacrifice for all of us, all those limits become defeated, even death.  It is a question of the spiritual battle that is the real struggle for faith; not on the world's terms but on the terms of the Kingdom of heaven in our hearts and minds.  The God of love teaches us to fight the same way He bears His cross in our own lives.  This dazzling brilliant light, this eternal presence, through the eyes of faith it becomes our way forward, and the darkness can't shut it out.