His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."

- Mark 9:2-13

Yesterday we read that Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered, and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever 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 and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit 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 whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.   After six days indicates that this is the seventh day after Jesus' identity as Christ has been revealed to the disciples.  Seven, we remember, is a number of completion.  This is the fullness of revelation, or at least that which these closest disciples to Christ can bear.  The Transfiguration reveals the glory of Jesus' divinity, and it is related to the Cross:  His glory on the Cross is His voluntary offering of love.  The Transfiguration confirms such a death could not have happened without His consent.  As at Jesus' baptism, the Father's voice confirms Jesus' identity as My beloved Son.  The cloud that overshadows them on the mountain resembles the cloud that covered Mt. Sinai that was "the glory of the Lord" (Exodus 24:16).   This is (again, as resembling the events of Jesus' baptism) a theophany, a revelation of God.  The brilliant light surrounding Jesus' person -- that which illumines His clothing so that they are shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them -- also reflects this divine glory, the presence of the Holy Spirit.  That is, God extraordinarily present.  Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets; talking with Jesus we behold the communion of the saints, the great cloud of witnesses, as St. Paul writes.  All live together, and there is no separation of time or space.  Peter's response comes from His understanding that all this is a sign that the Kingdom has come.  As he knows that the Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, he asks to build tabernacles as was done at the feast.  They were symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  As suddenly as the  Transfiguration has come upon them, it is gone.  They are alone with Jesus, knowing that the glory that was revealed is His always.

Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."  The disciples know Malachi's prophecy that Elijah must first return before the coming of the Messiah.  Jesus affirms here that Elijah has already come -- He is speaking of John the Baptist, whom Jesus will also say came "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (see Matthew 17:13, Luke 1:17, Malachi 4:5-6).  Once again, Jesus ties His suffering on the Cross to His glory, and affirms that the one returned in the spirit and power of Elijah has also suffered  at the hands of those who did to him whatever they wished (Mark 6:13-29).

In modern language, people often speak of having a relationship with Christ, or a "personal relationship" with God.  This is the way we have come to frame our faith, and to understand the ways in which faith works.  But Fr. Stephen Freeman who writes a theologically-themed blog  (Glory to God for All Things) makes a different point.  He notes that the word "relationship" reflects a modern concept of individualism that isn't a part of the historical language of the Church.  In fact, he writes, the language used historically for our faith is that of participation.  Rather than relationship (indicating two or more who come together as individuals), the traditional way our faith is viewed is through union or communion.  This, he says, means that we participate in a particular reality, we become a part of something that is all of a whole -- not just a choice between individuals.  The Transfiguration would seem to suggest that he is correct.  All of a sudden, the disciples are plunged into a true vision of reality:  the communion of saints, the glory of Christ the Son in union with Father and Holy Spirit -- even Peter's suggestion that they build booths for each of them indicates he's grasped that he's in the presence and reality of the Kingdom.  Then, just as suddenly as the true vision has come, it is gone:  but the truth about the fullness of reality present with Christ is always true.  What has been revealed to them is what truly exists.  It is the power and glory of the Kingdom that is with us and within us, and in which we may participate through faith.  With faith, or without it, it is present anyway.  It is what reality truly is.  This is the vision given on the mountain to these disciples.  My study bible teaches us that it is bound up inextricably with the Cross, with Christ's voluntary sacrifice -- through which and via our participation in His death, we also share in His glory and the fullness of life revealed here in the Transfiguration.  St. Peter seems to reflect directly upon the experience of the Transfiguration, and the words and teaching of Christ that both preface and conclude it (on His suffering on the Cross and also that of John the Baptist), when he writes that we must  "rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:13).   These words reflect the fullness of the reality of the Kingdom and the very life, death, and Resurrection of Christ in which we enter and participate.  That kind of fullness, I agree, is not truly encapsulated in the word "relationship."  This is a depth that is more profound than that word can indicate.  It is the depth of Christ's word in which we also participate as the fullness of this reality.  St. Paul writes, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).  This give us a sense of the true depths of participation in union and communion that faith brings and gives.  This reality reaches into us more deeply than anything else, and its treasures will surprise us -- even as His life in us, in all its fullness, may bring life in abundance of experience, with participation both in His glory and even voluntary suffering, as well.