He was transfigured before 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.   Jesus has just revealed to His disciples 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 (see yesterday's reading, above).  He spoke to them teaching that each person who wishes to be His disciple must take up their own cross and follow Him.  In today's reading, these three closest of His disciples experience the Transfiguration.  My study bible tells us that Christ's death is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, because Christ is glorified through His death (John 12:23).  The revelation of divine power present in the Transfiguration also confirms that Christ's upcoming death wasn't imposed by outside forces.  Rather it is a voluntary offering of love.  No arresting soldier could withstand this glory if Christ had not consented (Matthew 26:53).  In a festal hymn of the Transfiguration, the Orthodox Church sings, "Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they could bear it, so that when they saw You crucified, they would understand Your suffering was voluntary."

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."  Jesus speaks here of John the Baptist, as explicitly noted in Matthew 17:13  (see also Matthew 11:13-14).  For the prophecy of the return of Elijah, see Malachi 4:5-6.

The Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in Greek) is characterized by its tremendous light.  This is a light beyond our light, indicated by Jesus' clothing which shines and is a brilliant white "such that no launderer on earth can whiten them."  In many icons of the Transfiguration, this radiance is painted with a blue tinge, indicating a heavenly light beyond white.  This dazzling brilliance indicates the presence of God, who is light (1 John 1:5).  It is a revelation of the heavenly Kingdom in the presence of human beings, a taste of the fullness of His Return in power and glory (Matthew 24:30).   Time and space have no bearing in this reality and cannot limit the fullness of its experience:  Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, and together manifest the communion of saints.  Notice that they are immediately recognizable and known to the disciples.   The brilliant light that shines all around and the cloud out of which comes the voice of the Father immediately recalls the temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, "the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present," as my study bible puts it.   The manifestation of the Kingdom is present to the disciples, and Peter reveals that he understands this when he suggests they build booths:  The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles commemorates not only Israel's time spent wandering in search of the Kingdom, but is in fact the feast of the coming Kingdom.  Finally, the Trinity is clearly present here, in the revelation of Christ as Son, the voice of the Father, and the Spirit's presence in the light that shines around Christ and illuminates the whole mountain.  Jesus has just revealed to these disciples the earth-shattering, impossible news that He will suffer and die.  Revealed to them here is the connected purpose and outcome of that suffering and death, the fullness of the Kingdom which is promised not simply as an eternal life in heaven, but rather as a living Kingdom in this world.  The completeness of Transfiguration is that day and His return when all will be changed in the twinkling of an eye, as St. Paul puts it (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).   Modern theories of the nature of time and space bear out the idea that these dimensional realities need not necessarily hold in all realms of universes -- but we leave that to the theoretical physicists.   In the Transfiguration, we're given a promise through these witnesses of the fullness of the Kingdom, made not for "someday" but rather given us as a presence at work in our lives and transcendent in our here and now.  It is a reminder that these realities of the light of God, the communion of saints, the eternal presence of the work of Father, Son, and Spirit in our lives are here and now.  It is a question of our own metamorphosis, our transfiguration through a life of faith, that makes choices to bear our own crosses as He shows us and follow Him.  The holy is with us and breaks through in revelation, in wisdom, in love, by far most importantly in experience that stays with us through the times we feel less than exalted or life wears us down with its pain and suffering and difficulties -- a very present help in trouble, as the Psalmist writes.   These men have a fullness of revelation that will stay with them through the Crucifixion and all difficulties of the road ahead of them as they spread the gospel for the rest of us.  What's your experience?  Where do you find the transcendent, that bears no limitations on its presence and help?  We are given the light that allows us also to transcend our limitations, our circumstances, the insight to grow, the timeless unity of prayers, and the likeness after which we are to follow.