He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light

 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 we read that from the time Jesus was revealed to His disciples as the Messiah at Peter's confession of faith, He began to show to them 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 . . .   A high mountain, my study bible says, is often a place of divine revelation in Scripture (5:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 19:3, 23; Isaiah 2:3; 2 Peter 1:18).  It is a kind of preparation for what is to happen that this passage begins in such a way.

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  This event of today's passage is called the Transfiguration, for the divine light that appeared in His person.   This event is what is called a theophany, meaning a manifestation of God, and particularly of the divinity of Christ through this display of His uncreated, divine energy, symbolized by the light.   Because God is light (1 John 1:5), the bright cloud (verse 5), 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 shown as one that is beyond what we understand as a full-spectrum white -- it is shown as a blue-white, ineffable color, indicating its spiritual origin.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Where Christ is, so is His Kingdom, and the completeness of the kingdom of God is here.  Moses and Elijah present us with the fullness of revelation and also the communion of saints (Hebrews 12:1).  According to my study bible, Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- as he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  Their presence shows to us that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament.  Both Moses and Elijah are immediately recognizable to the disciples, and they talk with the Lord.

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; . . .    My study bible tells us that the Transfiguration not only proclaims Christ's divine sonship, but also foreshadows His future glory, when He as the Messiah will usher in the long-awaited Kingdom.  The bright cloud is a recollection of temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, as the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  Peter sees this as a sign that the Kingdom has come.  He knows the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths (Hebrew Sukkot) as the feast of the coming Kingdom, and so he asks to build tabernacles (tents), as was done at that feast, which serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom. 

. . . and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  The Father bears witness from heaven also concerning the Son.  My study bible points out to us that the Father does not say, "This has become My beloved Son," but rather "This is My beloved Son" which indicates that this divine glory is Christ's by nature.  From eternity past (John 1:1 "In the beginning was . . ."), infinitely before Jesus' Baptism and Transfiguration, He is God's Son, who fully shares in the essence of the Father.  Jesus Christ is God of God (Nicene Creed). 

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.  The events of today's reading are a manifestation of the Holy Trinity:  Christ is transfigured, revealing Him as Son, the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Christ's divine sonship, and the Spirit is present in the form of a dazzling light surrounding the person of Christ and overshadowing the whole mountain.  The disciples respond to this overwhelming experience with a natural fear.  As in other circumstances (for example, this reading), the Jesus they know is suddenly present to them, teaching them, "Do not be afraid."

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.  Jesus refers to the return of Elijah in John the Baptist, and the experience that Peter, James, and John have just had gives them understanding of His words.  Their eyes are opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) refers to one who comes "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.  Jesus emphasizes again, after the extraordinary experience and revelation of truth on the mountain, that He will suffer just as John the Baptist suffered.

After an astounding experience, perhaps the greatest spiritual experience possible for human beings -- the revelation of the Trinity, the communion of saints, and the manifestation of God's Kingdom -- the disciples respond with fear, and are immediately brought back to the realities of this world:  the Messiah will suffer.   Many of us would wish for such an experience, or transcendent and uplifting experiences of our faith.  Many saints have been granted such, as well as many faithful we don't know as saints.  Our experience of our faith is within us, and one way and another we feel the helpful and transcendent presence of Christ, the help of the saints and all those alive in the Kingdom in prayer, and the ever-creative and new work of the Holy Spirit in our world and within us.   But we live in the world even as we are taught to be not "of" it.  The cruelties and humiliations of the worldly perspective continue.  We don't live perfectly charmed lives regardless of our faith.  In fact, it is the greatest saints among us who are frequently the most humble.  And in today's reading, Christ Himself emphasizes that He will suffer, as did John the Baptist, the greatest of all of the prophets.  At the Last Supper, Jesus promises to the disciples, and to all of us by extension, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  As those who may participate and live and manifest the life of the Kingdom in our lives, we faithful are called to be in the world -- experiencing the world and its hostility to this Kingdom as it truly is. We may be set apart for something, but we will experience everything, as our faith is truly found in the participation in the fullness of Christ:  His life, death, and Resurrection.  Again, at the Last Supper, John's Gospel gives us Jesus' teachings to the disciples:  "Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also" (John 15:20).  It is important that we understand our faith as conferring this extraordinary light to us, even in the known experience of the saints and through the prayers of the faithful anywhere.  It lives within us, and we are to be light carried into the world as well.  In the  Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (5:14-16).  Let us understand that this is the expression of our faith; we live a life acknowledging the reality of the events of Transfiguration, whether or not others around us recognize it or accept it.  Let us hold that light within ourselves and live it, even in a world that remains hostile to what it cannot see.