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

The Savior's Transfiguration, early 15th cent,  by Theophanes the Greek (1340-1410), Tretyakov Gallery

 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

On Saturday we read that from the time of Peter's confession that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, 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 . . .  A high mountain, my study bible points out to us, 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).  Note that this is after six days following the confession of Peter, and Jesus' revelation that He will suffer and die, and on the third day be raised.  That indicates this is the seventh, a revelation of perfection; in some sense, the end point or fullness of His Passion, death, and Resurrection.

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  This light has a heavenly, holy origin.  It is meant to be the divine light of God, and in icons is frequently painted with a blue tinge, to indicate its heavenly source.  This event, called Metamorphosis in Greek, is what is called a theophany, meaning a manifestation or revelation of God.  It particularly refers to the divinity of Christ, via a display of His uncreated and divine energy.  The Transfiguration of the Lord is therefore a major feast day.   John tells us that God is light (1 John 1:5), and therefore it is in this context that we are to understand the light of the Transfiguration. 

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."  Peter's strange decision to make tabernacles is not so strange in light of the Feast of Tabernacles, a harvest festival which commemorated the time that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, following Moses and going to the promised land.  It was a time when they dwelt in tents (or tabernacles), temporary structures indicating pilgrims heading toward the Kingdom.  Here Peter likely confuses his perception that the Kingdom is present, and so what comes to His mind is that festival, also called the Festival of the Coming Kingdom.  In Luke's Gospel, we are told that Moses and Elijah discuss with Jesus His coming "departure" (meaning His earthly death).  The word translated as departure is exodus in the Greek.  Moses represents the law and all those who have died; Elijah did not experience an earthly death, and so represents those alive in Christ. He also represents the prophets.   My study bible says that 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.   Let us note also that Moses and Elijah together with Jesus represent the communion of saints (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are immediately recognizable and talk with Jesus; there is no time nor space barrier here.  For the apostles and all the rest, they are in a place where they "know" and "are known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). 

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 and its light is reminiscent of the cloud that overshadowed the temple and went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  The  voice of the Father bears witness from heaven, revealing and affirming Christ's identity as Son.  This is a revelation of the Trinity.   The Father's voice reveals the Son, the brilliant light which overshadows Christ and the mountain reveals the presence of the Spirit. 

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.  The presence of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration enables the disciples to understand that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6), which predicted the return of Elijah before the coming of the Messiah, refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself -- and therefore to John the Baptist.

If we look at the Transfiguration in a particular way, we are to understand its role in our faith as theophany, a revelation of God.  In this case, the Trinity is manifest in the voice of the Father, who declares that Christ is His beloved Son, and the holy light of the Spirit shining all around.   It is important to note, theologically, that the revelation of the Son is not a kind of declaration that Jesus has achieved something, or just become something.  It is revelation precisely because what we, together with the disciples, are witnessing is precisely revelation:  it is revealing to human beings what has always been.  This is the reality of the identity of the Son "in the beginning" -- that is, before time as we know it.  But the Transfiguration has also always stood for something more than that for we as followers of Christ.  The light of the Transfiguration -- called Metamorphosis in Greek -- also reveals something about us.  We, as followers of Christ, seek also to manifest that image in which we were created.  That is, we were created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26).  As such, as beings created in this "image" and "likeness" we seek also to manifest those things in our lives that bear that likeness and image.  As followers of Christ, this is precisely our aim, our goal.  Earlier in Matthew's Gospel, when Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were seeking Him, He asked, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother" (12:50).  He spoke of living the will of His Father in heaven, and how this made "family" out of disciples.  In this sense, we become heirs, bearing the image and likeness of the Father, in living that will.  It is the unifying principle of our faith.  We don't get there by doing good deeds, or by compensating for bad behavior somehow, or by looking or appearing a certain way, or swearing allegiance to something.  We get there by seeking as best we can the will of the Father in heaven and living it.  This is an ongoing process, and encompasses, in my experience, an entire lifetime of moving toward something in discipleship, following that "road" of Christ (which is His "way" - John 14:6).   In the Transfiguration, we are given an image of what it is to be "enlightened," imbued with a transfiguring light of God, transformed or "metamorphosed."  For the Eastern Church, this is understood as the process of what is called theosis or union with God.  It is a question of becoming more "like God," of bearing more closely that image that Christ gives us.  Through prayer, worship, study of Scripture, and the practices of our faith, we seek to know and live God's will.  We also acknowledge that this is not a question of our own will, and that -- like the light of the Transfiguration -- there is a spiritual, mystical participation at work here, something that we don't define in and of ourselves.  Our own repentance (or metanoia in the Greek of the Gospel, which literally means "change of mind"), is an ongoing process of transformation hand-in-hand with this mystical process, whereby we "change our mind" and thoughts and understanding based upon discipleship through time.  Jesus has given us the parables indicating this kind of transformation or metamorphosis, as when He spoke of the leaven that changed and permeated the entire lump of dough, or the faith of the tiny mustard seed that mysteriously grows into a great tree (see this reading).  In the first parable He taught, He gave the image of the Sower, and the seeds of His word that fall on the good ground, and with perseverance, will grow to bear much fruit (see this reading and the two which follow).  The light of the Transfiguration is that mysterious grace which may permeate and transform us as well, bearing fruit we don't necessarily expect and can't necessarily explain, because we don't "earn" it from our efforts alone.  We cooperate with it, we accept its invitation and the knock at the door, we make room for Christ to dwell with us (Revelation 3:21), we come to rely on and more fully embrace that life and that rock of faith upon which we live.  And we agree to jettison that which conflicts with it, stands in its way, or comes to be a choice we must make to go forward within that will and our discipleship.  All of this is summed up in the brilliant light of the Transfiguration which reveals to the disciples and to the world who Jesus really is.  So, in our faith, we follow and pursue this path so that we, also, may be revealed as we truly are, and come to more fully live that life of the Kingdom and its communion of saints who live in Christ.  How can we minimize what this light can do?  We can't define it or contain it, but it is here for us, and revealed for us.  Let us consider the change it asks us to embrace, to which we must say "yes," for the soul that can accept her real purpose and true image.