He was transfigured before them

Transfiguration, early 15th cent., Theophanes the Greek (1340-1410), from Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Pereslavl-Zalessky. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

 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 would indicate the seventh day after the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, and that He will suffer as Messiah, that He will be killed and die.  Seven is a number that indicates fullness, completeness, perfection in this sense.  This Transfiguration is a revelation of God, or theophany.  It is also called Metamorphosis in Greek.  Some icons portray the extremely white quality of Jesus' clothing with a tinge of blue, indicating that it is a color such as no launderer on earth can whiten them, meaning a heavenly brilliance, beyond white.  Symbolically, Moses stands for the Law and Elijah the Prophets.   Peter's suggestion to build tabernacles comes from his mind that associates the Feast of Tabernacles (or Feast of the Coming Kingdom) with what is happening, the manifestation of the Kingdom.  In the overshadowing cloud we see also the reminder of the time when Israel dwelt in tabernacles, and God's glory was present before them in a brilliant cloud.  The voice of the Father, the revelation that Christ is the Son, and the brilliant cloud reveal the Holy Trinity.

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."   It was prophesied that Elijah would return before the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:56).  Jesus makes clear that the return of Elijah was fulfilled in John the Baptist, one clothed like Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), but returned in spirit (Matthew 17:10-13).

Let us note that in Jesus' sayings to the disciples, and in their experience, everything to them comes both new and strange.  Our text tells us that they were questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  Think of what things they've been told:  that Jesus will die, that He will even rise from the dead.  Could these things even have any meaning to them?  In yesterday's reading, we read that they were told that each one must take up his cross.  How can they possibly be hearing these sayings, these words, at the time that they are given?  If we think about it, the image of the cross must have been terrifying indeed, known only as the worst instrument of human suffering, the Roman method of crucifixion.  Jesus' sayings, now familiar to us, were nothing of the sort to the original disciples.  And we can see in the text that they can make nothing of His saying about rising from the dead.  Some commentaries say that the Transfiguration is given as an experience to these disciples who form Jesus' closest group of faithful in order for them to remember this incident throughout the terrible and frightening experiences which are coming.  In this way, they will know that whatever unfolds through the future will have not been unforeseen but deliberate, that Christ will not be sent unwillingly to His death.  They will come to understand the truth about the fullness of His divine identity, they will be able to make sense of the events that come, including Resurrection.  They will be able to lead their brothers and sisters through what comes to pass, because their own faith will be strong enough to do so.  Let us consider our own faith at this time.  Some of us might be tempted to think that God has abandoned us, and that we are desolate.  We may be stuck for answers to a questioning and doubting public.  We may be dismayed by what we see happening around ourselves, even the role of the Church restricted through social measures of the state.  In some places, clergy is being restricted from visiting the sick in hospital, a heartbreaking and dismaying event for all concerned.  The Eucharist is restricted from us (except that it is given on our behalf by our priests).  What can this mean?  What is this new set of circumstances?  How are we to deal with them?  Perhaps the most crucial thing that we can remember is this experience of the Transfiguration that is being given to the disciples in today's reading.  For it is in this experience of the Transfiguration that memory will be instilled in them for the times to come, and the terrifying persecutions that are on their way.  So we might be similar, and it is time for each one of us to make a habitual practice to shore up our faith, especially in remembering the times when the certain and real experience of the presence of God and the effect of our prayers and faith has been made known to us, and real.  Are there times in your life when you have understood the answer to a prayer?  Have you understood a message of reflection and intuition that tells you a way to go in life, and that upon looking back one can discern was indeed beneficial, and a fateful and good way to turn?  Is there an experience that you have had when God's presence was certain to you?  It is a time when we remember all those things, and like Mary did at the Annunciation, we keep all these things and ponder them in our hearts (Luke 2:19).  It is a time to recall and ponder and nurture ourselves with the things of beauty in our faith, and the things that have stood us in good stead not only in our own lives, but throughout the centuries of the Church.  Let us remind ourselves of God's love, and the times when we have experienced it.  It is a time -- in each Lent -- for nurturing and shoring up our strength in faith, in prayer, in the contemplation not only of what God wants from us, but of God's love for us.  Let us not be afraid.  It is a time for courage and discipline, and for understanding that we, too, are like the disciples.  We are on a journey through our own difficult times, and times of questioning, of not understanding, and of keeping faith.  Let us move forward with Him on the road of His faith, and follow Him.  In the icon above is depicted the Transfiguration, with its blue-tinged light.  As we await the light of the Resurrection, and even experience the sunlight that heralds the spring, let us remember that all His light is always given to us, and will chase away the fears of what we don't yet know or understand.  Let us remember His light that transfigures everything:  even the dreaded Roman cross into an instrument of eternal life.