As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening

 

 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.   But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.  While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. 

 

- Luke 9:28–36 

 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus was alone praying, His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 

Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  The first hint of what is about to be revealed in today's story is that it is about eight days after Christ's previous sayings:  His warning about the Cross, about His Passion, about the daily cross we are each to taste, and also His statement that "there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  The "eighth day" has often been one that describes the eternal day of the Kingdom, revealed clearly in the Transfiguration.  The brilliance of Christ's white and glistening robe, and the change in the appearance of His face tell us that we are in a place of revelation of something beyond our usual worldly time and space.  Frequently in icons this "white and glistening light" around Christ appears with a tint of blue, so as to convey that it is beyond white, beyond earthly light.  

 

 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  Moses and Elijah speak with Christ about His decease, the text says.  But the word translated as "decease" is exodus/ἔξοδο in Greek, which literally means "departure." or "exit" and it refers to Christ's death.  Christ's death, my study bible says, is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, for Christ is glorified through His death (John 12:23).  In the liturgical cycle of the Orthodox Church, the Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated on August 6th, forty days before the feast of the Holy Cross (September 14th), which shows the connection between Christ's glory and His Cross.  The term "exodus" is a revelation that Christ's Passion is a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover.  My study bible says that it is the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.

But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.   The three disciples (Peter and those with him, James and John Zebedee) are heavy with sleep and then become fully awake to this revelation, affirming our understanding of this time and space of Transfiguration as a true reality masked by our worldly lives.  Peter's immediate response, suggesting that they build three tabernacles, reminds us of the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorating the time that Israel lives in tents (or "tabernacles") as they went toward the promised land.  The Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot) is also called the Feast of the Coming Kingdom.  That the disciples recognize and know Moses and Elijah announces the presence of the communion of all the saints, a reality beyond the time and space we know (Hebrews 12:1).  

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  The cloud is also reminiscent of Israel's wandering toward the promised land, as they were led by a pillar of cloud during the day which overshadowed the tabernacle  (Exodus 40:38).  The cloud reminds of the Spirit overshadowing the mountain.  We are given the Father's voice, and the declaration of the Son.  This is a revelation of the Trinity present.

 

When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. That they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen is an indication of the holiness of this experience, its nature as "set apart" and sacred as mystery.

In our faith there is a sense of holiness or sacredness that indicates being "set apart." That is, set apart for a particular purpose, and to serve God.  This is where the idea of saints comes from, a word that comes from the word for "holy" or "sacred."  In today's reading of the Transfiguration, so much of the important imagery -- and hence the message -- is about light.  The mountain is surrounded by light, Christ is radiating light, even His clothing does so.  The "halo" that we often see in images of saints is precisely the message of holiness -- of being "set apart."  It is the light of God upon them.  The halo or nimbus that is seen around the head of Christ is icons bears the title Ὁ ὬΝ.  This is a translation into Greek of the Hebrew name for God given to Moses, the I AM (Exodus 3:14).  In the Greek, this "name" conveys a sense deeper than "I am," and tells us that this "am" means being itself.  It is the deep drawn sense of God as pure existence, the "IS" if you will.  The light that permeates the Transfiguration is this light of pure being that underlies and transcends and live in between everything we know and see, the presence and energy of the Creator that permeates all because it IS reality.  In that halo or nimbus of Christ is the message that He is anointed from before there was a beginning.  He is and always was the Son.  But as Jesus Christ Incarnate He is the One set apart, who calls us to holiness too.  He calls upon those who would all be sons of God by adoption, be saints, be set apart for the holy work of faith while in this world.  The Transfiguration brings us a taste of the manifestation of this true holy existence that shines beneath everything, if we could but see it.  It doesn't "manifest" so much as it reveals -- it pulls back the layers of time and place we know and offers us what is really there after all.  It gives us the truth of Christ, of the Kingdom, and our place in it -- where Moses and Elijah converse with Christ and are known to the disciples without introduction or explanation necessary.   It is.  In our every day struggles, and the day to day grappling with faith and how we live life in this world, it is easy to forget the true mystery that we plunge into with prayer, that is there with us in our worship, that asks us to participate in the Kingdom -- a place which unites us in Christ, where all the saints are present with us.  This is really the reality for which we are set apart, within which we find our blessings (or beatitudes), where we take our deepest identity.  It is this place which is revealed to the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, where everything else is peeled away to reveal true being and existence, the energies of God within which we are asked to participate in faith.  This taste of life and light, this day of the Kingdom, is given to the disciples very shortly after Jesus' first prediction of the Passion He will suffer.  They are to be eased into what is coming on the journey to Jerusalem, prepared for crisis, subjected to all kinds of uncertainties and horrors, unthinkable things not possible -- they would think in the popular assumption of the time -- for the Messiah.  This taste of true life of Transfiguration is given to them for that journey, and it is given to us as well.  What part of life needs this light of Transfiguration for you now?  Is there a dark place from which you need to recall that life is truly this dazzling and brilliant light?  In the grim, hard, charcoal gray places of the world, you are reminded that you need this light.   This is what He affirms for all in this experience, and reveals for us just as for the disciples.  It is the place in which we are set apart to experience a mystery and grasp it the best we can; it is the journey of faith that we glimpse and it illumines our souls.  Let us pray through all times.  Like Jesus taking His closest disciples to the mountain, let us set ourselves apart to do so.