This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!

 

 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 till 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 of St. Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, 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; and He was transfigured before them.  After six days is an expression which counts the days between the separate events; therefore, this is the eighth day following St. Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, and Christ's first warning to the disciples of His Passion, suffering, death on the Cross, and Resurrection to come (see yesterday's reading, above).  The eighth day is one that indicates eternity, and the events and revelation manifest in today's reading reveals an eternal reality of Christ.  My study Bible comments that a high mountain is often a place of divine revelation in Scripture (Matthew 5:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 19:3, 23; Isaiah 2:3; 2 Peter 1:18).  

 

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. My study Bible comments that, 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 clothes, all demonstrate that Jesus is God.  In many icons this light is shown as a color which is beyond white, with a blue-white, ineffable color, meant to indicate its spiritual origin.  

 

 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."  Here is another indication of the eternal nature of what is being revealed here, on this "eighth day."  Moses and Elijah lived at differing periods in history, and yet both appear here together, and speaking with Jesus.  Moreover, they are immediately recognizable to the disciples, as the St. Peter's response indicates.  All is known as they are known (1 Corinthians 13:12).  My study Bible comments that Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- as Elijah did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  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.  Moreover, the presence of Moses and Elijah represent the communion of saints (Hebrews 12:1), another aspect of an eternal reality, ever-present.  The experience of this reality will help the disciples to understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has come already" as referring to St. John the Baptist (verses 12-13).  My study Bible comments that their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5) refers to one who will come "in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17), rater than to Elijah himself.  St. Peter sees all this as a sign that the Kingdom has come.  Since he knows that the Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, he asks to build booths (tabernacles), as was done at that feast, which serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.

 

 While he was till 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.  Here is another manifestation of an eternal reality:  the Holy Trinity is present in the voice of the Father, and the Holy Spirit in the bright cloud (as the one which shepherded the Israelites through the wilderness; see Exodus 13:21), and also in the dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person and overshadows the whole mountain.  My study Bible asks us to note that the Father does not say, "This has become my beloved Son," but rather, "This is My beloved Son" indicating that the divine glory they witness is Christ's by nature and from eternity past, long before Christ's Baptism and Transfiguration.  He is God's Son, fully sharing in the essence of the Father, "true God of true God" (Creed).  My study Bible further notes that the Transfiguration not only proclaims Christ's divine sonship, but also foreshadows His future glory when He as the Messiah will bring in the long-awaited Kingdom.  

 

 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.  For now, this messianic secret must remain just that, a secret, hidden from the world.  Once again, Jesus reminds them of His Passion to come, and notes that it follows also the coming of St. John the Baptist, the herald to the Messiah, the one who came in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17).  

 

 The Transfiguration serves and has longed served the image of what it means to be saved.  Keep in mind that the original Greek for "transfiguration" is metamorphosis (μεταμόρφωσις).  Even in its use in English, this word implies transformation:  a deep transition.  In this case, Christ's Transfiguration is a manifestation of His true divine nature; the eternal reality of the Son of God is made manifest to the disciples.  Jesus is the God-man; He is fully human and fully divine.  But in a similar sense, human beings have been created by God, in God's image, in order to manifest their own likeness to God (Genesis 1:26).  The Transfiguration serves for us as Christians as the image of this process on human terms, which is called in the Greek theosis.  This means that through grace, by participation in the life and death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we also become "God-like."  We grow through this transfigurative process, through time, into our true likeness as we're created by God, to be "like God."  So the image of the Transfiguration serves for all of us as a kind of pattern of what happens to us as human beings through the influence of grace, and the energies of the Holy Spirit.  What Jesus is by nature becomes a part of our own identity through grace; this is called holiness.  Importantly, it is a lifelong process.  And for historical Christianity, this is also the process of salvation.  It is how we do as He has taught in yesterday's reading (see above).  We are to take up our own crosses, and follow Him, and this is the way our lives are transfigured.  For Eastern Christianity, the purpose of Christ's Incarnation was always to make this possible for human beings, and this is the meaning of salvation.  For as the human Jesus, even His flesh is glorified in the Ascension, and we are to follow Him.  Let us remember that the Transfiguration teaches us about eternal realities that are always true, have always been true, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  In Him, that eternal communion of saints awaits us all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him

 

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

 Who will prepare Your way before You."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

 

 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

 

- Mark 1:1–13 

 

In our past three readings, we went through what is known as the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus' final prayer, heard by His disciples at the Last Supper (see parts 1 and 2 in the reading and commentary for this past Thursday and Friday).   On Saturday, we read that Jesus prayed, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."  

 

  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As we enter earnestly into Lent (for the Eastern Orthodox, today begins the day of the full fast for Lent), the lectionary begins the Gospel of St. Mark.  My study Bible notes that the word gospel comes from the Greek εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion, which literally means "good news" or "good tidings."  This was a word known to all people of the extensive Roman Empire of the time, as public messages or declarations from the emperor were called by this name.  Here, the word refers not to Mark's writings per se, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That is, it is the good news of our salvation.  Beginning, according to my study Bible, points to the opening events of Christ's public ministry.  These are the preparation by Christ's forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and Christ's encounter with him.  

 

 As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  St. Mark provides us with the messages of the prophets Malachi and Isaiah (Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3), which are fulfilled by the one whom we call the Forerunner, St. John the Baptist.  St. John ascribes to himself this role of "the voice" in Isaiah's prophecy in John 1:23.  

 

 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.   John is clothed in a way that markedly resembles Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 1:8), a hint that he fulfills yet another prophecy by Malachi, who prophesied the return of Elijah before the Messiah or Christ (Malachi 4:5,6).  See also Matthew 17:12-13; Mark 9:12-13; Luke 1:17.  

 

  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit, which my study Bible calls the power and grace of God divinely poured out on all believers at baptism.

 

  It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Jesus does not need baptism, but in being baptized, my study Bible explains, the Lord accomplished several things.  First, He affirms John the Baptist's ministry, from whom many of His first called disciples would come.  Second, He was revealed by the Father and the Spirit to be the Christ, God's beloved Son.  This appearance of the Holy Trinity is a theophany, or manifestation of God.  Moreover, Jesus identified with His people by descending into the waters with them.  Here He prefigures His own death (as the waters of baptism signify death and coming up from them rebirth or in Christ's case, Resurrection) and so gives baptism its ultimate meaning.  By entering the waters of the Jordan, Jesus sanctifies water itself for future baptism.  Finally, He fulfills the many types given in the Old Testament, such as when Moses led the people from bondage through the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and when the ark of the covenant was carried into the Jordan so the people could enter the Promised Land (Joshua 3; 4).  Finally, by being baptized Christ opened the heavens to a world separated from God through sin.  

 

 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  This experience of forty days being tempted by Satan is given more detailed treatment in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13).   There Jesus endures temptations designed to separate Him from the Father, and to deny His relationship as Son of God.  Additionally, the temptations are to misuse His power for personal gain, indulging in common passions rather than sticking to His mission of loyalty to God the Father.  Let us take note that the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness for this test of temptations prior to beginning His public ministry in earnest, throughout which His various trials would present Him with occasion to consider misuse of His divine powers.  But even unto death, Jesus will remain ultimately loyal to the Father.  

 

  Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  Christ's forty days in the wilderness is the basis for Lent and its historical practices.  All of these Lenten practices are geared to help us to learn to say no to temptations to indulge our own passions, ideas which we know are not blessed through teachings by Christ nor a prayerful or faithful life, and to help us learn spiritual self-discipline of all kinds.  These practices are meant to shore up our spiritual strength, just as Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan.  Let us note that this was a deliberate period of testing, as such resistance to take an easier way out would always be present for Christ.  Looking at the temptations listed in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, we see that there was always the temptation to take shortcuts.  The devil tempts Jesus to seize worldly power. Well, there are a lot of people who wonder why Christ didn't do just that, and why He didn't impose His will on the world.  Wouldn't the world be a better place if He just wiped out all evil and demanded fidelity to God?  Well, no, actually.  The plan of God apparently invites us in, as human beings, to do the same as our Creator did, and invites us to participate fully in Christ's life even while we are in this world just as He did.  That's rather extraordinarily an elevation above being compelled to do something as if we were not given free will by our Creator for some higher purpose.  And love doesn't come from being compelled or enslaved.  So how could we learn love if Christ had used His power that way?  Indeed, He would have failed His mission, for God compels no one to love God, while always loving us and holding His hand open for us for our salvation, and for grace.  How would we learn what divinity is or means or does, if Christ did not Himself reflect the Father in the world ("He who has seen Me has seen the Father" - John 14:9)?  Moreover, Christ's temptation in the wilderness is a participation in our own lives in this world, as it reflects us and our place.  We live in a world where we are invited into salvation and grace while at the same time tempted by the devil and the evil in the world.  So He showed us the way, and Lent is meant as a time in which we practice what He showed us, we learn better what to do and how to live in this world while also participating in His kingdom as we can ("I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world" - John 17:15-16).  Christ prepares us, by inviting us into this challenge, for something so much better than the slavery one finds to compulsions, addictions, easy indulgence, and all that goes with the seduction of easy solutions to the "cares of this world" that threaten to choke us at times and divert us from God's hope for us.  He will be asked repeatedly for a sign by the religious authorities, so that they can be convinced of His authority, and that He is the Christ, but He will not give signs on demand.  Let us be grateful that He endured all that He did for love of us, for our salvation, and to show us the way and true power of the Cross, with God's grace helping us.  Let us follow Him into Lent and meet our own challenges His way.  For we, too, have His angels ministering to us.

 

 

 

 

Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness

Baptism of Christ, 15th cent. from Kythera;  Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece 

 

 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  

 

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 

- Matthew 3:13-17 

 

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.   But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 

 

  Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  My study Bible comments that Jesus does not need purification.  He makes the purification of humanity His own, and thereby washes away humanity's sin, grants regeneration, and reveals the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  So, therefore, Christ's baptism was necessary for the fulfillment of God's righteous plan of salvation.  St. Gregory of Nyssa comments, "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."

 

 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  My study Bible says that the Spirit of God hovered over the water at the first creation (Genesis 1:2).  Now, the Holy Spirit comes in the form of a dove in order to anoint the Messiah, the Son of God, at this beginning of the new creation.  Jesus does not become the Son of God here on this day.  What is happening is that He is revealed to all as the Son of God at this occasion.  The Holy Spirit has always rested on Christ.  The feast day of Epiphany (meaning manifestation or revelation) or Theophany (meaning a manifestation of God), is celebrated on January 6th.  In the Eastern Churches it commemorates this occasion.  In the most ancient practices of the Church, Theophany and Nativity (Christmas) were celebrated together on January 6th; in the Armenian Apostolic Church, this practice is maintained today.

 

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."   This quotation is from Psalm 2:7, "You are My Son, / Today I have begotten You."  My study Bible asks us to note how the Baptism of Jesus reveals the great mystery of the Trinity -- the Father speaks; the Holy Spirit descends; the Incarnate Son is baptized.  

 

In a particular sense, we can think of the occasion of Christ's Baptism as an icon, and it is among other things an icon of the Holy Trinity.  There is the voice of the Father, identifying Christ as God's Son, and the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God) descending like a dove, all together, and declaring the tripartite God; that is, one God in three divine Persons.  This great mystery is revealed in this "icon" of Baptism, in which God has chosen to manifest God's realities for us human beings.  This greater revelation of God comes as Jesus encourages John the Baptist to baptize Him in order to fulfill all righteousness.  So here, at this very beginning of Christ's ministry, we are immediately offered a manifestation of God, the Holy Trinity.  That is, a revelation of God in an expanded sense.  While in second temple literature in the Jewish tradition, from the centuries just immediately prior to the coming of Christ, there existed opinions that there might be more Persons of God than One, here that is confirmed and expanded.  So this beginning of Christ's public ministry both reveals God in greater fullness than was known before, and at the same time inaugurates His preaching and teaching mission.  It's a way that we understand that He is the One who is Sent among us, as the Beloved Son.  So even as Christ is fulfilling all righteousness by being baptized by John the Baptist, the fruits of ministry have begun, and humanity is enlightened into an understanding of God in a fuller way than before.  As Christ's ministry unfolds, He will teach us that to see Him is to see the Father, and we will also witness the effects of the Spirit, even as Christ's ministry prepares us for Pentecost.  Let us take a moment to think of these gifts given to us, this illumination brought by Christ who is Sent, and manifest to us through the Holy Spirit, and be grateful for what we have been given, for even in this moment, the world is transformed and Christ's gifts and effects continue among us.  Christ is placed in the waters of Baptism, sanctifying the waters of the world for Holy Baptism to come, transfiguring what we know of God, giving us gifts that will continue to give and will not stop coming.  Let us not be dismayed by the evil that works in the world, for we know that He has come to enlist us in the fight for this world, and all that He does is for us.  Let us be blessed with this knowledge, this revelation, and with the gifts of the Spirit that continue to bless us, including baptism, holy water, our prayers, and all the sacraments and mysteries this moment offers and opens up for the Church to come.  Let us learn from this icon of the Holy Trinity that where One Person of the Trinity is present, so there are all Three among us, with Christ who brings us this depth of connection to God.  For the whole world is blessed as sacrament from this moment fulfilling all righteousness.

 

 

 

 

 

His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten 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.  The event described in today's reading is called the Transfiguration, after the fact that Christ was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.  Let us keep in mind that these three are Christ's "inner circle," those disciples of the strongest faith and to whom He is closest.  According to St. Augustine, after six days refers to the intervening days between the day that Peter made his confession that Jesus is the Christ (see yesterday's reading, above) and the day of the Transfiguration.  That would make this day the "eighth day"which is associated with the Resurrection.  

 

 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  This powerful description of light pervading Christ and even His clothes is the signal of the presence of God, the heavenly reality that is revealed here.  Because God is light (1 John 1:5), my study Bible notes, the presence of light -- the shining, exceedingly white clothing -- demonstrate that Jesus is God.  In some icons this light is shown as "beyond white" (such as no launderer on earth can whiten them), a blue-white, ineffable color, to indicate the spiritual origin of this divine, uncreated light.

 

 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. Elijah and Moses appearing together give us the understanding of the communion of saints (that great cloud of witnesses as St. Paul describes it in Hebrews 12:1) and the timelessness of the Kingdom of heaven, as all present were from different earthly time periods and yet speak to one another, and are immediately known and recognized by St. Peter.  My study Bible comments that Moses represents the law and all those who have died, while Elijah represents the prophets and -- as he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  It notes that their presence shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, who is indeed the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.  Peter has an instant sense that the Kingdom is present, and suggests the building of tabernacles as was done at the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot), which was the feast of the Coming Kingdom; these are symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.

 

 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Here the Holy Trinity is present.  There is the transfiguration of Christ, the Father who speaks from heaven testifying that Jesus is the eternally-begotten divine Son, and the Holy Spirit is present in the form of the "bright cloud" (as Matthew 17:5 describes it) which overshadows with light the whole mountain.   This type of event is therefore called a Theophany, a manifestation or "showing forth" of God. 

 

 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."  As Moses and Elijah were present and recognizable to the disciples, now they are able to understand Jesus' words that Elijah has also come already as referring to John the Baptist.  My study Bible comments that their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5) refers to one who would come "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself. 

 

The Transfiguration serves as a model for the life of the faithful, bringing us meaning in what it is to be touched by Christ, by His holy light, and to live in faith.  For in accordance with our faith, we take the Eucharist as instituted by Christ, in which Christ's human and divine natures are present for us, and become a part of us.  Therefore we might also become transfigured; that is, assisted via Christ and through the Holy Spirit to become the spiritual children of God, and to grow in likeness to Christ.  As St. Paul writes, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).  Through Christ's light and our faith, we also are meant to be transfigured into this image, and bear the fruit of the Spirit in our own lives.  Our growth and gradual transformation through these virtues becomes, then, a work of God in us and through our faith.  If we look at the disciples, we also see such growth and maturing, as well as their growth in wisdom and leadership in the Church.  Jesus' image of this transfiguring light permeating all around Himself serves as a reminder that the light of Christ is not something that is meant for Him alone, but that He came into this world to transfigure our human nature, so that we, in turn, might attain eternal life with Him.  At Christ's Ascension, His human nature as Jesus went with Him, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, just as His divine nature is.  Therefore, He went to make a place for us:  "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:3).  So this event of the Transfiguration, while it is a tremendous revelation of the presence of the Trinity, and of the true divine nature of Christ, also tells us about ourselves and our faith.  For nothing has happened in Christ's mission that was not meant specifically for us, and an act of God's love for us.  Certainly this experience would serve for Peter, James, and John as an unforgettable understanding of Christ and the Kingdom, and also one that would affirm their faith as they went forward into their lives as apostles and leaders of Christ's Church.  These experiences are here in the Gospels for us also, so that we understand better the nature of our faith, and the truth of Christ.  In Greek, the title for the Transfiguration is "Metamorphosis" (Μεταμορφωσις).  This gives us a taste of what our faith is all about, that we as human beings are meant for change and growth, and in following Christ and living His faith, this is what we accept, to change and grow in His image for us.  This is what saints are all about; it is the holiness that comes from devoting oneself to God, and deepening one's reliance upon God.  So let us look to the Transfiguration for the image of the holy light that sanctifies.  Origen comments on this dazzling light, brighter than white, more brilliant than the sun, whiter than gleaming snow, and its transfiguring power.  He says, "The best of human wisdom is bleached and purified by his coming."  So is Christ's effect on everything we might know, preparing all to be a part of His Kingdom.  We know Him in the Church as the Sun of Righteousness; let us become through Him the children of the light. 

 

 

 

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!

 

 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 it happened, as He was alone praying, that 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 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 of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be 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 event which we read about today is called the Transfiguration (in Greek, Μεταμορφωσις/Metamorphosis).  This "altering" of His appearance is a transfiguration.  The specific type of change here gives us a sense of what is being revealed, for this is what is called a theophany, a revelation of God.  In particular this indicates the divinity of Christ, through a display of His uncreated, divine energy.  The white and glistening light from His robe is not a reflection of the sun, but a showing forth of something that is natural to Christ Himself.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus asked the disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" and St. Peter confessed, "You are the Christ of God."  Here, my study Bible points out, several elements of the Transfiguration show that Christ is Messiah and God.  Let us note that this is about eight days after that confession of Christ, and also Christ's first warnings to the disciples about His Passion to come.  This is one hint about what is revealed here, for often the Resurrection is referred to as the eighth day, the beginning of a new kind of life, a new time.  Because God is light, my study Bible says, the light all around demonstrates that He is God.  

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 give us the communion of saints (Hebrews 12:1), all those who live to Christ.  Moses represents the law and all those who have died; while Elijah represents the prophets and -- as Elijah did not experience death (2 Kings 2:11) -- all those who are alive in Christ.  My study Bible comments 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.  There is a lengthy note on what is translated here as Christ's decease.  In Greek this word is exodus/εξοδος which literally means "departure" or "road out."  It refers to Christ's death.  My study Bible says that His death is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, because Christ is glorified through His death (John 12:23).  The term "exodus" reveals that Christ's Passion is a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover, and that it is the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.  My study Bible adds that this revelation of divine power confirms that Christ's death will not be imposed upon Him by outside forces, but will be a voluntary offering of love -- no arresting soldier could have withstood such glory if Christ had not consented (Matthew 26:53).  And this will be the understanding that the disciples take with them.  

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.  Note that Moses and Elijah are recognizable to Peter, also affirming the communion of saints in Christ.  My study Bible tells us that these aspects of the Transfiguration are seen by Peter as confirmation that the Kingdom has come.  He knows that the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot, which incidentally takes place this week) is the feast of the coming Kingdom, and so he asks to build tabernacles (also called booths, or tents), as was done at that feast, to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  This event makes possible the understanding of John the Baptist as one who came "in the spirit and power of Elijah" at the time of the Messiah (Luke 1:17), rather than a return of Elijah himself, which many expected as an interpretation of Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6).  

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.  Finally, the Holy Trinity is manifest here at the Transfiguration.  The Father's voice is heard from heaven testifying to Christ's divine sonship, and the Spirit is present in the form of the white and glistening light surrounding Christ's person, and the cloud overshadowing the whole mountain. 

The Transfiguration presents us with a kind of "fullness" about who Christ is.  This event, occurring about eight days after Peter's confession, and Jesus' affirmation that He is the Christ, together with His prophesy of His Passion, more fully reveals what it is to be the "Christ of God" (see yesterday's reading, above).  We're given a theophany, a revelation of God.  And this is God in a complete sense -- not that all possibilities and manifestations of God are present in explicit detail for the disciples, but that God the Holy Trinity is here, Jesus revealed as divine Son is here.  These are all stunning and vivid images that the disciples will take with them as they proceed together with Jesus toward Jerusalem and His Passion.  This vision will sustain them through what will unfold, and it informs the experience of the Passion from the correct point of view -- giving to the disciples, and to we faithful who follow, the correct picture of Christ's voluntary sacrifice, His defeat of death and sin, and the power of the Cross.  For it is not only Christ who is transfigured in this event, but this event defines the very power of Christ in our world.  His death on the Cross will forever transfigure death and suffering, turning the most dreaded instrument of the Empire's punishment into a symbol of Resurrection and the power to conquer evil.  Transfiguration is the very act which characterizes Christian faith, for redemption and salvation have the effect of transfiguring us, the divine power of God helping us internally to turn away from sin, to become transfigured in the image of Christ into those faithful who may produce spiritual fruits (Galatians 5:22-23).  The revelation we're given through the Transfiguration gives us the fullness of the picture of Christ's identity, which we must take with us through His Passion, death, and Resurrection -- especially through His suffering on the Cross.  We can take away from Him neither His humanity nor His divinity, for both inform us of His voluntary suffering on our behalf, His willingness to lay down His life for His friends (John 15:13), and His Ascension through which our humanity becomes a part of heaven, preparing the way for the end of the age.  Let us consider His transfiguring power in us, for this is part of the work of faith in the One revealed to us.  

 

 

This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased

 

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

 

- Matthew 3:13–17 

 

 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

 

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  My study Bible comments that Jesus does not need purification.  By making the purification of humanity His own, He would wash away humanity's sin, grant regeneration, and reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  Therefore Christ's baptism is necessary for the fulfillment of God's righteous plan of salvation.  My study Bible quotes St. Gregory of Nyssa:  "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."  

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.   My study Bible notes that the Spirit of God hovered over the water at the first creation (Genesis 1:2).  Now, the Holy Spirit comes in the form of a dove to anoint the Messiah, the Son of God, at the beginning of the new creation.  Jesus does not become the Son of God this day; rather, it is a revelation to all on this day that He is the Son of God.  The Holy Spirit has always rested upon Him.  From the time of the ancient Church, this day is celebrated as Epiphany (meaning manifestation or revelation) or Theophany (meaning a manifestation of God) on January 6th.  In the very early Church (and still in the Armenian Apostolic Church), Baptism was commemorated together with Nativity on January 6th, celebrating both Christ's human birth, and the birth of His public ministry when He is revealed to the world as Son.  Let us note that Baptism is to be "born again" or born "from above" as the text in John 3:1-8 makes clear.

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  This quotation is from Psalm 2:7:  "You are My Son/Today I have begotten You."  My study Bible asks us to note how the Baptism of Jesus reveals the great mystery of the Trinity:  the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends, the Incarnate Son is baptized.

Among other things noted by my study Bible, it also remarks about Christ's Baptism that in it, Christ prefigured His own death, giving baptism its ultimate meaning, and also that Christ entered the waters and thus sanctified the water itself for baptism for all.  In the waters of baptism, we are immersed (at least this was so for the early practices of the Church, and continues in many), symbolizing death.  We die to the old self, to the old realities, to the old concepts of life, and in coming up we are meant to be prepared for entry into a new Kingdom, giving us a new orientation and understanding of our lives.  This is most important, and all too often, we forget that this is so.  Baptism, therefore, is not simply a one-time experience and put behind us, but an experience which is meant to be lived every day.  And, in an important parallel to this (and as my study Bible's note indicates), we are meant to live and participate in Christ's own suffering, death, and Resurrection as the constant presence in our lives, symbolized by the Cross.  This is why the Cross is universally symbolic of Christians and Christianity.  We mistake our faith, and dilute its presence in our lives if we don't understand this.  We will also strip our own experiences of meaning that is helpful and necessary in order for us to understand our place in the world as Christians, and especially the spiritual reality that is meant to be our journey through life as members of this particular Kingdom.  As members of this Kingdom, we are meant to have a particular loyalty and a particular outlook -- and as adopted children and members of this "Name" that alliance becomes a part of our very fiber of identity and meaning.  Taking the Eucharist simply deepens this to total nourishment of body, soul, and spirit in this identity.  In the next reading, we will read about Christ's temptations by the devil.   This reminds us that as a part of our baptism, we are also asked to "take sides," so to speak, because the Kingdom to which we belong has an opponent whose presence is felt also in our world.   Just as we become immersed within the death to an old life, and a birth of a new, so we are also asked three times to renounce the devil and the ways of evil in the world.   Baptism is also historically called "Illumination" and we are meant to have our eyes opened and illuminated for discernment in a world where this is necessary, particularly as those who follow Christ.  These are mystical realities that run deeper than the surface or simply intellectual concepts or symbols; they exist on all of these levels for us, just as we are not merely physical bodies but also incorporate spirit and soul.   Christ fulfills all righteousness in His Incarnation because, while He is revealed as Son and divine, He lives a life of righteousness for human beings as One who is also fully human.  He thus, in His divinity, sanctifies the waters for all for baptism.  Let us consider how we live our baptism every day, how death and rebirth define us and our experiences in life, for by participating in His life, we may constantly be renewed in the Spirit who rests upon Him, our lives refreshed in the waters of holiness for meaning and direction and refreshment.

 

 

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 when Jesus 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.   After six days would seem to indicate this is the seventh day; that is, the fullness of the time after Christ revealed not only His identity (as confessed by Peter on behalf of all of the disciples), but also after His revelation to them that He will suffer and be killed and rise again on the third day.   To go up on a high mountain is to prepare for a profound spiritual experience, and this is indeed a revelation of God.  That Christ was transfigured (Greek μεταμορφόω/metamorpho) in this revelation gives us a deep basis for an understanding of the fullness of Christianity itself.  Christ is transfigured to reveal His identity:  that His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them is a revelation of divine light.  In icons this often appears with a blue tinge, indicating a heavenly light beyond white, beyond the full spectrum of worldly light.  In Luke's Gospel, Elijah and Moses discuss Christ's decease (Luke 9:31) -- that is, literally in the Greek, His ἔξοδον/exodus or "departure."  My study Bible comments that Christ's death is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, for Christ is glorified through His death (John 12:23).  Elijah represents the Prophets -- and, since he did not experience death (see 2 Kings 2:11), all those who are alive in Christ.  Moses the Law and all those who have died.  We should recall here that Jesus referred to Himself as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 5:17). 

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.  Peter speaks from an understanding of the Feast of Tabernacles (in which tabernacles or tents were erected to commemorate the time when Israel wandered in the desert) as the feast of the coming Kingdom.  Moses and Elijah are immediately recognizable and  evidently known to Peter, and as such they represent the communion of saints who are always present with Christ.  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.  

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.   The brilliant light of Christ's clothes, the brightness of the cloud which overshadowed the whole mountain (Matthew 17:5) reveal the presence of the Spirit, while the Father's voice testifies to Christ as His beloved Son, and commands that they "Hear Him!"  These elements make the Transfiguration a theophany, a manifestation of God 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."   The disciples' question regarding Elijah's return refers to the prophecy in Malachi 4:5-6.  After witnessing the appearance of Moses and Elijah speaking with Christ in the Transfiguration, the disciples are now able to understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him" as a reference to John the Baptist (see Matthew 11:11-14, 17:12-13).

 

The Transfiguration plays an important role in understanding our lives as followers of Christ, and the ways in which faith and grace are at work in us.  It gives us a sense of the work of grace to help to reveal and transform.  Christ's Transfiguration revealed His identity, who He truly was and is.  So it is that we also see the Incarnation as having a transfiguring effect upon the world, and through the life and ministry of Christ -- and in particular through the Cross.  It's important to understand that the word in Greek, Metamorphosis, means transformation.  Effectively it is the power of Christ that transfigures everything.  This includes the power to remit sin, the power and grace that is at work in us to help to transfigure or transform us to the true image in which our Creator has made us, to reveal our own true identities through the transfiguring effect of our faith in Christ and the subsequent work of the Holy Spirit in us.  Christ transfigured the ultimate effect of evil -- death itself -- through the Cross.  The Orthodox chant on Easter:  "Christ is risen from the dead, by death trampling death, and giving life to those in the tombs."  St. Paul calls death "the last enemy" (see 1 Corinthians 15:26-28).  He writes of this effect which transfigures even the evil of the world, quoting from Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14:  "So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 'O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?'" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).  As the ancient world saw Christ, the Incarnation held this deepest meaning:  that God who became Man in turn transformed and healed everything, for only by assuming every single aspect of our humanity and engaging in the worldly life in which He voluntarily endured even suffering and death, could He heal all of the above.  This is what the Transfiguration reveals to us, and gives to us, and why the Cross is linked to it through glory.  When we go through our own difficulties with life in this world, with the effects of sin (our own or that of others) let us remember the Transfiguration -- the transfiguring power of Christ, and of the Cross.  For these apply in our own lives each day.

And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased"

 

Dove of the Holy Spirit, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1660.  St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

 

 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

 

- Luke 3:15–22 

 

Yesterday we began reading in Luke chapter 3:  Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, 'Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do them?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

 

Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  In Israel at this time, John cuts such a great holy figure that the people reasoned whether he was the Christ or not.  But it is very important to note about the character of John that he immediately establishes he is not, and compares himself to the "One mightier than I," and "whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  My study bible explains John's use of fire in this context as having the primary meaning of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is given to the world at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), and which in our recent readings from John's Gospel, Jesus repeatedly promised the disciples in His Farewell Discourse (John 14 - 16) and spoke of in His High Priestly Prayer, praying for unity and love (John 17).  My study bible says that John's use of "fire" also declares the judgment of Christ, in which the faithless will burn (see 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2:8).   It is most essential that we understand this fire is one and the same.  It is the same Power and the same Spirit which both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless.  

 

 But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  Herod had divorced his own wife, and married his brother Philip's wife, Herodias, while Philip was still living.  John the Baptist denounced this as contrary to Jewish Law.

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."  My study bible comments here that Jesus Himself doe snot need baptism.  In being baptized, our Lord accomplished several things, it says.  Among them, He affirmed John's ministry.  Moreover, He was revealed by the Father and the Holy Spirit to be the Christ, God's beloved Son.  He also identified with His people by descending into the waters with them.  In addition, He prefigured His own death, which gives baptism its ultimate meaning.  And as He entered the waters, He sanctified the water itself.  This act of baptism also fulfilled the many "types" which are given in the Old Testament, such as when Moses led the people from bondage through the Red Sea (Exodus 14), and when the ark of the covenant was carried into the Jordan so the people could enter the Promised Land (Joshua 3, 4).  Finally, Christ opened heaven to a world which was separated from God through sin.  

As I mentioned above, there is a tie between today's reading and the readings we completed in John's Gospel earlier this week, and last week.  That tie is the presence and introduction of the Holy Spirit.  Importantly, the Holy Spirit makes a prominent appearance at this event, the Baptism of Jesus, which is considered to be the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.  The Holy Spirit is such a marker of the times that Jesus initiates through His ministry that it seems inescapable we should mention the words from John's Gospel.  In His Farewell Discourse to the disciples, He said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).  This powerful moment of Baptism is a hallmark for the appearance of the Holy Spirit -- and indeed of the Holy Trinity.  (For this reason, it is called Theophany in the Orthodox tradition, meaning a manifestation of God.)   In the earliest years of the Church, and to this day in the Armenian Apostolic Church, this "birth" of Jesus' public ministry was celebrated together with Nativity, before the date of the Feast of the Nativity was moved to December 25th.  But it is most important that my study bible observes John's discussion of the "Holy Spirit and fire" as the distinction of the Christ, the Messiah, and what Christ will bring into the world.  In the quotation from John 16, we find Jesus' words elaborating the mission and role of the Holy Spirit in the time we have lived since then.  But also it is essential that we understand these words in the context of the explanation that the fire of the Spirit, such as was experienced by Moses at the burning bush, for example (Exodus 3:1-6), is the same fire described as the experience of hell.  For it is the Holy Spirit which will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment; the same Spirit of truth that exposes both what is holy and what is not, which burns away that which is contrary to God, and enlivens that which is good and holy.   What we might experience as burning might be a burning away of what we don't need, or a quickening of energy that is telling us something moving and powerful, affirming the good.  An expression of the latter one might call the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, when they asked, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:32).  So let us take this beginning of Christ's ministry with the important observations we can make about it, and tying it to the work of the Holy Spirit, so crucial to Jesus' parting words about the time of the world He was initiating until His Return.  For John the Baptist, let us regard him in light of his stature in the spiritual history of humanity, for he is the last and greatest of the prophets.  His radical poverty mirrors his humility before God, and his praise of Christ.  He still serves as a model for all of us, faithfully playing his role as friend of the Bridegroom and servant of God.

 

This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased

 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 

- Matthew 3:13-17

Yesterday we read that, as he preached repentance in the wilderness of Judea, when John the Baptist saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.  And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."  Then he allowed Him.  My study bible explains here that Jesus does not need purification.  It says that by making the purification of humanity His own, He would wash away humanity's sin, grant regeneration, and also reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  Therefore, this particular Baptism is fitting to fulfill God's righteous plan of salvation.  Gregory of Nyssa is quoted by my study bible:  "Jesus enters the filthy, sinful waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up and purifies the entire world with Him."

Then he allowed Him.  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  The Spirit of God hovered over the water at the first creation in Genesis 1:2.  Here the Holy Spirit comes in the form of a dove in anointing the Messiah, the Son of God, at the beginning of the new creation.  My study bible makes the important point that this anointing does not make Jesus the Son of God upon this day.  Instead it is understood as a revelation of Christ's true identity to the world.  The Holy Spirit has always rested upon the Son.  On January 6th, the Orthodox Churches celebrate a feast day known as Epiphany (meaning, in Greek, manifestation or revelation) or Theophany (meaning a manifestation of God).  This celebration both commemorates this day and points to the age to come.  In the earliest years of the Church, this event was commemorated on the same day as Nativity, and this is still the case of the Armenian Apostolic Church.  We understand through such that Christ's birth into the world, and this beginning of His ministry (and thus also the beginning of "end times" - the age in which we still live)  are understood in the same sense.  Thus is "all righteousness" fulfilled, as Jesus indicates.

And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."   This quotation is from Psalm 2:7:  "You are My Son, / Today I have begotten You."  In Christ's Baptism at the Jordan, the great mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed:  the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends, and the Incarnate Son is baptized.

Let us consider what revelation is; in this case, the revelation of the Holy Trinity takes place at Jesus' Baptism.  Does that mean that this is the first time the Holy Trinity exists?  No, it does not.  Neither does it mean that Christ became "beloved Son" on this day.  The words of God the Father about the beloved Son, "in whom I am well pleased" give us a sense not only of the Father's love of the Son, but also of the ministry which is begun in a way fitting to fulfill all righteousness.  The revelation is to us, it is "good news" to us, something to startle the world -- and perhaps something "hidden from the foundation of the world" (13:35).  The Trinity exists in an eternal state, without beginning discernible in the sense in which we could understand it.  Therefore what is revealed to human beings is that which has existed since before time -- before the world as we know it and experience it.  But Christ's Baptism helps to fulfill all righteousness by manifesting this eternal truth and reality into our world, so that we can understand it and move toward that fulfillment in ourselves as well.  And this is the reality of prophetic revelation:  it gives us something that may be eternal, but it is something of which we are either ignorant or need to be reminded.  In this light, from the beginning of our faith, and before, it has been understood that time exists in at least two different states.  There is the time of this world and of our lives, in which we grow as human beings, moving from one choice to another, from one understanding or state to another.  And then there is the "time" of God which is no time at all, but outside of time as we understand it, an eternal reality, from "before" time existed.  As such, we might consider time itself as a gift to us, as a sense in which we might grow and change, and to have time for repentance.  It is also necessary to our own gift of free will; that is, so that we may exercise our own choices for direction in life, for choosing that in which we place our trust, and that in which we don't.  In these senses, Christ's Baptism in the Jordan by John opens up for us all considerations of all of creation and why it exists, and also our place, seemingly in the middle of it.  For if the waters for Christian baptism are sanctified through the Baptism of Christ by John, then time indeed seems to double back upon itself in which we might even consider a type of Eucharistic sense:  God gave us the world and everything in it, but when those waters are given to God through Christ's Baptism by a human being, God returns them to us sanctified for baptism with the Holy Spirit (see in yesterday's reading, above, the Baptist's words about the Christ:  "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire").  Therefore time as we know it, and time as it exists in an eternal sense of Father, Son, and Spirit intersect.  In our liturgies we commemorate the sacrifice of Christ for the love of the world, and over and over again, as such, time continues to intersect, even as we celebrate and worship with the angels of heaven.  In this way we know creation as both a gift and also fitting for sacrifice -- and to be returned to us with God's greater blessing and grace.  And so it is that this teaches us how each of us can live our lives.  What do you have in your life that you would like redeemed, blessed, sanctified, returned to you with greater blessing from the Lord?  He is baptized in the waters of the earth and sanctifies them for us all for the blessing of our baptism with the Holy Spirit.  Do you have a problem that needs help?  Give that -- even in sacrifice -- to the Lord.  Do you have a blessing such as may be considered personal wealth?  Then do the same.  Are you blessed with certain talents and gifts, or perhaps with what you consider to be handicaps, one way and another?  Then "sacrifice" them, any and all, to the Lord, and see how the Lord returns it to you.  Through the Baptism, we understand the revelation of the Lord and of the Holy Trinity, not as something merely given to us just then, but as something which intersects our world through our own capacity for interaction and worship, to reveal what we need and what is good for us, what it is that truly blesses us.  Remember that Crucifixion has taught us the same, in which the most dreaded instrument of punishment reserved for the worst criminals was given to God, and returned to us as symbol of salvation, redemption, and victory over even the last enemy, death.  Let us think of the blessings of our faith, the choices we can make, even for "sacrifice" in this sense -- and move into the revelation God offers us, all the time.