Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 

- Matthew 16:13-20 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  My study Bible comments on today's entire passage that Christ's question, "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question that a person can ever face.  This is precisely because it is the question that defines Christianity.  Peter's correct answer to the question prevents the Christian faith from being seen or known as simply another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  This is because Jesus is the one and only Son of the living God.  Such a position excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  As Jesus indicates in His response to St. Peter here, St. Peter's understanding could not be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (see 1 Corinthians 12:3).  My study Bible points out that Christ means "Anointed One," the equivalent of the Hebrew title "Messiah."  It also asks us to note that Christ first draws out mistaken opinions about Himself.  He does this to identify incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

 

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  My study Bible explains that Peter/rock is a play on the word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).  This rock does not refer to St. Peter per se, but rather to "the faith of his confession" according to St. John Chrysostom.  The true Rock, my study Bible tells us, is Christ Himself (and so says St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:4), and the whole of the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades are the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible says, "gates" suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering its gates, Christ has opened the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous.  So therefore, the Church also shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  Moreover, my study Bible tells us that the term church is mentioned only twice in all the gospels, here and in Matthew 18:17.  This Church is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly.  

 

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  My study Bible says that the keys of the kingdom is a reference to a special authority that will be given both to Peter and the other apostles after the Resurrection (see Matthew 18:18; John 20:23).  St. Peter was not a leader over the others, but rather among them.  This truth was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (see Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and where St. Peter advised, but St. James presided.  This is the New Testament witness concerning St. Peter -- his role should neither be expanded, nor should it be diminished in opposition to such claims.  My study Bible also notes for us that binding and loosing is a reference primarily "to absolve sins," according to St. John Chrysostom (see John 20:23).  But it includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles.  This authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church, and it continues in effect to this day.

 

There is a kind of dual impact of the information revealed in today's reading.  There is first of all the authority which Jesus confers to His apostles, and particularly through St. Peter, who was known as "first among equals" in the continuing spirit of conciliarity which guides the Church and is its aim.  But there is also the powerful, extraordinary understanding that Jesus is the Christ -- and that "flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  Let us remember that when Jesus will speak to the apostles of the sending of the Helper, the Holy Spirit,  He tells them that the Holy Spirit will be sent from the Father, and through Christ's prayers (see John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7).  This is very important, because it truly teaches us that Christ's life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension has the effect of bringing humanity into deeper communion not only with Christ, but also the Father and the Holy Spirit.  For if the Father -- as Jesus says in today's passage -- is working in St. Peter to effect this revelation, then how much more is promised through the fullness of the effects of Christ's mission to us as Incarnate Jesus and His completion of that mission in Resurrection and Ascension?  We really cannot estimate the fullness of what this means, and the fruits it will bear, has borne, and will continue to bear in our lives and in our world.  We simply don't know how to calculate what God does among us, and what God will do.  But we can look around ourselves and see what that has meant, even if we can't know its fullness.  See, for example, the work of the secular historian and award-winning author Tom Holland, titled Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, in which he examines the effect of Christ upon our world through the present day.  Moreover, this "remaking" of the world is ongoing, continuing not only through the present time but through the future we don't yet know.  We are assured of this in Revelation 21:15, in which "He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.'"  The English translation does not completely capture the meaning of the Greek, in which the word "make" is in a continuing present tense, better translated as "I am always making all things new."  For this is the reality of the Church and the fullness of Christ and Christ's ongoing work in our world, and we simply cannot know all that this entails, including all the possible dimensions it might indicate of which we are unaware.  But we can know the graciousness and love of God for the world and for us human beings, for so God has granted to us this enormous, inestimable gift of salvation, to be with God in the fullness of eternal life and what that might entail for us and for our world.  Let us marvel at this extraordinary gift, coming to us through St. Peter's confession on behalf of all of the apostles, and indeed of all of us, and through the revelation of our Father who is in heaven, as Jesus says. There is no greater honor nor gift in potential for all of us.  Let us truly place the value of this blessed treasure as is appropriate to is, for taken in this perspective, our faith is everything.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was transfigured before them. 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 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.  The event described in today's reading is known as the Transfiguration (Μεταμορφωσις/Metamorphosis in the Greek).  This is a theophany, meaning a manifestation of God.  In particular there is the manifestation or appearance of the divinity of Christ, through a display of what is understood in Orthodoxy as His uncreated, divine energy -- appearing as dazzling light.  St. John writes that God is light (1 John 1:5); so His shining, exceedingly white clothing such as  no launderer on earth can whiten them, demonstrate that Jesus is God.  In some icons this color is shown as beyond white, tinted blue-white, meaning an ineffable, inexpressible color of spiritual origin.

 

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.  Here is the presence of the kingdom of heaven; Moses and Elijah give us the reality of the communion of saints Hebrews 12:1), always present, and they communicate with Jesus.  They are both immediately recognizable (where we know and are known; see 1 Corinthians 13:12).  In Peter's confusion and fear, as he knows that the Feast of Tabernacles is the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, he suggests the building of tents or tabernacles for them as was done at that feast (symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom).  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.  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 bright cloud recalls  temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, which my study Bible calls the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  The Father's voice combines with the Spirit in the brightness of the cloud and the dazzling light around Christ, while the identity of Christ revealed as beloved Son to manifest 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.  What they have seen is true and real, but throughout St. Mark's Gospel so far, Jesus has emphasized the need to keep the messianic secret until the proper time it can be revealed.  Note the mystery; they question 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."  Now the disciples are prepared to understand that Christ is referring to St. John the Baptist.  When He says that Elijah has also come already, He indicates that Malachi's prophesy of the return of Elijah (Malachi 4:5) refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.  

 

The Transfiguration comes to us as a manifestation, a "showing forth" of Christ's true identity.  This occurs in a kind of symbolic language, a language of light, of sound in the Father's voice, of vision and recognition in the appearance of Moses and Elijah.  And all of these things occur in the presence of witnesses, the three who are known as the pillars among His disciples, and that, too, happens for an important reason.  Not only will they remember this experience during the time of the horrific events they will live through during the Passion and Christ's crucifixion and death.  But they are those who tell us for posterity, and this, too, occurs for an important reason.  For our earliest Christian ancestors, and for the first millennium of the Church, this experience of Transfiguration was an important factor in understanding the whole purpose of Christ's mission into our world, and how exactly we come to be saved.  This is because this notion of transfiguration, of metamorphosis, to use the borrowed Greek word in our language, is the effect of grace upon us.  Most powerfully, throughout the course of the history of the Church, the words of our early Church Fathers and theologians have come to us indicating that God became human, so that we human beings could become [like] God.  This doesn't happen merely through a kind of deductive reasoning, or simply asking ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" or any other sort of purely imitative behaviors.  It happens first of all because of the Incarnation.  Divinity has touched human flesh and human experience, and this becomes a part of our world, a part of the fabric of the created world, where even in His Resurrection and Ascension, human flesh may rise and ascend with Him, and thus humanity.  This is opening the doors to salvation.  Through grace, and our cooperation with that grace, through the workings of the Holy Spirit, the Helper and Counselor sent to us by Christ and the Father, we also are given a kind of blueprint for our lives, a transformative, transfiguring grace, so that we may grow in the fruits of the Spirit.  These fruits become evidence of our own metamorphosis, our own transfiguration, so that we are changed as people, and we become more compatible with the Kingdom and its reality, preparing the way for us to dwell in Christ's many mansions.  We, like Christ, are able to bear the Kingdom into the world, and share the light placed in us, and magnified through the work of grace, and our acceptance and cooperation with that grace.  The Transfiguration shows us who Christ really is, but it also gives us the unseen reality that is always there whether we know it or not.  The light of God is with us, and it is within us.  God's love and mercy always awaits our attention and acceptance.  But because of the Transfiguration, we have a sense of what that is and means.  Let us always remember the light of the world, our true Light, and where it comes from.

 

 

 

 

He was transfigured before them

 

Transfiguration of our Lord, 6th century, mosaic.  St. Catherine's Monastery (apse of the great basilica), Sinai, Egypt

 

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

 

- Matthew 17:1-13 

 

On Saturday we read that from the time of the confession of St. Peter (on behalf of all the disciples) that Jesus is the Christ, He 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 on 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 . . .  My study Bible comments here 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).  

 

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  The event described in today's reading is called the Transfiguration, after this word here (in Greek, Μεταμόρφωσης/Metamorphosis).  This is what is called a "theophany," meaning a manifestation of God.  This in particular is a manifestation of the divinity of Christ, through a display of what the Orthodox term His uncreated, divine energy.  My study Bible explains 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 garment, all demonstrate that Jesus is God.  

 

 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."  My study Bible tells us 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.  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.  Additionally, my study Bible says that the presence of Moses and Elijah manifests the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:1).  Both of them are immediately recognizable and they speak with the Lord.  St. Peter understands the presence of the Kingdom, and knowing that the Feast of Tabernacles was the feast of the coming kingdom, he suggests they build tabernacles (or tents) as was done at that feast, serving as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.

 

 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"   Here is the Holy Trinity manifest in this theophany, for Christ is transfigured in dazzling white (portrayed in icons as whiter than white, often blue to indicate its ineffable color), the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Christ's divine sonship, and the Spirit is present in the form of a dazzling cloud surrounding Christ's person and overshadowing the mountain.   This bright cloud recalls temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, as my study Bible puts it, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.

 

 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.  After the experience of the communion of saints, of Moses and Elijah speaking with Christ, the disciples are now capable of understanding that Christ's words, "Elijah has come already" refers to John the Baptist.  My study Bible says that their eyes have been opened to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) refers to one coming "In the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.  

 

The light of Christ is in some way more than light, more than the light we know.  Hence,  the blue tinge in the icon of the Transfiguration, above.  This icon is a mosaic from St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, Egypt, fittingly built atop the mountain by Emperor Justinian before 565 A.D.   That blue tint to the light signifies it is ineffable, meaning that it is not fully comprehensible to us, to human beings.  Like God, the light is considered to be God's uncreated light.  It is something that belongs to God; that is, to the One who "in the beginning" was already "with God" and "was God" (John 1:1).  This is not the light of the created natural world which comes from the sun, which we already know as dazzling and beautiful, but something beyond that.  This is the light of the Creator Himself.  This is the light of God.  The blue tint is a symbol of that light that rendered Christ's clothing "exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them" (Mark 9:3).  And it is in this light of divine origin, made manifest to an extent that the disciples are able to have a vision of God's glory, that Christ is transfigured before them.  This transfiguration is a change in appearance, but not a change in substance, for Christ's divinity is being made manifest for them to see.  This light is the light of Christ and has always been and belonged to Christ; it is the light He brings into the world even as incarnate human being.  But it is also, importantly, the light of Christ's grace that truly transfigures us.  By the grace of Baptism and all the sacraments of the Church, so we also may be transfigured, truly changed through the effects of grace and the power of the Lord, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and Christ's transfiguring mission of the Cross in our world and our lives.  So this is the true belonging that comes for us so that we may dwell within that Kingdom, just as St. Peter intuits in today's reading; this manifestation is all about the Kingdom dwelling among the just in the "tents" of those whose hearts make a place for the Lord (Revelation 3:20).  This ineffable light is the light of grace that helps us find solutions to problems that seem insoluble, that helps us to transform into those with discipline we did not have over ourselves once upon a time, that grows holiness even in the face of great evil.  When we seek to discount this ineffable reality, and "bargain" it down to something we think we can control, and solve, and define on our terms, then we miss out on the truth of God, which is so much bigger and greater than all of us.  Let us ponder this light, because it still leads us if we have faith.  It still has plans to reveal to us, visions of things we could not imagine, manifestations of that which is too far above ourselves to conceive.  In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul quotes from the prophet Isaiah, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 64:4).  So it was true for the prophet, it was true for St. Paul, it remains true for us, and as they both affirm, it starts with love.  Let us never forget the adventure of faith, of the love of God, and the holiness Christ asks us to pursue, in this ineffable  light that comes to us through Him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 From that time 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 on 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."  

 

- Matthew 16:21–28 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 

From that time 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 on 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."  My study Bible comments that, after  Peter's confession (see yesterday's reading, above), Jesus reveals the true nature of His messiahship:  the mystery of His Passion.  It was expected that the Messiah would reign forever, so the idea that Christ would die was perplexing to Peter, and it remained scandalous to the Jews even after Christ's Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  Peter unwittingly speaks for Satan, as the devil did not want Christ to fulfill His mission and save mankind through suffering and death.  

 

 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."  The cross was dreaded instrument of Roman punishment, my study Bible explains, and at the same time it is a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  It notes that we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  To accept this suffering is not punishment and neither is it an end in itself; it is rather a means whereby the fallen world is overcome for the sake of the Kingdom, and to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).  

 

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  According to my study Bible, the central paradox of Christian living is that in grasping for temporal things, we lose the eternal -- but in sacrificing everything in this world, we gain eternal riches that are unimaginable (1 Corinthians 2:9). 

 

"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."  This question places emphasis on the foolishness of accumulating worldly wealth or power, my study Bible says, for none of these things can redeem a fallen soul of a human being, nor benefit a person in the life to come. 

 

 "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."  My study Bible says that this is a reference to those who would witness the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9, in the reading that follows), as well as those in each generation who will experience the presence of God's Kingdom.  

 

 Perhaps Jesus frames the tone of today's reading in this remark to St. Peter, after he protests that Jesus should not die: "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."   From here Jesus goes on to express the idea that it is not only He who must go to the Cross, but all of us have a cross to bear in order to follow Him:  "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?"  As my study Bible explains it, and as Jesus characterizes what it means to take up our cross, doing so forms a kind of exchange.  The cross is a way of "crucifixion" of our lives, of transformation and change, but perhaps more explicitly we can think of it in terms of exchange.  We seek to transfigure our lives by offering to God whatever it is we have or do, whatever circumstances we face in life, in exchange for God's way of sanctification and holiness, God's way to meet the worldly.  If I must give up an abusive but nevertheless fond relationship in the pursuit of my faith, then this is a kind of crucifixion in which Christ offers me a better way than the worldly way I know and am used to.  If I must make sacrifices for one whom I love who is ill, in order to care for them and nurture a truly loving relationship, this is a call to the cross, a transfiguration of my life into one committed and dedicated to love and compassion.  Such a sacrifice takes me beyond myself and my previously understood limits, teaches me what more I can be than I had previously understood.  If I am capable of following the fasting practices of the Church, I learn a discipline of the body that makes me a stronger person than I thought I was, more capable of saying "No" to things that are not good or healthy, in whatever dimension of life we might be speaking of:  over-consumption of destructive online content, indulging in gossip or unnecessary fighting, spending my time in ways that are more productive than wasting it -- perhaps giving time over to prayer.  In this way, any manner or aspect of life may be "crucified" and we take up our crosses to become more like Christ, transfigured, reshaped in His light.  Jesus will go to the Cross exchanging His worldly life as Jesus for His Resurrection and Ascension; taking even human flesh to God, crushing the gates of death, and opening the door to heaven and eternal life for all of us.  This is not just a sacrifice, but salvation, a triumphant liberation for all of the world and all of creation, for He is our Savior, our Lord, the only One who could do it and show us the way to our own crosses, and even to the holiness of God.  Let us understand the holy exchange in which we take up our own crosses, and save our souls in so doing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid

 

 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  Now when evening came, He was alone there.  But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!"  And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  So He said, "Come."  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the son of God."  

 

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick,  and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

 

- Matthew 14:22-36 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus heard that Herod fears His power (because he believed Jesus was John the Baptist, risen from the dead), He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.  But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.  And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.  When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.  Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."  He said, "Bring them here to Me."  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass.  And He took the five loaves the the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.  Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 

 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  Now when evening came, He was alone there.  But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!"  And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."   My study Bible comments here on this passage that only God has dominion over nature; so, therefore, this miracle confirms Christ's divinity.  It's the second time that Christ permits His disciples to be caught in a storm (see Matthew 8:23-27).  The first time Jesus was with them; here He had left them alone.  In this way, Jesus strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the midst of the storms of life.  It is I is literally translated "I Am."  This is the divine Name of God as first revealed to Moses (see Exodus 3:14; John 8:58).  Jesus reminds the fearful disciples that His absolute and divine authority over their lives.

 

  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  So He said, "Come."  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"  My study Bible comments that Peter's faith allows him to walk on the water.  It asks us to note that Peter does not ask to walk on water per se, but to come to Jesus; his desire is not to perform miracles but to be with Christ.  Peter is able to participate in this divine miracle so long as he keeps his focus on Christ.  As soon as Peter is distracted, he begins to sink.  

 

  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  According to my study Bible, the Greek term for doubt here means "wavering" or "hesitation."  The cause of Peter's sinking was not the storm, but the doubt; so therefore Christ does not rebuke the wind, but Peter.  

 

 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the son of God."   My study Bible points out that this is the first time the disciples confess that Jesus is the Son of God.  They know that only God can be worshiped, and so they confess His divinity by worshiping Him.  The boat is symbolic of the Church.  

 

 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick,  and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.  My study Bible tells us that Jesus permits miracles through touch which show that His very body is life, and that contact with His flesh is life-creating (see Matthew 9:20-22).  

 

In today's reading, Jesus very distinctly has commanded the disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee; we're told that He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side.  So, one can imagine what it's like when the disciples are in the middle of the sea and being shaken by waves battering against the boat, for the wind was contrary.  If one is a disciple of Jesus Incarnate, taking orders (or rather, commands) directly from Him, one could imagine this would start to lead to some questioning.  There is no doubt that this is what Christ told them to do.  We know that this has happened once before; that is, that Jesus gave them a command to cross to the other side, and they found themselves in a terrifying storm that even the seasoned fishermen among them were afraid would kill them (see this reading).  At this point, they know that drill, for Jesus already rebuked their fear in that previous experience.   But now there is a new twist added to this story.  Let us first consider that they are no doubt fearful, and also that it's about three o'clock in the morning or a little later (in the fourth watch of the night), and we have a recipe for unusual frightening perceptions.  But this time, it's not just these "normal" elements that frighten, but then He comes toward them walking on the sea.  Well, that's enough to frighten anyone, and they believe they see a ghost.  And yet, Jesus responds to their fear with similar words to the ones with which He addressed them the previous time they were stranded and fearful in the middle of the sea:  "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  The word translated as "be of good cheer" might be understood to mean also "take heart" or "take courage."  It's a word meant to convey a warm confidence, an internal emboldening.  This is another command from Christ, and yet another follows it: do not be afraid.  As my study Bible says, all of this is in preparation for the future missions these disciples will have as apostles.  Of course, this has been true throughout history, as Christians have sought to follow the last commandment given by Christ, just before His Ascension:  "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).  We know His word is true, regarding both His authority in heaven and on earth, and His command to make disciples, as well as His promise, "I am with you always."  And yet we also know of the martyrdoms and struggles of Christians everywhere and throughout Christian history, because ours is the way of the cross.  Nonetheless, we know His word is true:  "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."  This remains true, even as He is with us always.

 

 

 

I do not know this Man of whom you speak!

 

 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."  And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.

 

- Mark 14:66–72 

 

Yesterday we read that they led Jesus away to the high priest after seizing Him in the garden of Gethsemane; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.  But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.  And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.  Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.  Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.'"  But not even then did their testimony agree.  And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But He kept silent and answered nothing.  Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  Jesus said, "I am.  And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "What further need do we have of witnesses?  You have heard the blasphemy!  What do you think?"  And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.  Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!"  And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.

 

  Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.  And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth."  But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are saying."   My study Bible comments that a girl being the first to test Peter is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  It says that our fallen state is overcome in Christ when it is women who are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (Mark 16:1-11).  

 

 And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.  And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, "This is one of them."  But he denied it again.  And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, "Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it."  Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this Man of whom you speak!"  A second time the rooster crowed.  Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  And when he thought about it, he wept.   St. Peter is so overcome with fear that neither Christ's prediction of his denial (Mark 14:27-31), nor the first crowing of the rooster calls him to repentance.  But only the second time the rooster crowed called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him.  And when he thought about it, he wept.  My study Bible quotes commentary from St. Ambrose of Milan, saying that nonetheless, "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

 

 We all fail in our courage sometimes.  This is the man -- St. Peter -- whom tradition tells us requested to be crucified upside-down for fear of being considered equal with His Lord.  St. Peter also figures prominently in the Gospels as the one who so often speaks for the rest of the apostles, as he will also figure in the story of the early Church, after Christ's Ascension.  So, this same heroic, stalwart, strong, and courageous St. Peter is the man is today's story -- the one who cannot confess his faith in Christ in front of a servant girl.  To add insult to injury, as the expression goes, he's also the one who swore to Christ, after Jesus warned him that he would deny Him, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" (See this reading.)  Neither should we forget that it is the same St. Peter to whom Jesus issued the unforgettable rebuke, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (see Mark 8:30-33).  So the life of this exemplary disciple (as one who more often than not might be called "first among equals") is filled with ups and downs, humiliating mistakes and failures, grand triumphs, total exuberance, a great and undoubted love of Christ, terrible heartache and fear, and finally the triumph of a martyr.  This is St. Peter.  But perhaps the best thing that St. Peter gives us is his love that is so strong it overcomes his shame and he returns to Christ and the rest of the disciples.  You see, it really seems that this is the great -- perhaps the greatest -- gift that St. Peter gives to us, to all of us, the rest of the Church, and for all time.  Because St. Peter shows us that, like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), we can return to a loving Father, a loving Lord and Master, who does not lose His love for us because we make mistakes and err in our humanity, even multiple times.  It's to St. Peter that Jesus directed the admonition in the garden of Gethsemane, just before His betrayal and arrest, "Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (see again Friday's reading).  And to St. Peter that Jesus said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren" (Luke 22:31).  We note Jesus' confidence that St. Peter would return, and indeed this man so afraid of a servant girl in today's reading would be the one to strengthen his brethren.  As human beings, like St. Peter, even with his great faith, we may go through our own tumult, fear, lack of courage, and insensibility on a number of occasions and for many reasons.  But we need to remember that our story in the Gospels contains all these facts about St. Peter for good reasons, because in him we find ourselves and our direction for our faith:  we return to Christ.  We always must return to Christ.  For we are meant to overcome even ourselves, to grow and gain courage and confidence in our faith, to strengthen one another, to find our deeper faith, and to move forward.  For it is this deepening of faith that is the true universal mark of discipleship:  we seek to grow toward God.  It matters not at all where we are right now, how well our faith and our strength and our courage is serving is or how poorly.  But what matters is our ongoing deepening understanding and growth of our faith, for our destiny is in Him, and that journey is meant to be infinite.  Let us take courage and know that we are meant for this journey.  Like St. Peter, our failures and even shame may become springboards to greater love and truth, and deeper faith in our future.  For he lived knowing that this story would be told of him -- even that he stood outside reduced to cursing and swearing that He did not know the Man while Jesus was on trial; and he died choosing also to serve the Lord in humility even in death.

 

 

 

 

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 wishes, 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.  The phrase after six days can indicate a six day period in between the events in our previous reading (above), which would mean the Transfiguration took place on the eighth day following His teaching regarding the Cross.  The eighth day is associated with the eternal time of the kingdom of heaven, giving us a significance regarding this revelation of Christ's transfiguration before Peter, James, and John.  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 clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.   This event is what is called a theophany; that is, a manifestation of God.  In particular it expresses the divinity of Christ, through a display of what my study Bible calls His uncreated, divine energy.  The Transfiguration, which was celebrated yesterday across many denominations, is a major feast day.  Because God is light (1 John 1:5), my study Bible says, the brilliant light described coming from Jesus' person (and especially His clothes) demonstrates that Jesus is God.  In some icons this light is shown as beyond white, as a blue-white, ineffable color, indicating its spiritual origin.

 

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.   Moses and Elijah represent all that has come before, which points to Christ.  These two indicate Christ's lordship of His kingdom to come.  My study Bible says that Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- since 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, the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament.  The presence of Moses and Elijah is also a manifestation of the communion of the saints, which St. Paul calls "so great a cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1).  Note that both are immediately recognizable by the disciples, and that they speak with the Lord (regardless of which time period they lived earthly lives).  St. Peter, in his confusion, understands the manifestation of the presence of Christ's kingdom; my study Bible says he sees all of this as a sign that the Kingdom has come.  As he knows that the Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, he asks to build tabernacles (also called tents or booths) as is done at that Feast, serving as 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!"  The bright cloud recalls temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present (Exodus 13:21), while the voice of the Father bears witness to Christ as God's Son.  My study Bible asks us to note that God the Father does not say that Jesus has become His beloved Son, but "This is My beloved Son," which indicates that this divine glory showing to the disciples is Christ's by nature.  From eternity past, my study Bible comments, infinitely before Christ's Baptism and Transfiguration, Jesus is God's Son, fully sharing in the essence of the Father.  He is God of God, as the Creed declares.

 

  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.   Let us note that at this point the disciples are mystified at Christ's words, and do not understand 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 wishes, as it is written of him."  After their experience of the presence of Elijah and Moses, the disciples are now able to understand Christ's words that "Elijah has also come" as referring to St. John the Baptist.  Their eyes have now been opened, my study Bible says, to the fact that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5) refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah," as prophesied by the angel of the Lord to Zechariah in Luke 1:17, rather than to Elijah himself.  

 

 Today's reading asks us to see prophecy and the symbolic presence of images with the eyes of those who understand how to read Scripture, in the light of the understanding of what we might call the language of God.  This language is often given to us in the form of symbols, such as Moses and Elijah representing the law and the prophets.  In our very literal-minded modern tendencies, we would perhaps simply view this as a representation of these two people for their individual lives, but that is not the case.  Symbolic language is not literal, and it is the language of Scripture we must try to learn to perceive in order to perceive clearly what we're given in the Gospels.  The cloud that appears overhead, together with the voice of the Father, is more than simply a cloud and a voice -- they represent many things at once, such as the cloud that led the Israelites through the desert, which in turn was God's presence to Israel, with them.  When we recall that Jesus is also called Immanuel in the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14), meaning "God with us," it takes these repeated symbolic layers to a greater depth of meaning and understanding -- for all of these things are true at once, and meant to be understood in the fullness of these senses.  The bright light streaming from His person, His clothes, which became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them, are meant to tell us something, to reveal something to us.  As my study Bible notes, we are meant to recall that God is light (1 John 1:5; John 1:4-9), and therefore this transfiguration consisting of brilliant, unearthly light is meant to communicate to us Christ's divine reality and origin.  These work in a way akin to symbols in dreams and in visions; they communicate to us the deep things of God at levels of depth within ourselves corresponding not just to the intellect or emotions, but to our souls, for the reality of what we're given in Scripture is something stronger than what we know of our waking, surface life and memories -- they give us deeper and more transcendent meaning of realities that extend beyond what we can grasp easily in our conventional daily mindset.  They work similarly to poetry, with echoes of meaning, and perception that works in symbols and images, sometimes in ways we're not conscious of perceiving, but nonetheless remember and might later recall.  This is similar to the experiences of the disciples, who puzzle over Christ's sayings, but later recall after the Holy Spirit was given to them, and they begin to understand.  But, as my study Bible points out, these vivid images received by the disciples will stand them in good stead for the future, when the time of Christ's Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection comes.  Through this experience, they will be able to understand that He voluntarily goes where He goes, and knowledge of His divinity will remain with them.  The Transfiguration also gives us knowledge about the Kingdom, its eternal timelessness, its communion of saints viscerally present to us somehow, and its powerfully transfiguring holiness, which also work with us and in us in ways we don't see but can observe in its effects in our lives.  For this real meaning of Transfiguration, or Metamorphosis, is finally about Christ's effect upon us, the sacramental way we are to participate in His life, death, and Resurrection, the presence of the Kingdom with us and in our worship.  Let us come and receive His light (hymn from the Orthodox Matins of the Resurrection); and walk in the light while we have that light (John 12:35).  In this case, Christ's transfiguration reveals who He truly is, and only He can reveal to us who we truly are through His saving work.

 

 

 

 

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 

 

In our readings from Tuesday, and Wednesday, we were given themes of the kingdom of God, in preparation for yesterday (Thursday) which was the celebration of the Feast of the Ascension (Matthew 28:16-20).  Today's reading takes up where Monday's left off, in which 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 raised on 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.  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.   Our reading today describes the event called the Transfiguration (in Greek, Μεταμόρφωσης/Metamorphosis) after the appearance-altering effect of the brilliant holy light seen by the disciples surrounding Jesus' person, His face, and His clothing, in which even His robe became white and glistening.  These three disciples form Jesus' inner core of His closest disciples, the ones referred to as the "pillars" by St. Paul), the ones whose faith was the strongest.  This event is a theophany, or a revelation of God.  Additionally, the communion of saints is revealed in the appearance of Moses and Elijah, known and recognized by the disciples in this experience.  Christ's decease (in Greek, ἔξοδος/exodus; literally, "departure") refers to His death.  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).  In the liturgical cycle of the Orthodox Church, my study Bible points out, the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6th) comes forty days before the feast of the Holy Cross (September 14th), showing the connection between Christ's glory and His Cross.  That the term exodus is used here in the text is an expression revealing Christ's Passion as a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover, and the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.  Additionally, this revelation of divine power confirms that Christ's upcoming death was not imposed on Him by outside forces, but is a voluntary offering of love.  My study Bible comments that no arresting soldier could withstand such glory if Christ had not consented (Matthew 26:53).  

 

 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.  Peter senses that the Kingdom is close at hand, and knowing that the Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, he suggests building tabernacles for Christ, Moses, and Elijah as was done at that feast, to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  Again, the glory of Christ is a revelation of the divine reality present.  My study Bible further notes that Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- as he didn't experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  Their presence, it says, 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.  

 

 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.  Here, finally, the Holy Trinity is manifest here, as Christ is transfigured and revealed in the brilliant holy light, the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Christ's sonship, and the Spirit is revealed in the form of the dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person, and overshadows the whole mountain.  The bright cloud recalls temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present, as my study Bible notes.  

 

Everything about this extraordinary witness tells us about the presence of the Kingdom, even in our midst.  This transfiguration of Christ is, in fact, a revelation of a reality so deep that it is, in fact, timeless.  Our own experience of time doesn't apply to this experience of the disciples, for as we can read, Moses and Elijah, although living in completely different historical times both from one another and from Christ and the disciples, appear and are immediately recognizable.  All is present here at once, and the knowledge of each person is present to the others as well.   In this sense of a timeless eternal reality, it's understood that the Father's declaration, "This is My beloved Son," indicates that the divine glory witnessed by the disciples is Christ's by nature.  That is, as my study Bible puts it, from eternity past, infinitely before Jesus' Baptism and Transfiguration, He is God's Son, fully sharing in the essence of the Father.  As God is light (1 John 1:5), the bright cloud, the alteration of His appearance, and the white and glistening quality of His clothing, testify to the same.  Thus in the Creed of the Church we can say He is "Light from light, true God of true God."  It's these experiences and stories we're given that define the theology of the Church.  In the hands of the Church Fathers and Mothers, they became tools and prisms through which we have come to know and to understand Christ, and our faith, to the extent that we do.  This would include our understanding that so much of the reality of the kingdom of God is a mystery, and we approach through mystery and the sacraments.  Let us understand that what we're given -- what's revealed to us -- holds so much more than we know.  But it's given to us through the apostles and the life of Christ so that we may find our faith and seek to know and understand. 

 

 

 

Who do you say that I am?

 

 And 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 raised on 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."

 

- Luke 9:18-27 

 

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

 

  And 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."   My study Bible comments that, as in every generation, what the crowds have to say about Jesus is usually unpredictable and misguided.  

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  My study Bible indicates that Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?" is the ultimate question in Scripture and in all theology.  It notes that how this question is answered will define the universe.  Christ (from a Greek word equivalent to the Hebrew Messiah) means "Anointed One."  This declaration by Peter that Jesus is the Christ of God reveals that Jesus is not simply another anointed king of prophet.  He is the long-awaited Savior.   

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 raised on the third day."    My study Bible tells us that Jesus desires to keep His identity as the Christ hidden in order to avoid popular political and theological misunderstandings.  It's only after His Passion and Resurrection that His identity as Messiah can be understood.  Other factors involved include the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders, and our Lord's desire to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on miraculous works or signs.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus quotes from the prophesy of Isaiah, emphasizing that Christ is the fulfillment of that Servant of whom Isaiah speaks (see Matthew 12:16-21).  My study Bible comments that this Servant first of all refers to Christ, and by extension to all who follow Him (as expressed in Jesus' words in the following verses).

 

 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."  My study Bible asks us to note two things.  First, that each person must take up one's own cross.  The burden in this world, it says, is different for every person, for each has been chosen by God to bear certain struggles for our own salvation and for the salvation of those around us.  Second, we note that our cross is to be taken up daily.  So, a commitment to follow Christ isn't merely a one-time event.  To follow Christ asks a continuing practice of faith and obedience -- even to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world.  

But I tell you truly, there are some standing here  who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  My study Bible indicates that Christ is here referencing those who will witness the Transfiguration (Matthew 9:28-36).

 

 Jesus asks His disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  The disciples give the answers from the crowds:  "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  All of these answers are mistaken, of course.  The crowds don't know who Jesus is, and collectively they can't come up with the answers.  My study Bible remarks upon this that, as in every generation, what the crowds have to say about Jesus is usually unpredictable and misguided.  Perhaps in our modern day and age a similar problem has been magnified and is ever-present with us in the form of social media, the internet, and other popular media such as television, various news media, and film production.  As usual, the crowds so often get it wrong.  Today there are also new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), that aggregate whatever information is available, and make computerized "guesses" to draw new conclusions, often extraordinarily wrong.  A friend is a distinguished academic, well known in his profession.  He told me that using AI in an internet search on his own name has become a strange adventure, as AI will generate all kinds of information that is made up out of whole cloth, in addition to whatever might be true -- even books he's never written, and awards that don't exist.  I'm told that in AI technology circles, this phenomenon is referred to as "hallucinations."  So what passes for the crowds in our modern, connected world is just as unreliable as in the time of Christ.  But what we need to focus on here is not necessarily "the facts" about Jesus reported by the crowds, because -- in whatever age we might choose -- even the facts available to us are not necessarily the reality presented by God.  For God will always surprise us and work outside of the box that is our daily, worldly reality.  God is not limited by what we consider to be worldly.  Christ's miracles and signs point to the presence of a reality beyond ours and not limited by our understanding.  So when we speak of Jesus, or when we today encounter God in the myraid ways that are possible for us (such as through worship, prayer, icons of the Church, saints, and so many other ways in which grace might express itself), we need to hold the door open, so to speak, for things we can't expect, for things we don't know, and facts we can't know which are beyond our grasp and in the mysterious working of grace and the Holy Spirit.  The truth about Jesus, that He is the Christ, is beyond the capacity of the crowds to grasp even as their own expectations of what the Messiah will be are false and skewed by their own desires.  Again, we live in a world in which every desire (and its fulfillment) is magnified and indulged through modern technologies, from the food we consume, to how we dress, to what we interact with online, and to things that are harmful such as certain drugs, and internet pornography.  In the ancient practice of the Church, our desires and passions are things we're taught to regulate, and to learn to master, in order to perceive spiritual reality more clearly, and not to be misled by our own fantasies.  Heresies are things that are defined by that which looks like the truth, and even resembles it, but they're not the truth.  One detail might be missing that skews the whole truth picture (for example, those who would say Christ wasn't really human, or that He wasn't divine).  This is why we turn to tradition to understand, why we practice traditional disciplines like fasting, we keep a guard on our hearts, we take note of how easily we can be misled by our own desires and fantasies.  Let us note here Christ's emphasis on His own suffering, on taking up His Cross, and how His disciples must do the same with their own unique crosses each day.  For our faith is not one based on fantasy or self-indulgence, but on the truth of God, and evading our own traps  and desires to find what Christ wants of us.  Jesus has come as Servant, not conventional or worldly king, to usher in a spiritual Kingdom that lives within us and among us.  In a world filled with crowds and pitfalls that grow ever more powerful, let us remember the tools we're given to stay grounded in spiritual truth, and the revelation of God that defies the world's predictions and expectations.  As my study Bible says, "Who do you say that I am?" remains the most important question we can ask, for the answer defines our universe and the way we live in it.