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.

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

 

 

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that from that time (just after Peter's confession 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; . . ..  My study Bible says 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).  Significantly, we're told that the event which occurs in today's reading takes place after six days following Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, and Christ's own confession to the disciples that His messiahship will be one of suffering and sacrifice, and His death on the Cross, followed by His Resurrection.  These "six days" is the period in between these events; thus the Transfiguration takes place on the eighth day -- a day signifying renewal of all things, the eternal day of the Lord.  

 

  . . . and He was transfigured before them.  The Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in the Greek) is a major feast day in Orthodox and other Churches, and is particularly central to the understanding of Orthodox theology. 
 

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."  My study Bible tells us that this is a theophany; that is, a manifestation of God.  It is an expression of the divinity of Christ through a display of His uncreated, divine energy. Here there are several elements which show that Christ is Messiah and God.  First, because God is light (1 John 1:5), the bright cloud, the shining of Jesus' face like the sun, and this stunning whiteness of His garment, all express that Jesus is God, my study Bible says.  In some icons the light is shown as something beyond white; that is, a blue-white, ineffable color that indicates spiritual origin.  The Transfiguration also is a foreshadowing of His future glory; as Messiah He will usher in the long-awaited Kingdom.  The presence of Moses and Elijah give us the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are recognizable and talk with the Lord.  My study Bible notes that Moses represents the law and all who have died, while Elijah represents the prophets and -- as he did not experience death, all those who are alive in Christ.  The law and the prophets, the living and the dead, therefore, all bear witness to Jesus as Messiah, and fulfillment of the Old Testament.  My study Bible adds that the bright cloud (see the verses that follow) is a recollection of temple worship and the cloud that went in front of the Israelites in the wilderness, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  So for Peter, the Feast of Tabernacles being the feast of the coming Kingdom, he asks to build booths as at that festival, which are 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!"  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.     God the Father bears witness from heaven concerning the Son, and the divine glory that is Christ's by nature.  He is true God of true God, as the Creed states. Here is the manifestation of the Trinity, in the transfiguration of Jesus, the voice of the Father testifying to Christ's divine sonship, and also the Spirit present in the dazzling light surrounding Christ's person and overshadowing the whole mountain in the bright cloud.  

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.  My study Bible comments that because of the presence of Moses and Elijah in the Transfiguration and their experience of this event, the disciples can now understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has come already" as referring to John the Baptist.  It notes 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 Elijah himself.  

The Transfiguration figures highly in the theology of the human person, not simply as revelation of who Christ is.  Clearly for the disciples, this revelation of Christ's identity -- following so soon upon Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, and Christ's own prophesy of His suffering and human death, followed by Resurrection -- works as an affirmation for these disciples. These three, Peter, John, and James, form the inner circle of the disciples, the ones closest to Jesus and the ones whose faith is the strongest.  But there is more to the Transfiguration and this important revelation of identity, and even of the Trinity.  For in the Transfiguration we behold the divine light of Christ, and we are to understand that it is this light that not only belongs to deity, but is shared with us through faith.  Through faith, and through grace, we also may become transfigured in our own lives.  So the Transfiguration, or Metamorphosis in Greek, becomes not only a promise of Christ's identity, but also a promise of who we may become through faith.  St. Athanasius is perhaps most well-known for a foundational pillar of Christian theology, which teaches that God became human so that human beings could become like God.  That is, through faith and grace, and through the light of Christ shared with us and within us, we become more Christ-like.  We are able to fulfill the promise that we are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26).  We are meant to become transfigured ourselves through this light and grace, the energies and mercy of God, just as we see the disciples evolve through the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.  They grow in wisdom and in the character their own "works" reveal through time, especially after Pentecost.  St. Paul writes of the fruit of the Spirit, contrasting them with the works of the flesh (see Galatians 5:19-23).  Christ speaks of the light that we are given so that we may also shine it into the world, in the Sermon on the Mount.  He tells His disciples, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).  This light is given to us through our identity as children of God, and the Spirit is shared with us so that we may also reflect the light back into the world as we are able.  But all of this comes through faith, and as we grow in faith, so may that light also be strengthened, illumined, boosted, and reflected more deeply through us.  We can see this reflected in icons and the halos of the saints and angels which are familiar to us.  Light figures in images from the Old Testament, read through the understanding of the New, in which, for example, the Burning Bush witnessed by Moses (Exodus 3) is seen as an icon or type of the Virgin Mary, whose womb was "not consumed by the fire of divinity" although thereby Jesus was conceived.  All of these images of light correspond to what is divine, and yet human beings may also share in and bear this light into the world and through their lives.  So let us consider the Transfiguration and what it means for us.  If in our lives we have found some light, or Christ the true Light who shows us the way, saints whose light shines for us -- well, then, through the Transfiguration we know that this light, corresponding to divine fire, this illumination which is beyond the light of the world always has more to give us, more to show us, more ways in which we may be illumined and in turn illuminate what is around us by our own transfiguration in God's light.  For this is what we are meant for, the only way we are prepared to dwell in God's Kingdom, and live within that light that illumines and yet burns all that is not in accord with it, that cannot stand in the light.  For we are meant for this light.  In the Easter/Pascha service of the Orthodox Church, a candle is brought into the darkened church from the altar, and with the words "Come receive the light," that fire is distributed to all, for each one's candle to celebrate Resurrection.  Without the Transfiguration, we could not understand the fullness of this light that we do, nor the meanings we have received, and at the same time, all the promise in it for the mysteries we do not yet know but are promised.  In the Transfiguration, let us not forget, Christ gives us not only this brilliant divine light, but it is shared in the vision of the apostles, given to us in the communion of saints (Moses and Elijah), revealing to us the Holy Trinity, and establishing for us the Christ, the Messiah, the One whom we need and whose light we need to show us the way to the fullness of life, for "in Your light we see life" (Psalm 36:9).  John's Gospel tells us, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).  The Transfiguration shows us this light for all.

 

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light

 

 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 that time of Peter's confession, 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; . . ..    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).  The phrase after six days indicates that there were six days between the time of Peter's confession and Christ's warning that He will suffer and die, and this day of the event on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Therefore this is the "eighth day" from Peter's confession and Christ's first warning of His Passion and Resurrection, a significant understanding for the revelation of the Transfiguration.

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  The first thing we're drawn to in this picture of the Transfiguration is the light that emanates from Christ.  It's a brilliance that we're drawn to in this language:  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  In 1 John 1:5 we're told that God is light, and in all the light expressed in the picture of this event we see a demonstration that Jesus is God.  My study Bible points out that in some icons this light is illustrated as beyond white -- a blue-white, ineffable color, which indicates 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."   Another sign of the Kingdom being extraordinarily present is the appearance of Moses and Elijah speaking with Christ.  Time is suspended, for although these all lived in different time periods, they are simultaneously here together and speak with one another.  Moreover, St. Peter clearly perceives their identities as well, so all are known to one another (1 Corinthians 13:12).  Moses and Elijah also represent the Law and the Prophets, gathered together in the presence of Christ.  My study Bible adds that Moses represents the Law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- as he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  The law and the prophets, the living and the dead, therefore, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.   It is also an image of the communion of the saints, the reality of the kingdom of heaven, an affirmation of Christ's teaching that "all live to God" (Luke 20:38).  Peter's suggestion of making tabernacles is reminiscent of the feast of Sukkot, also called the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, commemorating the time Israel wandered in tents (or tabernacles, also called booths), following the bright cloud and pillar of fire toward the Promised Land. 

 

 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.  Again there is an image of light int he bright cloud that overshadowed Christ and the disciples, and that bright cloud is also reminiscent of the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, a visible sign of God being extraordinarily present and reminder of temple worship.  Here, also, is the Holy Trinity, in the voice of the Father, testifying to God's beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit present in the dazzling light surrounding Christ, and the bright cloud overshadowing the whole mountain.  

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.  With their immediate apprehension of Moses and Elijah speaking with Christ, the disciples are now able to understand Jesus' words testifying that Elijah has come already, as referring 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. 

In the power of the Transfiguration is revealed the divinity of Christ.  It is a strong affirmation of the confession of faith of St. Peter that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (found in Friday's reading), and it will also serve the disciples as an unforgettable image of Christ's divinity through the terrifying events that are to come at Christ's Passion.  As a Theophany it is a manifestation or appearance of God.  In Greek, this event of the Transfiguration is called Metamorphosis, indicating a change of form or appearance, as does the word "transfiguration."  So while this drastic, unforgettable change of appearance serves the disciples in a number of ways -- as revealing the true nature of Christ to them, and so much more that comes with Him and His divine nature -- so also we are called to be transfigured as well by Christ and by the divine power that works in Him and through our faith to reveal who we are in His image of us as well.  We watch through the Gospels and the life of the early Church through Acts and the Epistles the great change in the disciples, such as St. Peter, and we see the transfiguring power of faith in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit active in these men.  We learn of the early apostolic missions and even the transfiguration of the whole world through the work of establishing the early churches, and it speaks to us of the power of faith and God's work in the world and what it does.  So, indeed, the Transfiguration is a model about our faith in so many ways, and it teaches us so much.  Perhaps we should also think about how that model of Transfiguration is also at work within us and among us.  How has your life been changed through the practice of prayer and your own faith?  Do you find that your faith -- and Christ's transfiguring power -- has changed you?  How has your faith evolved in your life, and the work of the Holy Spirit worked in you and your own perceptions of life?  Do you see things in a different way than you used to?  For myself, I can particularly testify that over the course of decades my faith has truly changed many things in my outlook.  Much of what I write today would have been about things incomprehensible and inconceivable to me in the past, but the reality of the internal transfiguration of faith and Christ's work, and the mercy of the Holy Spirit -- even the communion of saints -- has worked in me to entirely transfigure my own outlook and way of seeing life.  This is been more despite me than any result of my own wishes or will; this has been the surprising journey of faith and the power of God.  If the Transfiguration has given us so much of the fullness of our faith and what it has to teach us, then one can only imagine what the transfiguring journey of faith means for us as communities, as individuals, and even for our world.  How can we know what our own true nature is until we can begin to see it through the eyes of the Creator who leads us and heals us?  Let us not forget that this also includes the communion of saints, and what their prayer with us has to offer.  These are just some of the things to think about when we come to the transfiguring light of Christ, and ponder why we are given these experiences of the disciples in our Scripture.  Metamorphosis is also a part of taking up one's own cross, even the suffering involved in letting go of the things God wants to change in us.  May we be blessed in God's light of illumination for us. 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that from the time of Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

 

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves . . .  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).

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  The events in today's reading describe what is called the Transfiguration (ιn Greek, Μεταμορφωσις/Metamorphosis.)   This event is what is called a theophany in Greek, a manifestation of God, especially the divinity of Christ, through what is a display of God's uncreated, divine energy.  This is a major feast day in the Church.  My study Bible explains various elements of this event which describe or make explicit that Christ is Messiah and God.  First of all, because God is light (1 John 1:5), the shining light radiating from His face which shone like the sun, the brilliant white light of His clothing, and other elements of light in today's passage, such as the bright cloud in verse 5, demonstrate that Jesus is God. In many icons, my study Bible points out, this light is shown as beyond white, given a blue-white tinge, an ineffable color which indicates its spiritual origin.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  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.  Their presence shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, who is the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.  The presence of Moses and Elijah also manifest the communion of the saints of which St. Paul speaks in Hebrews 12:1.  Both are immediately recognizable and they speak with Christ.  

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."  Knowing that the Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, Peter asks to build booths (tents, or tabernacles) which was done at that feast, commemorating the time Israel wandered toward the Promised Land, and which symbolize 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!"   The Father bears witness from heaven concerning Christ the Son.  He doesn't say, that Jesus has become His beloved Son, but rather "This is My beloved Son."  It is a revelation that the divine glory on display in the various images of light is Christ's by nature.  From eternity past, my study Bible says, infinitely before Christ's Baptism and Transfiguration, Jesus is God's Son, fully sharing in the essence of the Father:  Jesus Christ is God of God (as the Creed states).  Moreover, the bright cloud recalls the temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, a visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  Peter's response, to build three tabernacles, comes as he sees this as a sign that the Kingdom has come.  Finally, this is a true theophany in the manifestation of the Holy Trinity:  Christ is Transfigured, the Father speaks from heaven in testimony to Jesus' divine sonship, and the Spirit is present in the dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person, and overshadows the whole mountain in the bright cloud.

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.  Because of the revelation of the communion of the saints and their capacity to know and recognize Moses and Elijah, the disciples now can understand Christ's words that "Elijah has come already" as referring 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.  

 

 In today's reading we might contrast two important concepts of our faith.  The Transfiguration is called a "theophany," meaning a manifestation of God.  We might think of this as a revelation, but the word for revelation is "apocalypse" (ἀποκάλυψις).  In the Greek, that means to uncover something, to reveal something.  But Christ's Transfiguration reveals not by unveiling but by manifesting something, by showing forth something, by presenting us with signs and symbols of His identity; specifically, of His divinity.  The things that manifest here are the various forms of light which is an expression of God, the true uncreated light that is God (1 John 1:5, as referenced by my study Bible).  Included in this is the bright cloud that overshadows everything, such as it did when Israel wandered in the wilderness.  Moreover, there is the voice of the Father identifying the reality that Jesus is the Son.  All of these things are signs, manifestations of a reality that was always true and always present, but showing forth on this occasion to the apostles in ways they can understand.  Even the presence of Moses and Elijah, and the discussion between them and Jesus, although they all come from different periods of time in an earthly sense, is a manifestation of the communion of saints, always present to us in Christ.  These things reveal by showing forth, by manifesting.  Jesus' Transfiguration, as with all things in the story of Christ, is also meant for us to understand something about ourselves and about our faith.  As we each bear an image of Christ, so faith is meant also to transfigure us.  Christ asks us to bear fruit -- to bear the good fruit of His vine, which is built upon faith (see John 5:1-16).  In this sense, our own "transfiguration" comes through the bearing of this fruit, the signs that Christ is present with us and within us, the things that we do or manifest which give glory to God, the true products of our faith (Matthew 5:16).  One of the properties of God which is frequently overlooked (often in the West) is beauty.  We understand qualities of God to include Beauty, Truth, and Goodness, and beauty can be a manifestation of God.  What do we beautify?  A beautiful gesture is one of loving care and compassion which we extend to others, no matter how small the occasion nor how much it goes unnoticed by others (Matthew 10:42).  An act of beauty can be an act of kindness, a smile or a good word that encourages.  To clean up garbage from a property and rehabilitate it, showing forth a manifestation of the joy of the beauty that God brings us in what we can see might be one more sign of our faith, God's presence with us encouraging us to delight in what God provides that is beautiful, such as good order, or a garden, or helping to care for a child or an elderly person in their home.  All of these things can be the fruits we manifest through our own transfiguration in faith through Christ, and Christ's kingdom and the Spirit dwelling within us.  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).  These are manifestations of our own transfiguration in the faith of Christ; they "show forth" fruits that are borne of the Spirit, and they glorify God in showing the world what our faith and what we faithful are all about.  These create beauty in the world; they manifest beauty and show it forth, they add to creation in the Spirit of the Creator that works through us in faith.  Let us consider what we show forth, how we glorify God, what our own transfiguration in His image is meant to be all about.  

 

 

 

 

And He was transfigured before them

 

 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, following Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, 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 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 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.  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.  My study Bible notes that the Transfiguration (for this is what this event is called) is a Theophany; that is, it is a manifestation of God.  It especially reveals the divinity of Christ.  In the eyes of the Orthodox Church, that is affirmed through this display of His uncreated, divine energy in the form of the light which appears to the disciples Peter, James, and John.  The commemoration of this event is a major feast day in the Church.  All of the elements in today's reading that indicate light:  the bright cloud, the shining of Jesus' face like the sun, and the whiteness of His garment, affirm the divinity of Christ, as God is light (1 John 1:5).  In some icons of the Transfiguration, the light is shown as beyond white, a bluish-white, ineffable color, indicating its spiritual origin.  In the Father's voice we have a witness from heaven concerning Christ as Son (notice how this comes after Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (in this reading from Friday).   The Father's statement, "This is My beloved Son" is an indication that Christ's divine glory is His by nature.  He is God's Son from eternity past, infinitely before His Baptism and Transformation this is true.  Christ fully shares in the essence of the Father; He is God of God, as the Creed declares ("Light from Light, true God of true God, of one essence with the Father").   Other elements of the Transfiguration point beyond Christ's divine sonship, and to His future glory, when as Messiah He will usher in the long-awaited Kingdom.  My study Bible comments that the bright cloud recalls temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, a visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  As the text indicates, Peter sees this as a sign that the Kingdom has come.  The Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, and hence, his seemingly senseless request to build booths, as is done at that feast to serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  Moses and Elijah appear with Christ:  Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah, my study Bible continues, represents the prophets and -- since 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 in the Transfiguration to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the Old Testament.  Moses and Elijah also manifest the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are immediately recognizable to the disciples, and they talk with the Lord.  In this vein, the disciples can now understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has come already" which refers to John the Baptist.  Malachi's prophecy of the return of Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6) is a reference to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.  Finally, and of great significance, my study Bible points out the manifestation of the Holy Trinity which takes place in this event:  Christ is transfigured with divine light, the Father speaks from heaven testifying to Christ's divine sonship, and the Spirit is present in the form of the dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person, and overshadows the whole mountain. 

The power and significance of this event are clear from the comments in my study Bible, which reflect the Church's historic understanding of the Transfiguration and its central and important place as a major feast day.  It is as if the confession of faith, as well as Christ's powerful words to the disciples indicating His Passion, are all bound up in this experience which both affirms Christ's divine identity and the Kingdom to come.  In Luke's Gospel, we're told that "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" (Luke 9:30-31).  In the original Greek text, this word translated as "decease" is literally exodus (ἔξοδος), which  means "departure."  It is a clear connection to His death and Passion, but it is also a powerful reminder that the Passion is inextricably linked to the coming of the Kingdom, and Christ's fullness as the Almighty, who rises from the dead to usher it in, together with judgment.  In effect, the glory of the Transfiguration affirms for us, and in the minds of the disciples as witnesses, that Christ's Passion is necessary, and that through His death on the Cross He will be glorified (John 12:23).  The use of the term "exodus," my study Bible comments, also reveals that Christ's Passion is a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover, and the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.  The Transfiguration serves as explication and signal to the disciples and to all of us that Christ's glory is bound up with what is to them the unthinkable:  His death on the Cross.  It is a sacrifice, in the words of Christ Himself, which leads to the greatest glory of all, a universal good for all.  (See John 12:24, and Jesus' metaphor for His death, in which a grain of wheat falls to the ground, but produces much grain).  In our daily lives, let us remember this event of the Transfiguration, but most of all how it affirms that our spiritual freedom, like so many blessings in life, did not come cheaply, but at the highest price, in which the truly greatest One among us gave His life out of love for us, and the willingness to liberate us.  He offers this gift to all.  Let us consider with what ignorance we would spurn or reject it -- how great the sacrifice by the greatest One of all, and for all.  When we make a choice for faith, we must consider just how much rests within that choice for that Kingdom!

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

Bulgarian icon of the Transfiguration

 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

Yesterday we read that, from the time of Peter's confession that He 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 coming."

 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.  Luke's report says, "about eight days after" (Luke 9:28).   Both give us a clue about this event.  Matthew is possibly speaking of the number of days between Jesus' revelation of His suffering and this experience of the Transfiguration.  Six days was the number of days in Genesis in which God created all things, and rested on the seventh.  The eighth day is a term understood as the day of Resurrection, the new time born through the ministry of Christ.  The Transfiguration would be an experience of that for these three apostles, Jesus' inner circle of faith.  Jesus transfigured means that His divine nature was revealed and shown through His appearance.

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. The Transfiguration is what is known as a Theophany, a Greek word meaning a manifestation of God.   This theophany is characterized by light, as God is light (1 John 1:5).  In these images of light -- his face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light -- we're given an expression of Jesus as God.  Oftentimes icons will depict the Transfiguration light as having a blue tinge to it, indicating its otherworldly, divine origin:  beyond this world, impossibly white, brighter than the full spectrum of earthly sunlight. 

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  In Luke 9:31, we're told that Moses and Elijah speak to Jesus about His decease or departure, which in the original Greek is literally exodus.  My study bible says that Moses represents the Law and all those who have died, while Elijah represents the prophets and, as he did not experience death (2 Kings 2:11).   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, who is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament.  Their presence also is a manifestation of the reality of the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are immediately recognizable by the disciples, and they speak with Christ. 

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."    The Feast of Tabernacles commemorated the time that Israel wandered in the desert following Moses to the promised land, living in temporary structures (tents, or "tabernacles").  It is also called the Feast of the Coming Kingdom.   In Peter's mind he has put together an understanding of the manifestation of the Kingdom there present with Christ, Moses, and Elijah, in which he and the other apostles also able to participate at this moment.

 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!"  God the Father bears witness from heaven to the identity of Christ as Son.  My study bible points out that the Father does not say, "This has become My beloved Son," but "This is My beloved Son."  It is a revelation of what has always been, an unveiling of spiritual reality for human perception.  As Christians, we affirm in the Creed that Christ fully shares in the essence of the Father, the Son is "true God of true God."   This bright cloud, my study bible reminds us, recalls temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the "visible sign of God being extraordinarily present."  This is what Peter has seen to signal that the Kingdom has come when he makes his statement about building tabernacles for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  At the Feast of Tabernacles, such booths or tabernacles or tents were built to serve as symbols of God dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  This verse is also the full expression of Theophany, as the Trinity is revealed here:  Christ is transfigured and revealed as Son, the Father speaks to testify of Christ's sonship, and the Spirit is present in the dazzling light that both surrounds Christ and overshadowed the entire mountain.

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.   These verses speak to us about the experience of spiritual revelation.  It might be only momentary, but it is eternal in its dimensions and also unforgettable, sparking deep feeling and response.  Christ's words, "do not be afraid"  are those spoken on many occasions by Himself or by divine messengers to the faithful in the Gospels and the entire New Testament.  To open their eyes and see Jesus only is once again a reaffirmation that "It is I; do not be afraid" (14:27).

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 this taste of eternal reality, and their ability to understand Elijah and Moses speaking with Christ and alive in the communion of saints, the disciples are now able to understand Jesus' words that Elijah has come already.  They perceive that He's speaking to them of John the Baptist and that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) refers to one who comes "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than Elijah himself.

Have you ever had a "mountaintop" experience?  Jesus has led the apostles on a high mountain for this experience of the Transfiguration, just as He spoke upon a mountain when He delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  These are experiences of closeness to God; perhaps we could say "touching God" in the sense of getting a taste of heaven or the heavenly life.  We might find those moments in our own prayer, or read about them in the experience in the lives of the saints.  We might find glimmers or lights of understanding as we browse through the Gospels, and suddenly a light is cast on a difficult situation in our personal life, helping us perhaps to make a decision we could not make before.  These are moments of clarity, in which the light from heaven can shine in our own lives and illuminate our minds, giving us an understanding to take us forward in life.  Without them we are depleted of our real inheritance, for we are taught by Jesus that we, too, are "sons of God" although not in the same ways that He is.  Nevertheless, this is our inheritance we are given as heirs of the Kingdom.  It is the bounty and the beauty bestowed upon us by Christ in His mission into the world, incarnate as Jesus, and living with us -- even dwelling among us as did God in the Old Testament time of the wilderness when Israel followed Moses.  In fact, there is another allusion made in the Gospels to this time and to the festival that still commemorates it for the Jews, the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).  John 1:14 tells us that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."  In the Greek, the word "dwelt" means literally "tented" (or tabernacled).  At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus' final words to the disciples are "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (28:20).  The Transfiguration -- and the mountain top experiences we're given in the Gospels -- reveal to us a place of eternity, where there is no space or time.  John, Peter, and James understand Jesus speaking directly with Moses and Elijah.  Each understands immediately who the others are.  These moments of participation in Christ remain possible and available to us through this reality of Jesus still dwelling among us, and His promise that He is with us always.  In the icon above, as is traditional in many Transfiguration icons, the light around Christ appears in what is called a mandorla shape. This shape is an indication of the "space" of this mountain top experience, the place where we connect with the living Christ, where understanding comes and the presence of Christ lives for us.  This is the place where there is no space and time, and nothing bars us from Christ.  Let us take His word and invite it into our hearts to meet in the place where He dwells and is always with us.  This vivid experience, which will remain with the disciples through Christ's Passion and death on the Cross, is also shared with us through the Gospel.  When we see dismaying things in the world, let us keep it vividly in mind as well, so that we know and understand to whom we pray and with whom we also dwell.  Above all, let us remember the command of the Father to "Hear Him!"

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

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

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

- Matthew 17:1-13

On Saturday we read that from the time of Peter's confession that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves . . .  A high mountain, my study bible points out to us, is often a place of divine revelation in Scripture (5:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 19:3, 23; Isaiah 2:3; 2 Peter 1:18).  Note that this is after six days following the confession of Peter, and Jesus' revelation that He will suffer and die, and on the third day be raised.  That indicates this is the seventh, a revelation of perfection; in some sense, the end point or fullness of His Passion, death, and Resurrection.

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

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

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.   The bright cloud and its light is reminiscent of the cloud that overshadowed the temple and went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  The  voice of the Father bears witness from heaven, revealing and affirming Christ's identity as Son.  This is a revelation of the Trinity.   The Father's voice reveals the Son, the brilliant light which overshadows Christ and the mountain reveals the presence of the Spirit. 

But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.  The presence of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration enables the disciples to understand that Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6), which predicted the return of Elijah before the coming of the Messiah, refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself -- and therefore to John the Baptist.

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