This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting

 

 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."  

 

- Matthew 17:14-21 

 

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

 

 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."   Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  My study Bible comments that sickness in Scripture is often connected to demonic activity.  In kneeling before Christ, this father shows humility.  But what he lacks is faith.  A little further along, in verse 20, Jesus also indicates that the disciples lacked faith, but here Christ rebukes the man for placing the blame on the disciples, when it was his greater lack of faith that prevented this boy's healing.  My study Bible asks us to note that, in effect, Jesus defends His disciples in front of the multitudes but later rebukes them in private (verses 19-21), which teaches us that we ought first to correct people in private (see also Matthew 18:15-17).  

 

 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes, this rebuke is directed at the nine disciples who could not cast out the demon.  The other three who were with Jesus, "the pillars" of faith -- Peter, James, and John (Galatians 2:9) -- were not included in this rebuke, for they had been up on the mountain with Christ at the Transfiguration (see Saturday's reading, above).   My study Bible adds that this kind refers to all powers of darkness, and not simply those which cause a particular illness.  (Actually, as a side note, epileptic is translated from a word that literally means "moonstruck.")  The banishment of demons requires faith, prayer, and fasting (verses 20-21), for there is no healing and no victory in spiritual warfare without all three, my study Bible says.  Starting with the Didache (the earliest teaching document of the Church), patristic instruction has taught that both the person in need of healing and the person performing the healing must believe, pray, and fast.  

 

Let us note that in speaking of the power of prayer Jesus is not talking about a kind of magic, wherein if we only convince ourselves to believe something, it will happen.  He's addressing His comments to the disciples who will sacrifice their lives for their faith.  Moreover, even these will need both prayer and fasting to effectively cast out the demonic.  Jesus' remarks indicate a life of spiritual discipline and of seeking God's will above all things as opposed to our own, not simply wishing for things to happen the way we want them to.  As a priest once put it, we pray to God in order to be changed, not to change God.  Indeed, this is the meaning of discipleship.  Only God's power working through us can accomplish these things.  President Abraham Lincoln was reported to have grasped this essential distinction as well.  During the Civil War, he is said to have been asked whether or not God was on his side.  His reply: "Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side.  My greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right."  Sadly, this understanding has been twisted and misused upon people in very difficult and desperate circumstances, such as the serious illness of a loved one.  At times this can seem terribly hard to accept or reconcile, but we must understand that "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8).  We pray for God to show us the way through such circumstances, to help us find God's way, to give us strength and insight to do so, and to enlighten our minds to make the right choices, and find opportunities for healing.  This might include the possibility that a person will not be healed in the way we desire.  Personally I have observed heartbreak and confusion when specific prayers are not answered in the way that was hoped.  In that case, we seek God's grace in all things, to find the God's way through our difficulties and struggles.  Sometimes this means that we will simply have to endure with patience our own confusion and lack of comprehension.  But this, in turn, can also make us stronger.  In Friday's reading, Jesus chastised St. Peter for his very human desire that Christ not go to the Cross, even calling him Satan ("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").  It was then Jesus taught the disciples about the life of the Cross, which is not only for Jesus, but for each of us to follow Him and take up our own crosses.  This is the reality of prayer and practices that help us to put God first, such as fasting, and set aside our own desires as possible in exchange for seeking what God wants.  This is the way that God can work through us, but we must "get out of the way," so to speak, and let God, in fact, transform us.  The Transfiguration (in yesterday's reading, above) serves us as a model for this notion.  Salvation means seeking our own transfiguration in God's image for us, as we were created to be (Genesis 1:26).  That is, on an ongoing, day to day basis, we seek to make the changes God asks us to make, working our way through our own imperfections and lack of understanding as human beings.  And this is the real work of faith, of living our faith.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

- Matthew 17:1-13 

 

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

 

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

 

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. My study Bible comments that, because God is light (1 John 1:5), the bright cloud (verse 5), the shining of Jesus' face like the sun, and the whiteness of his clothes, all demonstrate that Jesus is God.  In many icons this light is shown as a color which is beyond white, with a blue-white, ineffable color, meant to indicate its spiritual origin.  

 

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

 

 While he was till speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Here is another manifestation of an eternal reality:  the Holy Trinity is present in the voice of the Father, and the Holy Spirit in the bright cloud (as the one which shepherded the Israelites through the wilderness; see Exodus 13:21), and also in the dazzling light which surrounds Christ's person and overshadows the whole mountain.  My study Bible asks us to note that the Father does not say, "This has become my beloved Son," but rather, "This is My beloved Son" indicating that the divine glory they witness is Christ's by nature and from eternity past, long before Christ's Baptism and Transfiguration.  He is God's Son, fully sharing in the essence of the Father, "true God of true God" (Creed).  My study Bible further notes that the Transfiguration not only proclaims Christ's divine sonship, but also foreshadows His future glory when He as the Messiah will bring in the long-awaited Kingdom.  

 

 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.  For now, this messianic secret must remain just that, a secret, hidden from the world.  Once again, Jesus reminds them of His Passion to come, and notes that it follows also the coming of St. John the Baptist, the herald to the Messiah, the one who came in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17).  

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost

 

 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.  Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."  So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.  But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."  Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."  And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

 

- Luke 19:1–10 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  This was the third time Jesus prophesied to them regarding what would happen in Jerusalem.  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.  Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

 

  Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.  As was discussed in yesterday's reading and commentary, Jericho was notorious as a place of iniquity.  My study Bible notes that it is commonly associated with sinful living (see Luke 10:30, the parable of the Good Samaritan).

 

Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  See Luke 18:24-27.   My study Bible comments that this encounter between Christ and Zaccchaeus demonstrates that grace can accomplish that which is impossible to human beings.  

 

 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.  My study Bible notes that many spiritual interpretations of this passage express the universal significance of this encounter.  In Theophylact's commentary, we read of the crowd symbolizing sins:  "Crowded in by a multitude of passions and worldly affairs, he is not able to see Jesus."  But St. Ambrose offers several parallels as follows.  First, Zacchaeus is short, indicating that he is short on faith and virtue.  Second, that Zacchaeus has to go up a tree shows that no one who is attached to earthly matters can see Jesus.  Finally, as the Lord intends to pass that way, it shows that Christ will approach anyone who is willing to repent and to believe. 

 

And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house."  So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully.  But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner."  Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."   My study Bible points out that Zacchaeus uses the term give for his free and generous offering to the poor, and restore for what he owes to those whom he had cheated -- as this was not a gift but was required by the Law (Exodus 22:1).  In doing both, he not only fulfills the Law, but he shows his love of the gospel.   

 

  And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  My study Bible comments that the title son of Abraham is an indication that Zacchaeus had become like this patriarch of Israel:  he was counted righteous by his faith, he became generous toward the poor, and he was united to the people of God.  My study Bible further adds that this Zacchaeus went on to be a bishop of the Church. 

 

 The story of Zacchaeus not only tells us about redemption as we normally think about it, and repentance that is its hallmark, but it is illustrative of the ways in which salvation works.  Most powerfully, it teaches us not simply about being saved, but being absolutely transfigured.  Zacchaeus does not merely become a believer in Christ.  He becomes an early bishop of the Church.  This is something extraordinary for one who was not simply a hated tax collector, but a rich (and hated) chief tax collector.  In Christ's time, these were Jews who worked for the Roman authorities, using state power not simply to collect taxes from fellow Jews but notorious for extorting extra income for themselves.  So to go from a despised and rich chief tax collector in Jericho (a place notorious for sin) to a bishop in the early Church is quite a transformation indeed.  In fact, we'd be closer to the truth to call it transfiguration, for this is the image of redemption in our faith.  He didn't just turn around and change the direction of his life, but he was entirely transformed, transfigured from his place of ill-reputed authority, to one that was most distinguished.  When Jesus pronounces him a son of Abraham, then it seems that we are to understand this as a transfiguration to one in the lineage of patriarchs, serving the people of God as shepherd in the new covenant.  In the process of redemption, we can turn to conventional stories of changing one's mind, getting onto a new path, finding a way to a decent life -- or we can recall our minds to the true image of what is meant by the Greek word theosis, or deification.  We turn to the Transfiguration to tell us of the revelation of the Kingdom and God's work in our midst, to show us what is truly real.  It was St. Athanasius and others who made the bedrock statement of theology in our faith:  "God became man, so that man might become [like] God."  When Jesus speaks of what is impossible with human beings becoming possible with God, he speaks quite literally of the power of the energies of God at work in human beings.  On human terms, we might think of redemption as imaging a person on the wrong side of the street deciding to turn around and do good.  But in our faith, the world is to be transfigured, all of creation saved, and Zacchaeus turning from a rich chief tax collector to become a bishop of the early Church is an image of the true fullness of redemption, of transfiguration as we should see it.  Our expectations and desires are simply not adequate to predict what kind of transformation is possible with God, what transfiguration might truly be in our lives.  Even the apostles, as they walk toward Jerusalem, cannot consider what is before them nor what lies beyond the Cross.  For God's reality reveals what we can't understand or expect, even the power of God's kingdom at work in us, a redemption that doesn't just turn around, but transfigures.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

 

 

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.