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

 

Transfiguration of the Lord, Andrei Rublev, 1405. Annunciation Cathedral, Kremlin, Moscow

 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 

 

On Wednesday, we read that Jesus said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."

 

  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.  This story of the Transfiguration occurs after the events of Monday's reading, in which Peter confessed on behalf of the disciples that Jesus is "the Christ of God."  Jesus then warned the disciples for the first time about the events that will come to pass in Jerusalem, and told them that each must take up one's own cross daily to follow Him.  Here, Jesus takes His "inner circle" -- that is, those disciples who are strongest in faith -- up on the mountain to pray.  This event is one called a Theophany, which means a manifestation of God, but especially the divinity of Christ.  The Church has historically viewed the Transfiguration as a display of Christ's uncreated, divine energy, and it is celebrated as a major feast day, especially in the East.  Because God is light (1 John 1:5), this light which alters the appearance of His face, and makes His robe white and glistening, demonstrate that Christ is God.  In some icons, this light is shown with a tinge of blue, indicating that it is beyond white -- an ineffable color, indicating its spiritual origin.  

And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.   Moses and Elijah represent Jewish spiritual history.  Moses represents the law, and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets and -- since he did not experience death (2 Kings 2:11-12) -- 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 Christ), who is the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.  In Greek, Christ's decease is written as exodus/ἔξοδος (literally meaning "departure") and refers to His death.  My study bible says that Christ's death is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, for Christ will be glorified through His death (John 12:23).  The term exodus teaches us that Christ's Passion is a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover, and is the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.  It is also a confirmation that Christ's death was not imposed by outside forces, but 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.   The presence of Moses and Elijah also manifests the communion of the saints (Hebrews 12:1).   My study bible points out that both are immediately recognizable to the disciples, and they talk with the Lord.  The disciples will now be able to understand Jesus' words that "Elijah has come already" (Matthew 17:12) in 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) is a reference to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.  This event is also a foreshadowing of Christ's future glory, when as Messiah He will usher in the long-awaited Kingdom.  Peter's confused grasp this truth stirs him to suggest that tabernacles be built as he connects it to the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), which is also known as the feast of the coming kingdom, as was done at that feast.  The tabernacles (or tents or booths) served as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  

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!"  This bright cloud is a recollection of temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present -- and no doubt a sign to Peter that the Kingdom has come.  The Father bears witness from heaven concerning His Son.  My study bible notes that God the Father does not say, "This has become My beloved Son," but "This is My beloved Son," an indication that the divine glory the disciples behold belongs to Christ by nature.  He is from eternity past, infinitely before Christ's Baptism and Transfiguration, He is the Son of God, fully sharing in the Father's essence.  This is a manifestation of the Holy Trinity:  Christ is transfigured in 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 (see Matthew 17:5).

 

 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.  This experience and revelation or manifestation of Christ's divine nature and glory will serve the disciples through the difficult days to come during Christ's Passion, and the persecutions they and the Church will also endure.

Have you ever had what some people call a mountain top moment?  A mountain top moment is a moment such as this one, of the Transfiguration, in which something is revealed about the nature of life that shows us more than our day to day experience, and gives us also a revelation or manifestation of something beyond our usual perceptions of the nature of life.  The Transfiguration is a true manifestation -- in ways these three disciples (Peter, James, and John) can experience and understand -- of what is already present with Christ.  That is, the communion of saints (present in Moses and Elijah) is always with Christ.  God the Father is always with Christ.  The Holy Spirit is always with Christ, and so is Christ's divine nature.  But all of this is made manifest for the disciples to experience and to know for themselves, and in ways they can grasp and perceive what is being given to them.  Moses and Elijah (and the communion of saints), the bright cloud, the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the true uncreated light of Christ and His divinity and energies, are always there.  They have always been there.  But this event is given to the disciples -- a manifestation which they can see and experience on many levels deep within themselves -- and by extension to us.  It is part of the mission of Christ into the world, and has become an essential part of our Church and the truths given through the disciples to us.  Through science we know, for example, that there is a whole spectrum of light always present in sunlight, which includes the colors of the rainbow.  When all these different colors of light combine, the color produced is white, and that is what we see and perceive in our every day lives.  But that doesn't mean that all those various colors of the light spectrum aren't always there.  Moreover, what we see with our eyes is the light that is reflected back to us, and not absorbed by the physical bodies of whatever material object we see.  A bright yellow flower has actually absorbed all the other colors of the light spectrum, and we see bright yellow because that is what has "bounced off" and is reflected back to us.  Lasers developed for underwater communication must be made of blue-green light, because this is the portion of the light spectrum that is not absorbed by the water, but instead reflects off it so that we perceive a body of water as made of this color.  In other words, even in our worldly, earthly lives, there are all kinds of things that are always there which we don't necessarily perceive.  And so it is with the Kingdom and its realities.  It exists here with us, it intersects our world.  If we listen to the teachings of our Holy Bible, we are to understand that there are all kinds of beings which populate the unseen Kingdom, who make up the communion of saints (including angelic beings), which are always present.  But we just don't have those mountain top moments all the time in which they are manifest to us in ways that we are capable of perceiving and grasping in our own understanding.  But every once in a while in the life of a believer, there are those moments when they are.  They rarely come as visions, but more often as a "still small voice" in the heart and during prayer.  There are countless who were abused children who can tell of some experience of protection that was with them, preserved them and saved them into adulthood when they were better able to understand and be grateful for their saving faith.  There are many stories of some way of "knowing" in a dangerous circumstance:  a voice that gave directions, some form of assurance, a "something told me" moment, that all kinds of people can tell us.   Having had a few of those inexplicable moments myself, I can write that I am grateful none came in a vision -- to actually behold an angel or some other astonishing being in true glory probably would frighten me away and make me question my own perceptions and pursuit of faith (and my own sanity!).  But God's wisdom places such moments in our lives as we need them and in ways we hopefully can accept and grow to understand more deeply.  But let us never forget that we as believers are to understand that this reality is always with us.  It intersects and permeates our world.  When we pray, the Kingdom is with us, even as we pray to Our Father that God's kingdom come, and God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  When we worship in Church, we are to understand that the angels pray and worship with us -- and countless angels may be present at the altar, not to mention the communion of saints of the Church, known and unknown.  We are told that we each have a Guardian Angel accompanying us at all times.  And Christ and the saints are present with us when we pray and ask for help.  The Psalms even declare, "If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there" (Psalm 139:8).  St. Paul preached to the Athenians regarding their "unknown god" that "in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).  But the nature of our reality is such that although this divine presence is possible for us anywhere, we simply can't and don't perceive what is always there, just as we can't always see all the colors of the worldly light spectrum from our sun -- although there are times we'll see them refracted in a spray of water or a prism.  We are made to live in a certain framework of experience, but God also gives us experience and faith so that we perceive what is greater than simply our day to day understanding, and we are called to that perception.  We are called to hear His word, we are called to know Him, we are called to live this life of faith.  And we are given this gift of manifestation, Theophany, and the Transfiguration, through God's grace and love calling to us.

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

 Transfiguration of Jesus - Theophanes the Greek (1408)

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 Wednesday's reading, we had skipped ahead in Luke's Gospel, to chapter 12.  We read that Jesus said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which  have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He cloth you, O you of little faith?   And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

 In today's reading we return to where we left off at the end of Monday's reading, in which Jesus had taught, "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."  This came just after Peter had spoken for all the Apostles when asked by Jesus, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ 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 in the healing of Jairus' daughter, here we note that Jesus brings only His inner circle with Him on this day of prayer on the mountain.  It's important that we note these frequent retreats alone for prayer, and do likewise!

As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. My study bible says, "The Transfiguration demonstrates Jesus is the Lord of glory, despite the fact that He will later suffer and die on the Cross.  Jesus' humanity was filled with splendor, was made Godlike, deified.  His Transfiguration is the most evident expression of our hope for glorification in God's eternal Kingdom.  St. Paul writes, 'Behold, I tell you a mystery:  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed' (1 Cor. 15:51).  And St. John writes, 'We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is' (1 John 3:2).  For eternity, we shall be like Jesus as He appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration."  We recall also that these verses in the Gospel come just after Peter's confession of faith, when Jesus strictly warned and commanded the disciples to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."

 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. My study bible gives us two notes on these verses:  "Christ's Transfiguration is witnessed to by Moses and Elijah, appearing in the glory which reveals the transfiguration of our humanity.  Moses and Elijah, as representatives of the Law and the Prophets, appear to the apostles showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament."  Let us note these witnesses, and remember St. Paul's teachings about the "great cloud of witnesses" who surround us, and with whom we pray in the communion of saints.  My study bible also tells us that "decease in Greek is exodos.  This term makes it clear that through His death Jesus will perform an exodus from Jerusalem, in which He will deliver mankind from the slavery of the evil one.  It is revealed to the disciples at His Transfiguration that He will suffer, so when they see Him crucified, they will remember this day of glory and that His suffering is completely volitional."  Indeed, what we are to understand is that on this mountain, in prayer, we witness a kind of conference about the Passion and what is to come at Jesus "exodus" as a human being.  This is an awesome revelation about our faith and the life of Christ.

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.   There are times in the Gospels when sleep overtakes the Apostles, because what is happening is too overwhelming to be taken in.  This happens in the Garden before Jesus' betrayal and arrest, again when He has taken them to be with Him while He prays.  This time, it is a different kind of awe in an overwhelming spiritual revelation.

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.  If we consider that the Feast of Tabernacles was a time of commemorating the wandering of Israel, and was also the feast of the Coming Kingdom, perhaps Peter's words -- although something of a confused mystery at the time -- make a certain amount of sense, at least in terms of an internal connection of thought!  It is an awestruck comment from one has hasn't quite taken in what is really happening here.

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.  The cloud and the voice tell us once again of the presence of God:  Father, Son and Spirit.  It is a clear revelation of God the Trinity.  To "listen" to Christ (the imperative command of the Father's voice) is to hear the Word of God.

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.  They are left with Jesus alone, out of this truly "awesome" experience.  It is a kind of revelation that teaches us, indeed, about God's presence, even as what we view is somehow mundane in the world.  My study bible notes that "Peter, James and John kept quiet because the Lord commanded them not to speak of this experience in those days, meaning until after the Resurrection."

One thing we need to consider in this appearance of the Transfiguration is the necessary silence to which Jesus now consistently commands the disciples, especially this inner circle.  There is first of all, in the previous reading in Luke's Gospel, the revelation of Jesus as the Christ, as the Messiah.  Jesus immediately strictly warns and commands the disciples to tell this to no one.  And then He informs them that He "must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  All of these things are somehow, at this point, a secret -- a necessary secret, revelations that are secrets by command of Jesus.  But this does not mean that they will remain a secret forever.  And so we come to an important understanding that is hidden in the narratives of these events, and that is the nature of spiritual experience and revelation.  While what is revealed to these disciples will eventually be proclaimed to all the world (even now 2,000 years later through this blog and many, many others like it), at the time of revelation both Jesus' Messiahship -- His identity as Christ, and the Transfiguation, are required to be kept strictly a secret, even through the warnings of Christ Himself.  What is given that will shape and form community is not immediately revealed to anyone outside of this inner circle.  Sometimes when we are in prayer we must remember that things that we are given to understand, that help us on our own faith journey toward Christ and with Him are meant not to be spread to the whole world, at least not in the ways which seem immediately available to our limited perspective.  Things happen and are revealed in God's time, not our time.  We can take a note from Jesus' "conference" here with Moses and Elijah about the necessary cooperation with this great communion of saints, the "cloud of witnesses" that exist all around us in the spiritual truth of the Kingdom, and understand that God's ways are not our ways.  What may seem obviously good news to immediately be spread to the world is really something that depends upon God's time.  All things meant for the edification of the Kingdom and believers, that will form and shape community, will come to be given to the world one way and another.  But it really depends upon God's time.  Throughout many faith traditions among Christians there have been truths and expressions of God's love and grace at work.  But let us remember that even the ways that these expressions of grace work within us and among us also depend on God's time and God's plan.  Let us remember that sometimes what is private is kept so for a reason, and that we wait upon God and God's grace for how that will be used in the Body of all believers.  Let us remember Christ's Transfiguration, and how it teaches us about our faith, God's light that is with us, the spiritual reality of how He is revealed.  His light is always with us.