08-06-2007, 05:25 PM
+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as lightening.
And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias”.
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
-Gospel of Luke, Chapter 17:1-6
This account, of Our Lord’s Transfiguration, while short is packed with meaning and indeed the mission of each and every Christian. And that mission is reunion with God. The Greek word for this reunification is theosis which means “deification” in English and it is the goal that all Christians, not just Orthodox or Roman Catholics, strive for. Some would say “How is that possible? We can never become one with God”, to that I answer, “Look at the Saints”. The Saints of the Church are Saints because of their exemplary struggle towards theosis. Through a life of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and humility, they are stripped of their own ego and thus are made ready and fitting to reunite with the Creator. For it is only through denying ourselves and willingly “pick up our Cross” and follow Christ. This is not just for the Saints however, each and every one of us is called to strive with all our being to emulate the Saints so that we too can be joined to God, this is the call that all Christians must answer.
This theosis is made possible by Our Lord’s Incarnation through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Often one hears the Blessed Mother referred to as “the Gate of Heaven” or the “Ladder between Earth and Heaven”, she is called these things because through her giving flesh to God himself she bridged the gap that had been between God and Man that had kept us separate from God since the Fall and Expulsion of mankind from the Garden of Eden. It is through her giving of herself freely that the moment of our Salvation is enacted. It is though her saying “do unto me according to thy will” that we are made whole once more, it is through her that we are allowed to even attempt to move towards union with God, and it is through her that we are able to behold the Transfiguration. Let us remember her role because we will be celebrating the day of her repose in a few short days.
The Transfiguration is also important because it allows us to glimpse the true Divinity of Our Lord Jesus, up until now his glory has never been fully revealed and indeed it cannot be fully revealed to mere humans. In the Apolytikion, or the Dismissal Hymn from Vespers which establishes the overall theme for the liturgical day, for today’s feast the Church sings,
When, O Christ our God, thou wast Transfigured on the mountain, thou didst reveal thy glory to thy Disciples in proportion as they could bear it.
What the hymn is saying is that the Lord could not reveal his glory fully to the Disciples for as God says in the Book of Exodus Chapter 33:20, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” The Disciples would perish instantly if they beheld Christ in his ineffable glory. But the Lord does allow the Disciples to see a small part of his glory, so that we too could know without a doubt that Jesus is indeed God. But this subdued glory was even so great as to cause the disciples to fall on their faces. The light of Christ’s glory was also the light of the Resurrection, and through the Transfiguration we are allowed to glimpse the wonders and glories of Heaven. We must cleanse ourselves through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving so that we can behold the light of the transfiguration and by doing so glimpse the light of the Resurrection.
One hymn that the Church sings on this great feast says:
When thou wast transfigured, O Saviour, on a high mountain, in the presence of thy chief Disciples, thou didst shine forth in glory, symbolizing that they who are recognized for the sublimity of virtue, shall also be made worthy of divine glory. As for Moses and Elijah when they conversed with Christ they made manifest that he was the Lord of the quick and the dead, and that he was the God who spake of old in the law and the Prophets, the same to whom the voice of the Father didst bear witness from a radiant cloud, saying, Him do ye hear; for he it is who by the Cross hath taken captive hades and hath bestowed life eternal to the dead.
I want to draw your attention to the figures of Moses and Elijah who appeared and conversed with our Lord Jesus on Mount Tabor. Why, out of all the prophets of the Old Testament, were they chosen to appear? While the hymn says that it is show that Jesus is pre-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, God the Trinity. There are numerous places in the Old Testament that are believed to be direct or indirect references to the Messiah, and therefore to Jesus. The angel that appeared in the furnace and changed the fire into dew with the three youths is believed to be Christ. As well as whenever the Logos or Word of God is mentioned, and often when God’s Wisdom is mentioned, both are believe to be references to Christ. The Transfiguration allows us to see the continuity between the Old and New testaments, and that Christ did not just suddenly appear and become involved in the process of our salvation, but he has always been present, and indeed he always will be.
May the Light of the Transfiguration, transfigure each of us and may we always move towards reunion with our most loving and merciful God.
+Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.
And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as lightening.
And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias”.
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
-Gospel of Luke, Chapter 17:1-6
This account, of Our Lord’s Transfiguration, while short is packed with meaning and indeed the mission of each and every Christian. And that mission is reunion with God. The Greek word for this reunification is theosis which means “deification” in English and it is the goal that all Christians, not just Orthodox or Roman Catholics, strive for. Some would say “How is that possible? We can never become one with God”, to that I answer, “Look at the Saints”. The Saints of the Church are Saints because of their exemplary struggle towards theosis. Through a life of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and humility, they are stripped of their own ego and thus are made ready and fitting to reunite with the Creator. For it is only through denying ourselves and willingly “pick up our Cross” and follow Christ. This is not just for the Saints however, each and every one of us is called to strive with all our being to emulate the Saints so that we too can be joined to God, this is the call that all Christians must answer.
This theosis is made possible by Our Lord’s Incarnation through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Often one hears the Blessed Mother referred to as “the Gate of Heaven” or the “Ladder between Earth and Heaven”, she is called these things because through her giving flesh to God himself she bridged the gap that had been between God and Man that had kept us separate from God since the Fall and Expulsion of mankind from the Garden of Eden. It is through her giving of herself freely that the moment of our Salvation is enacted. It is though her saying “do unto me according to thy will” that we are made whole once more, it is through her that we are allowed to even attempt to move towards union with God, and it is through her that we are able to behold the Transfiguration. Let us remember her role because we will be celebrating the day of her repose in a few short days.
The Transfiguration is also important because it allows us to glimpse the true Divinity of Our Lord Jesus, up until now his glory has never been fully revealed and indeed it cannot be fully revealed to mere humans. In the Apolytikion, or the Dismissal Hymn from Vespers which establishes the overall theme for the liturgical day, for today’s feast the Church sings,
When, O Christ our God, thou wast Transfigured on the mountain, thou didst reveal thy glory to thy Disciples in proportion as they could bear it.
What the hymn is saying is that the Lord could not reveal his glory fully to the Disciples for as God says in the Book of Exodus Chapter 33:20, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” The Disciples would perish instantly if they beheld Christ in his ineffable glory. But the Lord does allow the Disciples to see a small part of his glory, so that we too could know without a doubt that Jesus is indeed God. But this subdued glory was even so great as to cause the disciples to fall on their faces. The light of Christ’s glory was also the light of the Resurrection, and through the Transfiguration we are allowed to glimpse the wonders and glories of Heaven. We must cleanse ourselves through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving so that we can behold the light of the transfiguration and by doing so glimpse the light of the Resurrection.
One hymn that the Church sings on this great feast says:
When thou wast transfigured, O Saviour, on a high mountain, in the presence of thy chief Disciples, thou didst shine forth in glory, symbolizing that they who are recognized for the sublimity of virtue, shall also be made worthy of divine glory. As for Moses and Elijah when they conversed with Christ they made manifest that he was the Lord of the quick and the dead, and that he was the God who spake of old in the law and the Prophets, the same to whom the voice of the Father didst bear witness from a radiant cloud, saying, Him do ye hear; for he it is who by the Cross hath taken captive hades and hath bestowed life eternal to the dead.
I want to draw your attention to the figures of Moses and Elijah who appeared and conversed with our Lord Jesus on Mount Tabor. Why, out of all the prophets of the Old Testament, were they chosen to appear? While the hymn says that it is show that Jesus is pre-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, God the Trinity. There are numerous places in the Old Testament that are believed to be direct or indirect references to the Messiah, and therefore to Jesus. The angel that appeared in the furnace and changed the fire into dew with the three youths is believed to be Christ. As well as whenever the Logos or Word of God is mentioned, and often when God’s Wisdom is mentioned, both are believe to be references to Christ. The Transfiguration allows us to see the continuity between the Old and New testaments, and that Christ did not just suddenly appear and become involved in the process of our salvation, but he has always been present, and indeed he always will be.
May the Light of the Transfiguration, transfigure each of us and may we always move towards reunion with our most loving and merciful God.
+Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.