The Transfiguration
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 2 views-
Notes
Transcript
Tranfiguration
Introduction
Introduction
We celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration on the 19th of August or 13th of Mesore (MESRA)
The Transfiguration is mentioned in all of the synoptic gospels
This feast is extremely important, a feast that has a very important word to give to our times —ESPECIALLY OUR TIMES — because it reveals to us the glory that God had foreordained for man from the beginning.
Matthew 17:1–9 (KJV 1900)
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 the light. 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. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.
Christ Transfigured on mount tabor, His radiance and light which proceeded from Him shows the purpose for which God created man. He created him for this glory, this participation. As Christ for us became double, being God he became man, he did so, so that man can become double. Being man to become like unto God, to become Gods by grace. To receive the grace of sonship and adoption. Christ‘s Transfiguration is the Image we will take on.
So essentially in the feast of the Transfiguration we see this great purpose that God has set for man
This is very important because we are living in times when we experience a great degradation of man. People have lost their purpose and inspiration in life, and this feast comes to give us the way out of this impasse.
If we recall Mina speaking about “The Path to the Kingdom” difference between old and new christians
Summary of the Gospels
Summary of the Gospels
To speak about the Transfiguration we must first discuss what happened before. Christ asks the disciples who do men say that I am?
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
“The Son of Man coming in Power” refers the the Transfiguration which occured immediately after
This witness of Peter shows that the faith of the disciples had increased in Christ and even more so their love for their master had increased and this made them more capable to receive the revelation of Christ Transfigured before them - So it is the FAITH and the LOVE that increased their capacity to experience this great event
Soon after he takes Peter, James and John - These were the disciples that Christ took with Him whenever he had to do something significant.
Ex.: Raising the daughter of Jairus, Gethsemene
The reason he only took 3 disciples is that He wanted this to remain a secret
Christ was Transfigured so that
When His disciples would see Him crucified they would know that His suffering is Voluntary and would not despair
The Prayer of Christ
The fathers comment that the Light that Christ bore on Tabor was a glory that Christ always bore in Him but there the eyes of the disciples were opened and they could see that glory - Their eyes were opened through Christ’s prayer
And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
So the main purpose here was for Christ to strengthen the disciples
Culmination of the Transfiguration & A Side note of the Apostle Peter
Culmination of the Transfiguration & A Side note of the Apostle Peter
We notice a great culmination of events on Tabor
His face shone as the Sun - strongest wording they could give — also difference between light emanating from Him and the whiteness of his clothes
Then Moses and Elijah Appear and talk to Him — in Luke it says they spoke about his upcoming Passion
And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Notice the impulsiveness but also the great love of the Apostle Peter — hearing before that Christ said the Son of Man must Suffer and then now he rejoiced at seeing the Master in glory because he loved the Master and wanted the Master to be in glory
We see that even after this most explicit THEOPHANY - The Apostle Peter still almost lost everything
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.
St Peter tells Chris let us make 3 tabernacles — Meaning the 3 disciples would be in the tabernacle with Christ and then one for Moses and one for Elijah
But Peter did not know what he was talking about - Then the voice of the Father appears (Culmination Continued)
We notice a great culmination of events on Tabor
His face shone as the Sun - strongest wording they could give — also difference between light emanating from Him and the whiteness of his clothes
Then Moses and Elijah Appear and talk to Him — in Luke it says they spoke about his upcoming Passion (CONT..)
Great cloud overshadows them and a great voice out of the could which said “This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased, here Him” — This was the climax
Seeing all the above it makes us wonder for what a glory God created us and yet how far or short we fallen from this glory or purpose
Word on Moses and Elijah
Word on Moses and Elijah
1. We see on Tabor Moses and Elijah — Moses represents the law and Elijah the prophets and they are present because the fullness of the law and the prophets is there — Christ
2. Another reason why they appeared is that both Moses and Elijah throughout their life they were constantly seeking to understand the judgements of God — Moses went as far as to ask God to make Himself manifest to him when he was on Sinai — Earlier in the below text God tells Moses that he should lead the people of Israel and Moses quarreled with God and said “but You send me to guide this people and I do not know You, what will I say to them? Make Yourself manifest to me so that I know which God I am speaking of and they believe me!
Let’s read the story and see what God answers him
And Moses said to the Lord, “Look, you yourself say to me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you yourself have not made known to me whom you will send along with me! Yet you said to me, ‘I know you more than any other, and indeed you have favor before me.’ If, therefore, I have found favor before you, show yourself to me, that I may see you clearly, so that I might find favor before you, and that I might know that this great nation is your people.” And he responded, “I myself will go along with you, and I will put you at ease.” And he responded to him, “If you yourself do not go along, do not lead me up from here. And how will it really be known that I have found grace before you, both I and your people, except if you go along together with us? And I will be honored, both I and your people, from all the peoples that are upon the earth.”
And the Lord said to Moses, “Indeed, I will do this thing for you, which you have said, for you have found grace before me, and I know you more than any other person.” And Moses said, “Manifest yourself to me!” And God said, “I myself will pass by in front of you in my glory, and I will speak on my name, the Lord, before you, and I will have mercy upon whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion upon whomever I will have compassion.” And he said, “You cannot see my face, for a human cannot see my face and live.” And the Lord said, “Look, a place beside me! Stand on this rock. And when my splendor passes by, then I will put you into a cleft of the rock, and I will shelter you with my hand over you until I have passed by. And then I will take my hand away, and then you will see what is behind me, but my face will not appear to you.”
So wee see Moses only saw the ‘back parts’ of God, he was not able to see yet God Himself. And EVEN that great THEOPHANY — It says Sinai was covered with a DARK CLOUD whereas Tabor was covered with a BRIGHT CLOUD — showing that this Theophany was far greater than any revelation of the Old Testament
Elijah walked for forty days to Horeb while fasting and praying with tension and there God made Himself manifest to him in the ‘still small voice’ - After Elijah with his craving to God brought down the earthquake, the wind, the fire and after this the ‘still voice’
and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire the voice of a gentle breeze.
This was something that marked them for all eternity — The fact that they had learned to converse with God in their life, this accompanied them in all eternity and now on Tabor we see them standing next to the LOGOS and conversing with Him FACE to FACE
3. Third point is that they were appointed to minister unto the elect people of God - A difficult task of guiding the people who were without instruction
So we see that they were marked by this ministry that they had and even on Tabor they are talking with Christ about his EXODUS which will happen AKA his PASSION
What else would they talk about with Christ - St Peter says even the angels learned something new from HIS Passions in terms of his KENOSIS (Self Emptying) - This made all the heavens marvel — His way to put Himself under everyone in order to save all
Therefore, we see on the feast of Transfiguration that the things that we expect in eternity they begin from this life: if we do not acquire experience of standing in the presence of God of conversing or talking to God in this life, it is not sure that we will have this in eternity — Father Sophrony expresses this more explicitly: ‘If I do not change myself from this life and become like unto God, how can I expect to be with Him for ever?’
Conclusion
Conclusion
The mystery of the Transfiguration of Christ is something experienced constantly in the Church — Christ is constantly transfigured before us.
What are three main means the mystery is experienced in our lives?
Prayer — Often it is a laborious task, but sometimes Christ opens the eyes of our heart, and we feel the power of divine life. Then we stand in His divine presence, and in the Light of that presence we are cleansed, illumined and sanctified.
His Word — Often we read and reread without grasping the words, but there comes a moment when one of these words is transfigured before us and we feel through that word we see all the mystery of God and our fallenness - and that word can open a river of tears
Example of Luke and Cleopas
Luke 24:31
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
The Divine Liturgy — We are transfigured through the partaking of the Holy Mysteries
You see therefore, we are called to experience Mount Tabor - This Ascent - And as the disciples begun by seeing Christ in the Flesh and then they were not seeing Him in the flesh — They passed from the flesh to the Spirit on Tabor, from the physical and human to the spiritual and divine.
Likewise for us, this is our calling in the mystery of Christ — It is not enough to say we believe; even the demons believe in Christ that he is the true God and they tremble but this is not a faith that saves! We need to experience this passage from the flesh to the spirit, from the physical to the spiritual, from the human to the divine in our approach to the mystery of Christ
James 2:19
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
St Symeon the new Theologian — We must experience the transfiguration in this life — why would we not stretch forth to grasp it?
Some might say “Oh, but this is not for me I am unworthy!” — The fathers of the church teach us that this is a false humility to say that it is not for me
I remember hearing someone once saying “It’s good to believe but not to become a saint. It’s nice to be in the church, be well behaved but not to become a saint, not to go that far.” For him it was a disadvantage to take it that extreme — But this is not how the Church thinks!
Christ speaks about his Kingdom coming in “Power”
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
Saint Peter speaking about a “rich entry”
For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
If the promise is unto us why would we not stretch forth to grasp it?
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
If therefore it is offered to us in the Church we need to stretch forth to grab this - Each and everyone of us has this potential in us. And in fact, this is what will give us true humility in our life — True repentance, when we see the true dimensions of our calling and then how far we have fallen from that
That is where true repentance will begin
The Tragedy of Man especially today is that on the one hand physical life stifling - He wants to escape from it and breakthrough and if possible ascend above this physical life to the supernatural but the ways he tries to do that bring more and more death in his life
Feeling the narrow confinements of this physical life without the Grace of God they seek to find “Pseudo-Supports” (Fake supports):
In the pleasures of sin — the more you turn to sin, death creeps more in your life and darkness and then feeling the void you turn more to sin (Vicious Circle)
Or Possessions — Material things which again leave the soul utterly void
Putting our confidence on our intellect thinking through science we will be able to cease eternity
One way we feel this is if we have experienced the grace of God and then for some reason we make a mistake and lose it - we feel physical and natural because of the contrast
So Finally this is the witness of the Transfiguration of the Lord — A feast full of hope, full of inspiration. Because it shows that we can breakthrough and in fact it is God who planned it into our soul, this seeking for the Other; because we have His Image but we are called to become like unto Him and it is natural for man to seek for something other than what we see. BUT THIS IS ONLY GIVEN IN THE COMMUNION WITH GRACE WHICH MAN IS VESTED WITH THE MAJESTIC GLORY OF GOD
For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”
We see on the Transfiguration nothing else than the great truth of our fathers St Athanasius and St Irenaeus
St Athanasius
St Irenaeus
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Throughout Christ’s earthly sojourn, many saw Christ with their eyes, such as the jews. But few were those who could see the glory He bore within. Among them, first and foremost was the Mother of God. Also Saint John the Baptist. This happens in every generation from then until today, in every generation few are those who see this glory of mount Tabor but there are. Our church still gives us such saints who have a tangible experience of this Light. From the transfiguration of Christ until today, there is an unbroken chain of continuity of the tradition of the fathers who experience this Light of God. So it a matter of Christ opening our eyes.
The Apostles Peter, James and John on Mount Tabor were caught up in Uncreated Light, and in its radiance heard the incorporeal voice of the Father testifying to Christ as His beloved Son. St. Paul on the road to Damascus saw the same Light, and in its manifestation realized the Divinity of Jesus. The same gift has been vouchsafed through the centuries to many hierarchs, anchorites, martyrs and righteous men. And even to our day this grace still continues to flow down on the faithful — St Sophrony of Essex
We cannot be Christian without the Communion of the Grace of God.
The last point is that the Transfiguration was 40 days before the Crucifixion — For it is through the Cross that the Light of Tabor becomes our eternal possession. God the Father says, ‘This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him’, meaning, ‘Be obedient to Him’. But wherever there is obedience to a divine commandment, the mystery of the Cross is also at work.
Matt 17:5
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.
Thus, we are called to hear Him, that is, to follow Him in His journey from Tabor to Golgotha. Indeed, the light of Tabor is a complete crucifixion for him who experiences it.
The vision of uncreated Light is indissolubly bound up with faith or belief in the Divinity of Christ — bound up with, though in a curious manner one depends on the other.
Comment on “after six days” - Stillness
If there is time