Well, I've been very busy for the past couple of weeks, and not posting on NSG at all, but I'm not going to miss one of my scheduled posts on a Great Feast of the Orthodox Church! I see that Cote Acreole ninja'd me, too.
So, quickly, before the day ends in all time zones, I'd like to mark the Great Feast that falls on August 6th...
The Transfiguration of Christ
“Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.
And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"
When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.
And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid."
And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." ”
-- Matthew 17:1-9The first time I read about the Transfiguration in the Bible, my impression was something along the lines of "well, that seemed important... but I have no idea what it meant". And I still think it's one of the most cryptic events in the Gospels, and certainly the hardest to understand among all the events that are celebrated as Great Feasts.
In order to understand it, we should first go back to the preceding chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew (or the Gospel of St. Luke, which narrates the same events here), and see what Christ said
before taking up those three Apostles with Him on the mountain. What was He taking about right before the Gospel says "six days later..." ? Well, the preceding chapter ends with these words:
"Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." -- Matthew 16:28
Some people (mostly Protestants) have interpreted these words as meaning that Jesus promised that the end of the world is coming within the lifetimes of some of those who were listening to Him at the time. But the Gospel writers place this promise immediately before the Transfiguration, and not by accident. As Saint Gregory Palamas explains, Christ isn't promising that some of those present will live to see the end of the world. He is promising that some of those present will live to see a "preview" of the Second Coming, a vision of the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Those people were the Apostles Peter, James and John, and the vision was the Transfiguration.
Another important point regarding the Transfiguration is that here, just as at the Baptism of Christ, the fullness of the Trinity is revealed, and the voice of the Father is heard directly.
But while at His baptism, Christ acted in accordance with His human nature, and asked to be baptized just like any other human being, at the Transfiguration it is the divine nature of Christ that is revealed and takes center stage. He no longer looks or acts like any other human being, but instead shines like the sun, and His clothes "become as white as light". Christ therefore reveals Himself as God.
The choice of the three Apostles who accompanied Christ on the mountain and witnessed His Transfiguration is also very significant, because these were precisely the same three who would later be with Him in the garden of Gethsemane. There is a connection between the Transfiguration and the Resurrection of Christ. The light of the Transfiguration is the same as the light of the Resurrection - it is the Uncreated Light, which emanates from God and transforms all those who are in union with Him. What the three Apostles saw on that mountain was, basically, a brief preview of Heaven.
St. Gregory Palamas writes:
"We believe that at the Transfiguration He manifested not some other sort of light, but only that which was concealed beneath His fleshly exterior. This Light was the Light of the Divine Nature, and as such, it was Uncreated and Divine. So also, in the teachings of the Fathers, Jesus Christ was transfigured on the Mount, not taking upon Himself something new nor being changed into something new, nor something which formerly He did not possess. Rather, it was to show His disciples that which He already was, opening their eyes and bringing them from blindness to sight. For do you not see that eyes that can perceive natural things would be blind to this Light?
Thus, this Light is not a light of the senses, and those contemplating it do not simply see with sensual eyes, but rather they are changed by the power of the Divine Spirit. They were transformed, and only in this way did they see the transformation taking place amidst the very assumption of our perishability, with the deification through union with the Word of God in place of this.
So also she who miraculously conceived and gave birth recognized that the One born of her is God Incarnate. So it was also for Simeon, who only received this Infant into his arms, and the aged Anna, coming out [from the Jerusalem Temple] for the Meeting, since the Divine Power illumined, as through a glass windowpane, giving light for those having pure eyes of heart."Here are hymns for the occasion on YouTube:
Troparion of the Transfiguration in multiple languagesTroparion of the Transfiguration (in English, Byzantine melody)
Troparion of the Transfiguration (in English, different melody)
Troparion of the Transfiguration (in Arabic)
Troparion of the Transfiguration (also in Arabic)
Troparion of the Transfiguration (in Romanian)
Apolytikon of the Transfiguration (in Greek)
Troparion:
You were Transfigured on the Mount, O Christ God,
Revealing Your glory to Your disciples as far as they could bear it.
Let Your everlasting Light shine upon us sinners!
Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Giver of Light, glory to You!Kontakion:
On the Mountain You were Transfigured, O Christ God,
And Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they could bear it;
So that when they would behold You crucified,
They would understand that Your suffering was voluntary,
And would proclaim to the world,
That You are truly the Radiance of the Father!
Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 10:15 am
