Sermon on the Transfiguration of our Lord
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
On the mount Thou was transfigured, and Thy disciples, as much as they could bear, beheld Thy glory, O Christ God; so that when they should see Thee, crucified, they would know Thy passion to be willing, and would preach to the world that Thou, in truth, art the effulgence of the Father. (Kontakion of the Transfiguration)
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God incarnate, in Him the divine and human nature are united indivisibly. In His Divinity He is an unapproachable light, “upon Whom the orders of Angels dare not gaze”. But while living on earth He was hiding His divine glory; otherwise, how could people freely communicate with Him?
The Apostles lived with Jesus Christ for three years and they saw him a Man, with all human characteristics. To an observer, He appeared like all other humans. However, His most astonishing miracles and His power over nature revealed His divinity and led people to believe that He was truly the Son of God.
Shortly before His sufferings, the Lord showed His divine glory not to all, but only to three chosen disciples, who were to testify this to the world. The testimony of these three was sufficient, for the Law of Moses says, “A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. (Deut. 19).
Therefore the Lord had Peter, James and John as witnesses of His Transfiguration, so that they would bear witness to the world that the “Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2)
This is how they bear witness – St John says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1).
St Peter says also: “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honour and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1).
Apart from these three Apostles there were two more witnesses to the Transfiguration: the holy Prophets Moses and Elijah. The Apostles were to bear witness for those on earth, while Moses was a witness from the underworld, and Elijah from heaven.
On the other hand, it was the Pharisees who accused Jesus of breaking the Law of Moses; and because of this accusation He was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin (the supreme council). But at the Transfiguration we see Moses, the giver of the Law, and Elijah the greatest zealot of the Law, talking with Jesus, while reverently standing before him like servants. This was to assure the disciples that their Teacher was not a transgressor of the Law, but its Author.
These three apostles will soon be with Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, they will see His agony, they will see Him being mocked and crucified, and the Lord showed them His divine glory, so that their faith would not be shaken by His extreme humiliation, so that they would understand that He voluntarily endured all this for the salvation of men.
Six days before the Transfiguration, the Lord Jesus Christ, while talking to His disciples, said: “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” (Mark. 9).
Here the Lord covertly spoke of His Transfiguration. Since He wanted to take only three of His Apostles onto the mountain, and perhaps not wishing to incite jealousy in the others, He said in these vague words: “there are some who will see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom”.
Thus, the Transfiguration foreshadowed the Second Coming of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. Peter, James and John were vouchsafed to experience the blessedness of the Kingdom of God. Their souls were enraptured with such joy, that St Peter, who was always fast to express his feelings, exclaimed: “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here”.
The blessedness of the kingdom of God will come from communion with God, from seeing God. “The unspeakable delight of those that behold the ineffable beauty of Thy countenance”, as St Basil says in his prayer. But the righteous will not only behold God’s glory; they themselves will take part in it, as it is said in the Gospel: “The righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mat. 13). Just as the divine glory of our Lord was hidden in His humanity, so the righteous people covertly bear the glory of holiness, which will be revealed on the Last day.
We are all invited to the glory of the Transfiguration, as the Apostle Paul says: “We are citizens of heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will transform our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body. (Philip. 3)
Having such promises, brothers and sisters, let us strive to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, so that we may take part in the glory of the Transfiguration.
Amen
