The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Life

In the third year of His preaching on earth, the Lord Jesus spoke more often to His disciples of His approaching Passion, but at the same time also of His glory after His suffering on the Cross. So that His coming Passion would not utterly weaken the disciples and cause them to fall away from Him, He the All-Wise desired to show them before His Passion a part of His divine glory. Therefore, taking with Him Peter, James, and John, He went with them by night up Mount Tabor, and there He was transfigured before them. And His face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as snow. And there appeared beside Him Moses and Elijah, the great prophets of the Old Testament. And the disciples beheld and marveled. And Peter said: "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles: one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." But while Peter was yet speaking, Moses and Elijah withdrew, and a bright cloud surrounded the Lord and the disciples, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." Hearing this voice, the disciples fell on their faces to the ground as though dead and remained lying there in fear until the Lord came to them and said: "Arise, and be not afraid" (Matthew 17). Why did the Lord take only three disciples to Tabor and not all of them? Because Judas was not worthy to behold the divine glory of the Teacher whom he would betray, and the Lord did not wish to leave Judas alone below the mountain, lest the traitor justify his betrayal thereby. Why was He transfigured on a mountain and not in a valley? To teach us two virtues: diligence and meditation on God. For climbing a height requires labor, and the height represents the height of our thoughts — that is, meditation on God. Why was He transfigured by night? Because night is more suitable for prayer and meditation on God than the day, and because night covers with darkness all earthly beauty and reveals the beauty of the starry heavens. Why did Moses and Elijah appear? To dispel the Jewish error that Christ was one of the prophets — Elijah, Jeremiah, or some other — therefore He appears as King over the prophets, and therefore Moses and Elijah appear as His servants. Until then the Lord had many times shown the disciples His divine power, but on Tabor He showed them His divine nature. This vision of His Divinity and the hearing of the heavenly testimony about Him as the Son of God was meant to serve the disciples during the days of the Lord's Passion as a strengthening of their unshakable faith in Him and in His ultimate victory.

From the Hymn of Praise

There where Israel vanquished Sisera,There the Heavenly King was also pleasedTo go forth in prayer and nightly vigil,To reveal the glory of His Transfiguration,