View the August 4, 2019 Bulletin

BEHOLDING HIS GLORY AND OUR TRANSFORMATION

In the book of Exodus, Moses asks God “Now, show me your glory.” God responded to the bold, if not impertinent request of Moses by saying, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But, you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (Exodus 33:18) Moses’ request is for sight – he asks to see, to visually take in exactly who God is. Rather than ask for an explanation or description or idea that satisfies logic and reason, Moses asks for a sensory experience of the Creator, one that hopefully brings God nearer in a most intimate, meta-physical way. If it is true that the eyes are the windows to the heart and soul, then Moses was mystically touched by what God said was at His essence – the wonder of His name, the healing of His mercy, and the promise that in His compassion, we see Him walk with us not only in the brightness of our lives, but in the shadows as well. God allows this revelation of who He is, but within that, there is still a mystery, a “seeing through the glass dimly.”  

The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is ultimately about vision. The Lord brought Peter, James, and John up a high mountain in order that they might come to see. As He had done with Moses, He gave them but a fleeting glimpse of divinity. He allowed them to see across (trans-figuration) to the other shore, to the true glory of Christ, as St. John wrote: “…we have beheld His glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father.” (John 1:14). Today’s feast is about receiving this vision of God’s glory in our personal lives and allowing it to change us (metamorphosis). It is essential for us to have this experience, otherwise the discouragements and disappointments of life can easily overwhelm us. We need to see the light of God’s glory so we can fight the darkness. We need to see the brightness of hope in order to conquer despair. God does give us this vision, this glimpse into His own heart and by it we are changed, transformed, made different. As was true of the Mosaic experience, so it is with us: God enters through immediate human experience, not as some system of thought, schedule of rules, or neat concept.  
 
There are four basic ways in which God ushers in this vision, clarifies it, grants it, and helps it to grow. First is the climb. Mount Tabor was a day’s climb to the top. They were weighed down with provisions and plenty of water. The point is that the vision they experienced came only after a difficult climb. In our own life, suffering and difficulties usually bring about new vision, open new vistas, and bring deeper understanding – despite the pain and struggle. Suffering is not something we enjoy, to be sure, but it is part of the climb. At the top there is a vision to be had, but to get us there the Lord often makes us climb up the rough side of the mountain. Climbing on the rough side affords us crags and rock formations that can steady our feet and guide our hands. Climbing on the smooth side means the risk of slipping on the slick stone with ultimately little on which to hold.  This is what it often takes to give us vision. Sir Edmund Hillary who made the daunting climb to the frigid summit of Mount Everest wisely reminds us: “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” The object is not the arrival at the top, but the climbing itself.
 
Second, is clarification. In the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament and, by implication, the anticipation of the New Testament — or Sacred Scripture. Part of what the Lord needs to do for us in order to give us this heavenly vision of His glory is to teach us His Word, to steep us in His preaching, and to convince us thereby that in the Word is the Will – in the Scriptures we come to lay our senses on exactly what is in the heart of God for our lives. As we grow in knowledge of Scripture, our vision grows, our understanding deepens, and we see things differently. Immersion in the Scriptures disposes us for this heavenly vision. Do you want to see the heavens open and the glory of God be revealed? Then immerse yourself in Scripture. Through Scripture, God clarifies all things, He exposes His will and reveals the depth of His heart. He plumbs ever deeper into the very essence of who we are as people. As St. John Chrysostom wrote: “The Holy Scriptures were given to us not that we should enclose them in books, but that we should engrave them upon our hearts.” 
 
Thirdly is contemplation. Now comes the vision! Throughout the difficult climb and struggling, and through immersion in His word, God often grants us this vision. When we see His glory we become fully awake – awake about Him and about ourselves.  So great is this glory that Peter, James, and John do not know what to say! Those who have truly experienced a glimpse of God’s glory, the power of His mercy and compassion, the force of His love, know that it cannot be reduced to words. It is ineffable, unsayable, unspeakable! There is an old saying: “Those who know, do not say. Those who say, do not know.”  The three Apostles can only marvel, wonder, and ponder on what they are experiencing — they contemplate (con —with, templo —dwell). In that mystic moment, they dwelt with Jesus like in no other moment with Him. They wanted to freeze the scene and stay on that mountaintop, to stop time, to hold fast to a power that they had never experienced. Indeed, they were tempted to “churchify” the vision, erecting booths for each participant – as though God’s glory could be constrained by cloth, fabric, or stone! God’s glory is a force not a structure. It inspires wonder. All they could be was awestruck at the absolute approach  of God. Here Jesus echoed His Father’s words in Psalm 46: “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10)
 
Lastly, the Scriptural passage on the Transfiguration ends with a command. It comes from heaven: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.”  The vision that the Lord confers gives direction as well as light. In order to obey the Father’s command that they listen to Jesus, the Apostles are going to have to accept Christ’s instruction that they move on with Him to Jerusalem and the Cross. They cannot stay on the mountaintop because if they did, they would short-circuit what was meant to happen. That is the only way that Jesus’ “hour would come” – on the Cross, his self-prelude to an empty tomb that would conquer death and bring new and eternal life to all.  
 
The change that those Apostles experienced as a result of the Transfiguration had to be put at the service of all seekers. It had to be transformed into the ministry of discipleship. The vision needed to be done, not simply viewed.  The climb, clarification, contemplation and command – all become the pathway to personal spiritual growth and harbingers of God’s Glory. Jesus’ own transformation before His Apostles, became a foretoken of OUR metamorphosis – He changes us, He gives us a new sense of purpose in our lives, He allows us to discern God’s will for us, and He settles our oft-wobbly feet on the sure and certain ground of a “Love divine, all other loves excelling.”  All we have to do is listen, learn, and live out that wonder in our daily lives. Glory to Your Holy Transfiguration, O Christ!

Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Dimitrios