The Transfiguration of the Lord in Spiritual Life

The purpose of these videos and articles on the Transfiguration is to show its place in our spiritual life.

The following is a video on this subject. In it the Transfiguration according to the Greek Fathers is presented. Its revolutionary approach is addressed. One of the most beautiful fruits of the new understanding of the Transfiguration is a deepening of the two parts of the Mass.

(Two more videos at the bottom of this page.)

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The Texts of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Matthew (James) 17	Mark (Peter) 9	Luke (Paul) 9
16:28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”	1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”	27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.
17:1 And after six days Jesus took with himPeter and James and John his brother, and led them upa high mountain  apart.	2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves;	28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”	and he was transfigured before them, 3 and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid.	29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” – not knowing what he said.
5 He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.	7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only.	34 As he said this, a Cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead.”	9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.	And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Peter: “16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honour 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,” 18 we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.19 And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:16-19)

John: “And the Word became flesh and pitched his Tent among us, full of grace and truth; we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” (John 1:14)

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Transfiguration According to The Greek Fathers

Breathing with Both Lungs

“The Church must breathe with her two lungs!”  stated Pope John Paul II in Ut Unum Sint, (no. 54). By the “two lungs” the Pope meant the Western and the Eastern Christian theological Traditions. They are both valid, they complement each other and help each other. They often shed a splendid light on each other.

As Christians, and Catholics we should lead the world with our capacity to make things “catholic,” that is, universal: valid for all. We cannot do that without at least letting both lungs work.

The richness that the Gospel’s Seed develops in each part of the world belongs to everybody and all of us need all its parts.

The mystery of the “Transfiguration of the Lord” is a very special example of the diversity of the two traditions. This makes it a strategic point in the life of the Church. In a matter that important as the “Transfiguration” we need to let the two lungs work very well. Therefore, the Eastern Tradition should be explored, deepened and explained, so that everybody will benefit from it.

Did you know that both traditions see the Transfiguration in a different way?

For the Western Theological Tradition (embodied in St. Thomas Aquinas’ commentary, and in the Preface of the Roman Missal) Christ did actually change, He was really transfigured, His clothes changed colour and aspect as well as His Face, and a real Cloud hovered over the Apostles, Moses and Elijah, and Jesus, and overshadowed them. This event is considered to be very necessary for the Apostles in order to strengthen them and to help them endure the rigors of the Passion of Christ.

However, in order to help them to go through the trial of the Passion, the Eastern Theological Tradition offers quite a different understanding of that Event, without negating the fact that this huge grace and event must have had an important effect on the Apostles.

Let me state a few facts that characterise the Eastern vision of the Transfiguration:

First: The entire mystery of prayer is enclosed in the Mystery of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Therefore, this mystery is central in the Teaching on Prayer. It embodies it. For instance, we can see that St. Luke’s version of the Transfiguration focuses on its relationship with “Prayer”: they went up “to pray” (Luke 9:28).

Second: any Iconographer, starts his Mission in the Church, by exercising himself first on the Icon of the Transfiguration. It is with this Icon that he/she can work on the Light, because the “contemplation of Light”, and “expressing it” are central in the Iconograph’s Mission.

Third: Jesus did not physically change that day! From day one, from the moment when the Son of God receives a human nature in Mary’s womb, His human nature is, so to speak, “transfigured” by this union: the union, in One Person, the Person of the Eternal Son of God, of the divine nature and the human nature of Christ.

Fourth: The Apostles, by climbing the Mountain with the transformative Force of Jesus, are purified and transfigured so that they are made capable of seeing Jesus as He is. Jesus, in fact, is the one who changes them.

Fifth: In the Transfiguration, the Apostles actually contemplated the Uncreated Nature of Jesus, and not a created light.

Sixth: Before the event, Jesus Himself makes a Promise to show some of them the Kingdom, and the Transfiguration is the fulfilment of this Promise: “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God. About eight days after Jesus said this [promise], he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying […]” (Luke 9:27-29).

I am sure there are many other aspects but, as you can already see, if you combine these six elements of the Eastern Theological Tradition, you will be faced with a revolutionary understanding of the Transfiguration that will open amazing new horizons.

First, there is a Promise: Jesus speaks to his Apostles and prophesies to them that some of them will not die before seeing the Kingdom, or “see the Son of God coming in his kingdom” (Mt 16:28). Applied to us, this means the same: amongst the people who read the Gospel or listen to its Proclamation in the Mass, there are people standing there who will have an amazing experience.

Second: by climbing the Mountain we find much useful information to understand Jesus’ Action on the Apostles, namely, “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart.” (Mt 17:1) If we break this sentence down a little, a deeper and more marvellous significance will become clear:

– “took with him” He grabs them with His Power. He saves them, bringing them out from darkness into His Light.

– Election of some: this, of course, can refer to those who are more fervent.

– “Led them up”: Jesus Himself is the one who is Acting.

– “a high mountain”: reveals the quality of His Action.

– “apart”:  reveals the content of His Action.

The above neatly sums up that Jesus is capable of transforming the human being, bringing the “new being” to life and into its fulness. So, we “become like Him”, and therefore can “see him as He is”: “we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

Third: the discovery that the apostles changed and that we are invited to change like them becomes the foundation of our Christian life, setting for us the real goal: to be transformed in Christ in order to “see Him as He is”. This is the core of “Spiritual Theology”: divinisation, or transformation. We understand that this central task embodies everything for us in our Christian life, including our “Spiritual Life”.

We can now, finally, understand why and how the Transfiguration is such an amazing event for the Theological Spiritual Eastern Tradition. It is our Treasure. To a degree, it embodies all the Gospel.

Also, we can easily understand the importance of its Feastday, every year (6^th of August).

Transfiguration and Mass

The Byzantine tradition tells us that the Transfiguration is of such importance that it encompasses the entire mystery of “christian prayer”.

It is only by willing to enter into this mystery embodied by the Transfiguration, that one starts to discover its great scope. Let us, now, explore one of its aspects.

Transfiguration and Mass

The Transfiguration could be seen as a spiritual summary of the Mass.

1- First: the Mass used to be mainly celebrated on Sundays, where all the Christians used to gather to meet the Risen Lord. The earliest accounts of that gathering could be found in St. John 20, with the Apostles gathered in the Upper Room, the door closed; see also Luke 24, in the structure of the apparition to the two disciples of Emmaus.

The Three accounts of the Transfiguration give us a hint about the relationship between: the Resurrection (happening on the 7^th or 8^th day) and the weekly Gathering (the Sunday Mass): “6 days later” (Mt. Mk.), or “8 days later” (Luke).

2- Second: we enter into the Mass by climbing up that High Mountain of the Action of God through the “Divine Liturgy” that God will deploy. Notice that we have to receive a special grace in order to climb. The same Greek verb is used in the Transfiguration as in the Mass: anapherei “Anaphore” meaning “Eucharistic Prayer”. Jesus is the one who “grabs” the celebrants by His Grace and makes them climb with Him.

Hence, we start the Mass by asking forgiveness (Kyrie), preparing ourselves to be put into the Hands of the Mercy of God. This is an act of purification and surrender by offering ourselves to the Hands of Jesus. Later in the Mass, He will elevate our hearts (“lift up your hearts”), and He will secrete them within Himself, or “under the shadow of the Cloud”.

3- Third: the early Church kept the readings of the Sabbath Liturgy of the Synagogue: one reading from the Torah (Pentateuch) and one reading from the Prophets (one can verify that this is still the case in the Jewish Liturgy), and add to it the reading of the Gospels and some readings from the Apostles as well as from Acts.

In the early Church, Christians used to have a very special experience of “seeing” Jesus in the Old Testament (see Luke 24, 1 Cor. 10), namely, what used to happen is that Jesus would “appear” in the Text of the Liturgy of the Old Testament.

Now, in the Transfiguration we have Moses representing the Torah and Elijah the Prophets, side by side with the fact that Jesus’ clothes and face are transformed, transfigured. The “letter” of the text (the “clothes” of the text) of the Old Testament is hereby transfigured and shows the Presence of Jesus. Jesus appears, and sheds a light over the Old Testament (Moses and Elijah), namely, the true significance of Moses and Elijah. All this takes place in the first part of the Mass and the first part of the Transfiguration. In brief, the Power of the Light of the Gospel and the presence of Jesus in the Proclamation of the Gospel, sheds a light over the two readings from the Old Testament.

4- Fourth: we then enter the second part of the Mass, the Eucharistic part. We also enter the second part of the Transfiguration: where the Cloud (symbol of the Presence of God) will overshadow everybody, just as the Eucharist will overshadow everybody, for everybody will receive the Body and the Blood of Jesus, until finally, united in Jesus, it will be only Jesus who will remain (as the text of the Transfiguration will state in Luke 9:36). This is “the vision” par excellence.

5- Fifth: the Transfiguration is about seeing, having a vision: it starts with a promise of seeing the Son of God coming (see this Promise before the Transfiguration), and ends (while coming down the mountain) with Jesus saying “don’t say anything about what you saw.” Receiving the Eucharist is about seeing Jesus, the True Light. This is what everybody sings right after Communion in the Byzantine Rite: “We have seen the True Light, and we have received the Heavenly Spirit”. In Holy Communion, we are truly overshadowed by the Heavenly Spirit as were the Apostles on the Sacred Mountain.

The parallel between the Transfiguration and the Divine Liturgy requires a degree of caution. For me, this shows that Jesus was entrusting the three Apostles, as heads of liturgical traditions, with the Divine Liturgy itself, so, through this unique experience on Mount Tabor, they can understand, enter, and measure the greatness of the one single Mass. He asked them not to reveal what happened during the Transfiguration until He rose from the dead, until He is capable of delivering, on a weekly basis, that “apparition”, that “transfiguration”.

This is why we gather together each Sunday.

Each Sunday we are invited to climb the High Mountain of the Glory of God, to listen to His Word, to see Him transfiguring the Old Testament text, each Sunday, with His Light, as “the Risen Lord”. We are then invited to enter beneath the Divine Cloud (the second part of the Mass where the catechumens were excluded, and the doors shut (see John 20 and the doors shut)), and receive the Communion that makes all of us One in Him, that make us “one Jesus” only.

This invitation, however, poses some important questions. Do we really enter into the Mystery of the Divine Liturgy? Do we really enter into the Mystery of the Transfiguration? Do we understand that the Transfiguration, that is, seeing the Lord’s Glory, it is given to all of us?

To enhance this understanding of our part in the Eucharist, in the Byzantine Rite, during Communion people sing and say that they will not betray the secret of our Lord like Judas, with a kiss. The “secret” is what we see, what we experience during Communion.

Come on great people, be aware of your greatness, of the greatness of just What it is that God is offering you weekly – or  even daily!

With the great intercession of the Mother of God, we thank You Jesus-God for your indescribable Gift. Amen.

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Transfiguration and St. John’s Gospel

Here, I would like to address one aspect of it that is rarely addressed by theology: the relationship between St. John and his writings and the Transfiguration. Let me explain my point:

if we accept, and you don’t have to, that all the writings of the Bible put under the name of “John” are written by the same person,

if we accept that, and you don’t have to, that same person is John the Apostle,

if we accept that he was one of the witnesses of the Lord’s Transfiguration, and

if we consider the Transfiguration as something of a transcendental meaning and importance

then we seriously have to wonder:

“how come John does not mention the Transfiguration in his Gospel?!”

In other words, we could say: “The Transfiguration must certainly have left a great and living influence on St. John, and he must have most probably meditated upon it, time and time again. Since the Transfiguration is that central to Christ’s message, one would dare to think that most probably John would decide to insert it into his Gospel. However, he didn’t do it in an obvious, literal way for there is no account of the Transfiguration in his Gospel. Therefore, he must probably have thought of mentioning it, or at least mentioning its essential message. Most probably he must have chosen to integrate the Transfiguration in a more central manner. Indeed, the way the “Transfiguration” is inserted within the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke) looks a bit off-centre, just like a meteorite that has landed from nowhere.

The more one deepens one’s understanding of the Transfiguration, through prolonged meditation of it over the years, the more one sees its transcendental importance, and the more one is convinced that it is impossible for John – who witnessed it – to have remained totally silent about it.

It is more than puzzling unless one thinks that he probably found a solution to voice it, to present it, in a way that is “integral to the message”, and all together “less abstract,” as if landing from nowhere in the middle of the Gospel, and unrelated to any other text; altogether “less frightening” as would be the case on hearing the Voice of the Father, and falling in fear to the ground, namely, “When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified” (Mt 17:6).)

What would your explanation be? For a start the first thing one notices in St. John’s Gospel is the way he presents Jesus’ Passion and the Cross. It is not all an occasion of suffering; it is first and foremost the main point where God reveals His Glory. On the Cross God is glorified, and the Son is Glorified. The Passion is a moment of Victory for Jesus. One could say that John did meditate upon the Passion and the Cross so deeply that God invited him to see it in greater depth. Just consider John’s firm reaction when he sees Jesus’ side transpierced by a spear: “one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.” (John 19:34-35)

More texts then follow about God’s Glory on the Cross: “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:5; see also John 13:32) John unequivocally shows that the death of Jesus glorifies God the Father, and that the death of Jesus’ disciples glorifies God as well: “Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God” (John 21:19).

The Cross is then for John the highest point of the manifestation of the Glory of God in Jesus. In that sense, then, why would one include in the Gospel an “off-centre event” that speaks about the Glory of God, namely, the Transfiguration? In that same vein, one can already see that Luke starts to orientate the Transfiguration toward the Cross and its Glory: “And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His Exodus [departure] which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.“ (Luke 9:30-31)

So, it now follows that one has to find the essence of the Transfiguration and its relationship with the Cross, and how John planned his Gospel according to this “combination”.

The main structure of the Transfiguration in the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke) is simple:

a- A Promise of a vision :(some who are present here will see the Son of God coming in his Kingdom)

b- The realisation of the Promise (the event itself of the Transfiguration with its three steps: climbing the mountain, the actual transfiguration (clothes, face, Moses and Elijah), and the overshadowing (the Cloud and the Voice of the Father).

c- The mention that that was a vision.

Furthermore, one will then be amazed to discover that in the Gospel of St. John is to be found an event that has the same structure: Cana’s wedding (John 2:1-11).

a- The wedding is preceded by a Promise: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51).

b- The wedding itself is the realisation (in a “symbolic” and prophetical way) of this Promise, while waiting for the Cross to be the actual realisation of it.

c- The wedding ends with a strong statement: “This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.” (John 2:11)

Handout of the Lesson: The Transfiguration of the Lord and Spiritual Life

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St. Gregory Palamas’ Homily on the Transfiguration

St. Maximus the Confessor: Spiritual Interpretations of the Transfiguration

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Homily on the Transfiguration of Christ

St. Leo the Great, Pope: Homily on the Transfiguration of Christ

St. Ephraim the Syrian: Homily on the Transfiguration