The Feast of Transfiguration in the Face of Covid-19 

In the midst of the many challenges each of us is facing, I do hope and pray that you are all coping well. And in seeking some encouragement in what has been a challenging few months with the news of more numbers of people contracting Covid-19, together with what seems to be coming weeks of uncertainty, thankfully the Church allows us to maintain a cheerful predisposition with the abundant gifts that She continues to bestow upon—especially that of the feast day of the Transfiguration of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, which Orthodox Churches all around the world honour every year on 6 August.

I am sure that many of us are all familiar with the details of this significant event as it is presented in the Gospels. We are told that just before his impending Crucifixion, Jesus Christ took with Him three disciples, Peter, James and John, and went up onto a high mountain where “before them” He was transfigured: “He was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light” (Mt 17:2). Perhaps it was not so much that Christ took on another form, at that moment, as it was that his divine glory—the uncreated Light—was always there; but simply now, these hidden deifying rays of Christ’s divine power were revealed and shone radiantly upon the three disciples.
Have we ever taken a moment to consider why Christ did that; namely, why He wanted to reveal his divine glory? In reading the Gospel passage (Mt 17:1-9), we come to see that most of the time when Jesus worked miracles, He gave specific directives to those who witnessed these not to tell anyone. Indeed, whilst on earth, Christ took every opportunity to avoid all forms of honour and acclamation. The answer is given to us in one of the Vesper’s hymns dedicated to the feast day: “by seeing these wonders of yours now, they would not be frightened by your sufferings later [ίνα θεωρήσανες τά θαυμάσιά Σου, μή δειλάσωσι τά παθήματά σου].” Here, we are clearly told that Jesus Christ revealed his divine glory to the three disciples so that they would not become discouraged and disheartened when they would later behold him crucified on the Cross.

The Gospel continues by conveying to us that, together with Moses and Elijah, the disciples came to behold—and incidentally, in a rather unexpected fashion—a cloud approaching and overshadowing them; and a voice from heaven declaring: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Mt 17:5). With these words, Christ discloses to his disciples who He truly is: not only human, but at the same time, divine, that is the God-man, the Theanthropos. Christ assumed our human nature, whilst remaining perfectly God; and with his transfiguration, his uncreated and divine splendour comes to light. We sense the unimaginable joy that the disciples must have felt in the words of Peter: “Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Mt 17:55).

A word that dominates in all the hymns, the prayers and readings of today is the word “light”, namely the light of Christ. The dismissal hymn—the Apolytikion—for example, reads: “Do also in us, sinners though we may be, shine your everlasting light [λάμψον και ημίν τοις αμαρτωλοίς το φως σου το αΐδιον].”

With his transfiguration, Christ shows us what the ultimate purpose of our life is. The feast of the Transfiguration provides us with the incredible hope that we too, in striving to become Christ-like, will be clothed with the very same splendour, the very same shining light and glory that was beheld in Christ on Mount Tabor. This is nothing other than the of the gift of deification—or perhaps better still, the gift of Christification [Χριστοποίησις]—promised to all who strive to follow Christ.

All of us, in this life, will experience difficulties, challenges; we will need, like Christ, to carry our different crosses, because of the prevailing darkness that we behold in the world around us. But, the feast day of Christ’s Transfiguration heralds the coming of the light of Christ amongst us; indeed, Christ comes to share the gift of his shining light.

 
His message for us today is: do not lose heart, remain patient, persevere, and persist—keep on keeping on—because his light will ultimately dissipate all darkness.

In the face of this inexpressibly profound outpouring of love and light, let us also join in with the disciples in saying: “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” In this way, our entire life, beyond its difficulties and challenges, will be transformed here on this earth as a foretaste of the fullness of joy and glorification promised to us in his kingdom.

Philip Kariatlis
Sub-Dean