The dialogue between the Christ and his disciples was a necessary preface for the Transfiguration. What took place that day on that mountain top was a Theophany, God was revealed. Armodoxy attests that God is beyond our words and our understanding, just as the events of Transfiguration, namely, Christ radiating the Light of Eternity. In the exchange of words between Christ and his disciples we are given a background to the power of love and sacrifice, because the Transfiguration was not merely a demonstration of the supernatural, rather a demonstration of what is possible through the power of love and sacrifice.
The significance of the Transfiguration as a major Feast Days of the Church is that God reveals what is possible when the theoretical (that is conceptual love) comes alive through sacrifice. In this hurting world, where life is defined by material wealth, and harmony with others is the least of concern for villagers, city dwellers and countries, the Transfiguration is a bit of hope as to the potential for peace and harmony of life.
The conversation that takes place before the Transfiguration, includes an invitation by Jesus. “If anyone desires to come after Me,” he says, “Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
It is not necessarily an attractive invitation. In fact, it has a rather painful call in it: the cross. Here Jesus is calling us to a higher standard by which to live, a life of sacrifice, which can only be achieved once the ego is in check. With self-denial, we open ourselves to the joy of living. It might not have been an appealing offer for the disciples, but those who took him up on the offer saw in the Transfigured Jesus, salvation from the cares of this world.
In the context of the lessons of this past week, Jesus remarks, bring it all into focus: “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16)
Today’s one-minute for Summertime.
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A set of conversations between Jesus and his disciples took place before the Transfiguration. This week we are looking at the sayings of Jesus as a preface to the Revealtion of God at this Event.
According to Matthew’s Gospel (16) Jesus asks his disciples, about the buzz on the streets of Jerusalem. “Who do people say that I, The Son of Man, am?”
The disciples gave some interesting answers – “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” Jesus asks. “Who do you say I am?”
This dialogue has been an ongoing one for two thousand years with people describing Jesus as a good man, a holy man, a teacher, a politician, a religious fanatic, or, as Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
People continue to dissect, analyze and try to understand Jesus. The important question has always been the same: What about you? Who do YOU say that I am?
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Armodoxy for Today: The Words that triggered the Transfiguration
This week the Armenian Church celebrated the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. This event, which is recorded in the synoptic Gospels, is akin to the Theophany, in that God is revealed to humanity during the Transfiguration. On a mountain top, Scripture tells us, Jesus stands radiating the Light. “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” In the witness of three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, two characters from history appear, Elijah representing the Prophets and Moses as a symbol of the Law. Jesus stands between the Law and the Prophets, the Voice of God the Father expresses that Jesus is His Beloved Son. Jesus is the completion of the Law and the Prophets.
The Light that Jesus radiates is the Divine Essence. The Transfiguration as a singular event in human history is prefaced by a series of statements made by Jesus. This week, on Armodoxy for Today we will explore, what I call, the Transfiguration Transcripts – the words leading to God’s Revelation in our midst, each day, with “one-minute-for-Summertime.”
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Armodoxy for Today, one minute for Summertime: Peter and the Tent
At the Transfiguration event, recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus is shining the Christ Light. * As I shared over the past few days, this is the Light that transcends a source, such as the sun, star or even reflective light such as the moon. The event is singular in nature, it is extra-ordinary, extra-sensational, mystical and supernatural.
Peter, who is a witness to this event, asks Jesus if he would like a tent constructed for himself, Moses and Elijah. In the face of this extraordinary, mystical, supernatural event, Peter is preoccupied with the mundane. Sure, the gesture is a most hospitable one, but it deprives him of fully engaging in this singular event.
The action, or inaction, of Peter serves as a reminder of our own worldliness. Often we become consumed with the mundane while the true beauty and extraordinary events of life pass us by.
Today’s one minute for Summertime.
*Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–13, Luke 9:28–36, 2 Peter 1:16–18
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Armodoxy for Today, one minute for Summertime: Fulfilling the Law and Prophets
At the Transfiguration, Jesus is surrounded by two Old Testament characters, Moses and Elijah. They represent the Law and the Prophets respectively. God’s voice is heard saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” *
In the Armenian Church tradition, Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, a pronouncement which is made every Sunday at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy in every Armenian Church. Indeed, the Kingdom of God is at hand. It is enacted.
God gave the Law, He gave the prophets, but He so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. (John 3:16)
Today’s one minute for Summertme.
*Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–13, Luke 9:28–36, 2 Peter 1:16–18
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The Transfiguration which was celebrated by the Armenian Church this weekend is described in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and also in the Letter of Peter. It is a spectacular event where Jesus physically radiates the Divine Light.* “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light,” says Matthew.
Take a quick trip to the beginning of time. In the first chapter, the first few verses of Genesis we hear God say, “Let there be Light.” And there is Light, a few days before the Sun or the stars were created. This is the God Light, the stand-alone Light that is the foundation of the Universe. And for a few minutes, Jesus radiated this Light in the witness of three disciples, but also in the witness of all of us who engage in this story.
Today’s one minute for Summertime.
*Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–13, Luke 9:28–36, 2 Peter 1:16–18
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Today we look at the practical application of the Transfiguration in our lives. Yes, that’s right, the Transfiguration is a moment in history, but it touches us today, two-thousand years after the event.
Reviewing, during the Transfiguration, Jesus radiates Light giving us a glimpse of his Divinity. On day two, we found the reaction that Peter had is no different than ours when in the presence of the Eternal. We are grounded in the secular and opt for the profane rather than the sacred, and so the challenge is to rise from the confines that bind us. The Call is from God to “Listen to him,” was the focus of day three, which is an alignment with Love, unconditional and pure. The Call transcends our ethnicity, nationality and our religious preferences, as we learned from the Vartavar connection. The invitation is to humanity and humankind. On day four, we learned that Jesus transfers the Light from himself to us – to everyone – giving an opportunity to participate in the Divine Nature.
On this final day, we bring together all that we have learned and understand that the Divine Nature is accessible to us all – young and old, rich and poor – so that the Kingdom of God is at hand. If each of us has within us the Graces and Love of God, our first and foremost obligation is to one another – to love, to respect, to honor, to understand, appreciate this gift of God in our fellow human being.
St. John, explains this: You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world… Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God… Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us… If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
And therefore, peace is possible, because the obstacles to peace have been removed. Seeing God not without us but within us. The Greek saint Nektarios beautifully proclaims, Seek God daily. But seek Him in your heart, not outside it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling, like the Cherubim and the Seraphim, for your heart has become a throne of God.
Not only is peace possible but peace is at hand. The Transfiguration is a reminder that we are of God and our return to God is through the Love we express to one another. Once again, hear the voice saying loud and clear: Listen to Him!
We pray, Lord, I open my receptors, my ears, my eyes and all my senses to receive the Light of the Transfiguration. May I share that Light and see it in my brothers and sisters in this world. Amen.
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At the Transfiguration event, (Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36), we receive a glimpse of the Divine Light. It is overwhelming. It is the Light by which the words “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:2) makes us wonder and ponder the magnificence of God.
In that radiance, a voice is heard from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son…”
St. John the Evangelist attests to this Light in his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5)
Jesus says of himself, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12) But he does not stop there. He transfers that light to each of us. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:12)
This transfer of Light is delivered to us by Jesus himself. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Think of this awesome revelation at the Transfiguration. It is not a moment in history, but an event that talks to you today. The Christ Light – the Divine Light – shone and was witnessed by Jesus Disciples. And in a gesture of universality, Jesus now transfers that Christ Light to each of us, with the condition that it is used to accent the good works of our life and brings glory to God. Think of it for a moment. The purpose of Light is for humanity. It is to strengthen our resolve to do what is right and what is good. It is to promote peace and justice in our lives. In other word, the Jesus Birth-message, “Peace on Earth, goodwill toward one another” is exposed through our Light.
We pray St. Nersess’ prayer for 21st hour, Christ, you are the true light, make my soul worthy to behold the light of your glory with joy, in the day when you call me; to rest in the hope of the good in the mansions of the just. Have mercy on your creatures and upon me. Amen
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At the Transfiguration event, recorded by the three synoptic gospels, (Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36), two figures appear next to the Transfigured Christ. Moses and Elijah are characters from the Old Testament. Within Jewish history Moses is the Law giver and therefore the symbol of the Law, while Elijah was among the major prophets and therefore comes to symbolize the prophetic tradition in this story. They were not contemporaries of Jesus, but had died several centuries earlier. Their appearance in the narrative is accented by the words from Heaven, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!” Between the Laws and the Prophets stands Jesus Christ radiating the Divine Light to the World. “Listen to Him,” is the direction for humanity.
The Patron saint of the Armenian Church, St. Gregory the Illuminator, added one more dimension to this story so that it would appeal to the people of his congregation. After Gregory converted the Armenian King Dirtad and subsequently the nation of Armenia to Christianity, he replaced many of the pagan holidays with Christian holidays. The celebration known Vartavar, dedicated to the pagan goddess Asdghik, was a water festival. The feast of Transfiguration was assigned to this day. The water component was kept as a reminder of our personal rebirth through the font of Baptism. Hence, the Divine Call was broadened to include Asdghik. She and her followers now heard the message: “Listen to Him.”
We all have mottos, teachers, gurus, philosophies, and perhaps even gods and goddesses who point us in directions of spiritual growth. Some may follow these teaching more fervently than others. Others, may pull up a saying from a calendar or a talk show and connect to the message. The Transfiguration story points to the perennial call. Jesus Christ is shinning the Divine Light. It is the Light that is not measured by lumens but by warmth and factors beyond our understanding. In that Light in which darkness is dissipated, and purity abounds. Traditions – whether the Law, the Prophets, philosophies, teachers, and the lot, are all subjected to the One message that Jesus Christ professed: Love! There’s no escape. And so, we are instructed: Listen to Him!
We pray a prayer adapted from the Armenian Divine Liturgy, God of truth and mercy, we thank you, who have exalted our nature, condemned as we were, above that of the blessed patriarchs; for you were called God to them, whereas in compassion you have been pleased to be named Father to us. Make the grace of so new and precious a naming of yourself shine forth and grant us to open our mouths with a cry of bold voice, to call upon you, O heavenly Father. Amen.
