Homily Four on the Transfiguration of the Lord
By St. John of Kronstadt
(Delivered in 1905)
By St. John of Kronstadt
(Delivered in 1905)
I begin my speech to you, dear brothers and sisters, about the glorious Transfiguration of the Lord with the words of the Apostle Peter from his second epistle to the Jews of the Diaspora.
"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain" (2 Pet. 1:16-18).
Here the Apostle Peter briefly mentions how the Lord was transfigured on Mount Tabor in the presence of the three chosen Apostles: Peter, James, and John, when His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. At the same time, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with Him.
Why did the Lord manifest the glory of His Divinity to His three chosen disciples? The Church explains this in its succinct hymn – specifically so that His disciples, having soon to witness His voluntary humiliation, suffering, and bodily death on the cross, would not doubt His Divine greatness and dignity, and would understand that He willingly suffers in human nature for the sins of the world and undergoes death to break the sting of death, which has struck all humanity – and in order to conquer universal death, to destroy hades, which held the power of death, and to grant resurrection to the human race.
Glory to His Divine Transfiguration! Glory to Him, the Victor over death and hades, whom none could conquer except Him, the Almighty God-man and Lamb, who takes upon Himself the sins of the world, the only sinless one, who fulfilled all the righteousness of God for us!
We will draw attention to the instructive and moral aspect of the feast. During the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, by His command, the Prophets Moses from hades and Elijah from paradise appeared on Mount Tabor in a wondrous light, as a proof to all people of the truth that He, the Lord Jesus Christ, possesses authority over both the living and the dead, and is the common Lord and Judge of all, and the resurrection of the dead.
The Lord shone with His face (as a man) during prayer. This teaches us that sincere prayer connects us with God and illuminates our souls with the grace-filled light, and that it is as essential for us as light and air; and if the God-man devoted Himself to prayer often, then it is even more necessary for us sinners, as the Apostle says: "Pray without ceasing."
The Holy Apostle Peter, speaking about the transfiguration of the Lord, about His greatness and glory, notes that he proclaimed the power of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, not following cleverly woven fables, but as an eyewitness of His majesty. Our contemporary atheists, led by Leo Tolstoy, regard the Gospel as a fable and do not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, nor in His divine mission, divine word, and miracles – and through their disbelief and slander against the Lord and His Church, they have troubled the entire modern Russian youth, shaken the faith of the under-educated and re-educated, undermined the very foundations of faith and morality with their lies and audacious free-thinking, produced immorality, anarchy, disobedience of children to parents, disobedience of students and subordinates to authority, and the subjects to supreme power, causing illegal and insane strikes, making a proper civil life impossible under the current conditions and the indulgence of the authorities.
Here is the endless harm of Tolstoy's disbelief! Here are the fruits of godlessness! The unfortunate war has been allowed upon us as a just punishment from the just God. What do we need in this chaos? First and foremost, strict action from all authorities is necessary, or, first and foremost, there needs to be a collective repentance of all classes of the population of Russia, a common fast, a public fervent prayer to God for the conversion of the lost, for the correction of morals, the fear of God is required, the fear of the just judgment, the terrible punishment of God. Our Monarch, our Sovereign, who is appointed by God to govern the peoples according to God's commandments and state laws, calls everyone to this; and we call all our compatriots to fervent and deep repentance, diligent prayer, and philanthropy. We must transform, we must change immediately in all respects.
May God grant a saving, moral turn to the right path for the entire Russian people of all classes. Enough. We have experienced the destruction and senselessness of crooked paths to the point of satiety and disgust. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
