Homily One on the Feast of Transfiguration
By Righteous Alexei Mechev
(Delivered on August 6, 1914)*
(Delivered on August 6, 1914)*
“Then Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up to a high mountain together, and was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1–2).
Many wondrous deeds have occurred in the life of the Lord, significant events, extraordinary manifestations of His divinity, but none were as astonishing as the glorious Transfiguration of the Lord. Here, in the darkness of night, alone at the summit of the mountain, the Lord prays, while three of His disciples, weary, are plunged into a deep sleep. At that moment, the Lord takes upon Himself, or rather, unveils from Himself, the light of the sun; His garments shone with purest whiteness, and before Him appeared reverently two of the highest prophets of the Old Testament, Elijah and Moses. The very night was illuminated, and the entire mountain was aglow with otherworldly, marvelous light. Awakened, His disciples were filled with wonder, marveling and tremulously beholding this unprecedented spectacle.
Now the question arises: for whom and for what purpose was this glorious vision granted? Surely not for the people, for the crowd standing below the mountain did not witness this miracle. Nor for the disciples, for they were allowed only a few moments to enjoy the vision. Thus, it must have been for the Lord Himself that His Transfiguration occurred. Let us delve deeper. The end of His earthly journey was approaching, and He often contemplated all that He had accomplished among the people, questioning what success He had achieved. What did the Lord perceive? Looking back three years at His tireless service to mankind: preaching, healing miracles, calls to the people — and in response, He faced disbelief, slander from some, indifference from others, and what appeared to be the loyalty of the crowd, a loyalty that was merely superficial and easily swayed. And what lay ahead was even darker. Soon, the powerful of the earth would rise against Him, watching with treacherous malice at every step He took; then betrayal from one of His own disciples, a trial — biased and malevolent, suffering and torment, and ultimately — a shameful death on the cross.
With divine vision, He clearly perceived all that lay ahead of Him, yet as a man, He could not help but feel the weight of His predicament, could not refrain from suffering from exhaustion, could not avoid distressing His soul, and could not but feel the need for heavenly support to fulfill His great mission – the salvation of mankind – sinful, unfaithful, and ungrateful. The Gospel openly reveals this state of the Lord's soul before the hour of His suffering. "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death" (Matthew 26:38), He says to His disciples. Anyone among us, dear friends, who has ever truly suffered from deep sorrow will understand these words, will feel the burning pain that arises from them, and will perceive, albeit not fully, the cry of a suffering soul that awaits nothing ahead, one that has lost faith in the future. And He fell on His face in deep prayer before His Heavenly Father, asking, "Let this cup pass from Me" (Matthew 26:39)!
Now all the events of the Transfiguration of the Lord are so clear. He ascends the high mountain. There He is – below, He leaves behind this whole world for which He came with such holy goodness, for which He so willingly accepted the greatest commission from His Heavenly Father, and which in turn met Him with such disbelief; which so frivolously paid Him royal honors, then cried out mockingly: "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" He is transfigured: this is no longer the meek, humble, sorrowful Jesus whom He seemed to be just a moment ago. Now His appearance is divine, light radiates from Him like the sun, His face, His clothing, and the whole surroundings are illuminated by divine glory. At this moment, it is believed that He sees all the future glory of the Kingdom of God on earth. Bypassing the dreadful events of the last day of His life, He sees the holy faith spreading across the land, sees His disciples renewing the world – which was recently so unfaithful, sees the saints of God performing great works of the Lord, sees the entire earth illuminated, like a mountain, by the light of truth, justice, and a great moral transformation. And at this solemn moment, a voice is heard from heaven, calling Him the beloved Son and commanding the earth to listen to Him. Oh, now the Lord will once again return to His work and complete it: let them lift Him up to the cross – He has seen the Heavenly Father, the glory He had from the beginning of the world awaits Him, victory over the world is destined for Him, and triumph in heaven. Such is the significance of today's celebration in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
And for us, brethren, there are many instructive lessons in this wondrous event. The Lord ascends to the high mountain. Shall we not learn to occasionally detach ourselves from the noise of life’s vanity and ascend to the mountain of solitude, contemplation, and prayer? Earthly life presents us with so many dark deeds, so many sorrowful disputes among brothers—humanity, and so much troubling evil, injustice, and deceit. Oh, let us quickly ascend to the mountain. In solitude, let us raise our eyes to heaven, silencing all these passions, vanities, and wrongs, forgetting this world, immersing ourselves in quiet, inner prayer. The Lord is transfigured. This means that in His soul there dwells peace, hope, enlightenment, and this entire renewal of the soul is reflected in His visage, in His garments, upon the whole mountain. Behold, brethren, the strength of man lies in his soul — awakened, enlightened, and graced!
And for us, my friends, there are many instructive lessons in this wondrous event. The Lord ascends a high mountain. Do we not learn from time to time to renounce this noise of everyday vanity and ascend the mountain of solitude, contemplation of God, and prayer? Earthly life presents so many dark deeds, so many sad strife between fellow men, so much disturbing evil, untruth, and treachery. Oh, let us quickly ascend the mountain – into solitude, let us raise our eyes to heaven, let us silence all these passions, vanities, untruths, let us forget this world, let us immerse ourselves in quiet inner prayer. The Lord is transfigured. This means that peace, hope, and enlightenment have settled in His soul, and all this rebirth of the soul is reflected in His face, on His clothing, on the entire mountain. This, my friends, is what makes a man strong – his soul – awakened, enlightened, blessed! Look at a righteous, simply good man: his believing, simple, sincere soul shines in everything; he is not troubled by sorrow, he is elevated by joy, he is encouraged by hope, he believes in a glorious future. Look at the righteous, simply at the good person: in everything, his believing, simple, sincere soul shines; he is not troubled by sorrow, he is uplifted by joy, he is encouraged by hope, he believes in a glorious future.
And why have these two great prophets, Elijah and Moses, joined Him, conversing with Him? They represent the two figures of the future glorious Kingdom of God on earth. Moses is the great guide of the people of Israel to the Promised Land, while Elijah is the denouncer of injustice, wickedness, and enmity, taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. There will always be teachers of good and light in the world, there will always be exemplary individuals shining as models and teachings for the world, there will always be guides leading us to a better world – to a blessed life in heaven. There is no need for dismay: better times will come, the earth will be illuminated by the light of truth and righteousness, and our currently dark and feeble world will be transformed into the glorious Kingdom of God.
Let us pray on this day of the Transfiguration of the Lord together with the Church: “May Your everlasting light shine upon us sinners, O Giver of Light!” Amen.
Notes:
* Published according to the “Speech Plans” from the archive of E. V. Apushkina.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
