Yesterday, we celebrated one of the major feast days of the Church, the Transfiguration of Christ.
Behold Christ’s Transfiguration
In this feast, we see Jesus ascend Mt. Tabor and shine as brilliantly as the sun. Surrounding him are the Prophets Moses and Elias (Elijah). The whole scene is so breathtaking that the three disciples who were with him fell down in fear.
It’s easy to get caught up in the splendor of this feast.
But the question is, what’s the glory of Christ?
What, exactly, are we witnessing? Is it just a shiny Lord?
Taking a Step Back
To answer these questions, we have to back up a bit in the story.
Before the Transfiguration, Matthew, in his gospel, tells us that Jesus pulled his disciples aside and asked, “Who do men say that I am?”
He received a few different answers . . . none of which were satisfactory. So, he pushed them further, “Who do YOU say that I am?”
To this question, Simon Peter responded, “You are the Anointed [sometimes translated as Messiah or Christ], the Son of the Living God.”
Jesus’s response is one of the most famous lines in scripture.
He told Simon Peter that he had the correct answer and “upon this Rock” he will build his church. This rock is not the person of Peter–which means “Rocky”–but, rather, Peter’s confession.
The Way of the Cross
Jesus goes on to elaborate.
“From then on, Jesus the Anointed began to explain to his disciples that is was necessary for him to go forth into Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders and ruling priests and scribes, and to be put to death and to be raised on the third day. ” (Matthew 16:21)
However, Peter couldn’t stomach this understanding of what it means to be the “the Anointed Son of God.”
He wanted an Anointed “king” who would exercise human strength and power. He wanted a Messiah who would free the then occupied Holy Land from the Romans.
But Jesus’s way is the way of the cross. His way is one of love . . . even if it looks like “losing.”
When Peter protests the way of the cross, Jesus sternly rebukes him, “Get behind me, Accuser!” Of course, Accuser is often translated as “Satan”!
Wow!
What a rebuke!
Becoming Like Christ
Jesus explained, however, “If anyone wishes to come along behind me, let him deny himself utterly and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his soul will lose it; and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it.”
It’s after this that Jesus takes his disciples up Mt. Tabor and is transfigured. This glory that they witnessed isn’t a “shiny Jesus” but the glory of a crucified Lord.
The Glory of Christ Shining Through
The Transfiguration is the glory of a naked man, beaten and whipped, hanging on a cross outside the city walls.
As paradoxical as this sounds, this is the glory of our Christ.
It’s this sort of glory we seek to live out in own lives by humbly picking up our own crosses and walking the path of Jesus with every step we take, with every interaction we have, with every thought we think.
In the Orthodox tradition, we bless grapes, and other fruits, on the feast of Transfiguration.
The grapes represent the final transfiguration of all things . . . the ultimate flowing and fruitfulness of creation.
In short, the grapes represent maturity that is found by picking up your cross and following our Lord.
So, his week, how will you follow the way set forth by Jesus?