Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ
Feast of the Transfiguration of Our
Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ
Coptic Month of Mesore, Day 13
Every year, during the fast of Transfiguration we are
celebrating the feast of Transfiguration, where we can read about this feast:
Matthew 17:1-9
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Mark 9:2-9
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Luke 9:28-37
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[1]
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his
brother, and led them up a high mountain apart.
[2] And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. [3] And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Eli'jah, talking with him. [4] And Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah." [5] He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." [6] When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. [7] But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and have no fear." [8] And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. [9]
And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them,
"Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the
dead."
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[2]
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and
led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured
before them,
[3] and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. [4] And there appeared to them Eli'jah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. [5] And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah." [6] For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. [7] And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." [8] And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only. [9]
And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no
one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead.
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[28]
Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and
John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
[29] And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. [30] And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli'jah, [31] who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. [32] Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. [33] And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah" -- not knowing what he said. [34] As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. [35] And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" [36] And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. [37]
On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great
crowd met him.
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Testimony of St. Peter: ( 2 Peter 1: 16-18)
[16]For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of
his majesty.
[17] For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,"
[18] we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
Doxology of Transfiguration
Let us praise Christ our God, the Co-essential with the
Father, who created through His divinity, the living and the dead.
+ Jesus Christ the only-begotten, ascended to the peak of Mount
Tabor, and took His disciples with Him, Peter and James and John.
And He was transfigured before them, His face shone more
than the sun, His clothes were like snow, and two prophets appeared to Him.
+ Elijah and Moses the strong ones, saw His clothes upon
Mount Tabor, a cloud of light passed, over the disciples.
And there was the voice from heaven, of God the Father
saying, "This is My beloved Son, He has done My will hear Him."
+ We praise and glorify Him, and exalt Him above all, as a
good One and Lover of man, have mercy upon us according to Your great mercy.
Alleluia Alleluia, Alleluia Alleluia, Jesus Christ the Son
of God, was transfigured upon Mount Tabor.
+ This is He who is worthy of glory, with His good Father,
and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever.
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Transfiguration is the
theophany or manifestation of God. The Father says from heaven “This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." The Son is transfigured,
the Holy Spirit like a “ a bright cloud overshadowed them”.
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Transfiguration was a fulfillment
for our Lord Jesus Christ promise “[28] Truly, I say to you, there are
some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man
coming in his kingdom." Matthew16: 18 , Mark9:1 and Luke9:27.
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“In Mark's account (9:2-10)
one of the most notable features of the Transfiguration is the curious way the
evangelist speaks of the arrival of Moses and Elijah. Whereas Matthew and Luke
say simply, "Moses and Elijah appeared" on the scene, Mark lays a
special stress on Elijah. He writes, "Elijah appeared to them with
Moses." Not only does Mark mention Elijah before Moses, but the verb he
uses, "appeared" (ophthe), is singular, not plural. His is an account
of the arrival of Elijah, Moses playing a rather secondary role.”[1]
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It is a fulfillment of
another prophecy came in Deut. 18: 18 “[18] I will raise up for them a prophet
like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and
he shall speak to them all that I command him.” So Moses appeared to witness
and says This whom I prophesied about.
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It is also a remarkable sign
that the comapasionate heart of our Lord Jesus Christ who said to Moses “[4]
And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, `I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you
see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there." Deut. 48:4
although Moses died and he did not enter it by his body but his soul visited it
on the Transfiguration.
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The “reference to the
booths could imply that this occurred during the time of the Feast of
Tabernacles when the Jews would be camping out in the fields for the grape
harvest; for this Feast had acquired other associations in the course of its
history, including the memory of the wanderings in the wilderness recorded in
the Old Testament book of Exodus.”[2]
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It also reminds us with the
verse came in Revelation 21:3 “[3] and I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them;”
The dwelling or the tabernacle. Where it shows us the scene of heaven.
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The Lord Himself said to
Moses “[26] And as for the dead
being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the
bush, how God said to him, `I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob'?” Mark 12:26. So we see two departed with our Lord and the
three disciples.
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Transfiguration is not the
end it is the Penultimate not the ultimate, the Lord said to Moses we still
have to come down there is fighting with the demon, see the narrative of St.
Matthew which transfiguration “ The son who was an epileptic and falls into fire
and water, “[18] And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him,
and the boy was cured instantly” Matthew 17:18. And also we still have the Golgotha
to see this image of transfiguration.
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