The Feast of the Transfiguration

Last updated on: August 5, 2008 at 6:00 pm by hejblade

The Feast of the Transfiguration 2008-08-05T18:00:06-05:00 hejblade

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

On August 6, the world remembers the bombing of Hiroshima. A great amount of unstable energy, without mercy, without pity, was let loose upon the city, destroying it and its population in one quick surge of power. The first of two cities, sacrificed to save the world – so we were told.

In contrast to this, August 6 is also the day on which Christians remember the Transfiguration. On that day, all so long ago, Jesus revealed his inner glory, the light of Tabor, to Peter, James and John. The light was the light which shines throughout the world, the uncreated energy of God. Breaking up the darkness of hate, this light shines in the hearts and minds of believers, bringing the fruit of the spirit with it (peace, joy and love). “We bear witness that ‘God is light,’ and those to whom it has been granted to see Him have all beheld Him as light. Those who have received Him have received Him as light, because the light of His glory goes before Him, and it is impossible for Him to appear without light.“[1] Those who knew Jesus saw him first according to the flesh, according to his humanity; the light was there but they saw it not. It is the light of glory, the radiance of holiness. It was there, but never seen; only those who are spiritually ready can see it.[2]Yet, that glory, the glory of the Lord which was to be revealed to the world by Jesus’ death and resurrection had to be made known to some in anticipation of it, to provide his followers a way to understand his person, to know the glory was his in all eternity. He was not adopted to sonship at the resurrection: he was from all eternity the only-begotten Son of God.[3]Since it provided a foretaste of the glory of the resurrection, it did more than reveal Jesus’ glory; it was a demonstration of the grace which is to come to the world, cleaning it, healing it, preparing it for the eschatological reign of God. “The transfiguration of the earthly Jesus, of his earthly clothes and in some manner of the world upon which he shines, is the promise of the first installment of the eschatological transformation of the world as a whole, and for Paul this truly begins with the living of the Christian life – as a reflection of the glory of Christ – in a way that is both invisible and visible (2 Cor 3).“[4]

The light which shined forth at Tabor is the humble radiance of holiness, a beautiful light which is over all things, merging with them, making them beautiful in return. “Spiritual light is the light whose seeing constitutes the contemplation of God, and therefore, our salvation, the salvation of us who cannot be without God.“[5] It is deifying, and those who merge themselves with it are like candles, radiating light in imitation of the Sun of Righteousness (Mal. 4:2). God’s glory shines through the saints as represented in iconography by the halo. That light can shine in and through all of us. Like Peter, James and John, we can experience it, and with it, experience the glory of the resurrection. “Patristic tradition in fact unanimously interprets the Gospel story of the Transfiguration as a foretaste of the Second Coming. But the Second Coming is already a living reality for the Christian in his sacramental life and spiritual experience: the Kingdom to come is already ‘within us,’ until the full manifestation of its glory on the last day.“[6]

The beatitudes tell us that the pure at heart shall see God. And that is what we find, time and again, happening in the life of the saints; they have seen the glory of God, the same glory revealed at Tabor. “This same vision was seen in the present age by the chosen among the apostles on Thabor, by Stephen when he was being stoned, and by Anthony in his battle for inner stillness – indeed by the saints, that is, the pure in heart, as one can learn if one wishes from their own written lives and biographies.“[7] It must be made clear, it is God who is seen, even if what God is transcends what we see. The East tells us that we see the energy, the work of God, but not God’s hidden, incomprehensible essence. “According to the true faith of God’s Church which by His grace we hold, God possesses inherent energy that makes Him manifest and in this respect distinct from His essence.“[8] That is, the energy and essence of God are logically distinct. But this must not make us think it is not God we experience. Where the energy of God is, God is; it is truly God we encounter. “Obviously, my friend, the uncreated essence and the uncreated energy are inseparable from each other. For neither of them is even seen separate from the other. And so there is in essence and energy one uncreated divinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.“[9]

What a great difference lies in these two events, both commemorated on the same day. One we know actually took place on this day in history, the other did not; as Sergius Bulgakov points out, the feast comes to us out of nowhere, outside of the expected sequence of events in the liturgical year.[10] Yet it seems to be an act of providence which brings them together. Two different powers, two different ways of salvation are put side by side. The human way of “salvation” is destructive, and destroys what it cannot control, destroys all that is in its path, corrupting the souls of those who try to control it, and leaves the peace of death in its wake. The divine way of salvation is beautiful, constructive, bringing balance to that which is out of control, infusing its holiness upon those who follow it, leading them not to the peace of the grave, but the joy of eternal life. One light, created in pride, was shown to the world; its one bright and glorious moment brought the darkness of death in its wake. The other light, uncreated, ever-existing and ever the same, humbly shines forth in all eternity, bringing life to those who were once dead. The darkness can never know it, never comprehend it, nor extinguish it. For that divine light, revealed to the Apostles in secret, “attests to the glory of the future age, revealed in the parousia, the Second Coming.“[11]

Footnotes

[1]St. Symeon the New Theologians. The Discourses. trans. C. J. deCatanzara (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1980), 298.
[2] “To beginners He appears in the form of a servant (cf. Phil. 2: 7); to those able to follow Him as He climbs the high mountain of His transfiguration He appears in the form of God (cf. Matt 17: 1 – 9), the form in which He existed before the world came to be (cf. John 17: 5). It is therefore possible for the same Lord not to appear in the same way to all who stand before Him, but to appear to some in one way and to others in another way, according to the measure of each person’s faith,” St. Maximos the Confessor, “Second Century on Theology,” pgs. 137 – 163 in The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Volume II. End. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware (London: Faber and Faber, 1990): 140 (#13).
[3]Cf. Sergius Bulgakov. Churchly Joy. trans. Boris Jakin (Grand Rapids, MI: William B Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 2008), 139.
[4]Hans Urs von Balthasar. The Glory of the Lord VII: Theology, The New Covenant. trans. Brian McNeil (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989), 347.
[5]Pavel Florensky. The Pillar and Ground of the Truth. trans. Boris Jakim (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997), 70.
[6]John Meyendorff. St Gregory Palamas and Orthodox Spirituality(Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998), 111.
[7]St. Gregory Palams. The Triad. trans. Nicholas Gende (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1983),67 -8.
[8]St. Gregory Palamas, “Topics of Natural and Theological Science,” pgs. 346 – 417 in The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Volume IV. End. G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware (London: Faber and Faber, 1995): 411.
[9]St. Gregory Palamas. Dialogue Between and Orthodox and a Barlaamite. trans. Rein Ferwerda (Binghamtom, NY: Binghamton University, 1999), 57
[10]See Sergius Bulgakov. Churchly Joy, 138.
[11]Sergius Bulgakov. Churchly Joy, 139.

Henry Karlson

Liturgical Year

Previous Post

August 5, 2008

Mid Year Check Up

Next Post

August 6, 2008 On the Atomic Bombings of Japan I

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2019 A Consistent Ethic of Life Aaron Weldon Abortion absurdity Abuse Scandal Academics Adoption Advent Africa agreement/disagreement with Church teaching Alexander Schmemann Alexham Alterity America Amnesty International Anarchism angels Anglicanism Animals Annual Statistics Anthony Anxietas Apocalyptic Apophatic Appalachia Aquinas Art Atheism Atonement Augustine Authority Baptism Beauty Bible biblical criticism biblical scholarship Bioethics Bishops Black Catholics Black Theology Blackadder Blogs Books Breastfeeding Brett Salkeld Buddhism Bush administration Byzantine Catholic Calvinism Canada Canon Law Capital Punishment Capitalism Caryll Houselander Catholic Blog Awards Catholic Blogging Catholic League Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Worker Movement Catholicity CFL Charity Children Chris West Christ and Culture Christian Democracy Christian Unity Christmas Christology Church Church Doctrine Church History Climate Change Cohabitation Colbert Collegiality Communion Communism Comparative Theology Competition Conferences conscience conscience rights Consequentialism Consistent Life Ethics Consumerism Contraception Contrition Conversion Converts Coptic COVID-19 Creation Critical Thinking Cross Cuba Culture Culture of Death Culture of Life Darfur David Cruz-Uribe David Wheeler-Reed Death Death Penalty Democracy Demons Desert Fathers Devil Dialogue dignity Disability Disarmament discernment Discipleship discrimination Dissent Distributism Division Doctrine Domestic Church Dorothy Day Double Effect Doubt Down syndrome Driving Early Church Easter Eastern Churches Ecclesiology Economics Economy Ecumenism Education El Salvador Election Election 2020 Ellul Embryonic Stem Cell Research Empire Energy Enlighenment Environmentalism Ephraim Radner Episcopal Church epistemology Equality Eschatology Ethics Eucharist Europe Euthanasia Evangelization Evil Evolution Excommunication F.X. Durrwell Facism Facts Fair Trade Faith Family Fashion Feddie Feminism Feminist theology Fertility Fetal Rights Fiction Film Finances First Things flags Folk Religion Food Foreign Affairs Forgiveness Frank Sheed Free Speech Freedom gay & lesbian persons Genocide George W. Bush George Weigel Gerald L. Campbell Girard/Mimetic Theory Global Warming Globalization Gnosticism Good Friday Grace Gratitude Greed Grey Cup 2009 Guadalupe Guest Post Guest Posts Gun Control Gustave Martelet Habitat for Humanity Hans Urs von Balthasar Harry Potter Hate Speech Health Health Care Healthcare Heather King Hebrew Bible Henri de Lubac Henry Karlson Herbert McCabe Heresy HHS Mandate Controversy History Holidays Holiness Holy Spirit Homiletics Homily Homosexuality Hope Hospitality How Far Can We Go? How Far Can We Go? Human Person Human Rights Humanae Vitae Humility Humor Hunger Hunting Identity Idolatry Ignacio Ellacuría Imagination Immigration In Memoriam Income Inequality Inculturation Indigenous People Individualism Inklings Intellect Interdependence Internet Interpretation Interviews Introduction Iraq War Islam Israel Jain James Alison James Martin Jazz Jesus Christ Jews Joe Biden Joe Hargrave Johann Baptist Metz John Allen John Henry Newman John Paul II John the Baptist John XXIII Jonathan Josef Pieper Joseph (the husband of Mary) Joseph Bernardin Joseph Ratzinger Josh Brumfield Journals Joy Judgment Just War Justice Kari Lundgren Karl Rahner Katerina Ivanovna Kenya Keynes Kingdom of God Kyle R. Cupp Labor Language Latin America Law Leanne Ogasawara Legion of Christ Leisure Lent Liberalism Liberation Theology Libertarianism Libya Lies Life life & dignity & responsibility of the human person Literature Little Way Liturgical music Liturgical Year Liturgy Living Simply Living Wage Local Church Lombard Lord of the Rings Louis Dupre Love M.Z. Magic Magisterium Mark DeFrancisis Mark Gordon Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Jr. Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masculinity Matt Talbot Matthew Fish Matthew Levering McCain Media Memorial Day Mennonites Mental Illness mercy Michael Iafrate Middle East militarism Miroslav Volf Mitt Romney Modesty Moral Theology Morality Mormonism Morning's Minion Mother Teresa Music Muslims Natalie Nate Wildermuth Nationalism Native Americans Nature Nazis Neuhaus New Evangelization New York City News NFP nihilism Nonviolence Not Abortion Nova's Ordo Nuclear weapons Nuns Obama Occult Old Age Opus Dei Ordination ordination of women original sin Orthodoxy Oscar Romero Other Voices Pacifism Palestine Palin Papacy Papal Peace Messages Papal Social Encyclicals Particular Affections Partisanship Patriotism Paul Paul Ryan Paul VI Peace Pentimento persecution Personalism Phantastes Philosophy PKD Planned Parenthood Pluralism Poetry Policraticus Politcal Apathy Politics Poll Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope Leo XIV Population Postcolonialsim Poverty Power Prayer Preaching Predictions Predictions for 2012 President Barack Obama priestly formation & discernment Pro-Life Progress Prophetic Witness Proportionalism Public Diplomacy Public Policy Question Quotes Rachel Maddow Racism Radical Catholic Mom Radical Catholicism Raymund Schwager Real Catholic TV Real Presence Reconciliation Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange Religion religious freedom Responsibility Ressourcement Resurrection Rick Garnett Ridiculous Crap You Never Thought You'd See Robert Barron Roe v. Wade Roman Curia Rome Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation History Sam Harris Sam Rocha Same-sex Marriage Saskatchewan Roughriders Satire School of the Americas Science Scripture Seamless Garment Second Vatican Council Seeing Sex sexual violence Sexuality Sia Sin social justice Social Security Socialism Society of Jesus Sofia Loves Wisdom Solidarity Sophia soteriology Soutenus Spirituality Sports St. Dismas St. Joseph Stanley Hauerwas Statistics Stimulus Suffering Sunday Reflections Supernatural Supreme Court Symbolism Syria Taxing Technology Terrorism The State The Tea Party The Trump Administration Theological Anthropology Theology Theotokos Thomas Merton Throwaway Culture Tim Muldoon Tim Riley Tim Tebow Time Titian Tolkien Torture Toys Trade Traditionalism Transgender Transportation Transubstantiation Trinity Truth TV U.S. Affairs Uncategorized Unions unity among people who disagree US Catholicism USCCB Usury Utilitarianism Utopia Valentine's Day Vatican Vatican II Veterans Vicarious Suffering Video Violence Virgin Mary Vocations Voluntary Associations Voluntary Poverty Voting Vox Nova vox nova blog war War and Peace War Strategy Wealth Weirdness Welfare state Women Women Priests Work Woundedness Youth

Select a Month June 2026 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 July 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 November 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What question did Jesus ask Saul on the road to Damascus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? Why do you persecute my followers? Why do you hate me? Do you not know who I am?