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Coffee With Sister Vassa
TRANSFIGURATION
“You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, and Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they were able, so that when they would behold You crucified, they would understand that You did suffer of Your own will, and would proclaim to the world that You are truly the brightness of the Father.” (Kontakion of Transfiguration)
This hymn explains to us the reasons that our Lord let the disciples (Peter, James and John) witness His glorious Transfiguration on the mountain, to the extent that “they were able”: It was so that they would not lose faith in Him, when He was crucified, and would proceed to proclaim to the world that He, truly, is “the brightness of the Father.”
How is this relevant to our lives? We also have our moments “on the mountain,” that is, when we witness God’s goodness or grace, “as far as we are able.” These “high” moments are meant to strengthen our faith at those “low” moments of our cross-carrying journey, when we might feel God has abandoned us.
And this is how the hymn that immediately follows the above-quoted Kontakion, called the “Ikos,” urges us to turn our thoughts around, at those low moments: “Awake, you sluggards, and lie not forever on the ground, you thoughts that draw my soul to the earth! Arise and go up to the high mountain of the divine ascent! Let us run to join Peter and the sons of Zebedee, and go with them to Mount Tabor, that with them we may see the glory of our God and hear the voice they heard from heaven, and with them proclaim that this is the brightness of the Father.” Let’s look up today, my friends, if we are feeling down, because our Lord’s “brightness” sustains our world and transfigures us, even when we might not see it because of the clouds.
