Transfiguration
"Our citizenship is in Heaven, from which also we are looking for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our body of humiliation so that it may be fashioned like His glorious body, according to the working of His power." (Phi 3:20-21)
Dear Beloved,
On this day Jesus Christ, together with 3 of the Holy Apostles went up the Tabor mountain were He revealed Himself to them in the uncreated light, revealing His unearthly glory. It is a festival of light that falls only shorth to the Light of the resurrection, for which this feast is actually preparing us. As you can see the Holy altar is dressed in white, my vestments are also white, symbolizing this very fact.
There is also a tradition that at every August 6th the people bring into the church grapes that are blessed with a special prayer. We will also do this tomorrow morning following Liturgy. In Greece and in other countries of the Orthodox East this was the beginning of the harvest.
Here is the prayer:
"Bless, Lord, this new fruit of vine which reached ripeness because Thou kindly provided good weather, drops of rain and stillness. Let eating this fruit of vine make us joyful. And give us the honor of offering this fruit to Thee, as the gift of purging of sins, altogether with the Holy Body of Thy Christ."
The prayer I just read it is full of spiritual significance. The uncreated Light the Apostles saw on Mount Tabor was the pre tasting of the Light of Resurrection that will be revealed to the Apostles and to the whole world, not long after. In the same way the grapes are the symbol of the Eucharistic wine that will be transformed in the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. When the priest pours into the Chalice the pieces of bread taken for each commemorated person he says: "Lord wash away the sins of those commemorated here with Your precious Blood for the prayers of Your Saints". So we bring this offering of grapes at the beginning of the harvest, as a symbol of the start of our journey into faith at which end is the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
The grapes are a symbol of our own path to transformation in Christ, until we reach the ultimate level of theosis or deification. The grapes are a fit symbol to describe this journey, because the grapes do not become wine overnight. Grapes need to grow on a vine, wait until they ripe, they are then gathered, selected, pressed, put into barrels, wait until the grape juice matures and only after finally become wine.
In the same way man needs to engage in the continuous work of "askesis" the permanent battle against the material for the acquiring of the spiritual. Man needs to ripe into faith until he is called to higher spiritual grounds, Man needs to be transformed through the spiritual battle until His will is united with God's will, until he will be able to proclaim like Saint Apostle Paul: I have been crucified with Christ, and I live; yet no longer I, but Christ lives in me. And that life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith toward the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself on my behalf. (Gal 2:20)
Man need to engage his whole being in this endeavor. Body, mind and spirit need to join together to follow Christ on the Transfiguration Mountain. But although Man's spiritual ascent is dependent on his will, his climbing is ultimately powered by the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit. Wine will never become the Blood of Christ until the Holy Spirit descends upon it. In the same way Man cannot become god until God Himself lifts him on the top of the Tabor Mountain and makes him everlasting partner in the perfect love of the Holy Trinity
Dear Beloved,
To ascend our own Tabor Mountain is something we all can achieve. But for this we need to strengthen our faith, deepen our love and harden our perseverance. Only in this way will be able to move the mountain of materiality that sits on our chests and paralyzes our every movement. We cannot ever be free to fly up to Christ while carrying the ballast of our lives full with matter, while our souls that want to fly high are anchored into earthly things.
We need to free ourselves from the chains of this world that wants to sink us along with her. The world is going down but we don't have to follow. We have another calling. For it is written : the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God (1Co 3:19). And also you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, (Joh 15:19)
We should open our eyes and see behind the smoke and mirrors of this misleading world, the true light that shines through the deepest darkness. We have to learn to rediscover that sin is bad, and virtue is good, hate is to be despised and love to be cherished, pride to be left behind and humility to be embraced. We are not sons of darkness but sons of Light and in light we should walk all the days of our lives.
We are all called together to be the new people of God, but to answer this calling is something personal For many are called, but few chosen. (Mat 22:14) Not everyone gets on the top of the mountain. We see that during the Transfiguration only Peter, John and Jacob are taken with Jesus up the mountain. Each one of them had something that made them fit to see God's Glory. Peter had incredible faith, John loved Jesus more than anything else and Jacob was very perseverant; faith, love, perseverance, virtues that accompany those that strive on the path to salvation.
We are all called to partake in God's glory, like all the apostles were called, but only those that respond back to this calling by cultivating the Christian virtues and make them part of their new life enter and feast with the Lord.
Let us all cherish this thought and go back into our daily lives meditating upon our own stage of spiritual development. Answer this question: Would Christ take me with Him in the state I find myself today today? Make this the first step in your personal transfiguration in Christ, because knowing oneself is the first step of spiritual maturity and a healthy start for our lifelong spiritual journey.
Let us therefore join in prayer so that our Lord God will strengthen our faith and lift us from corruption, transforming us by His Holy Spirit. Amin!