Sunday After the Feast of the Transfiguration

The Church’s feasts teach us all that we need to know. For example, consider Pascha (Easter). Christianity’s central belief is in the resurrection; without it Christianity is meaningless. To the Christian community of Corinth, St. Paul once wrote,

“How do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).

In practical terms, this means that life is more than the seventy, eighty, ninety or one hundred years that people consider to be one life. St. Basil once wrote that this world is the school where people learn about God. In this school each person takes a different path, but ultimately the goal is a life in God’s presence. Elsewhere St. Basil writes that some are blessed with material riches, and their task is to imitate God by learning to be generous. Others are given very little; their task is to learn patience and gratitude. This may seem overly simplified, but it points us in the right direction. We take what God gives us and we use it to grow in virtue and in grace, knowing that at some point in time God will bless or punish us according to how we used the gifts. Death and resurrection are the great equalizers of life.

The Transfiguration of Christ, a feast that we celebrate on August 6 and which is extended for a week, provides a lesson of almost equal importance. It commemorates a single event in the Lord’s life, a day when He took three disciples up Mount Tabor and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothing became white as light, according to the gospel. Moses and Elias appeared at His side, speaking with Him. Orthodox Christians see in this event the promise of human destiny. Jesus’ human nature, His physical body, was transfigured and we see in this the possibility that we, too, may shine like the sun. It happened once to Moses (Exodus 34) that after receiving the Ten Commandments his face began to shine so brightly that he had to cover it with a veil.  A number of saints in the Orthodox Christian Tradition have had similar experiences. The point is that our destiny is more glorious than we can possibly imagine- we are called to be “children of the light and of the day,” in the words of St. Basil’s Liturgy.

I notice a human tendency to selectively compare ourselves to others. When it comes to wealth, we compare ourselves to people with more than we have. If only I had Bill Gates’ money or Warren Buffet’s resources! When it comes to beauty, we compare ourselves to others who are taller, thinner perhaps, more blessed with physical beauty. I wish I looked like Brad Pitt. When it comes to athletic prowess we compare ourselves to gifted athletes. Some wish that they had Tiger Woods’ ability to putt. But when it comes to virtue or faith, we compare ourselves to those who seem beneath us. I am a good person: I haven’t killed anyone. I haven’t stolen or hurt anyone. Rarely do I hear someone say I wish I had so-and-so’s faith or courage or knowledge of the Bible. Why is it that we compare ourselves to the best in so many ways, but when it comes to faith, we compare ourselves to the worst?

At life’s end, when we close our eyes for the last time, most of us have similar wishes, that we be surrounded by a loving family and friends, and that people have nice things to say about us. That we were good sons or daughters or parents or friends. That we excelled in our professions. There is nothing inherently wrong in this, but I think that we sell ourselves short. Why couldn’t we be holy as well? One reason for honoring saints is so that we have examples to challenge us. There is an abundance of holy doctors, holy lawyers, holy teachers, farmers, innkeepers, slaves, soldiers and businesspeople who have lived holy lives. The feast of the Transfiguration, this so often forgotten holy day in the church calendar, is a reminder that our calling is a lofty one. We are called to be children of the light and of the day.