The Epiphany

The speaker addresses the mystery of the Transfiguration where the Lord Christ ascended with His disciples Peter, James and John to a solitary mountain and His appearance was changed so that the brightness of His face increased and the whiteness of His garments, and Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Christ.
The Transfiguration confirms the divinity of Christ and that His humble incarnation does not negate His power and glory, for the Father proclaimed with a heavenly word: “This is the beloved Son; listen to Him.”
The Transfiguration also indicates that it is an initial gradual revelation of Christ’s glory so that people may be trained to see His future glory without fear of contradiction with His humility.
The speaker points out that the Transfiguration gave an image of the renewed human nature at the Resurrection, where the body takes on luminosity and incorruption and becomes a spiritual body not subject to weakness.
He explains that Moses and Elijah are symbols of all states of human life—the married and the virgins, the dead and the living, the law and the prophets—to show that all people will surround Christ if their hearts are pure.
He also mentions that the saints of the Old Testament, though differing in their traits and strength and weakness, nevertheless agreed in holiness and love of God and in testimony by miracles.
He stresses that the Transfiguration is not replacing the body with another body but the same body’s elevation to new and luminous properties, as examples are shown from the furnace, iron and oil in the parable.
He encourages listeners to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration with joy because it is a pledge and taste of the Kingdom, and calls to strive for purity, love and work by grace so that a person may be prepared for this full Transfiguration on the last day.

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