Happy Transfiguration!

[The Liturgist]

I want to wish all members of ChristianForums a glorious, joyful Feast of the Transfiguration, whether you celebrated it today or are celebrating it on Sunday, or for those Eastern and Oriental Orthodox members like @dzheremi and @Pavel Mosko on the Julian or Coptic calendar, in two weeks or so.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, the Feast of the Transfiguration commemorates the ascent of our Lord Jesus Christ to the mountain where he appeared with Moses and Elijah, and Peter had a realization that He was the Son of God. It is celebrated on the 6th of August and is one of the major feasts of our Lord throughout the year, along with His Nativity on December 25th, His Baptism on January 6th, and in Holy Week, on Palm Sunday, His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, His victory over sin and death in the agony of His passion on the Cross, His repose in the Tomb on the Great Sabbath, and His glorious Resurrection on Pascha, or Easter Sunday, and then of course 40 days later His Ascension.

 

[Philip_B]

Thankyou. For me the depth of understanding in the Transfiguration is that it stands at the turning point of the Synoptics, the Galilean Mission turns its attention to Jerusalem and all that must be accomplished. It seems here, in a particular way Jesus catches the vision of glory in a new a revitalised way that gives him strength for the coming weeks, betrayal, trial and execution. In this it becomes as much an affirmation of his humanity, as it is the declaration of his divinity.

 

[The Liturgist]

Thankyou. For me the depth of understanding in the Transfiguration is that it stands at the turning point of the Synoptics, the Galilean Mission turns its attention to Jerusalem and all that must be accomplished. It seems here, in a particular way Jesus catches the vision of glory in a new a revitalised way that gives him strength for the coming weeks, betrayal, trial and execution. In this it becomes as much an affirmation of his humanity, as it is the declaration of his divinity.

This is interesting, although could you elaborate on this idea a bit more? Like, from the perspective of communicatio idiomatum?

 

[Philip_B]

I think one of the things we are capable of as human beings is endurance, yet in order to endure we need to have hope and vision, some idea of what might be accomplished. An Olympic Swimmer punishes himself watching the single back line with a vision of victory. It seems to me that the account of the Transfiguration is the vision of what will be, and from this vision Jesus at the human level draws the strength for all that this last period in Jerusalem with throw at him. It seems that it is this event on the Mountain is this time when humanity and divinity are both revealed.

Matthew 27:45-51
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.​

Clearly Matthew perceives the power of these words in Aramaic, and so preserves them. We might reasonably conclude that they are verbatim, in that they have been preserved in their original specifically. Jesus has between the Transfiguration and these words endured rejection, betrayal, the abandonment of justice, and even Peter's denial, and comes to this moment where it seems even God has abandoned him. Jesus is wholly human and wholly divine, which means you have to allow for his complete humanity, and you can't just say, oh it was different for him because he was God.

It is interesting that the bystanders wonder here about Elijah, who of course was present in the account of the Transfiguration. I guess one of the advantages of the preservation of the Aramaic is that we can see why the bystanders might have thought they misheard him.

As a child I guess I was taught about the Transfiguration as kind of proof that Jesus was God. When I considered the passage later on, I began to see much more here than something so simple, and ultimately concluded that in many ways it is both Jesus Humanity and Divinity that are affirmed here.

That is probably not a very good explanation of my thinking

 

[The Liturgist]

I think one of the things we are capable of as human beings is endurance, yet in order to endure we need to have hope and vision, some idea of what might be accomplished. An Olympic Swimmer punishes himself watching the single back line with a vision of victory. It seems to me that the account of the Transfiguration is the vision of what will be, and from this vision Jesus at the human level draws the strength for all that this last period in Jerusalem with throw at him. It seems that it is this event on the Mountain is this time when humanity and divinity are both revealed.

Matthew 27:45-51
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split.​

Clearly Matthew perceives the power of these words in Aramaic, and so preserves them. We might reasonably conclude that they are verbatim, in that they have been preserved in their original specifically. Jesus has between the Transfiguration and these words endured rejection, betrayal, the abandonment of justice, and even Peter's denial, and comes to this moment where it seems even God has abandoned him. Jesus is wholly human and wholly divine, which means you have to allow for his complete humanity, and you can't just say, oh it was different for him because he was God.

It is interesting that the bystanders wonder here about Elijah, who of course was present in the account of the Transfiguration. I guess one of the advantages of the preservation of the Aramaic is that we can see why the bystanders might have thought they misheard him.

As a child I guess I was taught about the Transfiguration as kind of proof that Jesus was God. When I considered the passage later on, I began to see much more here than something so simple, and ultimately concluded that in many ways it is both Jesus Humanity and Divinity that are affirmed here.

That is probably not a very good explanation of my thinking

Actually, I think that’s rather beautiful, and speaks to the union of humanity and divinity in the Incarnation of our Lord.