Patriarch Elijah’s message on the feast of the Transfiguration

“Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. …behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!’” (Mt 17:1-5)

Three disciples, Peter, James and John, were witnesses of Jesus’ transfiguration on Mount Tabor in Galilee. The light of Jesus’ Divinity shone on them. It was a great experience for them. At the close of chapter 16, Jesus says: “Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” (Mt 16:28) On Mount Tabor, they saw a flash of Jesus’ glory.

You think to yourself: If I had a vision, my faith would deepen. But we can see what an impact that vision had on the apostles. After a few days these three disciples were on the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed: “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Mt 26:39) And when Jesus said to them: “Watch and pray!”, instead of praying with Jesus and staying with Him in His abandonment, they were sleeping. And when they were put to the test, facing the suffering of Jesus, which He had foretold, Peter and James did not stand by the cross. What is more, Peter denied Christ three times. This is human nature. Only John was at Calvary. But when Jesus was dying on the cross, John was not standing there because he had had a vision but because he loved Jesus.

We can see that a vision does not touch the depths of the soul. But if one truly receives Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it seems outwardly as if nothing happened, but in a time of hard fight the power of God suddenly becomes manifest and the Spirit of God begins to witness to Jesus in power.

We live by faith, not by vision. Our salvation, our faith must be founded on God’s Word. We must believe in God and put His Word into practice. It is not important whether we understand or feel something. The essential thing is a life by faith. The righteous lives by faith.

If you live by faith and pray, God then gives you the light. The Holy Spirit can enlighten you within a second and you suddenly begin to see, wake up, and suddenly e.g. a certain Bible verse touches your heart and gives you the light in particular situations in your life.

When we pray, our eyes are opened and we begin to see things in a different light. If it is really a prayer of faith, we then see Christ not only as the One who was crucified and rose again but also as the Transfigured One who is the Lord and has the last word in the whole history and in the Church.

After His transfiguration, Jesus says to the apostles about His suffering and resurrection. He said to them so many times that He would rise from the dead but practically they did not believe in that, not even when it happened. How strong our corrupt nature is! We always think that the apostles were like supermen, but they were exactly the same as we are. God and His love must take a lot of trouble over each of us, be literally on the receiving end of our foolishness, stubbornness, our caprices, vices, fears which we stick to… It was the same about the apostles.

However, Jesus wants to deliver us from it. It is a process of transformation into Christ, as the Apostle Paul says: “My little children, for whom I labour in birth again until Christ is formed in you.” These words are far more true about the Mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin, who was given to us by Jesus as our Mother. A mother not only gives birth to children but also brings them up. Imagine the Blessed Virgin looking at each of you and saying to you: “My little children, for whom I labour in birth again until Christ is formed in you.” How shall we be transformed into Christ? Through the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Spirit. The Blessed Virgin + the Holy Spirit = the living Jesus. If the living Jesus is to be in us – the living Jesus, and not a Jesus of philosophers, theologians, psychologists, sociologists… – we need to receive Jesus’ words from the cross, i.e. to receive Mary, and to receive again the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to walk in Him, i.e. to be led by Him. “All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” This is important.

To be witnesses of the transfiguration, the disciples had to go up on the mountain. Similarly, we need to go up on a high mountain – that means, to withdraw to a place of seclusion where we can be transfigured, where we can encounter the living Jesus. We need to withdraw from the chaos of this world, from all the worries and problems in our neighbourhood or in our work which hold us in bondage. We need to abandon it and to go away. Mount Tabor can be e.g. the Divine Liturgy too, which is the place of transfiguration, when the living Jesus comes as a guest into your hearts and touches you. We need to realize: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” “Lord, I do not feel it, I do not understand it, but I believe it. It is true! You are in me, and I in You. Amen!”

Let us ask with faith for the transfiguration of Ukraine, of the Church, and of our soul in the first place – holy egoism. On today’s feast, during the Divine Liturgy, we can ask: “Lord, give me Your word, give me the strength. Grant to me that I may be transformed by Your power, that I may live a new life, that You may live in me.” This is, in essence, the true meaning of this feast. Let every one of us be transformed by the power of God, by the love of God and by the truth of God.

…a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Mt 17:5)

These are very important words: “This is My beloved Son… Listen to Him!” This is the main thing. We must listen to Christ, and not some philosophers, ideologues, psychologists, sociologists or special demagogues. We have His Word; we just need to know it and to put it into practice. When we put it into practice, we allow the power of God, Christ Himself, to work through us. Let us actualize the following truth every day: Jesus is my Lord, Jesus is my Saviour. Let us put at His disposal all our powers, our reason, our will, our health and all our life. This is our love for Christ – when we renounce our own will in little things and give all our problems to Jesus. Let us not live by ourselves. Let us live with Christ; that’s the whole point: Jesus and I. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes again, that we may know Christ in the Scripture, that we may know Him in our neighbours, that we may know Him in ourselves, that we may know Him in the powerlessness on the cross, so that finally we may see Him in glory, not only in a vision which ends but in the glory which is without end.

Download: Patriarch Elijah’s message on the feast of the Transfiguration