Homily on Sunday the 8th week after Pentecost being the forefeast of the Transfiguration. 1 Corithinans 1: 10 – 18; Matthew 14: 14-22.
This week we celebrate the transfiguration of our Lord and Saviour. This is the day when He revealed His divinity to His Disciples. It was in this moment that the uncreated light of the All-Holy Trinity was made evident to those present. One thing is sure, this is that Christ is the light of the world, and no one can come to Him unless they are guided by this light.
Light is central to the message of the Gospel for it is mentioned many times by Christ for He
says in John 8: 12:
“…I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness.”
Also, he says in Matthew 5: 16:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.”
Therefore, this light refers to the graces we partake in through the worthy reception of the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments). Without worthily receiving the Holy Mysteries we are as parched lands, trees without a hope of receiving the light we need to be spiritually healthy.
Therefore, we are called to have a great love and respect for God and all of his human family. For it is in loving God and loving Him like we love ourselves that we are brought close to Him.
Saint Ephraim the Syrian says this about having a healthy respect for God:
“The fear of God illumines the soul, annihilates evil, weakens the passions, drives darkness from the soul and makes it pure. The fear of God is the summit of wisdom. Where it is not you will find nothing good. Whoever does not have the fear of God is open to diabolical falls.”
Unfortunately, this is why many people are lost because they have opted to follow their own ways and not the way that their Lord and Saviour is wishing to lead them. Christ is clear that if you love Him and come to Him with the simplicity and trust of a child then you will have rest.
Christ says in Matthew 11: 28-30:
“Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden light.”
This is not to say that the challenges in life will all melt away but rather that if we come to Christ with the innocence and trust of a child, He will help us not to be as affected by these challenges.
To trust like a child can be daunting to some for they may have been let down by others in the past. Yet we can depend on He who gave His life for the world that we may have the opportunity to work on our salvation.
Saint Silouan the Athonite puts it I this way:
“Pride does not allow the soul to set out on the path of faith. Here is my advice to the unbeliever: let him say, "Lord, if you exist, then illumine me, and I will serve you with all my heart and soul." And for this humble thought and readiness to serve God, the Lord will immediately illumine him... and then your soul will sense the Lord; she will sense that the Lord has forgiven her, and loves her, and you will know this from experience, and the grace of the Holy Spirit will be a witness in your soul of your salvation, and you will want to cry out to the whole world: "The Lord loves us so much! (Writings III, 6)."
This is the key, the knowledge that the lord loves us so much, more than we can understand, for He so loved the world that He gave us His only Son that we might have life in us and life to the full (John 3:16, John 10: 10).
He came not to test us or put us on trial – a trial we would surely fail. He came that we may know that He is love and a love beyond all our understanding. This is to say, He loves us so much that He opened His arms on the wood of the Holy Cross that our fallen nature might be resurrected with Him to be restored to our former state before the fall.
Too often, so called, evangelists paint God as a monster whose sole delight is to torment His creation. This is not how God is, for if this were the case then why did Christ paint the Father as a loving father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32).
This is not to say that we can commit any sin and then act as if we can make it all good with God without true repentance – which unfortunately many groups tend to believe. Rather, we must accept that we will sin - this is a reality that stems from our human nature.
However, if we are like the prodigal son and the publican then we will be forgiven our sins (Luke 18: 9-14). This is why those who push ideas such as purgatory and toll houses misunderstand the forgiveness of God. Once a sin is forgiven then it is forgiven for good. There is no more to pay the sin is as if it never happened.
This is why it is important to always forgive ourselves for our own failings for it is often us who hang onto guilt once a sin has been forgiven. If we do this then we will be in a position to grow spiritually and we will be more able to say like Saint Samuel – “Speak Lord, your servant is listening (1 Samuel 3: 10).
Only then can we truly fulfil our Christian calling which is to be in Communion with He who is the Life of the world.
Saint Theophan the Recluse puts it eloquently when he writes:
“The chief end of our life is to live in communion with God. To this end the Son of God became incarnate, in order to return us to this divine communion, which was lost by the fall into sin. Through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we enter into communion with the Father and thus attain our purpose.”
Therefore, my dear people be people of love and joy for there are many who hunger for the truth of the Gospel but are turned off by those who seem not to have gotten the message when Christ said – “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone (John 8: 7).”
Let us show the world that despite the negative stereotypes of Christians being killjoys and overly judgemental, that to be a Christian, is to radiate the love and grace of Christ into the world so that those who are spiritually blind may see that He is the way the truth and the life (John 14: 6).
Finally, pray for all those who are lost and broken for there are many who seem lost but through prayer miracles can and do happen. To pray for others is a vocation shared by all Christian whether they be clergy or laity this is the greatest of all charity for from such a great font of love all charitable works flow.
Troparion of the Transfiguration:
You were transfigured on the mountain O Christ God,
You showed Your glory unto Your disciples as far as they could bare it
may Your ever existing light shine forth also upon us sinners,
through the prayers of the Holy Theotokos o Bestower of light Glory be to Thee!
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