The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ: August 6th, 2023

 Introit. Illuxerant coruscationes tuae. Ps. 77

The lightnings shone upon the ground : The earth shook withal. Ps. 84. O how amiable are thy dwellings, thou Lord of Hosts. My soul hath a desire and longing  to enter the courts of the Lord. V  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Collect.

O God, who on the mountain didst reveal to chosen witnesses thine only-begotten Son wonderfully transifgured, in raiment white and glistering : mercifully grant that we, being delivered from the disquietude of this world: may be permitted to behold the King in his beauty. Who with thee, O Father, and thee, O Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth , one God, world without end. 

The lesson from the Epistle of blessed Peter the Apostle (2 Peter 1:13-):

I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.
Eyewitnesses
16For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a declaration as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory: “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”— 18and we ourselves heard this declaration made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Luke (St Luke 9.28-).

About eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. 30And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him. 33And as these two men were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; and let’s make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. 34But while he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35And then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” 36And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

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A Written Homily by Fr Dcn Maverick

The last few months have been incredibly challenging, not that it has not been any less challenging before that, but the very vision of St Dymphna's was being discussed by myself and various clergy and friends. For those who don't know, I maintain relationships with various church groups and their leaders. 

I have witnessed firsthand the difficulties of not having a cohesive and meaningful vision for the future, and how that affects a mission or just any endeavor. Proverbs 29:18 reads, "Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the Law." A cursory reading of this proverb, reveals that without vision, we lead a purposeless or unrestrained life that allows us into a direction that ultimately is not conducive to good order or consistent godliness, it fact opens to door to sloth or a diminished sense of communion with God, and perhaps becoming despondent and depressed. 

I felt that in the last few months God has given me a lot to be thankful for, including the various church groups and support I have been given. In the first year of being in Korea, it was incredibly absent and I found myself in a spiritual desert without the Holy Eucharist; and my spirituality was anchored in feeding myself with studying the Bible, and online materials to a prayer rule focused on the Daily office of the Book of Common Prayer. 

As we celebrate the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, what can we learn from that? How can that help us with an ordered and stable vision of the future, and thus lead us into closer communion with God? Here are three points I'd like to share:

1. Seek God always in prayer

This might seem basic, but I do think that this is spirituality 101. Seeking God in prayer is such a basic part of Christian spirituality, that I find it hard to believe that a Christian can do without it. This includes understanding what prayer is. In the broader Catholic tradition, particularly the Anglo-Catholic and Old Catholic traditions that St. Dymphna finds itself a part of, we have a wealth of tools that God has blessed us with. 

Prayer is an attitude, we are to pray continuously (1 Thess 5:17). The broader Catholic tradition or "traditions" have tools including the rosary and chotki prayer beads, where we practice prayer and contemplation, praying various prayers like the Our Father, the Jesus Prayer, and the Hail Mary, these prayers teach us to have an attitude which always yearns for God, and seeks God not only in the ritual act of prayer, but as a continual attitude where we commune continuously with our God in prayer.

Prayer is speaking to God, and I think this is very commonly proven when one reads through the Psalms, and Jesus taught us the model prayer which begins with "Our Father" (Matt 6:6-10).

Notice that in verses 28 and 29, it reads, "bout eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming."

They first sought to prayer, and thereafter the experience of Christ high and lifted up was given up. Think about how we would have responded to Christ, if he revealed himself to us in this way, all of a sudden. Keep in mind that having an expectant heart is not out of place, expecting Christ to appear spontaneously and radically in our lives, is how God usually works. The power of God's Spirit, God's wind cannot be seen, therefore we are to expectant, in a posture of prayer, making ourselves respondent and sensitive to God's work to us, and in us.

2. Remember who Jesus is

There is a lot to unpack here, but I believe that passages such as Exodus 34:29-35 reveal the fact that Christ is the giver of the Law and Prophets. The Transfiguration is the unveiling of Christ's divinity and his glory to his disciples for the strengthening of their faith.

The early church fought against various conceptions of Jesus Christ, seeking who Jesus is, that he is namely the word who was God and became flesh (Jn 1:1, 14; Col 2:9), is a life-giving revelation. St Symeon the New Theologian spoke of the necessity of experiencing Christ for ourselves before speculating about him. 

The church teaches us about who Christ is, in setting him forth in the sacraments, in baptism, in the Lord's Supper, and various sacramental acts where we are empowered by Christ and his Spirit. Seek Jesus, and seek him to manifest himself to you. 

3. Jesus Is the Plan and Answer of God 

Jesus Christ is the "logos" of God, he is the answer that God has always sought to give us. I am not ashamed of the fact that since my baptism, and my confession of faith, I have really not been able to get a greater revelation than that. My appreciation of this fact has never waned, in fact, in prayer and in the sacraments, this point is enforced more and more. 

The gospel passage states in the last part, "And then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” 36And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen."

God quite frankly does not provide us with revelations outside of Christ, which is why Hebrews tells us, " In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe."

Think about what this passage is actually saying, the prophets themselves are only messengers that point to the Prophet greater than all -- Jesus. Consider these passages:

"16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." (Col 2:16, 17)

" Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." (Romans 10:4)

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Cor. 1:20)

What do these exactly tell us?

They tell us that all seasons and celebrations in the Old Testament are simply shadows, which means the message of the prophets all point to the persona of Christ. Christ is the fulfillment or purpose of the Torah, the law of God. Seeking Christ in our faith, and the way we live our lives is the way to find a cohesive vision, and it is in fact the very essence of what our visions should be. Christ is the mystery and goal for our salvation, our enlightenment. 

Seek him, and seek to be like him.

May our faces be transfigured, just like Moses was, but remember in the new covenant which we are participants of, his glory never fades from us, it is constantly given in the sacraments, in his written Scriptures, in our pursuit of seeking him.

I have said these + in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.