Communion With the Christ:: The Light Shined Out of the Darkness

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ."

Transfiguration Sunday or The Transfiguration is celebrated by many Christian Churches and is found after the Epiphany and is the Sunday before the Lenten Season in leading to Holy Week and to Easter Sunday.

In the Creation Epic found in the book of Genesis, written by the Prophet Moses is the recorded decree of the Lord God of “let there be light”. This decree spoken by the Creator is far more than the act of creation of the Sun, Moon and stars and other celestial bodies, it does have reference to God’s act of creation, but it has a far deeper meaning and intention regarding his whole purpose which God has untaken here upon the Earth.

In the Beginning

St. John, drawing upon his Jewish roots, utilizes the well know words of the Creation Epic when he wrote in his Gospel account of the life of Jesus “In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was God”.

“In the Beginning” is used as the “Language of Accommodation”, that is, the Lord God has made an allowance for humanities limited grasp of the meaning of eternal things and eternal truths and so speaks to us in a way in which we can almost understand, and to gives to us a sense of who God is and what his purpose(s) is.

St. John is telling us that from eternity past God has had an eternal purpose for his creation and for us. “let there be light” is introduced, but again, this is not just speaking of the celestial lights which can be viewed in the heavens, but rather St. John is utilizing the creation theme and tells us that light has appeared upon the Earth among humanity amidst the darkness of the world.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. “Jhn: 1:1-5

This light of the Word of God and who is God has shined among humanity, not having come to us as something alien and incomprehensible but has come in a means by which we can look upon it and experience it. This Light of the Word has come and shown the glorious light of the Holy God as one of us.

“and the World became flesh” (14)

The holy divine light of God has come and walked among us in the person of His Holy Son Jesus Christ, radiant in the spiritual darkness of this world. This holy light of God came and revealed the great God to us not just in words but actions and in all interactions with others through Jesus’ life and in his death.

The Word’s incarnation is the true fulfillment of the creation decree of God; “let there be light”. St. John gives depth to this truth in his Christocentric Gospel about the holy light of God shining forth in perfect revelation of who God is even amidst the darkness of this world.

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” Jhn:1:4-5

This has been the purpose of God from “in the beginning” to shine the light of truth among us all so that we might know him. This has and is God’s purpose, that we all look upon the light radiant in Jesus and see the Holy God in his most full, clearest, and perfect revelation, to have that Apocalyptic moment of revelation when we see the radiant light of God shown forth in Jesus and see him for who he is; and has always has been, and have come to know him as the Great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Mount of Transfiguration

St. Peter wrote of this Apocalyptic moment in his second epistle to the Apostolic Church and recalled seeing the radiant glory of God in the person of Jesus and the divine declaration of the Father regarding his Son Jesus.

…” For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice from the Majestic Glory said to Him, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we ourselves heard this voice from Heaven when we were with him on the Holy Mountain. We also have the message of the prophets, which has been confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to this message, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” 2Pet:1:17-19

There upon that holy mount was the glorious radiance of the Creator God. Here it is being shown forth before the Disciples who witness the Transfiguration of Jesus as he is seen for who he is, the true light of God who brings the glorious truth about the true Creator God, who brought all things into being, what is being shown forth is what is only hinted at in the Genesis Creation Epic, “let there be light”.

The Transfiguration

St. Mark, who we are told by ancient tradition was a close associate of the Apostle St. Peter, and is believed to have gathered much of his information regarding Jesus from St. Peter’s personal experiences, records in his Gospel the Transfiguration which St. Peter alluded to in his general Epistle to the early Church.

“After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” Mk: 9:2-9

The Transfiguration is a glorious Apocalyptic moment for the Disciples there with Jesus and for we who see it through the pages of the Holy Scriptures. What the Transfiguration is showing, and the Father is declaring, is that, it is in and through Jesus that the light of truth is being showed forth and dispelling the cloudy darkness of ignorance as to who the Creator God is; “this is my Son”, in other words, “you will know me when you know him”, “let there be light”.

This is what God has always from even the dawn of creation intended for humanity, that we would come to know him, that we all would see in Jesus what the Disciples there on that mount only glimpsed.

Light Out of the Darkness

The eternal truth of who the true God is and is revealed to humanity through Jesus, and has been witness to in the Scriptures; “And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.”, is the glorious truth which shines forth into the world through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

When the light of Gospel is proclaimed, it is the very same light which shined forth out of the clouds of primordial darkness at creation. This light of truth reveals to us who God is, the same light which is seen there upon the Mount of Transfiguration radiating forth in the glorious vision of the Transfigured Jesus.

St. Paul in his Epistles to the Christian Church at Corinth Greece reveals the Gospel of Jesus as the self-same light which God declares in the creation Epic.

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”2Cor:4:3-6

St. Paul is telling us that when we hear the Gospel message and we are able to grasp it’s meaning we are then seeing the glory of God being shown forth in an Apocalyptic moment of revelation of who God is.

We have seen the light of truth which reveals the true God the creator of all things.

In Jesus the Creator God shows the truth about himself to us. When the truth is seen and comprehend, then Jesus is, in the eyes of our hearts, becomes Transfigured. We see the glory of God in Jesus; we now know him to be the Son of God. It is as if his face is radiant in the divine light of God piercing the thick clouds of darkness and ignorance as to who God is.

Jesus is the one of whom the Scriptures spoke of, the one, who has come and shows us the truth which illuminates to us just who the Creator God is and what he wants for us all.

The light declared in the Creation Epic has come to us in the person of Jesus and is shining even now to us, showing us who God is and his desire for us to know him. This is what the Transfiguration of Jesus is declaring to us all there upon the holy mountain.

Benediction: May we each and all see the light which shown forth there upon the Holy Mount of Transfiguration, the same light which shines forth into the darkness of the world through the Gospel, as the light shined forth at Creation and still shines forth through Jesus Christ today, tomorrow and forever more. Amen.