Today the Church celebrates one of the most glorious feasts of the Lord: the Transfiguration of our Saviour Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor. This feast reveals not only who Christ truly is, but also what the human person is called to become.

The Gospel tells us that Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain. There, before their eyes, He was transfigured:

“His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as the light.”
(Matthew 17:2)

The disciples did not see something that was added to Christ. They were granted the grace to see what was always present: His divine glory. The light of Tabor was not a created light, but the manifestation of the eternal glory of the Son of God.

The great theologian and Father of the Church, Saint Maximus the Confessor, teaches that the Transfiguration is not only an event that happened once in history. It is also a mystery that takes place within every person who follows Christ and advances in spiritual life.

Christ reveals Himself according to our capacity to receive Him

Saint Maximus writes that:

“The Lord does not always appear in glory to all who stand before Him.”

Christ is always the same, but people experience Him according to the state of their hearts.

To those who are beginning the spiritual journey, Christ appears as the humble Servant who calls them to repentance, obedience, and transformation. This is the Christ who “emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7).

But to those who, through prayer, purification, and the struggle against the passions, have learned to follow Him up the mountain of spiritual ascent, Christ reveals His divine glory.

The change is not in Christ. The change is in us.

A person with purified spiritual eyes begins to see what was always hidden: that behind the humility of Jesus stands the eternal Son of the Father.

The shining garments of Christ: the Scriptures become illuminated.

Saint Maximus gives a beautiful interpretation of Christ’s shining garments.

When Matthew tells us that Christ’s clothes became “white as light,” Maximus explains that these garments represent the words of the Holy Scriptures.

At first, we may read the Bible only at the surface level. We see commandments, stories, historical events, and moral teachings. These are true, but they are like a garment covering a deeper mystery.

When Christ is transfigured within the heart of the believer, the Scriptures themselves become radiant. The hidden wisdom of God begins to appear.

The Gospel words become “white as light”: clear, profound, and filled with divine meaning.

This is why the Fathers teach that Scripture must be read in the presence of Christ. The Bible is not merely a collection of religious texts; it is a place where we encounter the living Word of God.

Moses and Elijah: the Law and the Prophets point to Christ

During the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appear and speak with Christ.

Why these two figures?

Saint Maximus explains that Moses and Elijah represent the deepest spiritual meaning of the Law and the Prophets.

Moses represents the Law. He received the commandments of God and encountered the Lord on Mount Sinai.

Elijah represents the Prophets. He was a man of prayer, spiritual courage, and complete dedication to God.

Together they represent the entire Old Testament, which finds its fulfilment in Christ.

The presence of Moses and Elijah shows that Christ is not separated from the revelation given to Israel. He is the One toward whom the Law and the Prophets were always pointing.

The Old Testament is like a road leading humanity toward the coming of the Son of God. On Mount Tabor, the road reaches its destination.

This is why, after the vision, the disciples “saw no one but Jesus only” (Matthew 17:8). Moses and Elijah disappear because their mission has been fulfilled: they have revealed Christ.

The three stages of the spiritual journey

Saint Maximus also connects the three disciples’ experience on Mount Tabor with the three stages of spiritual growth.

The first stage is the life of virtue and purification.

This is represented by Elijah. Before a person can see God clearly, the heart must be cleansed from the passions. Through repentance, fasting, prayer, and the struggle for holiness, the soul becomes capable of receiving divine light.

The second stage is spiritual knowledge and contemplation.

This is represented by Moses. The person begins to see creation differently—not merely as material reality, but as a reflection of God’s wisdom and love. The world becomes filled with signs of the divine presence.

The third stage is theology, the knowledge of God Himself.

This is represented by Christ. True theology is not simply speaking about God; it is communion with God. The saints know God because they participate in His life.

For this reason, the Church does not understand theology only as an intellectual discipline. The deepest theology is born from a purified heart that has encountered the living God.

The Transfiguration within us

Saint Maximus reminds us that the Transfiguration is not only something we celebrate as a past event. It is also a promise of what God desires to accomplish in every human being.

The same Christ who shone on Mount Tabor desires to shine within our hearts.

When the heart is purified, when prayer becomes deeper, when the passions are transformed, Christ begins to reveal His presence within us. The human person becomes a place where divine light can dwell.

The feast of the Transfiguration therefore asks us an important question:

Do we only look at Christ from below the mountain, or are we willing to follow Him upward?

The disciples had to leave the comfort of the ordinary world and climb with Christ. In the same way, every Christian is invited to begin the ascent toward God.

The light of Tabor is not reserved only for the saints of the past. It is the calling of every person created in the image and likeness of God.

May the Lord who was transfigured on Mount Tabor enlighten our hearts, illuminate our understanding of His Word, and lead us from purification to contemplation and finally to communion with Him.

Blessed Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord!