On the mountain Thou wast transfigured, O Christ God, and Thy Disciples beheld Thy glory as far as they could see it; so that when they would behold Thee crucified, they would understand that Thy suffering was voluntary, and would proclaim to the world that Thou art truly the Radiance of the Father. (Kontakion of the Transfiguration)

The Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor was a very special revelation offered to the disciples Peter, James and John in advance of the Lord's suffering and death. It was a gift, a revelation in anticipation of the devastation they would powerfully experience at His crucifixion. It was meant to offer them, at least upon recollection, a measure of hope and consolation. Understanding this, we celebrate the Transfiguration as a feast of hope. Hope that in spite of appearances, the Lord is Lord, and on the other side of His betrayal, suffering and death is His resurrection, ascension and glorification - His Kingdom - into which we are invited. Not to escape or bypass the brokenness and suffering in our experience of this fallen world, but bear it all in light of its consummation in Christ.

Andreas Andreopoulos writes concerning the Transfiguration: The exhortation to the narrow gate, the asceticism and the challenges of the Christian life, the Crucifixion that we share with Christ would be useless if they could not help us find our way to the kingdom of God. But what Christ chose to do was not to give to his disciples and to humanity only words and instructions, but to lift, even if briefly, the curtain that separates this world from the presence of God, and give to his disciples the experience of the kingdom.

The Transfiguration is, perhaps, the most accurate memory the church has of Christ, having passed through His death and Resurrection, having been baptized with Him, and having accepted Him to be born inside us. This is the memory and the image of Christ in His fullness, above life and death, as the doorway to the kingdom of heaven, the brilliance of the Father, revealed by the Holy Spirit, resting in His saints, and inviting us into His brightness.