Transfiguration

St. Gregory

Dear friends, 

I write this on August 6, the Feast of the Transfiguration, and offer this beautiful passage from St. Gregory of Nazianzus, who lived from 330-389 C.E., and was one of the Cappadocian Fathers (St. Basil of Caesarea, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory of Nazianzus).   He is revered in the Orthodox Church as Gregory the Theologian.  This excerpt from his Third Theological Oration, “On the Son”^[i], written in argument with those who at that time were venturing views on the nature of the Son that were eventually viewed as heretical, not only wins the argument (theological argument in those days was a contact sport!)  closes with a stunning assessment of the Transfiguration (honestly, it is hard to read this stuff and ever have the confidence to preach again!):

 For he whom you now treat with contempt was once above you.   He who is now

Man was once the uncompounded. What he was he continued to be; what he was not

he took to himself.   In the beginning he was, uncaused; for what is the Cause of God?

But afterwards for a cause he was born.  And that cause was that you might be saved, who

insult him and despise His Godhead^[ii], because of this, that he took upon him your denser

nature, having converse with flesh by means of mind.   While his inferior nature, the

humanity, became God, because it was united to God, and became one person because

the higher nature prevailed in order that I too might be made God so far as He is made

Man. He was born—but he had been begotten: He was born of a woman—but she was

a virgin. the first is human, the second divine.  In his human nature he had no father,

but also in his divine nature no mother.  Both these belong to Godhead. He dwelt

in the womb—but He was recognized by the prophet, himself still in the womb, leaping

before the Word, for whose sake He came into being.  He was wrapped in swaddling

clothes—but he took off the swathing bands of the grave by his rising again.  He was

laid in a manger—but he was glorified by angels, and proclaimed by a star, and worshipped

by the Magi. Why are you offended by that which is presented to your sight, because you

will not look at that which is presented to your mind? He was driven into exile into

Egypt—but He drove away the Egyptian idols…

And on the Mountain He was bright as the lightning, and became more luminous than the sun, INITIATING US INTO THE MYSTERY OF THE FUTURE.

AMEN.

CJ+