Transfigured

Transfigure | Definition of Transfigure by Merriam-Webster

The Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent commemorates the mysterious event known as the Transfiguration. This event is hard to understand. Why did it happen? What did it mean? The word "transfiguration" comes from the Latin roots trans - "across" and figura "form, shape".

It thus signifies a change of form or appearance. This is what happened to Jesus in the event known as the Transfiguration: His appearance changed and became glorious. Before looking at the Transfiguration itself, it's important that we look at what happened immediately before it in Luke's Gospel. This has often been taken as a prophecy that the end of the world would occur before the first generation of Christians died out.

The phrase "kingdom of God" can also refer to other things, though, including the Church--the outward expression of God's invisible kingdom. The kingdom is embodied in Christ himself and thus might be "seen" if Christ were to manifest it in an unusual way, even in his own earthly life. Some—that is to say, the three disciples who accompany Jesus up the mountain—are promised that they will personally witness the coming of the Kingdom of God 'in power. On the mountain—in the conversation of the transfigured Jesus with the Law and the Prophets—they realize that the true Feast of Tabernacles has come.

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On the mountain they learn that Jesus himself is the living Torah, the complete Word of God. On the mountain they see the 'power' dynamis of the Kingdom that is coming in Christ" Jesus of Nazareth , vol. We thus may have the key to understanding Jesus' mysterious statement just before the Transfiguration. He wasn't talking about the end of the world. He was talking about this. Mark gives a different number of days, saying it was "after six days" Mk. The three who are privileged to witness the event are Peter, James, and John, the three core disciples.

Andrew was not there or not included.

Transfiguration of Jesus Christ

The fact that Jesus only allowed three of his disciples to witness the event may have sparked the discussion which swiftly ensued about which of the disciples was the greatest Luke 9: Click here to watch a video about how Jesus answered this question. This mountain is often thought to be Mt. Tabor in Israel, but none of the gospels identify it precisely. Click here to learn more about Mt. Tabor though be aware that the gospels do not actually say which mountain it was. When Jesus and the three apostles are going back down the mountain, Jesus tells them to not tell anyone "the things they had seen" until the " Son of Man " has risen from the dead.

The apostles are described as questioning among themselves as to what Jesus meant by "risen from the dead". In addition to the principal account given in the synoptic gospels; in 2 Peter 1: Although Matthew 17 lists the disciple John as being present during the Transfiguration, the Gospel of John has no account of it. Christian theology assigns a great deal of significance to the Transfiguration, based on multiple elements of the narrative.

The Transfiguration not only supports the identity of Jesus as the Son of God as in his Baptism , but the statement "listen to him", identifies him as the messenger and mouth-piece of God. The Transfiguration also echoes the teaching by Jesus as in Matthew Although Moses had died and Elijah had been taken up to heaven centuries before as in 2 Kings 2: The theology of the transfiguration received the attention of the Church Fathers since the very early days. In the 2nd century, Saint Irenaeus was fascinated by the Transfiguration and wrote: Origen 's theology of the Transfiguration influenced the patristic tradition and became a basis for theological writings by others.

The Desert Fathers emphasized the light of the ascetic experience, and related it to the light of the Transfiguration — a theme developed further by Evagrius Ponticus in the 4th century. Byzantine Fathers often relied on highly visual metaphors in their writings, indicating that they may have been influenced by the established iconography. In the 7th century, Saint Maximus the Confessor said that the senses of the apostles were transfigured to enable them to perceive the true glory of Christ.

In the same vein, building on 2 Corinthians 3: One of the generalizations of Christian belief has been that the Eastern Church emphasizes the Transfiguration while the Western Church focuses on the Crucifixion — however, in practice both branches continue to attach significance to both events, although specific nuances continue to persist. Unlike Catholic saints such as Padre Pio or Francis who considered stigmata a sign of the imitation of Christ Eastern Orthodox saints have never reported stigmata , but saints such as Seraphim and Silouan have reported being transfigured by an inward light of grace.

Origen 's initial connection of the Transfiguration with the Resurrection continued to influence theological thought long thereafter. Between the 6th and 9th centuries the iconography of the transfiguration in the East influenced the iconography of the resurrection, at times depicting various figures standing next to a glorified Christ. This was not only a view within the Eastern Church and in the West, most commentators in the Middle Ages considered the Transfiguration a preview of the glorified body of Christ following his Resurrection.

The concept of the Transfiguration as a preview and an anticipation of the Resurrection includes several theological components. When the Transfiguration is considered an anticipation of the Resurrection, the presentation of a shining Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration as the Son of God who should be listened to can be understood in the context of the statement by Jesus in the Resurrection appearance in Matthew The presence of the prophets next to Jesus and the perceptions of the disciples have been subject to theological debate.

Origen was the first to comment that the presence of Moses and Elijah represented the "Law and the Prophets", referring to the Torah also called the Pentateuch and the rest of the Hebrew Bible. The real presence of Moses and Elijah on the mount is rejected by those churches and individuals who believe in " soul sleep " Christian mortalism until resurrection.

Several commentators have noted that Jesus describes the transfiguration using the Greek word orama Matthew Since the 3rd century, some Christians have identified Mount Tabor as the site of the Transfiguration, including Origen. See [38] citing Origen 's reference to Ps John Lightfoot rejects Tabor as too far but "some mountain near Caesarea-Philippi" [42] The usual candidate, in this case, is Mount Panium, Paneas, or Banias , a small hill situated at the source of the Jordan, near the foot of which Caesarea Philippi was built.

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France notes that Mount Hermon is closest to Caesarea Philippi , mentioned in the previous chapter of Matthew. Likewise, Meyboom identified "Djebel-Ejeik. Whittaker proposes that it was Mount Nebo primarily on the basis that it was the location where Moses viewed the promised land and a parallelism in Jesus' words on descent from the mountain of transfiguration; "You will say to this mountain i.

The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated by various Christian denominations. The origins of the feast are less than certain and may have derived from the dedication of three basilicas on Mount Tabor. In those Orthodox churches which continue to follow the Julian Calendar , August 6 in the church calendar falls on August 19 in the civil Gregorian calendar. Transfiguration is considered a major feast, numbered among the twelve Great Feasts in the Byzantine rite.

In all these churches, if the feast falls on a Sunday, its liturgy is not combined with the Sunday liturgy, but completely replaces it. In some liturgical calendars e. In the Roman rite , the gospel pericope of the Transfiguration is read on the second Sunday of Lent, whose liturgy emphasizes the role the Transfiguration had in comforting the Twelve Apostles, giving them a powerful proof of his divinity, and a prelude to the glory of the Resurrection on Easter and the eventual salvation of his followers in view of the seeming contradiction of his Crucifixion and death.

This theme is expounded in the Preface for that day. Novgorod school , 15th century,.

Theophanes the Greek , 15th century. Bell tower of the Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Tabor. Basilica of the Transfiguration , Mount Tabor.

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The Franciscan cemetery on Mount Tabor. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In rest of the NT. How to use a word that literally drives some people nuts. The awkward case of 'his or her'. Identify the word pairs with a common ancestor. Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way. Synonyms for transfigure Synonyms alchemize , convert , make over , metamorphose , transform , transmute , transpose , transubstantiate Visit the Thesaurus for More.

Choose the Right Synonym for transfigure transform , metamorphose , transmute , convert , transmogrify , transfigure mean to change a thing into a different thing. Examples of transfigure in a Sentence Her face seemed transfigured by happiness. Artificial logjams are a popular but controversial restoration tool," 7 June Yet unlike other Chameleon programs, this one took as its thematic subject the very idea of a historical sense, of composers turning to older vessels, filling them with new wine, and transfiguring them altogether in the process.

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First Known Use of transfigure 14th century, in the meaning defined above. Learn More about transfigure. Resources for transfigure Time Traveler! Explore the year a word first appeared. From the Editors at Merriam-Webster. Dictionary Entries near transfigure transfer table transfer track transfiguration transfigure transfinite transfix transform.