Sermons & Homilies
In today’s Gospel passage, we hear the greatest definition of the Christian life ever given by anyone. One of Jewish lawyers asked our Lord: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” And Jesus replied: “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” St. Augustine later summarized this answer even more succinctly: “Love, and do what you want.”
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What is distinct about the event of the Transfiguration of Christ is twofold and will be the subject of our homily today: first, it is a revelation about who Christ is, and, secondly, about how we are spiritually transformed.
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For all Orthodox Christians, and in a special way for us monastics, the goal of our life here on this earth is of course salvation. That is also the goal of all Protestants, Catholics and other serious traditional Christians. But our Orthodox understanding of what salvation means is radically different from other Christians.
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In the Epistle appointed for this Sunday, we hear St. Paul instructing us in a very important truth concerning the Holy Scriptures: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” Such an understanding of the Scriptures is absolutely foundational to the Christian life: the Divine Scriptures are not merely stories about events that occurred halfway around the world many thousands of years ago, nor are they a collection of abstract and intellectual propositions concerning abstruse systems of theology. No, quite the contrary.
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The Apostle Paul, who is unsurpassed in his reasons for pride, now admits, “in me, no good doth lie.”
The Apostle Peter, faithful in his family’s trade and employment, abandoned all to receive a hundredfold and heaven’s enjoyment.
Born a Jew and then set apart, is circumcised in flesh, and now also in heart.
Toiling all night, Peter’s nets are all bare, ‘til he obeys Christ’s bidding; now, no room to spare.
A Hebrew of Hebrews with a pedigree to boast, now born from above to labor the most.
A man of the earth with his hands in the waters, now netting for Heaven new sons and daughters.