Divine Liturgy
I have been spending a few weeks in Charleston, WV and whilst driving around the city I noticed that there was a very large Orthodox cathedral downtown, Saint George’s. I decided that I would definitely want to pay a visit, and ended up there this evening for Divine Liturgy in celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration. The service was wonderful; celebrated fully in English with a quite decent choir and a celebrant with a spectacular singing voice. His delivery of the gospel lesson sent chills up and down my spine.
This is a centrally important feast in the Orthodox tradition, and perhaps is accorded a greater place in the liturgical year there than in any church in the West. This is largely due to the Orthodox understanding of this life and the next as a process of deification or theosis, where we become closer to and more like God.
During his sermon, the priest reminded us all that the whole point of the Transfiguration event was not so that Jesus could simply prove yet again that he was the Son of God, although it did certainly accomplish that. Rather, in that experience, Jesus shows the three disciples who he brings up the mountain what is possible for us as human beings. Everything that Jesus does in his life is to build us up and human beings, and this is no exception. Jesus’ transfigured body is what our bodies can be. What Jesus has by his divine nature we can have by grace. Most of us will not literally shine with divine energy in this life (although the saints have shown that it is possible), but it is something to begin to work towards now, knowing that our infinite approach towards the divine continues in the next life. The priest also noted that living a holy life is not just about morals and ‘doing the right thing’, but encompasses every aspect of our being, following the example set by Jesus.
