Listen to Him!

You have never talked to a mere mortal. The Transfiguration reveals this cosmic truth, and what every human being is actually destined to become.

Aug 06, 2026

Here is a long quote from C.S. Lewis’s book The Weight of Glory that I want you to sit with before we go any further.

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations, these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit, immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

If this is true, every single interaction we have today will be with one of these “immortals.”

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Why do we humans have such a hard time embracing this reality about the people around us? I am convinced it is because we have such a hard time accepting this cosmic reality about ourselves. We cannot believe we are meant to be more than the sum total of our desires, so we treat others as if they are nothing more either.

Today, the Lord’s inner circle of disciples received a wake-up call about this reality on a mountain, in a moment that changed how they would understand everything that came after.

Today’s Lesson: Matthew 17:1-9

At that time, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead.”

They had lived with Him. They had listened to His teachings. They had seen His miracles. And, to this moment, they still were not entirely sure who He was.

Now, on this mountain, there is no doubt left.

This Man is no mere prophet, guru, or religious teacher. He converses with St. Moses, who represents the Law, and St. Elijah, who represents the Prophets, as an equal.

And the Voice of the Father confirms it. This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.

What Can We Take From This?

First, the Transfiguration reveals not only who Christ is but who we are meant to become.

The whole of the Orthodox Faith is about shaping you and me to be like Christ.

Every Liturgy, every spiritual discipline, every prayer, every act of worship is designed to reshape us so that we take on His likeness.

The Eucharist itself is the ultimate expression of this. We take Christ within us so that we are fed by Him and become like Him. You are, after all, what you eat.

The disciples on the mountain saw the Lord’s divinity shining through His humanity, His face like the sun, His garments white as light. This was not a special effect added to the Lord for a moment. This was the revelation of what was always true about Him, made visible to eyes that could finally see it.

And here is the staggering implication. The same glory revealed on that mountain is the destiny offered to every human being who is united to Christ.

This is what the Fathers call theosis. Not becoming God in His essence, which remains forever beyond us, but participating in His energies, His life, His light, until what was hidden in us by sin and forgetfulness becomes visible the way it became visible in Him on Tabor.

The Transfiguration is a revelation of our potential identity as much as of His actual identity.

Next, this Orthodox anthropology gives every human being a worth that no political movement can grant or take away.

Our current age is consumed with the language of rights. Political movements rise and fall promising to secure or expand various rights for various groups. This impulse often flows from a genuine and good desire for justice. But it builds human worth on a foundation that shifts with every election, every cultural mood, every redefinition of who counts and who does not.

The Orthodox Faith offers something far more stable.

Every human being, without exception, is created in the image of God and called to the likeness of Christ.

This is not a political determination that can be granted or revoked by a government or a cultural consensus. It is woven into the very nature of every person from the moment of their creation.

This is exactly what C.S. Lewis is describing. The dullest, most uninteresting person you encounter today carries within them the potential for a glory you would be tempted to worship if you could see it now. Our worth as persons flows from our Creator’s intention for us, not from some passing political fad or shifting cultural consensus.

This anthropology should change how we treat everyone we encounter. The cashier. The difficult relative. The political opponent. The stranger in traffic. Each one is an immortal, destined either for everlasting splendor or tragic corruption, and our interactions with them all day long are helping to move them in one direction or the other.

Finally, listening to Him is the path by which this potential becomes actual.

“Listen to him.”

The Father’s command at the Transfiguration is simple and direct. Not “admire him.” Not “study him.” Listen to Him. This is the path by which the glory glimpsed on the mountain becomes the lived reality of an actual human life.

This timeless and awesome truth, that we are made for glory and called to become like Christ, only becomes transformative when we ground our actual living in it.

It is not enough to know the theology of theosis. We must cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the actual, daily, often unglamorous work of becoming what we were always meant to be.

This means actually listening. To the Scriptures read in the Liturgy. To the wisdom of the Fathers. To the gentle correction of a spiritual father. To the conscience formed by years of genuine prayer. (I’d underline this if I were you)

The disciples fell on their faces in awe, and then the Lord touched them and said, “Rise, and have no fear.” The vision is overwhelming, but it is not meant to leave us prostrate forever. It is meant to send us back down the mountain, transformed by what we have seen, ready to listen and obey in the valley of ordinary life.

Are you satisfied playing at the periphery of this awesome truth, or are you finally willing to press into this wondrous Faith with purpose and love? Are you willing to be made into His likeness by the collected wisdom of twenty centuries of Orthodox insight, or will you be satisfied merely standing in the narthex of the Faith?

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The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord

Today the Church celebrates the great Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord, Jesus Christ, one of the Twelve Great Feasts of the liturgical year. Forty days before His Crucifixion, the Lord took St. Peter, St. James, and St. John up Mount Tabor and allowed His divine glory to shine through His human nature, strengthening His disciples for what was about to come.

This Feast falls in the middle of the Dormition Fast, and the timing is no accident. As we fast and prepare for the Dormition of the Theotokos, the Church gives us this glimpse of the very glory toward which all our fasting and prayer is oriented. We do not fast to punish ourselves. We fast to become capable of seeing, and eventually sharing in, the light revealed on Tabor.

The Theotokos herself is the first human being to be fully transfigured by her complete cooperation with God’s grace, and her Dormition, which we will celebrate at the end of this fast, is the proof that the glory revealed on Tabor extends even through death into eternal life. The Transfiguration and the Dormition, celebrated within weeks of each other in the Church’s calendar, together proclaim the same truth: this is what a human being united to God actually looks like, both in radiant glory and in peaceful death transformed into life.

Your Response Today

Today, on this great Feast, take time to actually behold what has been revealed.

Read the account of the Transfiguration slowly. Let the image of Christ’s shining face and white garments settle into your imagination. And then ask yourself honestly whether you believe this same glory is your own actual destiny, not metaphorically, but really and truly, if you continue cooperating with the grace God offers you.

Then listen. Choose one concrete way today to actually obey what you have heard rather than merely admiring it from a comfortable distance.

Then pray simply:

“Lord Jesus Christ, You were transfigured on the mountain to reveal both who You are and who I am called to become. Illuminate me with Your everlasting light. Give me the grace to listen to You and the courage to obey, so that the glory glimpsed today becomes the glory lived in me.”

Being Orthodox on Purpose means believing that every person you encounter today is an immortal destined for glory, and cooperating daily with the Holy Spirit so that the light revealed on Tabor becomes the light shining through your own transfigured life!

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