Transfiguration – Then and Now by Fr. Sean O'Laoire
A. The Real Meaning of Thabor
The purpose of the gospels in writing of the transfiguration was to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures. Traditionally, these scriptures were divided into three sections – the acronym ‘TaNaKh’ was used to represent them. “T” stood for Torah, the first five books of the bible, ascribed to Moses and known as “The Law.” “N” stood for Nebiim or “the prophetic books.” And “K” stood for Ketuviim or “writings” (the wisdom literature – psalms, Job, Ruth etc.) The Pharisees accepted all three parts as inspired, but the priestly caste, the Sadducees, only accepted Torah and Nebiim. Moses was the archetype of Torah; and Elijah stood for the prophets. So, the evangelists wanted to show that Jesus’ encounter with Moses and Elijah was the fulfillment of both streams of revelation. Moreover, God had traditionally appeared on mountain tops – Sinai in the case of Moses and Horeb in the case of Elijah (some scholars claim Sinai and Horeb were the same mountain), so the evangelists situate this event on Mount Thabor. In the transfiguration scene also, God appears and singles out Jesus as “my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” So, whatever else is true, this was a literary device to make a strong case for the new covenant – the Jesus movement.
“Beauty and Spirituality” by Christine Valters Painter
I was initiated into the church of beauty as a young child. Though neither of my parents was religious, we would travel in the summers to my father's native Austria so that we could hike the Tyrolean mountains. There we would stand in wonder and awe, surrounded as we were by massive, snow-capped peaks stretching toward the heavens. In the cities of Europe, too, we would walk with quiet reverence through the sacred space of museums and great cathedrals. The beauty of art and nature called to me.
BE A SUPPORTER OF PATHEOS AND THE ABBEY OF THE ARTS