In the Transfigured Lord, we see a glimpse of our own future, in glorified bodies, radiant like the sun. The illumination we received in baptism, as the counter to the darkening that our minds underwent because of sin, eventually suffuses even the veil of the body itself. Evagrius writes of seeing the light of one’s own soul, and this imagery is very much alive in Orthodox spirituality.
Such a transformation takes place only after long effort under the influence of grace, the doing of many good works in charity. But it also presupposes prayer and the renewal of one’s mind. The whole of the soul must be refashioned according to the model of Christ. When we put on the mind of Christ and, over all the virtues, put on love, we become transparent bearers of the uncreated light of the indwelling Holy Trinity.
Will we ever strive for such a beautiful gift—such a gift to the world, which longs for beauty and transcendence—if no one ever meditates on our calling to live transfigured lives? Will we follow Christ to a place to be alone with Him, to be transformed by the light of His face and the sound of His voice?