Children of the Light: The Transfiguration and Our Free Response

Today the Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates the fourth week of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor. We are celebrating the transformation of Christ. And does anybody know: when he was transformed, what did people see in Christ? Can anybody think of it? What was one word that starts with L? Light—blinding light. He was whiter than snow.

As we know from today’s Gospel, the light has come into the world, but people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.

My dear beloved, we have such a gentle God, who does not force us. He is telling us in this Gospel that he has not come here to judge us. He has simply come here to shine light. He created us like himself, with free will to do whatever we want. He is our Father. He is our Dad. We are descended from him.

We must ask ourselves, as this Holy Scripture is challenging us: Are we children of light, or are we rebellious teenagers? Are we his children, or are we rebellious teenagers? That is what we have to ask. It is simply a choice that each and every one of us makes. And when we make it, we come together as a church in unity—not by force. No one is forcing anyone. God is not forcing anyone. He simply says, “I am your heavenly Father. I made you.”

As his symbol of covenant, he shed his blood on the cross. He did not force anyone to do anything. He was willing to be forced himself. Even the Creator of the universe subjected himself to the force of mankind, which crucified and killed him. But then he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. As it says at the beginning of our Bible reading today, no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

Our Lord and Savior, our Creator, our Father, our Bridegroom, created us in his image with free will and gave us his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should have everlasting life. Whoever does not believe in him will not have everlasting life. It is not a forcing. It is pure love and sacrifice.

Let us, my dear brothers and sisters, remember this as our Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates today the fourth week of the great Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ, when he shone his light upon his apostles and revealed his true nature as a divine being—not just a nice guy. Some think Jesus is a nice guy, but Christians believe that he is God.

He shone his light upon us. He shared with us, and he wants to commune with us, just as we all communed with him in Holy Communion, which is our Divine Liturgy, the Surp Badarak, which we just celebrated.

So let us all come together as a church, affirm our faith, be children of the light, and step into the light as his loving and faithful children, without compulsion, purely of our own free and voluntary will.

To him be the glory, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. God bless you all.