The transfiguration of Jesus is a glimpse into the future glory that God is preparing for all creation. Peter, entranced by what he has seen, suggests that everyone remain on the mountaintop permanently; but Jesus leads the disciples off the mountain onto the path of suffering which culminates in his shameful death on the cross. Jesus leads us in the same way. Our mountaintop experiences with God are not given to us as an end, but as a means to an end. They are given to strengthen and remind us of the glory that awaits us as we walk the way of the cross.
Preached on February 19, 2012, The Last Sunday after Epiphany, by Fr. David
The window depicting Saint Luke the Evangelist is located just inside the Sanctuary, on the left. Luke was a Gentile Christian who was well educated, a physician (Col. 4:14), a missionary (as the companion of Saint Paul - Phil. 24), and the author of The Gospel According to Luke and The Acts of the Apostles. He stayed in Rome until Paul was martyred. Some believe that Luke moved to Greece and died a martyr's death.
Just outside the altar rail (on the right side of the sanctuary) is a single window of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist. John was the son of Zebedee and brother of James. The two sons were known as the "sons of thunder" because they were so hotheaded and impetuous. It is believed that John was the "beloved disciple" mentioned in the Gospel According to John; thereby John did not have to say "I" in his writing. Tradition has John settling in Ephesus and then being exiled to the island of Patmos under the Emperor Domitian. It was on Patmos that he wrote the book of Revelation. He died on that island after a long life of exile.
Inside the choir loft, one will find the single window of Saint Matthew. He was one of the disciples, and is identified with Levi, the tax collector, a group seen as unclean and traitors to the Jewish people. The Gospel that bears his name was written for a strongly Jewish congregation that had accepted that Jesus was Messiah. It is believed that he traveled East and was there martyred.
Next to the window of Saint Matthew is a single window of Saint Mark the Evangelist. If all the references to Mark are of the same man we know him to be an Apostle of Jesus, a companion of Paul's, and the writer of the first Gospel to be written. The Church in Alexandria in Egypt claims him to be their first bishop.
In the Sanctuary, to the left of the altar, a single frame depicts the Mother Mary receiving her crown of glory as she entered into the fullness of God's Presence in Heaven. The crown has been the symbol of reward for the saints as they enter into God's fullness.
In the Sanctuary, to the right of the altar, is a double window illustrating the Martyrdom of Agnes, a fourth century saint, who lived in Rome during the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian and refused to worship other gods. An early tradition says that she was beheaded. In Greek, her name means "pure and in Latin it means "lamb."