One of the five major feasts of the Armenian Church is Transfiguration. We more commonly refer to it as Vartavar. Today s story is one of revelation change and at the same time stability. According to the Transfiguration story in Matthew 17 we read that Jesus and three of his disciples went atop a mountain and there he was transfigured. His face shone like the sun and his garments were white as light. There two historic figures Moses and Elijah appeared and a voice was heard: This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him. Through this story we are witnessing a theophany that is God is being revealed. Here we see Jesus amidst the preeminent seers of God in the Old Testament. Moses on one side was the symbol of the Law. On the other side was Elijah symbol of the prophets. In the center is Jesus Christ the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. There is a very special message in this story that talks to all of us today. As living organisms we are in a constant state of change. To be alive means to be changing. Furthermore our world is changing by leaps and bounds. Do you realize that next year the entire M volume of the encyclopedia will have to be rewritten because of the Mars landing a couple of days ago? The amount of information passing our hands and our brains in any given minute is phenomenal. Information the new power is constantly updating our brains and therefore we are constantly changing in reaction to that information. As we know that changing environment brings with it anxiety. Anxiety contributes to much of our uncertainties fears and problems. We have different names for that anxiety chief among them being stress. With all the changes we search for a constant. We look for stability. We are trying to find something that remains the same. And here we find the focus of our message today: the constant. That is God Jesus Christ is being revealed. The visible change Christ underwent in the Transfiguration shows us the steadfast oneness of God. Today we were given a glimpse of the Divine of the Immortal and of the Eternal. In our Armenian Churches as here you will find the letter eh (seventh letter of the Armenian alphabet) above the altar. This is the name of God. In the Old Testament Moses asked God what shall we call you and God answered I am. God is in the eternal present. He is. In Armenian the letter eh is the present tense of the verb to be. We see God always is. We can t say yesterday He was. Nor can we say tomorrow He will be. Rather yesterday today and tomorrow He is the same: He is. In the transfiguration we encounter the eternal presence. Jesus is transformed and transcended. While we have laws and prophecies there is only one constant there is only one salvation there is only one eternal Jesus Christ. Today is also commonly known as Vartavar. This was a pagan feast dedicated to the goddess Asdghik. After the conversion of Armenia the pagan feasts were transferred as Christian feasts. Hence the feast of Transfiguration was placed on the calendar to coincide with Vartavar and rid the people of their practices. The practice of sprinkling each other with water the practice of Vartavar continues today. I ask that you use it as a reminder of the change that took place in Armenia from paganism to Christianity the change that took place in you when you were baptized the change that can take place in you if you allow Christ in your heart. The more you live the more you know that all life is change. We are called upon today through the transfiguration to find change and achieve the perfection of God. You begin this process of change by accepting He who is greater than the law and the prophets by turning toward Christ our last refuge and hope our last source of comfort and stability in an ever-changing world. Today Christ is transfigured allow him to change your life. His face shined like the sun allow that heat to penetrate and burn the disease within you. His garments became white as snow allow that brightness to radiate within you and shine for Christ. Fr. Vazken Movsesian