Mark 9:2b-9
…and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7b)
 
The Transfiguration has many things in common with Elijah’s story as he travels with Elisha, just before being taken to heaven (2 Kings 2:9b-12). Elijah is one of only two people in the Old Testament to have ascended into heaven, the other one being Enoch (Genesis 5:24). When Elijah was hiding from Ahab on Mount Horeb, God appeared to him, not dramatically in wind and flame, but in a still small voice.
In the Transfiguration, we also have a famous leader and prophet traveling with His disciples. Of course, Jesus was more than a prophet, but many in His day described Him as one. The “Prophet” is preaching and working miracles. But all of a sudden, as they say in video games, the prophet moves “a level up,” and is revealed to have a kind of glory and authority that astonishes His followers. And, of course, Elijah makes an appearance in Jesus’s story: Elijah and Moses, two great heroes of the Hebrew people, appear with Jesus here confirming the glory and the authority Jesus claims to have. This is to be understood in the context of what the Old Testament already tells us about God through prophecy and law.
There are differences, too. Elisha had begged for a double portion of Elijah’s prophetic spirit, but Jesus’ disciples are more timid. They think that the experience is powerful and amazing, but they are also afraid, and they want to build a shelter so that they can stay on the mountain forever, enjoying this “mountaintop experience.” Then, Jesus tells His disciples not to share their experience until the Son of Man rises from the dead. Only then are they to pick up His mantle in a new way, which Elisha had done with Elijah: “Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.” (2 Kings 2:13).
 
And, of course, the biggest difference of all is that while Elijah’s ascension showed him to be the greatest of Israel’s prophets, Jesus’ transfiguration went a step further: it showed Him to be the incarnate Son of God Himself, the One with ultimate authority: “This is My Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!”
Contemplating Elijah’s story and Jesus’s transfiguration reminds us that there is much more to what we see. In the middle of an otherwise ordinary day, at a time least expected, whether we react with faith or fear, whether we speak or ponder, God comes anyway, revealed in all His Easter glory as the One who heals, saves, restores, and ultimately triumphs. If only we take time to see and listen.
Lord Jesus, abide with us through our daily lives
 as we hope for the resurrection joy in our lives.
Amen.

Proverbs 15:1, Philippians 4:4-9
The practice of gentleness is important for both the unity and the witness of the church. It is, at least ought to be, a fundamental trait of the Christian disciple. Yet it is not an easy virtue to live out. Our culture devalues and even disdains gentleness.
In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul addresses anxiety, something that many of us struggle with. Yet in this same passage, Paul calls us to gentleness! He gives us four commands in quick succession: be joyful; be gentle; don’t be anxious; pray.
There are three particular aspects of gentleness worth considering. One, gentleness is not just a feeling; it is something that must be practiced. In Paul’s words, our gentleness ought to be “evident.” In other words, there ought to be evidence of it. Gentleness should be heard in how we speak, seen in what we do, and noticed in how we treat others.
Two, our gentleness should also be evident to all. Those whom we treat with gentleness should include: our children and our parents; our close friend as well as the coworker who annoys us and the rude person on social media; the drivers who cut us off at the intersection or lean on their horn behind us; the people who are actually in our church and not just those we wish were in our church.
Now, if we view this sequence of four commands individually, like items in a grocery list, we will miss a third important aspect of this passage. Even if Paul doesn’t explain it to us, I believe these four commands are intimately connected. Joy, gentleness, anxiety, and prayer are related to one another, and considering them together can help us understand more fully both why gentleness is important, and how we can grow in gentleness.
Perhaps you have experienced this: the more anxious you are, the harder it is to be gentle. It can become a negative cycle. The more we act harshly and rudely, the less gentle we are and the more anxious we become. The good news is that it’s possible to be gentle even when we feel anxious. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we need not be slaves to our feelings. Immediately after writing “Let your gentleness be evident to all,” Paul reminds us, “The Lord is near.” Paul’s teaching in Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us that gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit; God’s nearness to us through His Spirit is what empowers us to be gentle.
When Paul writes “Let your gentleness be evident,” the implication is that gentleness is a trait we have already been given. We simply need to practice it. The Holy Spirit is given to all believers. Gentleness is part of the fruit the Spirit bears. “The Lord is near” is a reminder for us to lean on God’s strength to help us practice gentleness even in times when it isn’t easy, whether because it is countercultural or because of our own anxiety.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can develop and practice gentleness, which helps us be less anxious. It helps preserve Christian community and communicate Christ to an ungentle world. Our passage ends with a promise that a peace, which surpasses our understanding, will guard our hearts and minds. Sandwiched in between is the command to pray and bring our petitions to God. The promise references this entire section and all of the commands: be joyful, be gentle, and pray. Certainly, bringing our petitions to God will help us be more at peace. But also, with practicing gentleness. Would you like to be less anxious and more peaceful? Then be gentle. Would you like to grow in gentleness? Then turn your anxieties over to God and accept the peace He promises.
 
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for being gentle and humble of heart. Please help me to follow Your way rather than the way of the world.
Help me bear the fruit of gentleness in my life
in such a way that it really is evident to all. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21
In seminary, there are classes on interpreting the Biblical text in English, and others on Biblical interpretation in Hebrew and Greek (The technical term for the latter classes is “exegesis”). In my Greek exegesis class, one of our assignments was on Ephesians 3:14-21. Years later, I don’t remember every grammatical point I learned while working on the passage. But I still remember immersing myself very deeply into the text, thinking about what each word meant, how it was used elsewhere in the New Testament, and what Paul might be trying to tell us by using it in this context.
Studying the passage so closely, I came away with the distinct sense that Paul’s sentences overflow with words. Even if you haven't read it in a while, you may get that sense, too. Paul’s prayer here for the Ephesians is extravagant. He wants them to be strengthened with power, to have Christ dwell in their hearts, to be rooted and established in love, to see God in all God’s breadth, length, height, and depth, and to know Christ’s knowledge-surpassing love of Christ and be filled with God’s fullness. It is an amazing wish when you think about it. I get exhausted just trying to summarize it!
Paul is so excited, so bowled over by the love of God, so desperate for us to know how extravagant God’s love is that he can’t control his metaphors and syntax. How do you know something that surpasses knowledge? New Testament scholar and Pauline theologian N. T. Wright wrote in his book, “Surprised by Hope”: “Paul was good at richly mixed metaphors: in 1 Thessalonians 5, he says that the thief will come in the night, so the woman will go into labor, so you mustn't get drunk but must stay awake and put on your armor.” As the television program disclaimers say, “Don't try that one at home.”
It’s a very audacious prayer. Working through it word-by-word all those years ago, it became a prayer for me and all those I love, in hopes that we would experience God in all his breadth, length, height, and depth. There are many other prayers in the Bible worthy to pray through for ourselves and the world around us (for instance, the Lord’s Prayer), but this is certainly one to add to your list.
John 15 emphasizes how God wants us to bear “much fruit.” The extravagant love of God is meant to produce a bountiful amount of fruit in our lives. It should remind us that, when we are being stingy, (whether it is with money, time, love, grace, or kindness) “God is extravagant.” God has given this beautiful world for us to enjoy, and we are fighting over trivial issues like whether the church ought to have a new carpet, for instance. Instead, we ought to be praying that we, together as His people and His church, might have the power to comprehend God’s breadth, length, height, and depth.
I think we ought to try that one at home. And in church, and at work, and everywhere.
 
Lord, help us to know, together with all the saints, the love that surpasses knowledge and be filled with Your fullness,
and then share it. Amen.

John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”
 
Last week, we looked into the word “abide” and the various translations that help us feel, sense, and embody what it means to stay connected to Jesus, the Vine. In this spring season, as blooms bud, then flower, and produce fruit, there is no better time to observe. Whatever happens in the quiet secret of the junction between the vine, the bud, and the branch, it will burst forth in bloom and fruit! You can’t plant a grapevine and get tomatoes.
 
Jesus urges the connection with Him; to remain, to stay joined. And in this being joined is what will bear the fruit. “Apart from Me you can do nothing,” He said. Without being, there is no doing. The vine is rooted in the dirt which holds the nutrients and the water that nourish the roots of the Vine. Knowing that it is the vine’s responsibility to nourish is truly freeing. Through that connection, the Vine turns water into wine. A slow, modern miracle!
 
As we go about our lives and work, could our task also be to see what challenges our abiding? If we are invited to remain joined, what un-joins us? What breaks connection, what dis-connects us? As you continue on this road of growing in your faith, may you slow down to stay connected in all the places where Jesus is inviting you to engage in connection. This, too, is the holy work of the new life in Christ.
 
How can you abide in all the places where you feel disconnected? How can we declutter our lives? How can we continue to remove all that hinders the connection between me and God, myself, and others? What hinders your abiding?
 
Gracious Father, we thank You that You are God who abides, waits, invites, and pays attention to all the points of dis-connection in our lives, without judgment. Tenderly care for us like the vine grower and let us abide that we may be nourished by Your divine love. As we continue to wait for new life and growth in all the broken places of our lives, thank You for the invitation not to produce fruit, but just to remain and abide. You will work out the rest.
 Amen.

Brothers and sisters, the month of June brings Father’s Day. During this month, we not only want to express our gratitude for the hard work of fathers in the family, but also reflect on the biblical calling and identity of a father.
 
The Bible tells us that God instituted the family, marriage, and fatherhood not merely to maintain social order, but to manifest His glory and redemptive plan. As stated in the book of Ephesians, marriage is a mystery that reflects the love between Christ and the Church. The role of the father in the home is, first and foremost, that of a watchman over his marriage, and only then a model and teacher to his children.
 
Scripture teaches that the husband is the head of the household—not for the purpose of control, command, or manipulation, but to lead and serve in love and sacrifice, just as Christ does. As fathers, our primary calling is to be good husbands. This is the Bible’s most fundamental expectation for a father. Our children won’t primarily remember us for how much we provided materially; they will remember how we treated their mother. If we neglect our wives or disregard our marriage, we lose spiritual authority in the eyes of our children.
 
The Bible also reminds us that many problems in the home stem from fathers who do not lead with the gospel. A husband who does not rely on the Lord daily, who is not renewed by God’s Word and guided by the Holy Spirit, will fall into either legalism or passivity—becoming harsh and rigid, or else avoiding responsibility altogether. Even beneath a surface of “spirituality,” there may be unresolved conflicts, unconfessed sin, and a lack of true repentance.
 
The father’s role in marriage is not just to “fix problems,” but to cultivate the spiritual atmosphere. Do our words carry grace? Are our attitudes both gentle and firm? Are our decisions centered on God’s will? If we are daily leading our marriages with the gospel, our children will see Christ reflected in us.
 
Father’s Day is a special reminder to return to God’s original design. A father is not an isolated figure in the family, but a participant in a sacred covenant. Our faithfulness in marriage is the first lesson our children will learn about what it means to be faithful to God. The forgiveness, patience, and mutual respect between husband and wife speak louder than any family devotion.
 
If we find ourselves weak or failing in our marriages, we must not avoid it or drown in guilt. The gospel is for sinners like us. Christ gave Himself for us not because we were good enough, but because His love never fails. As Scripture emphasizes, our identity is not based on past success, nor defined by past failure; we are fathers and husbands called by God, being renewed by grace and growing in Him.
 
May this month be a time for us to reflect anew on our marriage vows and to lean more deeply on Christ. Let us, with repentant hearts and renewed hope, continue to be faithful watchmen over our homes—fathers who reflect godliness in the eyes of our children.