Jesus, along with his inner circle of disciples (Peter, James, and John), ascends Mt. Tabor, and there, his appearance is transformed. Still human, he glows with bright light that emanates from within him. He has Elijah the prophet and Moses the Lawgiver on his left and his right. And then, the voice of God the Father, saying

“This is my Son whom I dearly love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!”

This encounter makes one wonder, who is really transfigured in this experience? Is it Jesus? Of course. But maybe this story is about the disciples’ transfiguration. Covering their heads and rolling on the ground, this is the beginning of a long, slow, and deliberate transformation.

Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God, through the Spirit, enters our lives and we become like him. - II Corinthians 3:18

Nathan Hansen, Wheatland’s former associate/youth pastor, brought the message this past Saturday. Drawing from Psalm 27, Nate reminds us that God doesn’t work in abstractions but with real people, in real places, with real joys and challenges. If you’ve been a part of Wheatland for a long time for if you’ve just arrived, you’ll hear Wheatland’s heart in this message. Enjoy!

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

One thing I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire in his temple. - Psalm 27:1 & 4

Here is Nathan’s 2025 update. It includes updates of his ministry and life at Hilltop Urban Church.

Jesus is the perfect Israelite. What Israel was to be and failed, Jesus was and succeeded. Israel is described as God’s child and yet it is Jesus, the Son of the Father, who is the Israel with the Torah of God written on his heart. Jesus is the one who “does justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly,” and does so perfectly. And what’s more, with the arrival of his Kingdom, we may live in his justice, mercy, and humility.

Enjoy these sometimes edifying and often odd links this weekend as you stay warm and safe and dry!

Ted Gioia looks at the research on new music. It makes me pine for the days of buying cassettes and vinyl. At least you were committed when you put your money down. — Listeners can’t remember the names of their favorite songs and artists

Ross Hastings digs into the intersection of the Eucharist, human bodies, and the body of Christ. (Triple entendré intended.) — Three Bodies United in One: A Holistic Thology of the Body

Great reflection on how accidents and slowness are at the heart of great art, and more so, at the heart of Christian faithfulness. Best line from the article: Creating valuable things is worth failing at.—Reject the Religion of Efficiency

This is a good follow-up to the article above. We can make anything complicated. Goodness and maturity do not require sophistication. This take on prayer might be just what your doctor ordered. — Feels Like LA.

Dave Barry’s 5-minute read? Totally worth it. 3-minute video from the 70s? Worth even more. Enjoy! - Exploding Whale (This week’s FTLOL does discuss a theology of the body, but not whale bodies.)

Who thought AI-generated content could taste good? — Art Student Arrested For Eating Another Student’s AI-Generated Art In Protest

Wheatland’s Tuesday night Bible Study/Book Club is going strong, and we’ve just begun a study in the Psalms, by Eugene Peterson (Do not worry, we are not reading all 150.) Please consider joining us. Tuesdays, 6:30, in the basement at Sunnyside.

If you can’t join us, try it on your own: Peterson’s Bible Study. Also, if you love the Psalms or want to explore them for yourself, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s little book on the Psalms is a great start. (It’s less than 100 pages and, by far, the most accessible of all his books.) Excellent stuff!

Wheatland gathered in hybrid-mode this past Saturday night. I’m grateful to those of you who braved the weather and those who worshiped from home. It was a genuine blessing. Unfortunately, there is no sermon audio, though you can go to Facebook and watch the service from there: WM FB

This weekend was also the commemoration of the Conversion of St. Paul. Malcolm Guite’s sonnet honors his work and reminds us of its continuing impact. Here’s the author himself reading it: Malcolm Guite reads “Apostle”

One day, with his disciples, John the Baptist sees his cousin Jesus and proclaims,

Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

For those of us who have been Christians for a long time, our familiarity with phrases like this one can lose its power. Familiarity may not breed contempt, but it does breed disinterest. The imagery of the “Lamb of God” is overfull with significance. John’s disciples probably took John’s words to mean something like this,

Behold, the Passover Lamb of God who Atones for the sin of the world.

In John’s sentence, the power and beauty of Passover and the Day of Atonement are brought together in one line. Thanks be to God!

John the Baptist baptized lots of people before he baptized Jesus. He baptized people to mark their new beginnings. It was about repentance and a new start. Today, Christian people undergo baptism for a lot of reasons: repentance, the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and membership in the Body of Christ.

All of these reasons raise the question: Why was Jesus baptized? In a word, us. Jesus was baptized for us and, in a way, our baptisms are completely wrapped up in his. We are baptized so that we will grow up into the baptism of Christ. Reflecting on the woman of John 8 in his book Jesus and the Disinherited, Howard Thurman paints a picture of the process of growing into baptism.

He met the woman where she was, and he treated her as if she were already where she now willed to be. In dealing with her he “believed” her into the fulfillment of her possibilities. He placed a crown over her head which for the rest of her life she would keep trying to grow tall enough to wear.

It is a traditional Epiphany blessing that stands for the year (2026) with initials that refer to a Latin blessing, Christus mansionem benedicat, “Christ bless this house.” Alternatively, another tradition holds that the letters are the first initials of the Magi who visited Jesus: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.

In the season of Epiphany, we commemorate the visit of the Wise Men, the baptism of Christ, Jesus’ first miracle at Cana, and the calling of the disciples. There is a lot packed in this day and the season that follows. Put simply, Epiphany celebrates Christ’s manifestation to the Gentiles and his miraculous work beginning in his baptism.

Malcolm Guite has written five sonnets for Epiphany. Here are two, the first has to do with the magi, and the second with Jesus’ baptism.

Happy Epiphany!

Beginning here we glimpse the Three-in-one;
The river runs, the clouds are torn apart,
The Father speaks, the Sprit and the Son
Reveal to us the single loving heart
That beats behind the being of all things
And calls and keeps and kindles us to light.
The dove descends, the spirit soars and sings
‘You are belovèd, you are my delight!’

In that quick light and life, as water spills
And streams around the Man like quickening rain,
The voice that made the universe reveals
The God in Man who makes it new again.
He calls us too, to step into that river
To die and rise and live and love forever.

John is not the usual source for stories about Jesus’ birth, but one little verse tells the story of Jesus becoming the very stuff that human beings are made of.

The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. - John 1:14

The 4th-century bishop and poet, Gregory of Nyssa, further elucidates John’s words when he says,

Jesus is born. Everything has changed.

Lots of folks have posted their “best books of 2025.” Now that it is 2026, I thought I’d throw in my list. Not all of these are from 2025. Some are rereads(*), but I think the rereads are always worth sharing.

I am allergic to “how-to” books. However, everything J.R. writes is deep and enriching. (He’s also a good friend.) This is not a “how-to” book, but one that has opened my eyes to the relational power of good questions.

“First-time author.” “Self-published.” These are normally anti-recommendations. It was a gift from a friend. And that was enough. Wow! This “self-published” and “first-time author” is the exception that proves the rule.

Theo of Golden is a beautiful novel about seeing people, and seeing them truly.

This one pairs well with Theo of Golden. This was my fourth time reading Lewis’s take on the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Now I get it, I think.

Paul Kingsnorth is a celebrity convert. He is a novelist, poet, and environmental activist who, in recent years, was found by Christ. The first 3/4ths of this book are depressing. The last 1/4th is hope-inducing and worth the slog through his scathing reflections on AI, late-stage capitalism, and consumerism. (Order

it on Amazon to savor the irony.)

It seems that the best books aren’t the ones that immediately convince us of their arguments, but get us thinking about things we wouldn’t ordinarily consider. John Behr treats the Bible as one should, even as he inspires his readers to see the Bible differently. The first chapter alone is worth the entire book.

This gem was published over forty years ago. From the outset, Griffin is clear that this is not a how-to, but a reflection on ways we find ourselves avoiding prayer, and some of the ways we find ourselves in the middle of prayer. It deserves a slow, deliberate read. It’s some of the best spiritual writing of the last 100 years. The Eighth Day Book Press has kept this book in circulation, so buy it from our local bookselling friends. (Better yet, buy all of these there.)

The parable of the Prodigal(s) cannot be exhausted of its application. If the story of the Prodigal Son were the only story of God we had, it might be enough. Henri Nouwen helps us see who the true prodigal of the story is.

Philosopher. Theologian. Frenchman. (Don’t hold any of these against him.) Girard touches on the universal use of the “scapegoat mechanism” and how it is played out on the pages of the Bible. It doesn’t answer every question about the atonement, but his perspective helped me see the work of Christ more broadly.

Guite is a poet and an Anglican priest. He’s an expert on Lewis, Tolkien, and Coleridge. If you get the chance, listen to him read, anything. This brief book highlights Guites’s theology that he rightly describes as something he’s received, not something he put together himself. He brings together the beauty of theology, the liturgy, and language.

Also, check out his Sounding the Seasons. It is poetry that corresponds to the seasons of the Christian year. Great, great stuff!

And, while we’re at it, listen to him read “Two Poems On Time.”

My friend Cameron Combs introduced me to Chris Green’s work. Green is a Pentecostal theologian and an Anglican adjacent bishop. Above all, he’s a pastor to pastors, and this book of sermons is written for the ministers he serves. Not all sermons are worthy of being read (or preached for that matter!), but his certainly are. Each one is an eye-opener to the immensity of God’s goodness and grace.

Finally, go buy these books from Warren at 8th Day Books. Even if it costs a little more or takes a little more time, it’s worth it. Let us join the rebellion and buy our books from humans.