You can listen to this reflection here. Today's gospel reading is here.
I wonder if we would have as vivid a sense of Jesus’ humanity if the Gospels never showed him to us as an adolescent, seeking his independence, schooling a bunch of adults, giving his parents some “lip.” Only Luke tells this story, and we rarely hear it in church, but it gives us our only picture of Jesus before he turns up at the Jordan at the age of 30 as a full-fledged adult about to embark on God’s mission. Here we see a tantalizing glimpse into how that mission may have been unfolding in him.
This vignette takes place at Passover, when Jesus’ family go to Jerusalem with friends and relations to celebrate the holy days. When they start their return journey, Jesus stays behind without telling anyone; his parents assume he’s with others in the entourage and for a full day no one notices he’s not with them. Frantic, his parents return to Jerusalem and search high and low for three days and where do they find him?
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’
Only a teenager could so blithely ignore the emotional turmoil of his family, arrogantly sure he is right. “What’s wrong with you guys? Didn’t you read my mind?” (I kind of hear him say these words in the voice of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory..) But of course this is Jesus, son of God and son of Mary – so in a sense he is right, just stating facts.
I wonder how those words landed on his parents. They must have held all those prophecies about their firstborn in their hearts all these years, perhaps hoping they would never be realized. Did those words, “My Father’s house” strike fear into Mary’s heart, pain into Joseph’s? Luke says only, But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
Mary had to do a lot of treasuring things in her heart, the gifts as well as the ache and anxiety about when that sword would pierce her heart. But it appears that after this incident, things returned to normal in that household in Nazareth. Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour, had friends, went to parties and weddings, and presumably took up a position in his earthly father’s business. Until he took his position in his heavenly father’s business.
That is where we will meet him next in the Gospels.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
1-1-26 - Power In the Name
You can listen to this reflection here. Today's gospel reading is here.
Today is the Feast of the Holy Name. Why is there a feast day dedicated not to a saint, not to a major event in Jesus’ life, but to his name? There is a biblical reason, and a theological one (beyond the fact that someone in the late 15th century thought another festival would be good for fundraising...)
We mark this occasion because Luke tells us it was significant. In keeping with the custom of the time – which continues in the Jewish community today: After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
The bris, or circumcision, was standard. What was unusual is that Jesus was named not for his father or an ancestor, but according to the instruction of an angelic messenger (Gabriel was specific with Zechariah and Elizabeth too, insisting that their baby was to be named John.) The name Jesus, or Y’shua, invoked the Joshua in the Hebrew Bible who led the people of Israel into the promised land after long years in the wilderness. This new Y'shua was to lead all of humankind from the greater wilderness of sin and rebellion into the promised land of eternal life.
Yet this feast day is about more than just marking that occasion. The New Testament tells us that the name of Jesus itself carries power. When we utter someone’s name, we invoke their presence and power – and in some very real way, that happens when we proclaim the name of Jesus into situations where he is needed. When I am in crisis, injured or afraid, I instinctively say, “Jesus, be here now.” It’s become a default prayer. The peace that comes, and sometimes relief of symptoms, is almost instantaneous.
Jesus himself told his followers to use his name in prayer: “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (John14:14) And in Acts 3, Peter and John cure a lame man simply by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” After this they explain to naysayers, “And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong.“ (Acts 3:16)
There is power in the name of Jesus – the only power we need to wield against the force of evil, against the enemy of human nature. As the ancient hymn recorded in Philippians asserts, “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
To some ancient peoples, knowing someone’s name gave you power over them, access to them. Jesus has freely given us his name and said, “Use it.” We have access to the power that made the universe as we invoke the name of Jesus. It’s up to us to use that privilege. The next time you feel up against a challenge, or powerless in some situation, try using the gift given to you as a follower of Christ: the name of Jesus. He comes with it.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Today is the Feast of the Holy Name. Why is there a feast day dedicated not to a saint, not to a major event in Jesus’ life, but to his name? There is a biblical reason, and a theological one (beyond the fact that someone in the late 15th century thought another festival would be good for fundraising...)
We mark this occasion because Luke tells us it was significant. In keeping with the custom of the time – which continues in the Jewish community today: After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
The bris, or circumcision, was standard. What was unusual is that Jesus was named not for his father or an ancestor, but according to the instruction of an angelic messenger (Gabriel was specific with Zechariah and Elizabeth too, insisting that their baby was to be named John.) The name Jesus, or Y’shua, invoked the Joshua in the Hebrew Bible who led the people of Israel into the promised land after long years in the wilderness. This new Y'shua was to lead all of humankind from the greater wilderness of sin and rebellion into the promised land of eternal life.
Yet this feast day is about more than just marking that occasion. The New Testament tells us that the name of Jesus itself carries power. When we utter someone’s name, we invoke their presence and power – and in some very real way, that happens when we proclaim the name of Jesus into situations where he is needed. When I am in crisis, injured or afraid, I instinctively say, “Jesus, be here now.” It’s become a default prayer. The peace that comes, and sometimes relief of symptoms, is almost instantaneous.
Jesus himself told his followers to use his name in prayer: “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (John14:14) And in Acts 3, Peter and John cure a lame man simply by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” After this they explain to naysayers, “And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong.“ (Acts 3:16)
There is power in the name of Jesus – the only power we need to wield against the force of evil, against the enemy of human nature. As the ancient hymn recorded in Philippians asserts, “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
To some ancient peoples, knowing someone’s name gave you power over them, access to them. Jesus has freely given us his name and said, “Use it.” We have access to the power that made the universe as we invoke the name of Jesus. It’s up to us to use that privilege. The next time you feel up against a challenge, or powerless in some situation, try using the gift given to you as a follower of Christ: the name of Jesus. He comes with it.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-31-25 - God's Plans? Or Adjustments?
You can listen to this reflection here. Today's gospel reading is here.
A family forced to flee across the border in order to keep their son safe from violence: this part of Jesus’ ancient story is as up-to-the-minute as the latest news cycle. This part of Jesus’ story is often overlooked, yet it surely resonates with the millions in our world who have been torn from their families and birthplaces by geo-political realities, vengeance and violence. This is a Gazan family, a Salvadoran family, a Sudanese family, an inner city American family.
This is a dark topic on which to end our year, but perhaps right on point for a year marked by darkness and terror for so many. Let’s turn our focus from the reasons for Joseph and Mary’s flight to how God ensured Jesus’ safety. This prompts a tricky question: did God always intend that Jesus spend his early childhood in Egypt and end up in Nazareth, as Matthew – ever seeking to link the details of Jesus’ life to Israel’s prophecies, no matter how obscure – would have it? Or does God adjust to human choices, inviting us to follow the new route as it unfolds?
If we hold to a strong view of free will, believing that God gives humankind the free exercise of will, then we must also affirm God’s voluntary non-interference in the exercise of those choices. I believe the biblical record, certainly the accounts of Jesus’ life, bears out this view. Herod had a choice not to pursue his murderous campaign. Judas had a choice not to betray Jesus. Pilate had a choice not to condemn him. Even Jesus had a choice, as we see in his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Where God intervenes, it seems, is in the aftermath of our choices, offering comfort and guidance into new choices that can bring healing and hope, even redemption as we move through the consequences of human will. As I have often been reminded, God does not prevent the messes – God shows up in them. There could be no greater “mess” than the brutal death of God’s own son; yet look at what God brought about three days later.
As we turn from this year when so many of the consequences of human choices hit us one after another (remembering that even forest fires and floods, racism, xenophobia, greed and certainly election results are rooted in human choice), we can see even more clearly the Good News in this story. God’s shepherding Jesus’ family into exile, and Joseph’s choice to agree to this divine instruction, allowed God’s plan to be carried out. Jesus got to Nazareth in the end, whether or not that was always intended to be his hometown.
And God continues to make adjustments to God’s plan in our lives. Lives, careers, educations, long-term alliances, economies massively disrupted are not God’s plan. The persistence of white supremacy, poverty, climate disasters are not God’s plan.
What is God’s plan is us?
A family forced to flee across the border in order to keep their son safe from violence: this part of Jesus’ ancient story is as up-to-the-minute as the latest news cycle. This part of Jesus’ story is often overlooked, yet it surely resonates with the millions in our world who have been torn from their families and birthplaces by geo-political realities, vengeance and violence. This is a Gazan family, a Salvadoran family, a Sudanese family, an inner city American family.
This is a dark topic on which to end our year, but perhaps right on point for a year marked by darkness and terror for so many. Let’s turn our focus from the reasons for Joseph and Mary’s flight to how God ensured Jesus’ safety. This prompts a tricky question: did God always intend that Jesus spend his early childhood in Egypt and end up in Nazareth, as Matthew – ever seeking to link the details of Jesus’ life to Israel’s prophecies, no matter how obscure – would have it? Or does God adjust to human choices, inviting us to follow the new route as it unfolds?
If we hold to a strong view of free will, believing that God gives humankind the free exercise of will, then we must also affirm God’s voluntary non-interference in the exercise of those choices. I believe the biblical record, certainly the accounts of Jesus’ life, bears out this view. Herod had a choice not to pursue his murderous campaign. Judas had a choice not to betray Jesus. Pilate had a choice not to condemn him. Even Jesus had a choice, as we see in his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Where God intervenes, it seems, is in the aftermath of our choices, offering comfort and guidance into new choices that can bring healing and hope, even redemption as we move through the consequences of human will. As I have often been reminded, God does not prevent the messes – God shows up in them. There could be no greater “mess” than the brutal death of God’s own son; yet look at what God brought about three days later.
As we turn from this year when so many of the consequences of human choices hit us one after another (remembering that even forest fires and floods, racism, xenophobia, greed and certainly election results are rooted in human choice), we can see even more clearly the Good News in this story. God’s shepherding Jesus’ family into exile, and Joseph’s choice to agree to this divine instruction, allowed God’s plan to be carried out. Jesus got to Nazareth in the end, whether or not that was always intended to be his hometown.
And God continues to make adjustments to God’s plan in our lives. Lives, careers, educations, long-term alliances, economies massively disrupted are not God’s plan. The persistence of white supremacy, poverty, climate disasters are not God’s plan.
What is God’s plan is us?
- Our willingness to make ourselves available as agents of God’s adjustments to the plan.
- Our desire to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit and attentive to the Spirit’s leading.
- Our capacity to carry the Spirit’s power and make visible God’s love.
Where are you being invited to do that?
2025 may have been a year when messes overwhelmed us, but God is still showing up in right smack dab in the midst of the messes, bringing hope and healing. This new year will not magically undo the messes – it just offers us another 365 days to allow God to bring redemption through us.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
2025 may have been a year when messes overwhelmed us, but God is still showing up in right smack dab in the midst of the messes, bringing hope and healing. This new year will not magically undo the messes – it just offers us another 365 days to allow God to bring redemption through us.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-30-25 - Mary Pondered
You can listen to this reflection here. Today's gospel reading is here.
How often did she doubt during those months of pregnancy, wonder if she’d dreamt that story of the angel and his grand promises about the baby growing in her? But then, how did that baby get there? She would not have forgotten that.. And yes, there was confirmation when she visited her cousin Elizabeth and found the aged woman in the pink of pregnancy. But even that might be humanly possible… And then, to learn that Joseph had had dreams which matched what the angel had told her...
Even so, could this really be a movement of God, a movement to save the world, through her? That seemed too crazy to fathom. Until now. Until that gift came to pass, that deliverer delivered from her own body, swaddled and laid to sleep in a feeding trough, the hay keeping him warm. And then, just as she is recovering from labor, perhaps leaning against Joseph as in this painting (“The Nativity” by Gari Melchers, 1891*)… in burst a bunch of shepherds bearing tales of angelic visitations, with those words again, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."
A sign for the shepherds, yes, and also for Joseph and Mary. Luke tells us that, while the shepherds went out and spread the amazing story, “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”
What did Mary ponder? Once, in prayer, I sensed an encounter with her, a gracious older woman in a blue-green knit turtleneck dress. She said a few things as I asked her questions: “I was not all that good or all that brave. I was a bit of a flirt in my day – and had a sharp tongue. I was funny. Boy, that (Jesus’ birth, etc.) grew me up in a hurry. Oh, you can believe what you like about all the stories. I’ll just say it was hard. It was rough. I felt very, very alone – didn’t know Joseph well enough to trust him yet."
And the sword that the elder Simeon spoke of, when they presented Jesus in the temple? “A sword pierces the heart of every mother,” she said. “From the moment your child is born, he is moving toward independence, which is a kind of death for you. He is moving toward his death."
She added, “I couldn’t worship him in life. How do you worship one whose diapers you’ve changed? No, he was always my son in this life. It wasn’t until after my death that I could worship him.” True for all of us, really...
Were Mary’s ponderings so different from those of any new mother? The stakes were higher, perhaps – but also the knowledge that, if this truly was a movement of God, then God would continue to be the mover. I hope she had that confidence, and that it bore her through the rough times. I hope that for us, as well, as we bear Christ’s presence and light into this world. God sends signs for us, too.
*Many thanks to David Anderson, who introduced me to this painting in his excellent blog Finding Your Soul on Substack.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
How often did she doubt during those months of pregnancy, wonder if she’d dreamt that story of the angel and his grand promises about the baby growing in her? But then, how did that baby get there? She would not have forgotten that.. And yes, there was confirmation when she visited her cousin Elizabeth and found the aged woman in the pink of pregnancy. But even that might be humanly possible… And then, to learn that Joseph had had dreams which matched what the angel had told her...
Even so, could this really be a movement of God, a movement to save the world, through her? That seemed too crazy to fathom. Until now. Until that gift came to pass, that deliverer delivered from her own body, swaddled and laid to sleep in a feeding trough, the hay keeping him warm. And then, just as she is recovering from labor, perhaps leaning against Joseph as in this painting (“The Nativity” by Gari Melchers, 1891*)… in burst a bunch of shepherds bearing tales of angelic visitations, with those words again, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."
A sign for the shepherds, yes, and also for Joseph and Mary. Luke tells us that, while the shepherds went out and spread the amazing story, “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”
What did Mary ponder? Once, in prayer, I sensed an encounter with her, a gracious older woman in a blue-green knit turtleneck dress. She said a few things as I asked her questions: “I was not all that good or all that brave. I was a bit of a flirt in my day – and had a sharp tongue. I was funny. Boy, that (Jesus’ birth, etc.) grew me up in a hurry. Oh, you can believe what you like about all the stories. I’ll just say it was hard. It was rough. I felt very, very alone – didn’t know Joseph well enough to trust him yet."
And the sword that the elder Simeon spoke of, when they presented Jesus in the temple? “A sword pierces the heart of every mother,” she said. “From the moment your child is born, he is moving toward independence, which is a kind of death for you. He is moving toward his death."
She added, “I couldn’t worship him in life. How do you worship one whose diapers you’ve changed? No, he was always my son in this life. It wasn’t until after my death that I could worship him.” True for all of us, really...
Were Mary’s ponderings so different from those of any new mother? The stakes were higher, perhaps – but also the knowledge that, if this truly was a movement of God, then God would continue to be the mover. I hope she had that confidence, and that it bore her through the rough times. I hope that for us, as well, as we bear Christ’s presence and light into this world. God sends signs for us, too.
*Many thanks to David Anderson, who introduced me to this painting in his excellent blog Finding Your Soul on Substack.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-29-25 - How Did We Hear This Story?
You can listen to this reflection here. Today's gospel passage is here.
There are so many people to reflect on in our Christmas story. Today let's look at these shepherds, who felt compelled to check out the tale told them by the heavenly messengers that night of Jesus’ birth: So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
“When they saw this, they made known…and all who heard it were amazed...” Who wouldn’t be amazed! It’s a great story, even filtered through centuries and translations; imagine hearing it from an eyewitness. That’s most likely how the narratives of Jesus’ birth came into circulation among his early followers.
How did Luke, a Greek follower of Christ from Philippi (or so we surmise from his Acts of the Apostles), hear about those shepherds? Did Mary tell the tales later in life, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, living near Ephesus in what is now Turkey (as tradition maintains), in the care of the disciple John? Or did folks hear them from the shepherds themselves, and pass along the tale, one person to another, one town to the next, perhaps embellishing but getting the main details right?
How did Luke, a Greek follower of Christ from Philippi (or so we surmise from his Acts of the Apostles), hear about those shepherds? Did Mary tell the tales later in life, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, living near Ephesus in what is now Turkey, in the care of the disciple John? Or did folks hear them from the shepherds themselves, and pass along the tale, one person to another, one town to the next, perhaps embellishing but getting the main details right?
There are people who read about Jesus in the bible and in books and come to believe. But more often, faith is transmitted person to person, through stories of encounter. Our stories may not feel as dramatic as the one those shepherds must have told, but I bet each one of us has experienced God in some way that made a difference to us. Chances are our stories will make a difference to the people with whom we choose to share them. Reactions might vary, but at the least we will provide one more data point that one day might tip the scales toward faith. We can never know what will happen, only that our God-stories come with an imperative to be shared.
When have you most recently or most vividly encountered the presence or peace or power of God? Bring that to mind. Now, who might want to hear that story? Who might be amazed at what you make known to them of Jesus?
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
There are so many people to reflect on in our Christmas story. Today let's look at these shepherds, who felt compelled to check out the tale told them by the heavenly messengers that night of Jesus’ birth: So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
“When they saw this, they made known…and all who heard it were amazed...” Who wouldn’t be amazed! It’s a great story, even filtered through centuries and translations; imagine hearing it from an eyewitness. That’s most likely how the narratives of Jesus’ birth came into circulation among his early followers.
How did Luke, a Greek follower of Christ from Philippi (or so we surmise from his Acts of the Apostles), hear about those shepherds? Did Mary tell the tales later in life, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, living near Ephesus in what is now Turkey (as tradition maintains), in the care of the disciple John? Or did folks hear them from the shepherds themselves, and pass along the tale, one person to another, one town to the next, perhaps embellishing but getting the main details right?
How did Luke, a Greek follower of Christ from Philippi (or so we surmise from his Acts of the Apostles), hear about those shepherds? Did Mary tell the tales later in life, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, living near Ephesus in what is now Turkey, in the care of the disciple John? Or did folks hear them from the shepherds themselves, and pass along the tale, one person to another, one town to the next, perhaps embellishing but getting the main details right?
There are people who read about Jesus in the bible and in books and come to believe. But more often, faith is transmitted person to person, through stories of encounter. Our stories may not feel as dramatic as the one those shepherds must have told, but I bet each one of us has experienced God in some way that made a difference to us. Chances are our stories will make a difference to the people with whom we choose to share them. Reactions might vary, but at the least we will provide one more data point that one day might tip the scales toward faith. We can never know what will happen, only that our God-stories come with an imperative to be shared.
When have you most recently or most vividly encountered the presence or peace or power of God? Bring that to mind. Now, who might want to hear that story? Who might be amazed at what you make known to them of Jesus?
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-26-25 - A Child For Us
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
How do you take your theology? Straight up or with a twist? Abstract or concrete? Philosophy or story? The gospels are flexible enough to incorporate many learning styles.
On Christmas Eve, we are steeped in story, personal and intimate, sweeping and glorious, each element a rich vein of symbol and language to speak of how much God loves us. But this coming Sunday, we give way to the Gospel of John. The way he tells the story, and the way the prophets foretold it can be more abstract. John begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Right off the bat, we are invited to suspend our literal mindedness (“how can something be with God and be God?”) and enter a swirl of words that convey a truth. What does “Word” mean? Most likely “logos,” translated as “word,” means something closer to “mind” or the “primal thought” of God. Does that make it more or less confusing?
That first paragraph tells the whole story – of what was before we were, of creation, of life and light, and light overcoming darkness. That is what is promised in the prophecy from Isaiah often read on Christmas: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined."
This great light, the prophet says, will shake up the nations and put an end to war – "For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire."
And who will bring about this world transformation? A child. An infant with the weight of the world on his shoulders: "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders..."
And from John again: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”
This Son of God is a son given to us. Entrusted to humanity. Imagine. We wouldn't have known to ask for a child – God's people asked for a rescue mission, a savior, a bringer of justice, maybe a healer. Who would have known that this One would have to be one we could have relationship with?
The story of God, so far away, so holy, so “other,” moving into our neighborhood and settling down so that we can draw near – that’s a story that never gets old. It is hard to convey it as Good News to a people for whom it has become hum-drum, and to others for whom “God” is entirely irrelevant, but I believe it is the heart of the gift Christians have for the world. I will continue to try to get inside that mystery and discover the “Word made flesh” who wants to know me and be known by me.
However it is that you best comprehend the story of God’s amazing love and desire to be close to you, I hope you are both shaken and stirred on this Second Day of Christmas.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
How do you take your theology? Straight up or with a twist? Abstract or concrete? Philosophy or story? The gospels are flexible enough to incorporate many learning styles.
On Christmas Eve, we are steeped in story, personal and intimate, sweeping and glorious, each element a rich vein of symbol and language to speak of how much God loves us. But this coming Sunday, we give way to the Gospel of John. The way he tells the story, and the way the prophets foretold it can be more abstract. John begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Right off the bat, we are invited to suspend our literal mindedness (“how can something be with God and be God?”) and enter a swirl of words that convey a truth. What does “Word” mean? Most likely “logos,” translated as “word,” means something closer to “mind” or the “primal thought” of God. Does that make it more or less confusing?
That first paragraph tells the whole story – of what was before we were, of creation, of life and light, and light overcoming darkness. That is what is promised in the prophecy from Isaiah often read on Christmas: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined."
This great light, the prophet says, will shake up the nations and put an end to war – "For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire."
And who will bring about this world transformation? A child. An infant with the weight of the world on his shoulders: "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders..."
And from John again: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”
This Son of God is a son given to us. Entrusted to humanity. Imagine. We wouldn't have known to ask for a child – God's people asked for a rescue mission, a savior, a bringer of justice, maybe a healer. Who would have known that this One would have to be one we could have relationship with?
The story of God, so far away, so holy, so “other,” moving into our neighborhood and settling down so that we can draw near – that’s a story that never gets old. It is hard to convey it as Good News to a people for whom it has become hum-drum, and to others for whom “God” is entirely irrelevant, but I believe it is the heart of the gift Christians have for the world. I will continue to try to get inside that mystery and discover the “Word made flesh” who wants to know me and be known by me.
However it is that you best comprehend the story of God’s amazing love and desire to be close to you, I hope you are both shaken and stirred on this Second Day of Christmas.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-25-25 - Shepherds and Angels - and You
You can listen to this reflection here. The gospel reading for Christmas is here.
The stable wasn’t the only center of action that original Christmas – God’s great production had multiple locations and a huge cast. The holy child birthed and swaddled, we fade out on the manger and shift focus to the fields outside Bethlehem, to a group of shepherds “keeping watch over their flocks by night.” Flocks were precious assets, and nighttime perilous – predators, thieves; many dangers lurked.
Herding sheep was not a glamorous profession in Jesus’ time, if ever. Shepherds were considered the dregs of society, dirty, crude, unkempt, the last people on earth you’d think would be the first to hear world-transforming news. But our God of surprises doesn’t see in such categories. The least likely became the first – does that sound familiar?
And not only the first to hear; this earthy bunch were the recipients of a celestial visit, a host of angels. The highest possible order of being, shining with the glory of the Lord, and rough-hewn riffraff, brought together on that bright hillside to share joy: “In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Think God was up to something? Think God is still up to something? A bunch of folks from whom no one expected anything good were entrusted with the best news of all – the birth of the Messiah, a savior, the Lord. This revelation, backed up by the most amazing light show ever seen, became their news to tell. To be the bearer of news everyone wants to hear – that’s quite a status upgrade.
Of the many messages in this strange tale we tell over and over, here is one: no one, no kind of person, no category of person is insignificant in God’s eyes. In God’s Life the most marginalized – even the most objectionable – can become the center of the story. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!”
Who is on the margins of your life, or your community’s life? Can you invite someone into the center? Can you honor the least likely person by entrusting him with this amazing news? Maybe you feel like you are the least likely person. Know this: God has chosen you to share God’s most precious gift. Wrap your mind around that while you’re wrapping presents.
For a little while that night, there was peace, there was joy, there was amazement and wonder, shared between shepherds and angels, earth and heaven. I pray that for us, as celebrate the Magnificent Story again this Christmas Day, as we look for those at the edges and invite them into the center: Peace. Joy. Amazement. Wonder.
O come, let us adore him!
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Christmas Day. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
The stable wasn’t the only center of action that original Christmas – God’s great production had multiple locations and a huge cast. The holy child birthed and swaddled, we fade out on the manger and shift focus to the fields outside Bethlehem, to a group of shepherds “keeping watch over their flocks by night.” Flocks were precious assets, and nighttime perilous – predators, thieves; many dangers lurked.
Herding sheep was not a glamorous profession in Jesus’ time, if ever. Shepherds were considered the dregs of society, dirty, crude, unkempt, the last people on earth you’d think would be the first to hear world-transforming news. But our God of surprises doesn’t see in such categories. The least likely became the first – does that sound familiar?
And not only the first to hear; this earthy bunch were the recipients of a celestial visit, a host of angels. The highest possible order of being, shining with the glory of the Lord, and rough-hewn riffraff, brought together on that bright hillside to share joy: “In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Think God was up to something? Think God is still up to something? A bunch of folks from whom no one expected anything good were entrusted with the best news of all – the birth of the Messiah, a savior, the Lord. This revelation, backed up by the most amazing light show ever seen, became their news to tell. To be the bearer of news everyone wants to hear – that’s quite a status upgrade.
Of the many messages in this strange tale we tell over and over, here is one: no one, no kind of person, no category of person is insignificant in God’s eyes. In God’s Life the most marginalized – even the most objectionable – can become the center of the story. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom God favors!”
Who is on the margins of your life, or your community’s life? Can you invite someone into the center? Can you honor the least likely person by entrusting him with this amazing news? Maybe you feel like you are the least likely person. Know this: God has chosen you to share God’s most precious gift. Wrap your mind around that while you’re wrapping presents.
For a little while that night, there was peace, there was joy, there was amazement and wonder, shared between shepherds and angels, earth and heaven. I pray that for us, as celebrate the Magnificent Story again this Christmas Day, as we look for those at the edges and invite them into the center: Peace. Joy. Amazement. Wonder.
O come, let us adore him!
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Christmas Day. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
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