Water Daily

2-13-23 - Magical Mystery Tour

You can listen to this reflection here.

Next Sunday we come to the end of Epiphany, the season of light. And every year in our gospel reading we go out with the ultimate light show – Jesus being transfigured on a mountain, to the amazement of three of his closest disciples.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.

“Six days later..." What happened six days ago? A conversation in which Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Let’s remember that – it just may be a clue to what Jesus was doing up there on the mountain. Another clue is the mountain itself. It was a mountain to which Moses was called to go and spend forty days and forty nights with God, receiving the commandments – and when he came down, his face was shining so brightly, he had to cover it to avoid blinding people. And it was a mountain on which Elijah was told to come out of a cave and see God pass by, not in a whirlwind, nor in an earthquake, nor in fire, but in a sound of sheer silence.

In our sacred scriptures, mountains are places where God reveals God’s self to human beings. It appears that this mountain is no different – for here Jesus is transfigured – his face changes, shines like the sun, and his clothes become dazzling white.

When do you remember last having a sense of God’s presence, a glimpse, a word, a feeling? Can you remember and claim that? Write it down?

And when did you last go to a place apart, on retreat, alone or maybe with just a few friends? Did you sense the presence of God then? Often, when I have taken the time to go apart, God has shown up in mighty ways – not right away, but after a time. At the right time. There might be a “coincidence” or a confirmation we could not have manufactured.

Going away can facilitate our spiritual encounters because the quotidian rhythms and tasks of our lives can dull our spiritual senses. If you’ve never been on retreat, consider planning one. The Spirit also shows up in our daily "apart" times, as we get quiet and open our spirits. Just sit with as much stillness as you can and pray, “Lord, I want to know you’re here with me. Show me…”

And then let it go. You might find a thought or a word popping into your head that doesn’t seem like one you’d have thought on your own; you might have a physical sensation of presence; you might get a picture. You might sense nothing – just give thanks that God is answering whether or not you feel it.

We don’t all get Jesus turning radiant bright in front of us – I’m not sure we could take it. We have been promised that he is always with us. That’s gift enough.

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2-10-23 - Chosen For Fruitfulness

You can listen to this reflection here. Today's gospel reading is here.

I suggested at the beginning of this week that Jesus’ tough talk to his new recruits may have been a way of pruning them, or helping them do the kind of pruning of themselves that would make them more fruitful. At the end of his time with them in earthly form, Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine to tell his disciples about staying connected to him and to each other. He isn’t just talking about the vine. He is also talking about grapes, and how a healthy system can produce much fruit. He tells them he has chosen them for a purpose:

“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.”

Chosen. Let's dwell on that word for a moment; let's claim that identity. Jesus has just said, “I no longer call you servants, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends…”

His followers received a big status upgrade, and we’re grafted into their apostleship as Christ-followers ourselves. At those times when we might question our value or our reach, we can remember, “Oh yeah, I was chosen by Jesus, who calls me friend.” How might carrying that knowledge change the way we move and interact with the world?

And appointed. Jesus says he appointed us to bear fruit that will last. Our identity comes with a purpose, a purpose which the Holy Spirit helps us fulfill. What do you think your life's purpose is? Some think it’s to care for their family, or make a good living, or stand for justice… What is yours?

Does it change anything to be reminded that Jesus has a purpose for you beyond what you may have for yourself? And that it is simply to bear fruit? That means participating in God’s mission to reclaim, restore and renew all of creation to wholeness – whenever and however the opportunity arises to do that. When we are about the ministry of justice and compassion, exercising healing and peace-making in the power of the Holy Spirit, there will be fruit, and it is fruit that will last, whether or not we get to see the full outcome. We need to hang on to that promise in times when it may feel like two steps forward, three steps back. If we’re moving with God in the power of the Spirit, the fruit will last.

The most visible fruit, Jesus suggest, is our love for one another. Whether or not we like his language, Jesus was talking about how to love well in those harsh teachings we’ve looked at this week. He was talking about faithfulness and generosity in relationships. If we can learn to love with such integrity as Jesus both commends and commands, that could change the course of the whole world.

2-9-23 - Divorced From Reality?

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Oh joy! Today we come to Jesus’ teaching on divorce. He doesn’t say you can’t – just that if you do, you’re committing adultery or causing someone else to: “But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."

Great! In a nation where some 50 percent of marriages end in divorce, where many find themselves with more mature, even godly relationships in a second marriage, what do we say to this? “Get with the times, Jesus?” Do we ignore this teaching, which goes beyond even the stringent codes of the Mosaic law? Does that undermine Jesus’ authority for us?

Jesus was telling his would-be disciples that following him would mean faithfulness. And guess what? Even though they walked and talked with him for three years, they weren’t always so faithful. They may have stayed true to their marriages, but not always to him or to each other. It doesn’t mean the standard wasn’t there – it means that they failed, and Jesus did not reject them. I don’t believe he rejects us when we fail, either.

Yes – this standard for marriage matters; anyone who’s been through the pain of a broken relationship will tell you that. But it cannot be isolated from all the other areas of sin and pain and failure we endure and inflict, all of which we are invited to bring before the loving, judging eye of the God who made and redeemed us.

So then, is divorce sinful or is it forgiveable? Yes. I don’t think there is an absolute answer – choose the first, and you end up condemning someone who has suffered deeply, either because they have divorced, or because they haven’t. Sin is sin and humans are humans. And God is bigger and more powerful than all of it.

And that might be the point of this whole teaching, as Jesus makes the standards of sinfulness so broad no one can wiggle out. If we are as liable for what we think and feel as what we do, we all have to admit we stand in need of redemption. The man whose teaching here seems so harsh is the same man who reminded a crowd about to execute an adulterous woman that they should feel free to cast stones only if they themselves are without sin. Who among us could in good conscience pick up a stone?

When have we been affected or hurt by the dissolution of a marriage? Perhaps the wound is still fresh, even many years later – divorce has that kind of power to hurt and keep hurting. We cannot give ourselves to another with all the hopefulness that marriage entails and remain unscathed when that hope dies, even if new life arises from those ashes. So pray for the people involved. Pray for the grace to forgive if you need to. Imagine each person blessed by God.

And ask how you can support marriages you know to be difficult or shaky. Marriage is a joy and a burden meant to be carried in community. When a marriage fails, so has the community. In that sense, even people who are single are involved in the enterprise of marriage. Divorce signals a failure of love. We can help fill that gap, to pour our love into the void, bring healing and wholeness, in concert with the God whose love goes beyond death into life.

2-8-23 - Lust and Love

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Jimmy Carter caught a lot of flack back in 1976, when he confessed in an interview with Playboy magazine that, while he had remained faithful to his marriage vows, he had looked on women with lust and “committed adultery in my heart.” He was just quoting Jesus: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Here again, Jesus says that what we think and feel matters spiritually as much as what we do.

What's so bad about lust anyway? Isn't it just natural? Well, it depends on how you define it. As the church understands it, lust is not the same as a desire to be intimate with another person. It is a distorted desire that objectifies another, that – here’s that word again – dehumanizes someone so s/he becomes a source of gratification and not a full person with his or her own story, gifts and needs.

Adultery is sexual or emotional intimacy with someone other than your committed partner. It need not always be defined by lust – in some ways, non-physical emotional relationships can be the more dangerous adulterous attachments. Why? Because they require one to break trust with another, and necessitate lying to loved ones, risking damage to whole families and communities. As natural as it may be to love more than one person intimately, Jesus upholds fidelity as a higher calling, one that builds up rather than tears down.

The remedy to adultery he proposes is harsh, suggesting we’re better off dismembered than being led by our physical appetites. I believe he exaggerates to make a point: We are best able to give and receive love, to know and be known, when our focus is on the love of God. If a person or thing becomes the source of what we think we need, be it sexual, emotional, or ego gratification, we turn away from the Source of love. We worship the object.

Our culture places romantic and sexual love on a pedestal and devalues the difficult, day-in, day-out work of being real and generous in a committed relationship, letting yourself be fully known. Jesus wants his followers to love this way, to be nurtured in authentic relationships that model the love of God.

Today let’s inventory our relationships – the intimate ones, and the more distant ones. Is there anyone from whom you want something? Not necessarily lustfully – sometimes we want others to make us feel better about ourselves, or to keep us from being lonely or meet other needs. Can you see that person apart from what they can do for you? Can you see him or her as a fellow child of God? Can you offer your desire or need in prayer, asking God how God would provide for you? Can you want something for him or her instead of from? That's a good place for prayer today.

Marriage does not represent the fullness of God’s revelation – but at its best it is an icon of God’s love, a transforming power that crosses boundaries of otherness to know and be known. That alone is reason to allow the Spirit to make us faithful, in our hearts as well as in our bodies.

2-7-23 - Sticks and Stones

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Anyone else grow up on that misguided little ditty? It suggests that using words to inflict pain doesn’t have real consequences, to perpetrator or victim. But hurtful words can cause deeper, longer-lasting wounds, as Jesus says:

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; ...But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool’, you will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Whoa, Nellie! Is Jesus really saying that insulting someone is on a par with murder? Invective tossed around in anger is a form of violence? Calling someone an idiot is like killing them? Thank God Jesus isn’t on Twitter!

Might he be saying that, when we insult or libel another person, we temporarily dehumanize them, don't honor them as a fellow child of God, created for life, redeemed in love? I know when I have been the target of scorn or gossip, I have felt “un-selfed.” When we ridicule another, we un-self them. That is a kind of death-dealing, and it causes deep spiritual injury. It may not be actionable in a court of law, but Jesus wants his followers to go beyond the law to the heart.

Jesus suggests that we too are harmed when we use words as weapons. We tend to do that when we feel anxious or powerless – running someone else down can make us feel temporarily inflated. But it also diminishes us, and renders us less whole, less fully who God made us to be. Those who follow Christ cannot be complacent about this area of sin.

If we seek to be reconciled with God (“So when you offer your gift at the altar…”) while in a state of estrangement with people in our lives (“...if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you…”), we need to face that and deal with it, restoring them and us to our full humanity in full humility: "...leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

Is there anyone in your life who causes you anger, anxiety, annoyance? Sit quietly in prayer and let those names and faces float up to your consciousness. Pray for them to be blessed beyond measure. Yes, blessed with all the fullness of God’s blessing. If they are blessed, you benefit too. And it’s a way to move toward forgiveness.

And is there anyone whom you have injured with words to or about them? Even words you’ve only thought? They’re toxic enough in our own minds. Can you pray for that person to be blessed and ask them for forgiveness? If that seems too much, play it out in your imagination first, going to see them with Jesus at your side. What do you say? What do they say? What does Jesus say?

Being critical and sarcastic takes so much energy; loathing even more. Think what God can do through us and for us when we yield that space to the Holy Spirit. When all our interactions are life-giving, our lives will bear the fruit of such abundant peace, it can only spill over to the people around us.

2-4-23 - Good News, Or Bad?

You can listen to this reflection here.

This is one of those weeks when I question my “ordering principle” for Water Daily, to reflect on the following Sunday’s appointed Gospel passage. This week's isn’t much fun – it’s more of Jesus’ training talk with his new disciples, and he sets standards for them more stringent even than the Old Testament Law. He looks at the commandments against murder, adultery, divorce and perjury and ratchets up the penalties for merely being in the vicinity of such sins.

Why is Jesus so hard on his new recruits – and by extension, later followers like us? Was he employing the old drill sergeant tactic – break down your troops as you prepare to rebuild them stronger? I don’t know if this is what Jesus was up to – but he did know they would face hostility and adversity. They needed to be focused and strong. So do we, facing suspicion and indifference.

Another way to view this teaching is as pruning. At the end of his time with these disciples, Jesus will say, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2) The teaching Jesus gives here, harsh as it sounds, reflects the work of that Master Gardener, who desires that we bear good fruit.

Jesus is also driving home a point he has already made – that the ways of this world and the ways of God’s realm, or God-Life, are not the same. Those who would be Christ-followers need to learn how God thinks, and what God requires. Remember what Jesus said at end of last week’s passage: “…unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

When Jesus talks about the “Kingdom of heaven,” he’s not talking about heaven as a place we go when we die. He is talking about the God-Reality that is already around us, here and now, which he came to demonstrate and open doors into. That is what Jesus was about. So he’s not being punitive; he is simply stating a fact: Those who would learn to dwell in the God-Life need to be able to perceive things the way God does. His followers need to go beyond the behavior the Law demands, to reflect a heart yielded to God.

What Jesus is offering is discipline, just like a trainer or a coach does. The question for us is, Do we want to be disciples, those who take on a discipline? Do we want to be trained? Do we want to bear fruit?

Here’s my prayer suggestion for today, before we launch into Jesus’ tough teaching: Let’s get in touch with the love of God that has us reading this reflection on a Monday morning in the first place. Get centered as best you can, and invite the Holy Spirit to fill you with love, to surround you with love. Ease into it, as you would into a hot bath. Let it fill your heart, whatever that feels like or looks like. Say thank you for every reminder of God’s love you can think of. And, if you’re willing, say you’re open to being trained.

Whatever else Jesus is up to, he is also presenting a view of God’s love, the way a loving parent minces no words keeping a child from traffic or a hot stove. Let’s remember we are God’s children, in every sense, and be glad God loves us enough to want to see us thrive.

2-6-23 - A Good Person

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Most clergy have a few sermons they preach over and over. One of mine says this: being a Christian is not about being good; it is about being loved into goodness. It is about entering into relationship with the One who made us and loves us too much to suffer estrangement from us.

And that message – which I believe is supported in the whole of our salvation story – is pretty directly contradicted by the following words of Jesus: "Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Wait just a minute. What happened to, “Unless you become as a child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven?” and “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit?” Didn’t Jesus say those things too? If it all comes down to commandments and righteous behavior, why do we need a savior? If it’s a matter of just gritting our teeth and trying harder, we’re pretty much sunk.

Thankfully, this isn’t the only thing Jesus says on the subject. Another time, after setting what his disciples think is an impossible standard, he says, “With humankind this is impossible; but with God, all things are possible.” Phew.

Still, I am caught by this remark, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees…” The scribes and Pharisees, the religious elite of Jesus’ time, were known for their uprightness and fidelity to the Law. They appear to have been arrogant and legalistic, but certainly righteous. What could it mean to exceed their righteousness?

Here’s my guess: it means to go beyond the mere observance of the Law to the intention at its heart. It means to go beyond rules and rituals to relationship, relationship with the living God made possible through God’s Son. It means to invite the power of the Holy Spirit to be manifest through us for healing and restoration of all things. It means to truly believe that Jesus is who he said he was and to follow his way of living God-life in the world. That is truly going beyond the legalistic righteousness of the scribes.

Yesterday I invited you to reflect on where you might be caught in “rule-following” rather than Jesus-following. If an area occurred to you, ask Jesus to transform that part of your life, or transform you in it.

And if the idea of having a “relationship with Jesus” or “relationship with God” seems abstract or odd to you, there’s something to explore. For me, it developed as I opened myself to prayer that included silence, imagination and listening. The Holy Spirit brings us into the presence of God – and then Jesus often becomes marvelously specific.

Repeatedly in the psalms and prophets we hear God saying, “I don’t want your rituals and your sacrifices – I want your heart. And don’t worry if your heart is hard – I will break your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put a new heart and a new spirit within you.” We just need to say yes – that’s how we begin to become God's "good person."