You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Do you have a special place where you pray? Some people pray in the car, chatting with Jesus in the passenger seat. Others pray as they walk in nature. Some even pray in churches. Many people pray on the run, going from here to there, or as need or occasion arises.
All of these are good and valid forms of prayer in terms of talking to God. If we truly want to hear what God has to say to us we will also incorporate the kind of prayer that builds up our relationship with God. The gospels show us that Jesus often went apart to pray, and spent time in prayer. His disciples seem to have observed this pattern and were intrigued: He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
No relationship can grow unless both parties devote time to conversation. When we’ve made a new friend, or become enamored of someone, we find ourselves naturally wanting to communicate. That impulse can weaken as familiarity grows, so we need to be proactive and intentional about it. If we want to strengthen our connection with the God who made the universe, who knows and loves us more than we can imagine, we will need to show up for the conversation God is always ready to have with us. Yes, it requires more from us, because, unlike God, our time is finite and we can only effectively focus on one person at a time.
Designating a time and especially a place for quiet, contemplative prayer is the key. What time of day are you least likely to be distracted? Is there a place in your home – a chair, a window – where you can truly relax and go into “spirit-mode?” What you do when you get there can vary – some people read and chew on a passage of Scripture, or read the Daily Office (Episcopal-speak for a cycle of readings and prayers for morning and evening). You might read Water Daily and find your own way into Sunday’s gospel reading.
Leave some time to allow your spirit to settle deeply and invite God to speak in that silence. Perhaps your imagination will produce a scene in which you and Jesus can chat. I don’t know what it will look like for you. I only know that God desires connection with God’s beloveds, and connection requires communication, and communication with God will transform our whole day – and life.
© 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.
7-18-25 - Better
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
The story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary is often interpreted as contrasting the contemplative and active dimensions of spiritual life. And whenever I’ve asked people to whom they relate most strongly in this story, most answer Martha. This is not surprising in a culture which lives by to-do lists, in which productivity and accomplishment are the highest criteria for success. We might all agree that a healthy soul-life is balanced – our connection to God cultivated in prayer needs to be expressed outwardly in action, and our actions need to be grounded in our connection to God in prayer if we want them to bear fruit.
Jesus, however, does not value these equally: But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The better part, not just as good. Jesus says “No, Martha. Mary does not have to get up and help you in the kitchen. She is putting her relationship with me above everything else, and no one can take that away from her.”
Don’t most of us have at least one person in our lives whom we would drop everything to spend time with? For Christ-followers, at least one of those people should be Jesus. The first step in becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is choosing to put him first, before the other loves and priorities which claim us. What he thinks is important becomes of utmost importance to us – trusting in God, offering the power of healing, sharing resources with those who have less. If he says time with him (which is what prayer and worship are…) is the highest priority, let’s make it ours.
Before we agree to do something, or launch an initiative of our own creation, let’s plan for how we will integrate that project into our lives of prayer and worship, first making sure we’ve set aside time for those. And when someone in the church who excels at prayer and intercession really doesn’t want to be on a committee, entrust them with your prayer list and leave them to do what they do best. There will be plenty of people who like the active ministries.
The real challenge is how to get us “active” types to sit down and spend more time at Jesus’ feet. One reason we keep going the way we do is to avoid dealing with feelings that come up when we’re quiet. Many of us also deal with the very real condition of stress addiction, whereby our brains become wired to feel calmer when we’re busy and more anxious when we’re still. Maybe we just have to be more active about becoming contemplative. Martin Luther is quoted as having said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”
Who knows how efficiently Mary might have worked in that kitchen after receiving the gifts of Jesus’ teaching, had Martha been willing to trust. And who knows how peaceful Martha might have felt had she joined Mary in her choice. Dinner can wait; Jesus is now. Join him, and dinner will happen.
© 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.
The story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Martha and Mary is often interpreted as contrasting the contemplative and active dimensions of spiritual life. And whenever I’ve asked people to whom they relate most strongly in this story, most answer Martha. This is not surprising in a culture which lives by to-do lists, in which productivity and accomplishment are the highest criteria for success. We might all agree that a healthy soul-life is balanced – our connection to God cultivated in prayer needs to be expressed outwardly in action, and our actions need to be grounded in our connection to God in prayer if we want them to bear fruit.
Jesus, however, does not value these equally: But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The better part, not just as good. Jesus says “No, Martha. Mary does not have to get up and help you in the kitchen. She is putting her relationship with me above everything else, and no one can take that away from her.”
Don’t most of us have at least one person in our lives whom we would drop everything to spend time with? For Christ-followers, at least one of those people should be Jesus. The first step in becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ is choosing to put him first, before the other loves and priorities which claim us. What he thinks is important becomes of utmost importance to us – trusting in God, offering the power of healing, sharing resources with those who have less. If he says time with him (which is what prayer and worship are…) is the highest priority, let’s make it ours.
Before we agree to do something, or launch an initiative of our own creation, let’s plan for how we will integrate that project into our lives of prayer and worship, first making sure we’ve set aside time for those. And when someone in the church who excels at prayer and intercession really doesn’t want to be on a committee, entrust them with your prayer list and leave them to do what they do best. There will be plenty of people who like the active ministries.
The real challenge is how to get us “active” types to sit down and spend more time at Jesus’ feet. One reason we keep going the way we do is to avoid dealing with feelings that come up when we’re quiet. Many of us also deal with the very real condition of stress addiction, whereby our brains become wired to feel calmer when we’re busy and more anxious when we’re still. Maybe we just have to be more active about becoming contemplative. Martin Luther is quoted as having said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”
Who knows how efficiently Mary might have worked in that kitchen after receiving the gifts of Jesus’ teaching, had Martha been willing to trust. And who knows how peaceful Martha might have felt had she joined Mary in her choice. Dinner can wait; Jesus is now. Join him, and dinner will happen.
© 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.
7-17-25 - Distracted Living
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
“Martha, Martha.” It’s that repeating of the name that hooks me, a master-stroke of narrative reporting by Luke. Maybe it’s simply the way he heard the story (from Martha herself?). As Martha of Bethany stresses out over her hosting chores, asking Jesus to make her sister get up and help her rather than sit there listening to him teach, Jesus addresses her calmly and directly: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Of all the weapons the Enemy of Human Nature uses to divert us from God, worry is among the most effective and frequently deployed. When we are worried, we are by definition distracted, focusing on what worries us rather than on the God who blesses. Martha can no longer remember why she invited Jesus to her home, why she wants to offer a lovely meal. All the joy and generosity of giving is lost in her annoyance and anxiety. She’s no longer available for relationship with Jesus, or with her sister Mary – she can only try to control and manipulate them. That ever happen to you?
I once invited a man I was interested in to a dinner party, and then spent the entire evening in the kitchen stressing myself out to present an impressive meal, overhearing all the great conversation among the wonderful guests I’d invited, never making myself present or available for the relationship I hoped for. Talk about distracted.
Imagine there are three boxes drawn on the pavement, as though for hopscotch. You are in the center box. Your worries are in the one on the left, and God is in the one on the right. If you turn to focus on what worries you, that’s all you can see. God is behind you, still able to bless, but you can't engage. If you turn the other way (and the Greek word for repentance, metanoia, means to turn fully around) you are now facing God. And where are your worries? They are in the box behind you. They’re still there, and God can see them, yet you are now focused on the source of solutions and answers. In fact, as we focus on God, we are better able to imagine solutions ourselves.
Focusing on what worries us is like distracted driving; taking our eyes off Jesus is like taking our eyes off the road. We may not crash, but our risk and anxiety levels increase, and we’re a danger to others. Think about what “many things” are worrying and distracting you. Now, hear Jesus say your name, not once, but twice, gently calling you back to yourself – and himself. Hear his words: “There is need of only one thing.” He is the one thing. He is all we need.
© 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.
“Martha, Martha.” It’s that repeating of the name that hooks me, a master-stroke of narrative reporting by Luke. Maybe it’s simply the way he heard the story (from Martha herself?). As Martha of Bethany stresses out over her hosting chores, asking Jesus to make her sister get up and help her rather than sit there listening to him teach, Jesus addresses her calmly and directly: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Of all the weapons the Enemy of Human Nature uses to divert us from God, worry is among the most effective and frequently deployed. When we are worried, we are by definition distracted, focusing on what worries us rather than on the God who blesses. Martha can no longer remember why she invited Jesus to her home, why she wants to offer a lovely meal. All the joy and generosity of giving is lost in her annoyance and anxiety. She’s no longer available for relationship with Jesus, or with her sister Mary – she can only try to control and manipulate them. That ever happen to you?
I once invited a man I was interested in to a dinner party, and then spent the entire evening in the kitchen stressing myself out to present an impressive meal, overhearing all the great conversation among the wonderful guests I’d invited, never making myself present or available for the relationship I hoped for. Talk about distracted.
Imagine there are three boxes drawn on the pavement, as though for hopscotch. You are in the center box. Your worries are in the one on the left, and God is in the one on the right. If you turn to focus on what worries you, that’s all you can see. God is behind you, still able to bless, but you can't engage. If you turn the other way (and the Greek word for repentance, metanoia, means to turn fully around) you are now facing God. And where are your worries? They are in the box behind you. They’re still there, and God can see them, yet you are now focused on the source of solutions and answers. In fact, as we focus on God, we are better able to imagine solutions ourselves.
Focusing on what worries us is like distracted driving; taking our eyes off Jesus is like taking our eyes off the road. We may not crash, but our risk and anxiety levels increase, and we’re a danger to others. Think about what “many things” are worrying and distracting you. Now, hear Jesus say your name, not once, but twice, gently calling you back to yourself – and himself. Hear his words: “There is need of only one thing.” He is the one thing. He is all we need.
© 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.
7-16-25 - Unholy Triangles
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
This gospel story packs a lot of emotional complexity into five verses. We get a glimpse into Jesus’ relationship with these two sisters, and their relationship with each other. And we see a behavior pattern which is all too familiar to many of us – an unwillingness to communicate directly when disgruntled, and the attendant tendency to rope in a third party.
Martha has taken on a big task preparing dinner for Jesus and his friends, and she sees her sister sitting at Jesus’ feet, drinking in his teaching. Stressed, envious, and perhaps annoyed by other things about her sister, she pulls a classic triangulation move: She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”
Let’s look at this passive aggressive remark in all its glory. “Lord, do you not care?” Martha begins by implying that if Jesus cared about her, he would have noticed how hard she was working and sought to fix it. How often do conflicts in our personal and professional relationships result from our overworking, or taking more responsibility in a situation than we need to, and then getting angry that someone has not read our mind and stepped in to save us from ourselves?
“My sister has left me to do all the work by myself.” She’s complaining about Mary, but addressing it to Jesus, letting Mary overhear it, as it were. Martha expresses abandonment and grievance, and doesn’t even trust Mary to hear her feelings directly. Have you ever had someone complain about you to someone else while you’re there? That can only make us feel guilty, not inspired to help.
“Tell her then to help me.” Instead of asking Mary for what she needs, Martha wants Jesus to do her work for her. Does she think Mary doesn't care about her? Does she have to bring in the “big guns?” Or does she want Jesus to prove that he cares by tending to her emotionally?
In the realm of personal relationships, we should only ask Jesus to act in someone else’s life when we're praying for them to be blessed. If we feel they need correcting, protecting, convicting or forgiving, chances are we have an agenda that we should share with them directly and honestly. Say your piece, in love, without expecting a response, and then turn it over to God. You’ve done what you can. But don’t ask God or anyone else to be your messenger when you’ve got something to say.
When we’re able to be clear and direct with one another, we create freedom. Often we find our relationship with God becomes clearer too. And then we're better able to listen.
© 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.
This gospel story packs a lot of emotional complexity into five verses. We get a glimpse into Jesus’ relationship with these two sisters, and their relationship with each other. And we see a behavior pattern which is all too familiar to many of us – an unwillingness to communicate directly when disgruntled, and the attendant tendency to rope in a third party.
Martha has taken on a big task preparing dinner for Jesus and his friends, and she sees her sister sitting at Jesus’ feet, drinking in his teaching. Stressed, envious, and perhaps annoyed by other things about her sister, she pulls a classic triangulation move: She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”
Let’s look at this passive aggressive remark in all its glory. “Lord, do you not care?” Martha begins by implying that if Jesus cared about her, he would have noticed how hard she was working and sought to fix it. How often do conflicts in our personal and professional relationships result from our overworking, or taking more responsibility in a situation than we need to, and then getting angry that someone has not read our mind and stepped in to save us from ourselves?
“My sister has left me to do all the work by myself.” She’s complaining about Mary, but addressing it to Jesus, letting Mary overhear it, as it were. Martha expresses abandonment and grievance, and doesn’t even trust Mary to hear her feelings directly. Have you ever had someone complain about you to someone else while you’re there? That can only make us feel guilty, not inspired to help.
“Tell her then to help me.” Instead of asking Mary for what she needs, Martha wants Jesus to do her work for her. Does she think Mary doesn't care about her? Does she have to bring in the “big guns?” Or does she want Jesus to prove that he cares by tending to her emotionally?
In the realm of personal relationships, we should only ask Jesus to act in someone else’s life when we're praying for them to be blessed. If we feel they need correcting, protecting, convicting or forgiving, chances are we have an agenda that we should share with them directly and honestly. Say your piece, in love, without expecting a response, and then turn it over to God. You’ve done what you can. But don’t ask God or anyone else to be your messenger when you’ve got something to say.
When we’re able to be clear and direct with one another, we create freedom. Often we find our relationship with God becomes clearer too. And then we're better able to listen.
© 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.
7-15-25 - Deep Listening
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
I aspire to be a good listener – it doesn’t come naturally, as so often there is something I want to say. (Five days a week, even!) Listening well is an attribute demonstrated by Mary of Bethany, as we see when Jesus comes to visit the house:
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.
We often think of prayer as what we have to say to God, pouring out our gratitude and grumbles, our hopes and regrets. But saints and mystics throughout the centuries have pointed to Mary’s posture as the beginning of true prayer, sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to what he says.
There are a number of ways we can do that. One is by reading and chewing on his words and actions as we find them in Scripture. Taking a small chunk of Jesus’ teaching, or reading, re-reading and putting ourselves into a gospel story about him is a way we can settle our spirits and start to truly hear from him. Talking to someone else about where we're experiencing God's activity and love, and hearing their stories is another way we listen to Jesus.
And we can learn to listen in prayer. Some do that through cultivating meditation techniques like centering prayer, learning to still the chattering mind and come into a place of deep, unspoken communion with God, in which occasionally we receive words or encouragement. Those of us whose chattering rarely ebbs are hard pressed to truly quiet our minds. But we can open our imaginations to the Spirit, inviting God to make himself known through places or scenes that unfold in our mind’s eye.
For a time in my life, there was a rocky beach in Greece where I met Jesus in prayer in my imagination, and shared conversation. That was followed by a musty old English church, a chalet kind of house in the mountains, and most recently a forest glade by a pond. Go figure. I didn’t choose these “mediating” spots, as I call them. They unfolded in my mind as I prayed, and I just went with them, asking where Jesus was. Right now there is no place, just sometimes words coming to mind as I pray, that I believe come from Jesus.
Our minds might not easily become still, but we can bring our bodies into stillness by setting aside time in our day or week, and even a place in our home or office where we settle in to listen to Jesus. I’m sure he doesn’t mind when we talk – our loving God wants to hear from her children. Yet we will find our spirits expand as we learn to follow the way of Mary, and let ourselves listen deeply to that still small voice of God which is amplified in our silences.
© 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.
I aspire to be a good listener – it doesn’t come naturally, as so often there is something I want to say. (Five days a week, even!) Listening well is an attribute demonstrated by Mary of Bethany, as we see when Jesus comes to visit the house:
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.
We often think of prayer as what we have to say to God, pouring out our gratitude and grumbles, our hopes and regrets. But saints and mystics throughout the centuries have pointed to Mary’s posture as the beginning of true prayer, sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to what he says.
There are a number of ways we can do that. One is by reading and chewing on his words and actions as we find them in Scripture. Taking a small chunk of Jesus’ teaching, or reading, re-reading and putting ourselves into a gospel story about him is a way we can settle our spirits and start to truly hear from him. Talking to someone else about where we're experiencing God's activity and love, and hearing their stories is another way we listen to Jesus.
And we can learn to listen in prayer. Some do that through cultivating meditation techniques like centering prayer, learning to still the chattering mind and come into a place of deep, unspoken communion with God, in which occasionally we receive words or encouragement. Those of us whose chattering rarely ebbs are hard pressed to truly quiet our minds. But we can open our imaginations to the Spirit, inviting God to make himself known through places or scenes that unfold in our mind’s eye.
For a time in my life, there was a rocky beach in Greece where I met Jesus in prayer in my imagination, and shared conversation. That was followed by a musty old English church, a chalet kind of house in the mountains, and most recently a forest glade by a pond. Go figure. I didn’t choose these “mediating” spots, as I call them. They unfolded in my mind as I prayed, and I just went with them, asking where Jesus was. Right now there is no place, just sometimes words coming to mind as I pray, that I believe come from Jesus.
Our minds might not easily become still, but we can bring our bodies into stillness by setting aside time in our day or week, and even a place in our home or office where we settle in to listen to Jesus. I’m sure he doesn’t mind when we talk – our loving God wants to hear from her children. Yet we will find our spirits expand as we learn to follow the way of Mary, and let ourselves listen deeply to that still small voice of God which is amplified in our silences.
© 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.
7-14-25 - Hosting Jesus
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
How would you feel about hosting Jesus in your home? In many of my congregations, we’ve had a Jesus Doll, which we invite children to take home for a week at a time, asking them to record where they took Jesus, what they did, how it felt. One mother brought him back, saying, “It was very stressful! When Jenny took him to school they made her put him in her cubby all day, because it was a religious doll. At home, the dog tried to eat him, and then our Jewish neighbors came over, so we put him away… it just wasn’t a good week to have the Son of God at our house.”
Our story this week is about welcoming Jesus. Only five verses, it is packed with meaning. One of two gospel stories about dinner parties for Jesus in the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, it has encouraged mystics and alarmed hostesses since it was recorded. It is held up as an affirmation of the contemplative way of faith over the active; a teaching on anxiety; an exploration of devotion. And it begins with hospitality, which is where we left off in the story of the Good Samaritan: Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
Other accounts about this family tell us the “certain village” is Bethany and that Martha is a sister to Mary and Lazarus. In accounts in the Gospel of John she is referred to as Lazarus' sister, but Luke identifies Martha as the head of household. She is in a position to offer hospitality to Jesus and his entourage. As we will see, they are close enough friends that she can whine at him, and he gently rebuke her. It is one of the most vivid of Jesus’ friendships we see in the gospel record. And yes, welcoming the Son of God into her home causes Martha a bit of stress.
Are you aware of Jesus with you at home, or do you tend to connect with him elsewhere? Have you set aside a spot for prayer and study, a place where you sit to connect with Jesus? What if we tried it this week, settling in, inviting him to join us, seeing where the conversation went? Would you feel you had to clean up? Dress nicely? Serve something? Or would you find he was the host?
As we explore this very rich encounter between Jesus and these two sisters, I hope it will deepen our own encounters with him. In terms of the challenges it places on our priorities, it’s never a good week to have the Son of God at our house. On the other hand, his presence enriches everything else that goes on there. Invite him over. I’m pretty sure he’ll accept.
© 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 would you feel about hosting Jesus in your home? In many of my congregations, we’ve had a Jesus Doll, which we invite children to take home for a week at a time, asking them to record where they took Jesus, what they did, how it felt. One mother brought him back, saying, “It was very stressful! When Jenny took him to school they made her put him in her cubby all day, because it was a religious doll. At home, the dog tried to eat him, and then our Jewish neighbors came over, so we put him away… it just wasn’t a good week to have the Son of God at our house.”
Our story this week is about welcoming Jesus. Only five verses, it is packed with meaning. One of two gospel stories about dinner parties for Jesus in the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, it has encouraged mystics and alarmed hostesses since it was recorded. It is held up as an affirmation of the contemplative way of faith over the active; a teaching on anxiety; an exploration of devotion. And it begins with hospitality, which is where we left off in the story of the Good Samaritan: Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
Other accounts about this family tell us the “certain village” is Bethany and that Martha is a sister to Mary and Lazarus. In accounts in the Gospel of John she is referred to as Lazarus' sister, but Luke identifies Martha as the head of household. She is in a position to offer hospitality to Jesus and his entourage. As we will see, they are close enough friends that she can whine at him, and he gently rebuke her. It is one of the most vivid of Jesus’ friendships we see in the gospel record. And yes, welcoming the Son of God into her home causes Martha a bit of stress.
Are you aware of Jesus with you at home, or do you tend to connect with him elsewhere? Have you set aside a spot for prayer and study, a place where you sit to connect with Jesus? What if we tried it this week, settling in, inviting him to join us, seeing where the conversation went? Would you feel you had to clean up? Dress nicely? Serve something? Or would you find he was the host?
As we explore this very rich encounter between Jesus and these two sisters, I hope it will deepen our own encounters with him. In terms of the challenges it places on our priorities, it’s never a good week to have the Son of God at our house. On the other hand, his presence enriches everything else that goes on there. Invite him over. I’m pretty sure he’ll accept.
© 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.
7-11-25 - Neighbors To the World
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
American foreign policy has tacked between internationalism and nationalism. Our current government is on the extreme nationalist end of that spectrum, quickly upending relationships with allies, business partners and recipients of aid. This administration wields the language of Christian faith – but how do its policies square with Jesus’ teachings and example, especially as communicated in the parable we are contemplating this week?
At the end of Jesus’ story, he asks the lawyer, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy,”’ Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
We live in a world in which whole communities, even countries can fall into the hands of robbers. We share a history in which too often we have been – or still are – the robbers. We also share a rich legacy of showing mercy and providing help to those who are injured.
How might we as nations, and as individuals, more fully live into the character of this outsider who put himself at risk to reclaim, restore and renew the one fallen by the wayside? After all, that is what God has done for us. Might we “go and do likewise?”
At the heart of it lies the truth that until we are all free and equal in opportunity, security, and peace, none of us is free. Until we are willing to “respect the dignity of every human being,” as our baptismal covenant asks us to promise, we will let discord and mistrust rule us rather than the Law of Love. Just like all three of the passersby in Jesus’ story, each one of us has the choice when we see someone in pain – or a community or nation in the grip of tyranny or corruption – to stop or walk on, engage or condemn, bring healing or leave someone to die. How will we exercise the choices we do have?
The opportunities to do so are coming thick and fast.
© 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.
American foreign policy has tacked between internationalism and nationalism. Our current government is on the extreme nationalist end of that spectrum, quickly upending relationships with allies, business partners and recipients of aid. This administration wields the language of Christian faith – but how do its policies square with Jesus’ teachings and example, especially as communicated in the parable we are contemplating this week?
At the end of Jesus’ story, he asks the lawyer, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy,”’ Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
We live in a world in which whole communities, even countries can fall into the hands of robbers. We share a history in which too often we have been – or still are – the robbers. We also share a rich legacy of showing mercy and providing help to those who are injured.
How might we as nations, and as individuals, more fully live into the character of this outsider who put himself at risk to reclaim, restore and renew the one fallen by the wayside? After all, that is what God has done for us. Might we “go and do likewise?”
At the heart of it lies the truth that until we are all free and equal in opportunity, security, and peace, none of us is free. Until we are willing to “respect the dignity of every human being,” as our baptismal covenant asks us to promise, we will let discord and mistrust rule us rather than the Law of Love. Just like all three of the passersby in Jesus’ story, each one of us has the choice when we see someone in pain – or a community or nation in the grip of tyranny or corruption – to stop or walk on, engage or condemn, bring healing or leave someone to die. How will we exercise the choices we do have?
The opportunities to do so are coming thick and fast.
© 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.
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