You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Many of us have been challenged to provide a meal for guests on very short notice. It can be fun to see what we can whip up from food we have around. But well over 5,000 people out in a field? I think we’d throw up our hands, just as Jesus’ disciples did. Aware that the people had been there all day, and that crowds and hunger can be a combustible combination, they sensibly suggested Jesus suspend the healing and teaching, and send people off to eat: When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”
In other gospel versions of this story – and it is one of the few that appear in all four gospels – Jesus tells the disciples to assess their resources before concluding that they don’t have enough. In Matthew’s account, they must already have done that, for they are quick with the answer, and give it in the negative: “We have nothing here but…” Nothing but. The “but” belies the “nothing,” but obviously they consider the assets so inadequate to the need as to count for nought.
What is your “default setting” – that there is not enough, or that plenty is possible? Are there areas in your life where you are so sure you don’t have enough, that you don’t even consider the possibility of God providing? I’m pretty trusting about finances, not so much when it comes to relationships.
Where have you known scarcity? Where have you known abundance? When we assume scarcity, that’s often what we experience. And when we assume plenty, even if we can’t imagine from where it might come, we more often find that.
Today in prayer let’s bring before God those places in our life where we experience “not-enough-ness” and those where we experience plenty. These might include relationships we’re in, work we do, gifts we want or have, use or don’t use. Maybe envision a bunch of baskets, some empty, some full. Put labels on them in your imagination. Give thanks for the full ones. Invite God to transform your relationship to the empty ones – maybe they got empty at one point in your life, and you’re afraid to imagine them filled. Or maybe all your baskets are full. What does the Spirit say about these things/feelings/people?
What if instead of “we have nothing but...,” the disciples had said, “Well, we have five loaves and two fish…” It still might not seem like enough, but putting it that way gives room for hope. “Nothing but...” closes the conversation.
Unless, of course, you’re talking to Jesus, who said, “With God all things are possible,” and then demonstrated the truth of that crazy statement in the most amazing way.
7-27-26 - Godly Interruptions
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Jesus needed a little time off, a little time for retreat and prayer, and for grief. He had just learned of the brutal death of John the Baptist at the whim of a party girl and her vengeful mother. So he planned a spiritual getaway. As we say in clergy circles, he was modeling excellent self-care. But even Jesus’ plans can be interrupted: Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
I wonder if his heart sank as the boat approached his “deserted place” and he saw it teeming with people, people who had walked the long way around the lake to get to where he was going to be because they wanted to be healed. If he thought, “Darn, there goes my quiet time…” or, “Sorry, it’s my day off, and I really need one this week,” or “I’m grieving and I need a time out…” the Gospel writers don’t tell us. He saw the crowd, he had compassion, and began an impromptu healing service that lasted all day.
Are we to be always ready to give ourselves away when people need us? That’s a good recipe for burn-out – but is burn-out even an operative principle in the Realm of God? Good personal boundaries are important, of course – and perhaps we're best off when we allow the Holy Spirit to set those boundaries for us. Jesus had an impeccable (!) sense of self and did not allow himself to be manipulated by people's needs. But he did respond to needs as led by the Spirit.
And when he gave, he did not give from his own human resources. He allowed himself to be a conduit for the power and love of the Spirit. Sure, he felt tired at times, and there was an occasion when he said he felt power go out of him when someone touched him for healing. But for the most part, he demonstrated extraordinary stamina, preaching, teaching, healing, on the move all the time.
That is his gift to us, we who are united with him in baptism. When we are running on Holy Spirit power, we know when to stop and talk, when to keep moving, when to offer healing, when to act on our dreams. And when we’re on Spirit power, our energies are renewed and replenished. I can always tell when I’ve gone back to Kate-Power – it runs down, and I get discouraged and testy. Holy Spirit Power jazzes me up and energizes me, even when my to-do list has been disrupted.
How about you? Can you think of a time when your plans were interrupted by something that turned out to be ministry? Did you make the decision to go with the interruption rather than fighting it, or did you ignore the ministry opportunity in order to stay focused on your plans? How did you decide? How did it feel?
Today let’s sit quietly in prayer, coming into God’s presence with thanksgiving, and ask the Spirit to lead us to godly interruptions. Let’s ask the Spirit to fill us, to increase our capacity to carry God’s power and insight and love and peace and strength – other people need it.
We might say it is our mission as agents of healing and restoration in the name of Jesus to bring people to where he is going to be. We don’t always know where that is, but he did give us a few clues: in the Word, in the bread and wine at worship, in the poor and those in need – and, indeed, everywhere two or three of us gather in his name. Bring your friends – Jesus will be rowing up any minute now.
© 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.
Jesus needed a little time off, a little time for retreat and prayer, and for grief. He had just learned of the brutal death of John the Baptist at the whim of a party girl and her vengeful mother. So he planned a spiritual getaway. As we say in clergy circles, he was modeling excellent self-care. But even Jesus’ plans can be interrupted: Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.
I wonder if his heart sank as the boat approached his “deserted place” and he saw it teeming with people, people who had walked the long way around the lake to get to where he was going to be because they wanted to be healed. If he thought, “Darn, there goes my quiet time…” or, “Sorry, it’s my day off, and I really need one this week,” or “I’m grieving and I need a time out…” the Gospel writers don’t tell us. He saw the crowd, he had compassion, and began an impromptu healing service that lasted all day.
Are we to be always ready to give ourselves away when people need us? That’s a good recipe for burn-out – but is burn-out even an operative principle in the Realm of God? Good personal boundaries are important, of course – and perhaps we're best off when we allow the Holy Spirit to set those boundaries for us. Jesus had an impeccable (!) sense of self and did not allow himself to be manipulated by people's needs. But he did respond to needs as led by the Spirit.
And when he gave, he did not give from his own human resources. He allowed himself to be a conduit for the power and love of the Spirit. Sure, he felt tired at times, and there was an occasion when he said he felt power go out of him when someone touched him for healing. But for the most part, he demonstrated extraordinary stamina, preaching, teaching, healing, on the move all the time.
That is his gift to us, we who are united with him in baptism. When we are running on Holy Spirit power, we know when to stop and talk, when to keep moving, when to offer healing, when to act on our dreams. And when we’re on Spirit power, our energies are renewed and replenished. I can always tell when I’ve gone back to Kate-Power – it runs down, and I get discouraged and testy. Holy Spirit Power jazzes me up and energizes me, even when my to-do list has been disrupted.
How about you? Can you think of a time when your plans were interrupted by something that turned out to be ministry? Did you make the decision to go with the interruption rather than fighting it, or did you ignore the ministry opportunity in order to stay focused on your plans? How did you decide? How did it feel?
Today let’s sit quietly in prayer, coming into God’s presence with thanksgiving, and ask the Spirit to lead us to godly interruptions. Let’s ask the Spirit to fill us, to increase our capacity to carry God’s power and insight and love and peace and strength – other people need it.
We might say it is our mission as agents of healing and restoration in the name of Jesus to bring people to where he is going to be. We don’t always know where that is, but he did give us a few clues: in the Word, in the bread and wine at worship, in the poor and those in need – and, indeed, everywhere two or three of us gather in his name. Bring your friends – Jesus will be rowing up any minute now.
© 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.
7-24-26 - Something Old, Something New
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Tradition. Innovation. Between these two poles runs a continuum underlying many controversies and conflicts in churches. And corporations. And non-profits. And healthcare and politics and the arts.
Where we find ourselves on that spectrum says much about how we approach life. No surprise that Jesus comes at this tension with a both/and: And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Training for the kingdom of heaven means ongoing learning. The phrase suggests that understanding the ways of the kingdom, the ways of God-Life, requires training; it does not come naturally to us. This is why churches stress “faith formation” activities and spiritual practices in addition to urging regular attendance at worship. It is not possible to imbibe the values and ways of the Kingdom in one or two hours a week at worship.
It also appears that living the kingdom life, the “God-Life” the way Jesus revealed it, involves exercising generosity, like the master of a household sharing of his treasure. Yet what he is to share is interesting, “what is new and what is old.” A complete orientation toward innovation can be as toxic as leaning entirely on the tradition. Yes, “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8), AND “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5) In the truth of both these statements we find our life.
What are some of the “old” gifts that you carry and offer? Things from your tradition, from your own history and upbringing, things that will never go out of style? Who wants the old and lovely treasures you offer?
And what is in your store of new treasure? New insights, patterns, relationships, gifts, ministries, life? Are you as generous sharing the new as the old?
As Christ followers, we are called to live, even thrive in this tension between the old and the new. God is rarely in the last place we encountered him. The Spirit is always moving around the neighborhood, activating the servants of God who are open to participating in what God is up to. And what God is up to is bringing new life to tired things and people – even to tired churches.
Today I commend a prayer from the U.S. Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer (just to prove I am capable of bringing out of the storehouse something old… !). This is from the ordination service:
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favourably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were being cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
‘Have you understood all this?’ Jesus asked. They answered, ‘Yes.’
© 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.
Tradition. Innovation. Between these two poles runs a continuum underlying many controversies and conflicts in churches. And corporations. And non-profits. And healthcare and politics and the arts.
Where we find ourselves on that spectrum says much about how we approach life. No surprise that Jesus comes at this tension with a both/and: And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Training for the kingdom of heaven means ongoing learning. The phrase suggests that understanding the ways of the kingdom, the ways of God-Life, requires training; it does not come naturally to us. This is why churches stress “faith formation” activities and spiritual practices in addition to urging regular attendance at worship. It is not possible to imbibe the values and ways of the Kingdom in one or two hours a week at worship.
It also appears that living the kingdom life, the “God-Life” the way Jesus revealed it, involves exercising generosity, like the master of a household sharing of his treasure. Yet what he is to share is interesting, “what is new and what is old.” A complete orientation toward innovation can be as toxic as leaning entirely on the tradition. Yes, “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8), AND “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5) In the truth of both these statements we find our life.
What are some of the “old” gifts that you carry and offer? Things from your tradition, from your own history and upbringing, things that will never go out of style? Who wants the old and lovely treasures you offer?
And what is in your store of new treasure? New insights, patterns, relationships, gifts, ministries, life? Are you as generous sharing the new as the old?
As Christ followers, we are called to live, even thrive in this tension between the old and the new. God is rarely in the last place we encountered him. The Spirit is always moving around the neighborhood, activating the servants of God who are open to participating in what God is up to. And what God is up to is bringing new life to tired things and people – even to tired churches.
Today I commend a prayer from the U.S. Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer (just to prove I am capable of bringing out of the storehouse something old… !). This is from the ordination service:
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favourably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were being cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
‘Have you understood all this?’ Jesus asked. They answered, ‘Yes.’
© 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.
7-23-26 - One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish...
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Jesus uses a diverse set of characters and settings in his short parables of the Kingdom… agriculture, baking, real estate, commerce. And now we enter the realm of fishing, a milieu he must have come to know well. (Why didn't the carpenter ever tell a parable about woodworking?) Let’s examine this one, which brings us back to those lovely Last Judgment themes:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
On the surface, this one seems pretty clear – sorting is something we can all grasp. This story, like the one about the weeds and the wheat, depicts that aspect of the Kingdom that deals with final judgment. But here we get angels in waders (anglers!), separating the good fish from the bottom feeders. What wisdom can we find in this simple tale?
Well – there’s a randomness to the catching process, isn’t there? The kingdom of heaven doesn’t seem to be very discriminating – that net is thrown into the sea, the sea perhaps representing the entire creation, and any old fish can swim in. What constitutes a fish worthy of keeping and those to be tossed is not articulated in this story – once again, it is not for us to judge our fellow fish, but to love.
Notice that the net is not drawn onto land until it is full. New Testament writings offer several hints that God is in no hurry to ring down the curtain on this age, preferring to wait until all have received and responded to the invitation to new life. It’s up to us to extend that invitation. That is called evangelism.
Some people evangelize to save people from the fires of hell. I prefer to stress the joys of heaven and the fullness of God-Life we already begin to enjoy in this world. Offering other fish a swim in the Water of Life is a gift we can share – which would make the net a good thing.
Jesus uses a diverse set of characters and settings in his short parables of the Kingdom… agriculture, baking, real estate, commerce. And now we enter the realm of fishing, a milieu he must have come to know well. (Why didn't the carpenter ever tell a parable about woodworking?) Let’s examine this one, which brings us back to those lovely Last Judgment themes:
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
On the surface, this one seems pretty clear – sorting is something we can all grasp. This story, like the one about the weeds and the wheat, depicts that aspect of the Kingdom that deals with final judgment. But here we get angels in waders (anglers!), separating the good fish from the bottom feeders. What wisdom can we find in this simple tale?
Well – there’s a randomness to the catching process, isn’t there? The kingdom of heaven doesn’t seem to be very discriminating – that net is thrown into the sea, the sea perhaps representing the entire creation, and any old fish can swim in. What constitutes a fish worthy of keeping and those to be tossed is not articulated in this story – once again, it is not for us to judge our fellow fish, but to love.
Notice that the net is not drawn onto land until it is full. New Testament writings offer several hints that God is in no hurry to ring down the curtain on this age, preferring to wait until all have received and responded to the invitation to new life. It’s up to us to extend that invitation. That is called evangelism.
Some people evangelize to save people from the fires of hell. I prefer to stress the joys of heaven and the fullness of God-Life we already begin to enjoy in this world. Offering other fish a swim in the Water of Life is a gift we can share – which would make the net a good thing.
- Are you feeling fishy today? Willing to pray as a fish – which can breathe under the water, undisturbed by turbulence on the surface?
- Are you willing to be caught?
- Is there anyone whom you’d like to invite into the net with you?
Some fish, we know, will hop right into the frying pan, no matter what invitations we extend. Many others, I pray, will choose to join us in the life-giving waters of baptism.
© 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.
© 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.
7-22-26 - Infinitely Precious
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Sharing is a social principle children are taught. It must be taught, for it is not a natural human inclination. I would have thought that Jesus was all about sharing – but there is a possessive twist in the next two short parables he offers:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
The hidden treasure is puzzling – it is rare to find treasure in a field. And who hid it? It is obviously a treasure of great value, for the one who finds it hides it again, then quickly goes out to secure its possession by buying the whole field. Indeed, she gives up everything she has to buy that field.
In the story about the pearl, there is no hiding, but the merchant is certainly seeking. Among all the pearls he encounters and examines, he finds one of great value and gives up everything else he has to own it.
Is it we who are to find the treasure, seek the pearl, and upon finding, sell everything we have in order to secure that precious thing? Is Jesus, or the Life of God that precious to us? What would that look like to you? What would you need to sell, figuratively or literally? Hmmm...
Are we to keep the life of God for ourselves? Of course not – Jesus is always telling his followers to go out and proclaim the Good News. But when we understand the intimacy and love of God revealed in relationship through Christ to be a gift of such value, once we truly “find it,” we want to hold it close and not dilute it. I think of the parable of the wise maidens with their extra store of oil – if they were to share it with the foolish ones, no one would have any light. Jesus invites us to go “all in” and put our relationship with God first – that way, everyone will have light and to spare.
There is, of course, a whole other way to interpret these parables, turning them over and looking from another angle: Is Jesus saying that we are the hidden treasure found by God, who went and sold all that he had to buy the field (the world) that contains us? Is Jesus the merchant in search of the finest pearls – and seeing us as having infinite value, gave up everything he had in this world to secure us, redeem us? Are we willing to acknowledge that we are that precious?
© 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.
Sharing is a social principle children are taught. It must be taught, for it is not a natural human inclination. I would have thought that Jesus was all about sharing – but there is a possessive twist in the next two short parables he offers:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
The hidden treasure is puzzling – it is rare to find treasure in a field. And who hid it? It is obviously a treasure of great value, for the one who finds it hides it again, then quickly goes out to secure its possession by buying the whole field. Indeed, she gives up everything she has to buy that field.
In the story about the pearl, there is no hiding, but the merchant is certainly seeking. Among all the pearls he encounters and examines, he finds one of great value and gives up everything else he has to own it.
Is it we who are to find the treasure, seek the pearl, and upon finding, sell everything we have in order to secure that precious thing? Is Jesus, or the Life of God that precious to us? What would that look like to you? What would you need to sell, figuratively or literally? Hmmm...
Are we to keep the life of God for ourselves? Of course not – Jesus is always telling his followers to go out and proclaim the Good News. But when we understand the intimacy and love of God revealed in relationship through Christ to be a gift of such value, once we truly “find it,” we want to hold it close and not dilute it. I think of the parable of the wise maidens with their extra store of oil – if they were to share it with the foolish ones, no one would have any light. Jesus invites us to go “all in” and put our relationship with God first – that way, everyone will have light and to spare.
There is, of course, a whole other way to interpret these parables, turning them over and looking from another angle: Is Jesus saying that we are the hidden treasure found by God, who went and sold all that he had to buy the field (the world) that contains us? Is Jesus the merchant in search of the finest pearls – and seeing us as having infinite value, gave up everything he had in this world to secure us, redeem us? Are we willing to acknowledge that we are that precious?
- How might we think or speak or move differently today, thinking of ourselves as pearls of great price?
- How might we engage in unearthing the hidden treasures in other people, perhaps obscured under layers of soil – wounds, disappointments, discouragement, shame?
In prayer, imagine yourself as treasure in a field or a pearl in a velvet box – highly prized, sought after, sacrificed for. Let your spirit offer praise to the God who delights in you, who has deemed you worthy of love, who has given all to secure your love. Bask in God’s love and pleasure. Luxuriate in it. Soak it in. Believe it.
Then share it with someone else who needs to know how precious he is, who needs to know she is a treasure found by the God who made her, and has gone to hell and back to secure her.
Then share it with someone else who needs to know how precious he is, who needs to know she is a treasure found by the God who made her, and has gone to hell and back to secure her.
© 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.
7-21-26 - Yeast
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Many a Saturday, I have baked bread to be blessed, broken and consumed at church on Sunday. I'm just grooving with Jesus: He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
How could the kingdom of heaven be like yeast? We appreciate the homey metaphor, and props to Jesus for getting a woman into the picture (and knowing the recipe…), but what might yeast have to do with the realm of God? Well, let’s do some wondering about yeast – and some pondering between paragraphs.
Yeast, like a mustard seed, is a tiny thing that generates a large outcome. Yeast must be activated by liquid and a sweetening agent of some sort, sugar or honey. So there is interdependence, as in the community of God. Once yeast is added to those other agents, it begins to bubble and move – we call that proofing. If the yeast is worn out, it won’t come to life, but if there is any life there, a little sweetness and water will bring it out. Sound like anyone you know?
Yeast is a catalyst. Just as it cannot achieve its “yeastiness” by itself, it does not work alone, but helps other ingredients to become a whole new creation, a loaf. The woman in the story adds it to three measures of flour. Why three? Hmmm – the Trinity? Parallels to community in Christ, the way different elements combine to achieve a greater result? What do you see?
Yeast works from the inside out. You can’t just sprinkle it on top and hope it “takes.” You must knead it all through, working it into every part of the dough – just as our formation as Christ-followers needs to become internal and organic, not just surface, one-hour-a-week-on-Sundays.
And the dough goes though some turmoil in the kneading process, as the baker smooths out air pockets and gets all the ingredients evenly distributed for a nice, fine grain. Sometimes, turmoil is how the leaven of the Holy Spirit gets worked all through us. When has that happened in your life?
And then there’s the result – the bread. At the point at which the loaf is baked, the yeast has ceased to be. It has become one with the dough, one with the loaf. Didn’t Jesus say, “Whoever loses her life for me and for the gospel will save it?” Didn't St. Paul say, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me?"
And the loaf itself cannot live out its destiny unless it is broken and given away. That’s what we enact as the Body of Christ each week – a making whole, re-membering, and then a breaking apart again to feed the world.
Yeast as the Life of God works as a metaphor in several ways. We can see it as the Spirit’s presence in us, a seemingly indiscernible force that heals and transforms and empowers us from within, making us finest bread. AND, turning the parable another way, we can see ourselves as the yeast Jesus is talking about, the leaven that works through the dough of the communities in which we find ourselves, sacred and secular, to bring life and air, transformation and healing. AND, turning the parable another way… what do you see?
Many a Saturday, I have baked bread to be blessed, broken and consumed at church on Sunday. I'm just grooving with Jesus: He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
How could the kingdom of heaven be like yeast? We appreciate the homey metaphor, and props to Jesus for getting a woman into the picture (and knowing the recipe…), but what might yeast have to do with the realm of God? Well, let’s do some wondering about yeast – and some pondering between paragraphs.
Yeast, like a mustard seed, is a tiny thing that generates a large outcome. Yeast must be activated by liquid and a sweetening agent of some sort, sugar or honey. So there is interdependence, as in the community of God. Once yeast is added to those other agents, it begins to bubble and move – we call that proofing. If the yeast is worn out, it won’t come to life, but if there is any life there, a little sweetness and water will bring it out. Sound like anyone you know?
Yeast is a catalyst. Just as it cannot achieve its “yeastiness” by itself, it does not work alone, but helps other ingredients to become a whole new creation, a loaf. The woman in the story adds it to three measures of flour. Why three? Hmmm – the Trinity? Parallels to community in Christ, the way different elements combine to achieve a greater result? What do you see?
Yeast works from the inside out. You can’t just sprinkle it on top and hope it “takes.” You must knead it all through, working it into every part of the dough – just as our formation as Christ-followers needs to become internal and organic, not just surface, one-hour-a-week-on-Sundays.
And the dough goes though some turmoil in the kneading process, as the baker smooths out air pockets and gets all the ingredients evenly distributed for a nice, fine grain. Sometimes, turmoil is how the leaven of the Holy Spirit gets worked all through us. When has that happened in your life?
And then there’s the result – the bread. At the point at which the loaf is baked, the yeast has ceased to be. It has become one with the dough, one with the loaf. Didn’t Jesus say, “Whoever loses her life for me and for the gospel will save it?” Didn't St. Paul say, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me?"
And the loaf itself cannot live out its destiny unless it is broken and given away. That’s what we enact as the Body of Christ each week – a making whole, re-membering, and then a breaking apart again to feed the world.
Yeast as the Life of God works as a metaphor in several ways. We can see it as the Spirit’s presence in us, a seemingly indiscernible force that heals and transforms and empowers us from within, making us finest bread. AND, turning the parable another way, we can see ourselves as the yeast Jesus is talking about, the leaven that works through the dough of the communities in which we find ourselves, sacred and secular, to bring life and air, transformation and healing. AND, turning the parable another way… what do you see?
- How are you experiencing the Spirit of God as yeast in your heart, mind, spirit? In your life?
- How do you find yourself serving as leaven in the world around you?
- Are you willing to offer yourself in a particular context? That’s a prayer for today.
Without yeast, we would have no risen bread, a tragedy to those of us who love bread. Without the Yeast of Christ, we could not become Risen Bread – a tragedy for a world in need of resurrection life.
© 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.
© 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.
7-20-26 - God's Microchip
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Jesus' parables come in all shapes and sizes, long, short, complex, simple. Some cover decades, with multiple characters and dialogue; others are extended examples. All are meant to convey in words and images the invisible reality he called the “Kingdom of Heaven.” Next Sunday we get a series of one and two-line parables. As we explore these small gems, turning them this way and that, seeing how the light shines through them, we just may find as many layers as in the longer ones.
We start with the Kingdom being compared to a tiny seed: He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
How is the realm of God like a tiny seed? Hmmm. Let’s wonder together. What is a seed? A nugget of life, a whole life hidden from view, disguised as something small, seemingly innocuous, yet containing its whole future. All that is to be, all the fruitfulness and loss, is right there, waiting to burst forth. Are we seeds in which the kingdom of God, the Life of God, is contained? Is the church? Hmmm....
Seeds must be sown to bring forth life. Where has God planted you? Do you like the field you’re in? Do you wish to be moved to soil more to your liking, or will you, as the old poster read, “Bloom where you are planted?” (We moved so much in my youth, my mother inserted “trans-“ to that.)
A seed must die if its life is to be released. That breaking open is pretty traumatic to the seed. What in us needs to be broken open so the God-Life inside can be made visible? What in us that is broken has yet to be healed, so that wound might bring healing to others? Hmmm....
Small things can wield a large impact. Witness the power of a baby to garner the attention of a household or a baby animal to commandeer the internet. Witness a rudder on a large boat, or whole libraries resident on a microchip. Witness the impact one tired woman like Rosa Parks can have on a nation. What examples have you lived of small things with big influence? What comes to mind?
The tiny mustard seed in Jesus’ parable gives way to a bush, a shrub that becomes a tree – its blessings are multiple. It bears fruit and gives shade and provides dwelling places for the birds. Name some of the multiple blessings that the world sees from your life.
Today, let’s pray as seeds –
- giving thanks for where we are planted, or asking to be planted elsewhere;
- taking note of where we are being broken open and giving thanks for the new life to emerge;
- taking note of our fruitfulness and who is being blessed by our being the fullest “me” we can be;
- asking God where in the world the Spirit is inviting us to carry the seeds of more new life.
The growth cycle of God’s planting is never done. The fruit of each seed brings forth more seeds, which contain in themselves more life, and more life, and more life. We are a part of God’s great harvest, and as we bear fruit we are invited to carry seeds to the whole wide world, that the fruit of the Good News in the love of God will be made known to all God’s children. Amen!
© 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.
© 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)