You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
This is how I understand Jesus' transfiguration: that in this moment he is revealed as pure light, an energy form that radiated brightness. Whatever the cause, the effect was surely splendid, and probably terrifying. And to deepen the scary, it was followed by the appearance of two dead people, conversing as if alive. But none of this seems to frighten the watching disciples; Peter’s only reaction is to want to build three shelters so they can hang out together.
Yet, when a bright cloud comes over them, with a voice in it, suddenly they’re petrified: While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.
We can absorb unusual experiences until there is too much “unusual” and our circuits overload. Or were the disciples fine as long as they could see – but when their sight was obscured by a cloud that spoke, then they panicked? Or was it that they knew in their spirits that God was speaking to them – and they could hear with their ears? OR was it what that voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” They must have heard the stories about Jesus’ baptism, when a voice from heaven was heard to say almost the same words. Were they overcome by fear because now it was unmistakable – that Jesus was in fact God's Son, holy, divine? Now there was no going back?
True movements of God that we experience with our physical senses tend to be deeply frightening – they’re so far outside our expectation. Many of us encounter God with our spiritual senses; that’s powerful enough. But when we perceive the holy with the same senses that engage the rest of life? Look out! We can’t pretend to be manufacturing it – we’re either crazy, or in God’s presence – and neither possibility is comforting. I only had one experience even remotely like that, on a retreat, when I felt a room I was in filled with a presence that was so completely “Other,” it seemed to be God or an angel… I’ll never know if it was, because I ran from the room back to where other people were.
It can be hard for us to relate to the shock of recognizing Jesus as God… this is a story handed down to us rather than experienced first-hand. And for many it’s such a familiar story, it can be hard to feel the emotions being related. So let’s think today:- Are there times when you’ve been overcome by the presence of God in a way that scared you?
- Have your physical senses ever been overwhelmed so that you had to rely on spiritual perception?
- Does your expectation of God include experiences that seem supernatural, like this one?
- Do you think the Spirit wants you to be open to more?
What are we really afraid of? Fear is never the end of a holy encounter. Someone always comes along to say, “Be not afraid.” It was no different on the mountain: “But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.”
Every spiritual experience, no matter how deep or frightening, comes to an end. Our perceptions normalize; reality returns. And then we’re left with what? “No one, except Jesus himself alone.” Sounds like a pretty good deal to me…
© 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.
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Who among us doesn’t want to keep a good thing going, forever if possible? A perfect day, a lovely dinner, the “in-love” phase of a relationship… And we can’t. Days become twilight; meals yield to fullness and digestion; relationships evolve into other phases. Even the most fiery sunset dims, just about the time you get your camera ready.
But this was a really good thing, up there on that mountain – Jesus, and Moses, and Elijah. You don’t get bigger than that trifecta if you’re a Jew in occupied Israel in what would later be termed the first century: Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
So helpful, our Peter. He’ll just whip out the hammer and nails and make three little huts, nothing fancy. And who among us doesn’t recognize that impulse? To fix it, capture it, make it last? I keep taking pictures of my cats in adorable poses, even when I know I've taken the same pictures before, even with other cats. Because I want to keep them forever.
Are there things in your life you’re afraid will change or end, that you’d like to fix in place, build a shrine to? Children, friends, homes, work? It’s great to love something or someone wonderful. But when we try to cling to that, we sometimes close off other gifts God has to give us, gifts that might build on the ones we have, blessings that might even include what we’re trying to keep, yet allow that to grow into fullness. When we don’t try to save the precious things, but use and enjoy them, willing to have them end or run out, we often experience more abundance in our lives. When we enjoy the precious people, willing to see them grow up and even away, we experience a deeper, freer kind of love.
Today in prayer bring those people and things to mind, and offer them to God to bless. Offer them with open hands, and a heart willing to grow God-ward. God rarely takes away what we love; God just might show us something deeper and richer about that beloved than we can see from our current “holding” perspective.
It’s kind of funny, a fisherman offering to build a carpenter a hut. Maybe not as funny as that carpenter setting the bait and reeling those fisherman in to become the greatest catch of all, a catch that even includes us.
© 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.
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
As a young tourist, one of my favorite things was the “Son et Lumière” shows often mounted at major attractions like ruins or castles or natural wonders. Colored lights played off the site, synchronized with music, punctuated by the “ooohs” and “ahhhs” of the appreciative crowd.
Something like that awaited Peter, James and John during their trip up the mountain with Jesus. First the light: And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.
The sound part came a moment later – and it wasn’t music, but conversation with two people long since departed this earth: Moses and Elijah, Israel’s prophets extraordinaire, and mountain-top witnesses of divine glory. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.”
Were they there to signal that the revelation of God in Christ was in continuity with the revelation of Israel’s past? Were they Exhibits A and B for The Law and The Prophets? Matthew doesn’t tell us what they’re discussing, though Luke says, “They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” Whatever the meaning, their presence was a major sign that God was up to something. “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.”
Most of us don’t experience God with sound and light and visions. Is that because God isn’t revealing God’s self in that way, or because we’ve so reduced our expectations that we figure a glorious sunset is the closest we’re going to get? It’s tricky – we can’t conjure up manifestations of divinity. We can, however, be open to them – and notice when we come across them.- How do you most powerfully experience the holy?
- Have you had experiences that you’d categorize as supernatural?
- What happened, and what was the fruit of that experience in your life?
- And do you share that story? It builds up other people's faith to hear our holy stories.
God shows up in so many ways in our lives. The more we become attuned to the movement of the divine in and around us, the more we experience it.
And whether it’s eavesdropping on Biblical heroes or marveling at the presence of wild creatures in our back yards, there are sound and light shows all over for us to stumble upon, as we keep our spiritual eyes and ears open.
© 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.
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is 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. In our sacred scriptures, mountains are places where God reveals God’s self to human beings. 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. And on this mountain, 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.
© 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.
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 who 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 saviour? As St. Paul, Martin Luther, John Wesley and a host of other saints of the church came to realize, 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 persons, not just good persons.
© 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.
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
This Sunday’s gospel puts us in the front row at one of Jesus’ training sessions for his new disciples. After the "salt and light" chat, he switches gears: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”
Since Jesus often argued with the standard bearers of the religious Law, we might conclude that he superseded the old revelation or “testament.” But I doubt Jesus would divide the scriptures into “new” and “old” the way we have. He articulates a continuity that frustrates our neat categories. Jesus seems to critique not the Law itself but the way the Law is interpreted. He accuses the Pharisees and other leaders of being heavy-handed and hypocritical in their expectations of people, emphasizing the “letter” of nitpicking rules while ignoring the spirit of love behind the whole of Torah.
Mostly, he pulls back the camera for a big picture view. When religious leaders want to stone an adulterous woman, he doesn’t talk about the law that permits her execution. He shows it is wrongly administered, indicting the accusers for ignoring their own sinfulness. When attacked for healing on the Sabbath, he reminds his detractors how they act when their families or possessions are at risk. He suggests that it is in interpretation that the leaders get it wrong.
The Law of the Lord was intended as gift, and instead became distorted and wielded as an instrument of condemnation – often by people who weren’t nearly as compliant as they expected everyone else to be. None of us immune to this – we hope for wiggle room in some areas, while in others we expect people to toe the line.
In what areas do you have high expectations of behavior from others – and from yourself? These may be the same areas in which high standards were expected of you by someone else, a parent or teacher or friend. One way of identifying those areas is by noticing what causes you to become indignant or self- righteous. Are you being invited to be more merciful?
And what are the issues about which you feel more lenient? What do you think God is saying to you about those areas – has God lowered standards, or do you just more fully understand God’s grace in those places?
We always have to hold in tension God’s righteousness and God’s mercy – we can never fully grasp how those two irreconcilables go together. But, happily for us, they do. Jesus did not seek to abolish the Law – only to show that no one is righteous enough to keep it, let alone hold it against others. Until he came along.
Jesus’ gift was to fulfill the demands of the Law in such a way that we are set free from its condemnation – and thus free to live fully into the Love at its heart. Let's try that on.
© 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.
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Someone once asked me if I see better with my contact lenses than with glasses. I replied, “Actually, I see less well with them. But I don’t wear contacts to see better – I wear them to be seen better.” Vanity, vanity.
When Jesus tells his followers, “You are the light of the world,” he seems to mean light less as something that helps you see, than as something that helps you to be seen. “A city built on a hill cannot be hid,” he points out.
And, lest they don’t connect cities on hills and lights of the worlds, he goes domestic: “No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Perhaps Jesus' original followers were Anglicans – faithful and devoted, but not wanting anyone around them to know that. "Shhhhh – I go to church… I believe in God… I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but I don't want anybody to know….” Maybe they figured everyone already knew. Maybe they figured modesty was a virtue.
Well, guess what? It’s not a virtue when it comes to talking about our faith! When we are proclaiming the incredible news that God is on a mission to love the world back into wholeness, we are invited to be as loud and immodest as we possibly can. There are a lot of people with broken parts who need to hear that news, you and I among them.
So many in Christ’s church are so quiet about the power of God’s life in the world – maybe as a consequence of living in cultures where Christianity dominates. Well, those days are over. Many people around us were raised in secular homes, and have never heard that church is about anything but money and judgment, and they know little about Jesus. The world needs the light we carry, and we need to shine it brightly to give light to “all in the house.”
We need to let our good works show, not so we can get the credit, but so we can highlight God's power, and so we can inspire others to join us. Sometimes the “good works” we do – the outreach projects, shelter meals, advocacy, visiting ministries – are the easiest place for people we know to join us in our faith lives. And once they’re working with us, it’s not so hard to share how we are fed spiritually.- Where in your life do you most feel you are most visible as “the light of the world?” Where are you least?
- What is it about the first that allows you to be “out” as a Christ-follower, or hope-bearer? What is it about the second that inhibits you?
- What are you most proud of in your Christian life? Can you broadcast that, show it off? It glorifies God when we give thanks for what God is doing through us.
Elsewhere in the gospels we read that Jesus is the Light of the world, and here he says we are. That’s a part of his identity we get to share. If he calls us that, we can be sure he will fill us with his light – and his light doesn’t quit. His light conquers the darkness. His light sets up a glow in us that the whole world can see - as we let it shine.
© 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.
