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.
2-5-26 - The Spirit of the Law
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.
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.
2-4-26 - Gathering Light
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.
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.
© 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.
2-3-26 - Left For Salt
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Jesus said his disciples were to be “salt and light.” I’m not ready to leave the salt metaphor yet, for salt has properties beyond giving and catalyzing flavor. Salt can also act as a preservative, and was used for centuries before refrigeration came along to keep meat from spoiling. (How effectively, I don’t know, but if that's how we got bacon…)
As we are “salt for the earth,” we participate in this ministry of preserving life in systems – and people – that are decaying. We bring freshness, we bring flavor, we boost systems – and people – to be fruitful beyond what they thought possible. We hold life.
Where around you do you see a system or a person in need of preservation? Certainly we have to work to preserve healthy democracies, basic values of freedom and welcome, diversity and unity, protection for the vulnerable and equal rights and responsibilities for the many. In the church realm, we need continually to infuse the “old, old story” into our worship and missional life, not to preserve institutional structures, but to uphold fidelity to Jesus as Lord. Where else are we called to preserve what is essential, while being open to innovation and fresh ideas?
Salt also has another property: it facilitates water retention in the bloodstream. Too much salt can create unhealthy and unwanted effects, but just speaking metaphorically, how might we as “salt of the earth” help our communities to retain water – the living water which Jesus said wells up within us continually to eternal life? (John 4).
Where do you see thirst for spiritual life, for purpose and meaning, for connection to God and other people? Where are systems - churches, non-profits, families - running on empty? How might we as salt create little pools of water in a dry landscape, rivers in the desert, as the prophets foretold?
In the prophet Ezekiel’s great vision of a river flowing from the center of the temple out to arid places, fresh water renewing the stagnant waters so that a diversity of fish and fruit trees thrive, there is an interesting verse about that restored sea: “But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.” (Ezekiel 47:11) Salt flats are part of healthy wetlands.
Salt is essential to balance in our bloodstream. It is essential to balance in our natural environment. And we as salt are essential to bringing the Life of God to every system, every person, every place, so that all might be whole, and "the whole earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14)
© 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 said his disciples were to be “salt and light.” I’m not ready to leave the salt metaphor yet, for salt has properties beyond giving and catalyzing flavor. Salt can also act as a preservative, and was used for centuries before refrigeration came along to keep meat from spoiling. (How effectively, I don’t know, but if that's how we got bacon…)
As we are “salt for the earth,” we participate in this ministry of preserving life in systems – and people – that are decaying. We bring freshness, we bring flavor, we boost systems – and people – to be fruitful beyond what they thought possible. We hold life.
Where around you do you see a system or a person in need of preservation? Certainly we have to work to preserve healthy democracies, basic values of freedom and welcome, diversity and unity, protection for the vulnerable and equal rights and responsibilities for the many. In the church realm, we need continually to infuse the “old, old story” into our worship and missional life, not to preserve institutional structures, but to uphold fidelity to Jesus as Lord. Where else are we called to preserve what is essential, while being open to innovation and fresh ideas?
Salt also has another property: it facilitates water retention in the bloodstream. Too much salt can create unhealthy and unwanted effects, but just speaking metaphorically, how might we as “salt of the earth” help our communities to retain water – the living water which Jesus said wells up within us continually to eternal life? (John 4).
Where do you see thirst for spiritual life, for purpose and meaning, for connection to God and other people? Where are systems - churches, non-profits, families - running on empty? How might we as salt create little pools of water in a dry landscape, rivers in the desert, as the prophets foretold?
In the prophet Ezekiel’s great vision of a river flowing from the center of the temple out to arid places, fresh water renewing the stagnant waters so that a diversity of fish and fruit trees thrive, there is an interesting verse about that restored sea: “But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.” (Ezekiel 47:11) Salt flats are part of healthy wetlands.
Salt is essential to balance in our bloodstream. It is essential to balance in our natural environment. And we as salt are essential to bringing the Life of God to every system, every person, every place, so that all might be whole, and "the whole earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14)
© 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.
2-2-26 - Salty
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
As Jesus’ followers began to live and travel with him, they discovered just how many things they had to learn how to do: feed the hungry, proclaim the Gospel, encourage the poor, heal the sick – oh, and raise the dead when necessary. But he also told them how they were to be: “You are the salt of the earth.”
As we know, salt has many functions – flavor-enhancer, food-preserver, fluid-retainer are a few that come to mind. Jesus here refers to the first, to salt as an agent that adds flavor to food, and brings out the flavors in other ingredients. He suggests that this is a critical function of religious communities – that they both add and elicit flavor.
And if they’re bland or watered down… forget it. Jesus does not mince words about the consequences of salt having lost its flavor. “…but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Is he talking about the lukewarm, semi-corrupt religious leadership of Israel in his day? Or the tepid, play-it-safe ministry of so many churches today? Is he warning his followers to maintain their character no matter what comes at them?
How do we interpret this call to be “salt” in our spiritual lives and communities? First, we might think about where we add flavor and zest. What sectors of your life do you enliven because of who you are, and because of your connection to God? Work, school, family, ministry, play, church – these are a couple of spheres; you might name more. In recent years millions of ordinary people around the world have added “activist” to their resumes, carving out time for community organizing. That is being salt in the body politic. Ask God where you are called to be salt.
And how about this second function of salt, to bring out the natural flavors of other ingredients? How do you elicit the gifts and enthusiasms and generosity of the people with whom you interact in those spheres? How does – or doesn’t – your faith community do that within its larger context? How can we be salt in our world?
And who is adding salt to your life? Who is bringing forth your natural flavors? Does the interaction work to make something greater than the parts?
At its most basic level, this teaching of Jesus reminds us that our spiritual engagements need to be full of life and flavor, not rote, dull, lukewarm, complacent, or tired. I’d go further: God wants our whole lives to reflect the savory flavor of God’s love and mercy, justice and peace – and we're how that flavor gets in to what God is cooking up.
So into the shaker we go - get ready to be sprinkled.
© 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.
As Jesus’ followers began to live and travel with him, they discovered just how many things they had to learn how to do: feed the hungry, proclaim the Gospel, encourage the poor, heal the sick – oh, and raise the dead when necessary. But he also told them how they were to be: “You are the salt of the earth.”
As we know, salt has many functions – flavor-enhancer, food-preserver, fluid-retainer are a few that come to mind. Jesus here refers to the first, to salt as an agent that adds flavor to food, and brings out the flavors in other ingredients. He suggests that this is a critical function of religious communities – that they both add and elicit flavor.
And if they’re bland or watered down… forget it. Jesus does not mince words about the consequences of salt having lost its flavor. “…but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Is he talking about the lukewarm, semi-corrupt religious leadership of Israel in his day? Or the tepid, play-it-safe ministry of so many churches today? Is he warning his followers to maintain their character no matter what comes at them?
How do we interpret this call to be “salt” in our spiritual lives and communities? First, we might think about where we add flavor and zest. What sectors of your life do you enliven because of who you are, and because of your connection to God? Work, school, family, ministry, play, church – these are a couple of spheres; you might name more. In recent years millions of ordinary people around the world have added “activist” to their resumes, carving out time for community organizing. That is being salt in the body politic. Ask God where you are called to be salt.
And how about this second function of salt, to bring out the natural flavors of other ingredients? How do you elicit the gifts and enthusiasms and generosity of the people with whom you interact in those spheres? How does – or doesn’t – your faith community do that within its larger context? How can we be salt in our world?
And who is adding salt to your life? Who is bringing forth your natural flavors? Does the interaction work to make something greater than the parts?
At its most basic level, this teaching of Jesus reminds us that our spiritual engagements need to be full of life and flavor, not rote, dull, lukewarm, complacent, or tired. I’d go further: God wants our whole lives to reflect the savory flavor of God’s love and mercy, justice and peace – and we're how that flavor gets in to what God is cooking up.
So into the shaker we go - get ready to be sprinkled.
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
1-30-26 - Blessed Are
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Having spent the week delving into Paul’s teaching about the Cross and the way God effects transformation through what looks like weakness and failure, we turn now to Sunday’s gospel passage, the Beatitudes. In this first training talk with his new disciples, Jesus chimes the same theme – that those who follow him will find they are blessed in just the areas that look to the world like weakness and insignificance.
Blessed are the poor in spirit…. those who mourn.. the meek… those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… the merciful… the pure in heart… the peacemakers… those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
I have never been fond of the Beatitudes, perhaps because I want blessings to look like blessings – good health, good job, comfortable living, peace and security. When I exhort people to “expect blessing,” hardship and hunger are not what I have in mind. And looking at the state of our nation and our world, I am not comforted by this reminder that Jesus had a much deeper kind of blessing in mind. Gee, thanks!
I am not predicting that the hardships Jesus’ original disciples endured are ahead for us. I hope not, as I pray daily, “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.” I do know, though, that to count myself a disciple of Jesus means I need to be prepared, to learn to locate blessing in the presence of God unleashed on this earth, not in my own circumstances. And I need to remember daily that I am to be an agent of that unleashing, that releasing of God’s power to love, to heal, to forgive, to have mercy, to make peace. It is not our power, but God’s, which we receive through Christ, and pass along through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are to expect blessing, but we don’t get to write the script. The blessings may not come as direct answers to our prayers. They come as God gives from a heart of generosity and love and more knowledge than we will ever have. The more we open ourselves to that flow, the more we experience it, whatever our circumstances. It is both now and later. Our future, and our daily bread, is blessing beyond measure. Own it!
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Having spent the week delving into Paul’s teaching about the Cross and the way God effects transformation through what looks like weakness and failure, we turn now to Sunday’s gospel passage, the Beatitudes. In this first training talk with his new disciples, Jesus chimes the same theme – that those who follow him will find they are blessed in just the areas that look to the world like weakness and insignificance.
Blessed are the poor in spirit…. those who mourn.. the meek… those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… the merciful… the pure in heart… the peacemakers… those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
I have never been fond of the Beatitudes, perhaps because I want blessings to look like blessings – good health, good job, comfortable living, peace and security. When I exhort people to “expect blessing,” hardship and hunger are not what I have in mind. And looking at the state of our nation and our world, I am not comforted by this reminder that Jesus had a much deeper kind of blessing in mind. Gee, thanks!
I am not predicting that the hardships Jesus’ original disciples endured are ahead for us. I hope not, as I pray daily, “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.” I do know, though, that to count myself a disciple of Jesus means I need to be prepared, to learn to locate blessing in the presence of God unleashed on this earth, not in my own circumstances. And I need to remember daily that I am to be an agent of that unleashing, that releasing of God’s power to love, to heal, to forgive, to have mercy, to make peace. It is not our power, but God’s, which we receive through Christ, and pass along through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are to expect blessing, but we don’t get to write the script. The blessings may not come as direct answers to our prayers. They come as God gives from a heart of generosity and love and more knowledge than we will ever have. The more we open ourselves to that flow, the more we experience it, whatever our circumstances. It is both now and later. Our future, and our daily bread, is blessing beyond measure. Own it!
© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
1-29-26 - God's Foolishness
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's epistle reading is here.
I’ve never been a big fan of rallies and marches – they take a lot of time and resources to organize, divert people’s energies from more strategic action on the issue being marched for, and rarely change anyone’s mind. But on the occasions when I have participated in such events, especially ones that draw hundreds of thousands of people together to bear witness to a desire for justice and equity, I understand their power: a power based not on might or authority, but on agreement, on ordinary people coming together to become a political force. They send a message of empowerment to those who are regarded – or regard themselves – as foolish, weak, low and despised, things that are not. They can remind us of the power we have when we come together as the “insignificant." We can overcome evil. And when we come together in Jesus’ name, in the name of the One who allowed himself to become shamed, weak, low and despised, evil does not have a chance.
For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
Great words – but evil is still having a good run, is it not, when governments turn guns on their own citizens; when people of color remain more likely to be shot by police and denied opportunities afforded white people; when hunger continues to devastate some communities and countries, while much of the world throws away food as waste? We will never run out of injustices to protest – what power do we have?
I’ve shared before a definition of the devil, whom Christians regard as the source of evil in this world, as “the enemy of human nature.” Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 that “our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Yes, we are called as those “who are not” – in the sight of the powers that be – to reduce to nothing things that are. But our weapons are spiritual and communal, not destructive.
The Good News we have been called to proclaim is this story of God’s great reversal, of God’s lifting up those who are downcast. It has always been good news to the poor and those on the margins; less so to the wealthy and powerful. And where we are wealthy and powerful, we need to consider God’s call to humility and justice.
As we embody this good news, we bring it into being, this realm of God in which peace and justice already reign. Let it be so on earth, as it is in heaven.
© 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.
I’ve never been a big fan of rallies and marches – they take a lot of time and resources to organize, divert people’s energies from more strategic action on the issue being marched for, and rarely change anyone’s mind. But on the occasions when I have participated in such events, especially ones that draw hundreds of thousands of people together to bear witness to a desire for justice and equity, I understand their power: a power based not on might or authority, but on agreement, on ordinary people coming together to become a political force. They send a message of empowerment to those who are regarded – or regard themselves – as foolish, weak, low and despised, things that are not. They can remind us of the power we have when we come together as the “insignificant." We can overcome evil. And when we come together in Jesus’ name, in the name of the One who allowed himself to become shamed, weak, low and despised, evil does not have a chance.
For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
Great words – but evil is still having a good run, is it not, when governments turn guns on their own citizens; when people of color remain more likely to be shot by police and denied opportunities afforded white people; when hunger continues to devastate some communities and countries, while much of the world throws away food as waste? We will never run out of injustices to protest – what power do we have?
I’ve shared before a definition of the devil, whom Christians regard as the source of evil in this world, as “the enemy of human nature.” Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12 that “our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers, the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Yes, we are called as those “who are not” – in the sight of the powers that be – to reduce to nothing things that are. But our weapons are spiritual and communal, not destructive.
The Good News we have been called to proclaim is this story of God’s great reversal, of God’s lifting up those who are downcast. It has always been good news to the poor and those on the margins; less so to the wealthy and powerful. And where we are wealthy and powerful, we need to consider God’s call to humility and justice.
As we embody this good news, we bring it into being, this realm of God in which peace and justice already reign. Let it be so on earth, as it is in heaven.
© 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.
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