You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
I once asked a wise person how to cultivate joy. And he said, “Joy grows out of gratitude." So I’ve made an effort to foster an attitude of gratitude, as they say; to lead with thankfulness for what is, before I focus on what’s missing. Here are a few Thanksgiving Day thankfulnesses:
I am so grateful for this Water Daily community of readers, listeners, thinkers, commentators and pray-ers. I don’t know exactly how many or who reads or hears this on any given day, but some readers drop a note often enough to give me a sense that this is a conversation, even if I’m doing most of the talking.
And I am grateful for the opportunity to write (or often, eleven years in, re-write) this thing every day. Some days, I know exactly what I’m supposed to say and it comes flowing forth. The best days are when I didn’t know, and the Holy Spirit surprises me. Unsurprisingly, those are often the best posts and receive the most feedback. No matter what the process, it gives me a chance to engage with the gospel text for Sunday, and allows creativity to flow from parts of my consciousness that don’t always get the air time they should.
And I am grateful that these words help some preachers to connect with the passage in fresh ways, and some congregants to better appreciate the sermons they hear on Sunday. God is so all over this whole process, it makes me smile just to think of the space we’re giving the Spirit to play!
I wish the Americans among us a respite from the fear and division that has so gripped our land, a blessed and restful and delicious Thanksgiving weekend with loved ones; and all of you a time of grateful enjoyment of your own sweet self, and the Spirit of God.
That Passeth All Understanding
An awe so quiet
I don't know when it began.
A gratitude
had begun
to sing in me.
Was there
some moment
dividing
song from no song?
When does dewfall begin?
When does night
fold its arms over our hearts
to cherish them?
When is daybreak?
Denise Levertov, Oblique Prayers, New Directions, New York, 1984, p. 85
© Kate Heichler, 2024. 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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