You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
“When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him…”
Joseph was a paragon of virtue, it would appear, a man who did what God commanded even when it exposed him to shame and ridicule – and ultimately danger, once the implications of being step-father to God’s son became apparent. Yet Joseph excelled at obeying.
I’m not fond of the word “obey.” There is a hymn I've never liked, for I believe it captures all the legalistic religiosity I spend much energy countering:
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way /
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
“Yes, there is!” I want to shout. “There is the way of grace and acceptance and doing good on the power of the Spirit, not on our own!” As one whose faith came alive under a steady stream of preaching about the grace of God, and who is keenly aware of the limits of willpower, I prefer to stress the unconditional love of God that we receive despite our frequent failure to obey. Obedience is so closely linked in my mind to legalism, I react negatively, despite my general compliance.
And yet, here is Joseph, reminding me of the power that can be unleashed when we simply obey. Joseph’s obedience may have been a product of a self-disciplined nature. Or maybe it resulted from the very clear and powerful, supernatural encounter he had in his dream with an angel of the Lord – reinforced, no doubt, by Mary’s tale of her own angelic encounter. We might find ourselves more inclined toward obeying and following God's guidance as we get more in touch with our own divine encounters. They may not be as dramatic as Joseph’s and Mary's, but they are real.
So... when did you last sense the Spirit of God nudging you or instructing you in some way? When did you last sense the presence of God around you or see evidence of God’s handiwork in your life or in the world?
If you can’t think of anything… there might be a prayer in that, asking God to help you become more aware, or to open your own heart a little wider to what is happening in the unseen realm of spirit.
It is hard to trust, let alone obey, a total stranger. If we keep God at arm’s length or at a polite distance, we are less able to discern the leaps of faith we are invited to take. God may never ask us to take a leap like Joseph did… Then again, God does invite us, like Joseph, to nurture the Christ-life in ourselves and in others, every day of the year.
We don’t have to escort a pregnant woman to Bethlehem… we just have to get ourselves there, and trust God to walk with us no matter what comes.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
12-17-25 - God With Us
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Matthew the Gospel writer is big on linking events he is telling about to things foretold by Hebrew prophets. After all, he was writing the Good News for a predominantly Jewish audience, many of whom needed convincing that this Jesus movement was in line with received revelation.
So, after he tells us about Joseph’s dream, in which an angel instructs Joseph to go forward with his marriage to Mary, “for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit,” Matthew adds, “All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Emmanu-el. That’s one big claim in one big name: God with us. Not "God far away," not "God too holy to be approached" – God with us. That’s the heart of our whole deal as Christians. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” (John 1:14)
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and God will dwell with them.’” (Revelation 21:3)
It is a radical thing to say God is with us. It means we can’t say we’ve been abandoned, no matter how alone we might feel. It means we can’t place God at an unreachable distance from ourselves or our world. In Christ, we have been granted entrée to the throne of God, “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:17)
Does it change our perception on the challenges we face in life, knowing that God is with us? Think about the things you feel are insurmountable, or the places you feel powerless. Now bring those up in prayer, in the context of God’s “with-us-ness.” How does it feel to pray to God with you? To pray with God, not to God. Too often we pray to God-far-away. Jesus is God-with-us.
Can we start to take advantage of the proximity and access that are ours as members of the household of God and citizens of the realm of God? Maybe play with places in your imagination where you might go to talk with Jesus in prayer. “The Word is very near you – on your lips and in your heart,” Paul tells us in Romans 10:8, quoting Deuteronomy. What's the good of all this access if we don't use it?
Emmanu-el has drawn near to us in love.
God is with us, always.
We can go away; God will not.
How will you live today, owning that truth deep in your being? How will you share that gift?
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Matthew the Gospel writer is big on linking events he is telling about to things foretold by Hebrew prophets. After all, he was writing the Good News for a predominantly Jewish audience, many of whom needed convincing that this Jesus movement was in line with received revelation.
So, after he tells us about Joseph’s dream, in which an angel instructs Joseph to go forward with his marriage to Mary, “for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit,” Matthew adds, “All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Emmanu-el. That’s one big claim in one big name: God with us. Not "God far away," not "God too holy to be approached" – God with us. That’s the heart of our whole deal as Christians. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” (John 1:14)
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and God will dwell with them.’” (Revelation 21:3)
It is a radical thing to say God is with us. It means we can’t say we’ve been abandoned, no matter how alone we might feel. It means we can’t place God at an unreachable distance from ourselves or our world. In Christ, we have been granted entrée to the throne of God, “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:17)
Does it change our perception on the challenges we face in life, knowing that God is with us? Think about the things you feel are insurmountable, or the places you feel powerless. Now bring those up in prayer, in the context of God’s “with-us-ness.” How does it feel to pray to God with you? To pray with God, not to God. Too often we pray to God-far-away. Jesus is God-with-us.
Can we start to take advantage of the proximity and access that are ours as members of the household of God and citizens of the realm of God? Maybe play with places in your imagination where you might go to talk with Jesus in prayer. “The Word is very near you – on your lips and in your heart,” Paul tells us in Romans 10:8, quoting Deuteronomy. What's the good of all this access if we don't use it?
Emmanu-el has drawn near to us in love.
God is with us, always.
We can go away; God will not.
How will you live today, owning that truth deep in your being? How will you share that gift?
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-16-25 - Field of Dreams
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
One of my favorite “faith movies” of all time is Field of Dreams. I saw it 11 times in a year – in theatres. It tells the story of an Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella who hears a whispered voice telling him to plow under a fruitful field of corn and build a ballpark. This is economic and agricultural madness, and yet he becomes convinced of the voice’s reality. Equally nutty instructions follow, leading to the impossible reality that Babe Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson and other now-dead baseball greats of yore start coming through the corn to play on the field and interact with Ray and his family.
Ray’s wife supports him following these instructions – but it’s hard. Is he losing his mind? At a crucial point, when she’s ready to give up, they both have the same dream one night, giving them the confirmation they need to stay on this seemingly insane course and follow where it leads.
Joseph of Nazareth had a LOT of dreams. Like his namesake, the Joseph of the woven cloak and jealous brothers, the New Testament Joseph received regular angelic communications through his dreams. Unlike the Joseph of Torah, however, whose dreams were symbolic and required interpretation, Joseph of Nazareth gets clear instructions, “Do this,” “Go there,” “Don’t go there,” “Okay, it’s safe now…”
In Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, the angels just show up directly to people like Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, unmediated by REM sleep and human processes. They’re just there – “Look out! Be not afraid!” The writer of Matthew either heard different stories, or maybe thought Luke was embellishing things, for in his telling the angels speak only through dreams. And in Matthew, it is Joseph who receives the divine message that in Luke is delivered to Mary.
After Joseph learns of Mary’s premature pregnancy, and resolves to divorce her quietly, “…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
God gave Joseph the information he needed to walk in faith. Have you ever had a “God dream?” What message did you discern? Did you act on it?
In what ways do you sense the Holy Spirit communicates with you? In prayer directly? Through events and coincidences? By a strong sense or urge to do or say something that bears good fruit? Through meditating on the Word of God? I have a friend who gets pop song lyrics in her head – always with a message that suggests answers or guidance.
I believe the Holy One is often messaging us. As we tune our receivers, we begin to discern those messages more often. And when we do, we check that our interpretation is not contrary to what we read in Scripture. We can also seek confirmation from others in our community of faith. If the Spirit suggests you do something radical, the Spirit will give someone else confirmation for you.
In Field of Dreams, as in our nativity story, the instructions in dreams lead, ultimately, to love, to reunion and reconciliation and restoration. Which is where all God dreams ultimately lead… Joseph’s, and mine, and yours.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
One of my favorite “faith movies” of all time is Field of Dreams. I saw it 11 times in a year – in theatres. It tells the story of an Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella who hears a whispered voice telling him to plow under a fruitful field of corn and build a ballpark. This is economic and agricultural madness, and yet he becomes convinced of the voice’s reality. Equally nutty instructions follow, leading to the impossible reality that Babe Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson and other now-dead baseball greats of yore start coming through the corn to play on the field and interact with Ray and his family.
Ray’s wife supports him following these instructions – but it’s hard. Is he losing his mind? At a crucial point, when she’s ready to give up, they both have the same dream one night, giving them the confirmation they need to stay on this seemingly insane course and follow where it leads.
Joseph of Nazareth had a LOT of dreams. Like his namesake, the Joseph of the woven cloak and jealous brothers, the New Testament Joseph received regular angelic communications through his dreams. Unlike the Joseph of Torah, however, whose dreams were symbolic and required interpretation, Joseph of Nazareth gets clear instructions, “Do this,” “Go there,” “Don’t go there,” “Okay, it’s safe now…”
In Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, the angels just show up directly to people like Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, unmediated by REM sleep and human processes. They’re just there – “Look out! Be not afraid!” The writer of Matthew either heard different stories, or maybe thought Luke was embellishing things, for in his telling the angels speak only through dreams. And in Matthew, it is Joseph who receives the divine message that in Luke is delivered to Mary.
After Joseph learns of Mary’s premature pregnancy, and resolves to divorce her quietly, “…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
God gave Joseph the information he needed to walk in faith. Have you ever had a “God dream?” What message did you discern? Did you act on it?
In what ways do you sense the Holy Spirit communicates with you? In prayer directly? Through events and coincidences? By a strong sense or urge to do or say something that bears good fruit? Through meditating on the Word of God? I have a friend who gets pop song lyrics in her head – always with a message that suggests answers or guidance.
I believe the Holy One is often messaging us. As we tune our receivers, we begin to discern those messages more often. And when we do, we check that our interpretation is not contrary to what we read in Scripture. We can also seek confirmation from others in our community of faith. If the Spirit suggests you do something radical, the Spirit will give someone else confirmation for you.
In Field of Dreams, as in our nativity story, the instructions in dreams lead, ultimately, to love, to reunion and reconciliation and restoration. Which is where all God dreams ultimately lead… Joseph’s, and mine, and yours.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-15-25 - Stepping Up
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Ah, at last we get to the story, the story we tell and re-tell about the angels and the shepherds and the sweet young woman great with child and... Oh, wait, not quite that story. Angels, yes, but only in dreams. No shepherds or inn-keepers in Matthew’s pageant. In fact, he barely works Mary in, naming her only as Jesus’ mother and Joseph’s betrothed. This is Joseph’s story, as Matthew tells it: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
Interestingly, Matthew does not refer to Joseph as Jesus’ father – in fact, he tips the “messianic secret” in the first line. Mary is introduced as mother and fiancée, but all the action here is with Joseph – his challenges, his choices.
We are told he is a righteous man, and we can see how gentle is his response to the news of Mary’s pregnancy, intending to dissolve the betrothal in quiet so as to protect her from legal liability as an adulteress. Then an angel intervenes in a dream, giving him the rundown that, in Luke, Mary hears directly from the angel Gabriel.
And Joseph decides to obey this dream message, despite his own misgivings and the likely derision of the people close to him. He does so honorably, and endures Mary’s "confinement" without marital gratification – all the while preparing to welcome and raise a first-born whom he knows is not his biological child. In today’s idiom we might say, “Joseph totally steps up, dude.” (Randy Travis tells his story – and The Whole Story – in Raise Him Up.)
Who in your life has stepped up for you, above and beyond their “duty?” Relatives, teachers, colleagues, friends…. Let your gratitude fill you – and if they’re still around to be thanked, thank them again.
Who or what you are being called to nurture into strong, healthy growth? Who are you helping to “raise up?” What are you helping to build? Remember this is God’s work, work God invites us to participate in. The results are not up to us, but sometimes the work won't happen if we don't agree to do it.
God asked Joseph to participate in a critical role in the plan of salvation that we claim as Christians. It was not an easy “yes,” any easier than Mary’s was. But Joseph said yes – and so helped to raise us up in the Life of God.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Ah, at last we get to the story, the story we tell and re-tell about the angels and the shepherds and the sweet young woman great with child and... Oh, wait, not quite that story. Angels, yes, but only in dreams. No shepherds or inn-keepers in Matthew’s pageant. In fact, he barely works Mary in, naming her only as Jesus’ mother and Joseph’s betrothed. This is Joseph’s story, as Matthew tells it: Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
Interestingly, Matthew does not refer to Joseph as Jesus’ father – in fact, he tips the “messianic secret” in the first line. Mary is introduced as mother and fiancée, but all the action here is with Joseph – his challenges, his choices.
We are told he is a righteous man, and we can see how gentle is his response to the news of Mary’s pregnancy, intending to dissolve the betrothal in quiet so as to protect her from legal liability as an adulteress. Then an angel intervenes in a dream, giving him the rundown that, in Luke, Mary hears directly from the angel Gabriel.
And Joseph decides to obey this dream message, despite his own misgivings and the likely derision of the people close to him. He does so honorably, and endures Mary’s "confinement" without marital gratification – all the while preparing to welcome and raise a first-born whom he knows is not his biological child. In today’s idiom we might say, “Joseph totally steps up, dude.” (Randy Travis tells his story – and The Whole Story – in Raise Him Up.)
Who in your life has stepped up for you, above and beyond their “duty?” Relatives, teachers, colleagues, friends…. Let your gratitude fill you – and if they’re still around to be thanked, thank them again.
Who or what you are being called to nurture into strong, healthy growth? Who are you helping to “raise up?” What are you helping to build? Remember this is God’s work, work God invites us to participate in. The results are not up to us, but sometimes the work won't happen if we don't agree to do it.
God asked Joseph to participate in a critical role in the plan of salvation that we claim as Christians. It was not an easy “yes,” any easier than Mary’s was. But Joseph said yes – and so helped to raise us up in the Life of God.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-12-25 - Hitting the Highway
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's reading from the Hebrew Bible is here.
We are on a journey in this life – that’s a truth, if trite. We are ever on the move away from or toward home. Isaiah, in his prophecy about the return of Israel’s exiles to their homeland, writes of a royal highway on which no one, not even a fool, can get lost: "A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way…no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray."
For a people separated from their homeland, these were words of deep promise and hope – "Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.'"
In our world right now an unprecedented number of people are exiled from their homelands – over 122.6 million forcibly displaced, according to the World Bank. This may not be our literal experience, yet each of has some areas in which we feel far from what we want, or who we love, or from the kind of peace and wholeness we crave. That highway is there for us too – and it leads to healing.
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy."
In the season of Advent we are invited to get in touch with what it is we yearn for; what – or who – we are waiting for. What is that for you? How do you fill in the blank, “When I have….,” or “When I am…, then I’ll be okay?”
We are on a journey in this life – that’s a truth, if trite. We are ever on the move away from or toward home. Isaiah, in his prophecy about the return of Israel’s exiles to their homeland, writes of a royal highway on which no one, not even a fool, can get lost: "A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way…no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray."
For a people separated from their homeland, these were words of deep promise and hope – "Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.'"
In our world right now an unprecedented number of people are exiled from their homelands – over 122.6 million forcibly displaced, according to the World Bank. This may not be our literal experience, yet each of has some areas in which we feel far from what we want, or who we love, or from the kind of peace and wholeness we crave. That highway is there for us too – and it leads to healing.
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy."
In the season of Advent we are invited to get in touch with what it is we yearn for; what – or who – we are waiting for. What is that for you? How do you fill in the blank, “When I have….,” or “When I am…, then I’ll be okay?”
Where do you want to get that you are not already?
The Good News is that this highway is already accessible to us, to bring us closer to our own hearts, and to the heart of the God who awaits us at the end of every road we travel. It is a highway for those who have been redeemed, set free, by the love of Jesus Christ for humankind. And it sounds like a mighty fun road, with joy and laughter –
"And the redeemed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
What we celebrate in this season, what we anticipate, is that day when sorrow and sighing are gone for good. Even now we glimpse that day in moments, in bursts – it is coming; it is here; it is ahead on that royal road, that highway to heaven, right here on earth.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
The Good News is that this highway is already accessible to us, to bring us closer to our own hearts, and to the heart of the God who awaits us at the end of every road we travel. It is a highway for those who have been redeemed, set free, by the love of Jesus Christ for humankind. And it sounds like a mighty fun road, with joy and laughter –
"And the redeemed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
What we celebrate in this season, what we anticipate, is that day when sorrow and sighing are gone for good. Even now we glimpse that day in moments, in bursts – it is coming; it is here; it is ahead on that royal road, that highway to heaven, right here on earth.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-11-25 - Streams In the Desert
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's reading from the Hebrew bible is here.
For the rest of the week, I’d like to turn to the portion of Hebrew scripture appointed for Sunday – a beautiful prophecy of restoration and hope from Isaiah 35. It speaks of the day when the travails of the exiles are lifted and they travel once again to their homeland. In the poetry of the prophet, the land itself joins in celebration:
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
Deserts are fascinating places – often rich with plants and trees, vegetation that thrives under challenging conditions – wind, sun, drought. Some seasons in our lives are like that. Sometimes one area feels arid while others seem more productive. One fruit of spiritual growth is knowing we can thrive under conditions that are less than ideal as well as during times of plenty.
For the rest of the week, I’d like to turn to the portion of Hebrew scripture appointed for Sunday – a beautiful prophecy of restoration and hope from Isaiah 35. It speaks of the day when the travails of the exiles are lifted and they travel once again to their homeland. In the poetry of the prophet, the land itself joins in celebration:
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
Deserts are fascinating places – often rich with plants and trees, vegetation that thrives under challenging conditions – wind, sun, drought. Some seasons in our lives are like that. Sometimes one area feels arid while others seem more productive. One fruit of spiritual growth is knowing we can thrive under conditions that are less than ideal as well as during times of plenty.
- What feels dry in your life at the moment?
- What pains you these days? What are you anxious about?
- What are you anxious about?
- What do you yearn for that feels far off?
- What are you thirsty for?
Name those things – lay them before the Lord in your prayer.
Much of what we do in prayer is become aware of what’s going on within us, so we can invite God’s Spirit into those places. Another name for God’s Spirit is the River of Life – coursing through us, splashing into the thirsty spaces, cleansing, healing, refreshing, renewing, carrying away all the debris that holds us back from really living the life God has given us to live. Here is a promise:
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
Whatever in your life has become dry or brittle can be renewed. Ask for water - as the Spirit comes, streams of living water will break forth in you.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Much of what we do in prayer is become aware of what’s going on within us, so we can invite God’s Spirit into those places. Another name for God’s Spirit is the River of Life – coursing through us, splashing into the thirsty spaces, cleansing, healing, refreshing, renewing, carrying away all the debris that holds us back from really living the life God has given us to live. Here is a promise:
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
Whatever in your life has become dry or brittle can be renewed. Ask for water - as the Spirit comes, streams of living water will break forth in you.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-10-25 - Greater Than John?
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Advent introduces us to John the Baptist – who he was, why he was the way he was, what impact he had. Some people in his day thought he was the Messiah, or an incarnation of the prophet Elijah – until Herod imprisoned and later had him executed at the whim of his step-daughter. John truly was a holy man, and Jesus speaks of him as such: “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist.”
And then he says something even more extraordinary: “…yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
What was that about mountains being brought low and valleys lifted up; the “mighty cast down from their thrones” and the lowly being exalted? Here is Jesus, articulating again that equalizing quality of the Realm of God – that equalizing which was so challenging to people in his own day, and has remained so in the thousands of years since.
To say that “the first will be last, and the last first,” that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to “little children,” that the least “important” member of the household of God is greater than a saint like John – that’s radical. That’s a challenge to those who feel themselves to be important, and it’s an invitation to those who do not.
Can you imagine yourself greater than a prophet like John the Baptist? Can you imagine yourself as valuable, as worthy of honor? Because Jesus says that is true – that those who consider themselves “in the kingdom of heaven” are that valuable, that worthy, that remarkable, that beloved.
My spiritual suggestion for today is to simply sit with that idea, of being that important in the realm of God. No one is more important than you. Try that on. How does it make you sit? Walk? Talk? Think?
Write down some of the reasons why you are so valuable in God’s eyes. We need to know that, to claim it, not so we can become big-headed, but so we can give God the glory. That’s what we’re here for – to glorify God in how we live and give.
Of course it’s not a popularity contest or a competition. My knowing myself to be that worthy doesn’t diminish the importance of John the Baptist – he’s the one who said, as Jesus’ ministry grew more public, “He must increase; I must decrease.”
I can just imagine the smile on John’s face growing bigger the more we recognize our worthiness in the eyes of God. I can imagine him looking at Jesus and nodding. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere…”
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Advent introduces us to John the Baptist – who he was, why he was the way he was, what impact he had. Some people in his day thought he was the Messiah, or an incarnation of the prophet Elijah – until Herod imprisoned and later had him executed at the whim of his step-daughter. John truly was a holy man, and Jesus speaks of him as such: “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist.”
And then he says something even more extraordinary: “…yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
What was that about mountains being brought low and valleys lifted up; the “mighty cast down from their thrones” and the lowly being exalted? Here is Jesus, articulating again that equalizing quality of the Realm of God – that equalizing which was so challenging to people in his own day, and has remained so in the thousands of years since.
To say that “the first will be last, and the last first,” that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to “little children,” that the least “important” member of the household of God is greater than a saint like John – that’s radical. That’s a challenge to those who feel themselves to be important, and it’s an invitation to those who do not.
Can you imagine yourself greater than a prophet like John the Baptist? Can you imagine yourself as valuable, as worthy of honor? Because Jesus says that is true – that those who consider themselves “in the kingdom of heaven” are that valuable, that worthy, that remarkable, that beloved.
My spiritual suggestion for today is to simply sit with that idea, of being that important in the realm of God. No one is more important than you. Try that on. How does it make you sit? Walk? Talk? Think?
Write down some of the reasons why you are so valuable in God’s eyes. We need to know that, to claim it, not so we can become big-headed, but so we can give God the glory. That’s what we’re here for – to glorify God in how we live and give.
Of course it’s not a popularity contest or a competition. My knowing myself to be that worthy doesn’t diminish the importance of John the Baptist – he’s the one who said, as Jesus’ ministry grew more public, “He must increase; I must decrease.”
I can just imagine the smile on John’s face growing bigger the more we recognize our worthiness in the eyes of God. I can imagine him looking at Jesus and nodding. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere…”
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-9-25 - Holy Leaders
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
What do you think a holy man or woman should look like? What are the markers of "success" for spiritual leaders? This is what Jesus asks the crowds about how they viewed John the Baptist. "What did you go out there to the desert to look at? Were you just spiritual tourists gawking at the latest guru? Did you think you were going to see a smooth-talking, well-dressed leader, get a little charge, and leave your life unchanged?"
Advent is a good time to examine our spiritual motivations, what is it we truly yearn for, why we engage or disengage from spiritual community. It is easy to become disenchanted with church and clergy, to expect little so we’re not disappointed – or to expect too much. Today, let's do a little inventory. When we can name our expectations, we can better manage them.
In some ways, the role of spiritual leaders can be described in the words Jesus used about John, "This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'"
Clergy can be messengers of God's Word, God's love, God's call and invitation. At our best, we help to prepare your spiritual way, and help you walk it, without blocking your path. The more clarity you have about how you want to grow in faith, the better your leaders can help prepare the way. And whatever that “way” looks like, it should lead to Jesus.
The more you grow Christ-ward, the more you can help your pastors walk the way of truth and grace – and then our congregations truly become spiritual communities.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
What do you think a holy man or woman should look like? What are the markers of "success" for spiritual leaders? This is what Jesus asks the crowds about how they viewed John the Baptist. "What did you go out there to the desert to look at? Were you just spiritual tourists gawking at the latest guru? Did you think you were going to see a smooth-talking, well-dressed leader, get a little charge, and leave your life unchanged?"
Advent is a good time to examine our spiritual motivations, what is it we truly yearn for, why we engage or disengage from spiritual community. It is easy to become disenchanted with church and clergy, to expect little so we’re not disappointed – or to expect too much. Today, let's do a little inventory. When we can name our expectations, we can better manage them.
- What are your expectations of your spiritual community?
- When you are disappointed or disaffected, what causes it?
- Do you communicate that, distance yourself, or engage more? Nothing is worse than walking without talking.
- What are your expectations of your spiritual leaders?
- In what ways do they bless you? How do they disappoint?
In some ways, the role of spiritual leaders can be described in the words Jesus used about John, "This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'"
Clergy can be messengers of God's Word, God's love, God's call and invitation. At our best, we help to prepare your spiritual way, and help you walk it, without blocking your path. The more clarity you have about how you want to grow in faith, the better your leaders can help prepare the way. And whatever that “way” looks like, it should lead to Jesus.
The more you grow Christ-ward, the more you can help your pastors walk the way of truth and grace – and then our congregations truly become spiritual communities.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-8-25 - What Did You See?
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Last week we met John the Baptist in his prime, the vigorous prophet at the Jordan, calling people to repentance, focused and forceful. What a long way from there to where we find him this week, years later, languishing in Herod’s dungeon for the crime of having condemned Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law. Speaking truth to power can get you burned.
Herod likes having him there – we are told he enjoyed theological conversations with John – but John is not free. And captivity can weaken even the strongest of people. Here we glimpse John in despair, perhaps wondering if he got it wrong. Among the most poignant words in the Gospels are: When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another? That’s a question John asks for all of us at one time or another, when suddenly we’re not sure, when too much time has passed without a sign of God’s power at work, when our prayers don’t seem to have been answered, or the walls have fallen in somewhere. Many may be asking it these days. "Where are you, Jesus? You coming?"
Jesus’ response is to point not to himself, but to his works, to the fruit of his ministry: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.”
When our faith dims and our hope weakens, we can remind ourselves of the goodness of God which we have tasted. We can remind each other of answered prayers and amazing “coincidences” that led to even more amazing outcomes. We can sharpen our awareness of divine activity around us. We can focus our vision to see the Spirit at work in other people – often easier than seeing God's hand in our own lives.
This week, keep watch: where are you catching glimpses of God-Life, of the Spirit’s power, of Jesus’ presence? Write them down. Remind yourself. Remind a friend.
We all have moments like John's, even without the suffering he endured. And we all know people asking that question. Jesus answers us as well: "Go and tell what you hear and see."
I pray you will hear and see amazing things today, this week, and that you get really good at telling. For God is still doing amazing things in and through and around us, and there are a lot of people in captivity waiting to hear that Good News.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Last week we met John the Baptist in his prime, the vigorous prophet at the Jordan, calling people to repentance, focused and forceful. What a long way from there to where we find him this week, years later, languishing in Herod’s dungeon for the crime of having condemned Herod’s marriage to his sister-in-law. Speaking truth to power can get you burned.
Herod likes having him there – we are told he enjoyed theological conversations with John – but John is not free. And captivity can weaken even the strongest of people. Here we glimpse John in despair, perhaps wondering if he got it wrong. Among the most poignant words in the Gospels are: When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”
Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another? That’s a question John asks for all of us at one time or another, when suddenly we’re not sure, when too much time has passed without a sign of God’s power at work, when our prayers don’t seem to have been answered, or the walls have fallen in somewhere. Many may be asking it these days. "Where are you, Jesus? You coming?"
Jesus’ response is to point not to himself, but to his works, to the fruit of his ministry: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.”
When our faith dims and our hope weakens, we can remind ourselves of the goodness of God which we have tasted. We can remind each other of answered prayers and amazing “coincidences” that led to even more amazing outcomes. We can sharpen our awareness of divine activity around us. We can focus our vision to see the Spirit at work in other people – often easier than seeing God's hand in our own lives.
This week, keep watch: where are you catching glimpses of God-Life, of the Spirit’s power, of Jesus’ presence? Write them down. Remind yourself. Remind a friend.
We all have moments like John's, even without the suffering he endured. And we all know people asking that question. Jesus answers us as well: "Go and tell what you hear and see."
I pray you will hear and see amazing things today, this week, and that you get really good at telling. For God is still doing amazing things in and through and around us, and there are a lot of people in captivity waiting to hear that Good News.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-5-25 - Water and Fire
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
John the Baptist drew a lot of attention – ordinary people who wanted the spiritual experience he offered, and authorities investigating whether or not he was someone they should worry about. But he knew he was not the main attraction, only an advance man for a much bigger show: "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Water and fire – two elements that cannot dwell together, except in a Christian. John’s baptism was a way for people to enact repentance, to experience the water of cleansing. But the fire that Jesus brings, John said, is another force altogether, one that will do more than warm us: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Unquenchable fire does not sound good. I don't like fire, unless it’s on a candle, in a hearth or cooking something. The unquenchable fire is one image of eternal damnation.
But fire is also one of our symbols for the power of the Holy Spirit. Our life in Christ begins with water, the transforming water of baptism by which we are made one with Christ and members of God’s family. And then God’s life is released in us as we are baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. That’s where we get the power by which God works transformation through us. We need water and fire.
I once heard a story from someone who had visited Pentecostal Christians in Indonesia. He was at a prayer service that was about the most intense he’d ever witnessed. A woman was leading the prayer, and she was calling down the Spirit upon them, praying fervently, passionately, inviting God to make himself known in power, calling down Holy Spirit fire. This prayer went on for quite a while, and then suddenly the woman went quiet and a silence descended upon the group for three, four, five minutes.
And then the woman spoke: “Fire is now.” And they were all filled with heat, like they were burning, but it didn’t hurt. Manifestations of the Spirit began to be seen and heard, and many were healed. “Fire is now."
If we want to open ourselves to a deeper experience of God’s love and power, we don’t stop with water – we move on to fire. Are you willing to ask God for a greater filling of Holy Spirit? There may be parts of your life you don’t want to see scorched - can you offer God access anyway? Are they keeping you from expanding your capacity for God-life, or do they help you make a way?
Fire is now. What happens if we let it burn in us?
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
John the Baptist drew a lot of attention – ordinary people who wanted the spiritual experience he offered, and authorities investigating whether or not he was someone they should worry about. But he knew he was not the main attraction, only an advance man for a much bigger show: "I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Water and fire – two elements that cannot dwell together, except in a Christian. John’s baptism was a way for people to enact repentance, to experience the water of cleansing. But the fire that Jesus brings, John said, is another force altogether, one that will do more than warm us: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Unquenchable fire does not sound good. I don't like fire, unless it’s on a candle, in a hearth or cooking something. The unquenchable fire is one image of eternal damnation.
But fire is also one of our symbols for the power of the Holy Spirit. Our life in Christ begins with water, the transforming water of baptism by which we are made one with Christ and members of God’s family. And then God’s life is released in us as we are baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. That’s where we get the power by which God works transformation through us. We need water and fire.
I once heard a story from someone who had visited Pentecostal Christians in Indonesia. He was at a prayer service that was about the most intense he’d ever witnessed. A woman was leading the prayer, and she was calling down the Spirit upon them, praying fervently, passionately, inviting God to make himself known in power, calling down Holy Spirit fire. This prayer went on for quite a while, and then suddenly the woman went quiet and a silence descended upon the group for three, four, five minutes.
And then the woman spoke: “Fire is now.” And they were all filled with heat, like they were burning, but it didn’t hurt. Manifestations of the Spirit began to be seen and heard, and many were healed. “Fire is now."
If we want to open ourselves to a deeper experience of God’s love and power, we don’t stop with water – we move on to fire. Are you willing to ask God for a greater filling of Holy Spirit? There may be parts of your life you don’t want to see scorched - can you offer God access anyway? Are they keeping you from expanding your capacity for God-life, or do they help you make a way?
Fire is now. What happens if we let it burn in us?
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-4-25 - When Love Comes To Town
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
John the Baptizer was scathing toward “good people” who wear their religion on their sleeves but leave their hearts and behaviors untouched. Where would he place us? Need we fear God's judgment? Our culture says so; even Santa Claus, the legend most associated with gift-giving, is depicted as being the most judgmental:
He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice / Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice / Santa Claus is coming to town.
“Good” people can do bad things; can “bad” people do good? Is there such thing as a good or a bad person? Jesus once said that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit. Judgment seems based on the fruit our lives bear.
John the Baptizer was making his audience aware of that judgment… and he wasn’t gentle: “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
I give thanks for the promise that, as members of God’s household united with Christ, it is his deeds by which we will ultimately be judged (whew!). Yet Jesus also spoke of a judgment and a sorting. So let’s do another inventory today – let’s look at the fruit we bear, the outward evidence of our life, the good and not-so-good. (Get out the journal...)
John the Baptizer was scathing toward “good people” who wear their religion on their sleeves but leave their hearts and behaviors untouched. Where would he place us? Need we fear God's judgment? Our culture says so; even Santa Claus, the legend most associated with gift-giving, is depicted as being the most judgmental:
He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice / Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice / Santa Claus is coming to town.
“Good” people can do bad things; can “bad” people do good? Is there such thing as a good or a bad person? Jesus once said that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit. Judgment seems based on the fruit our lives bear.
John the Baptizer was making his audience aware of that judgment… and he wasn’t gentle: “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
I give thanks for the promise that, as members of God’s household united with Christ, it is his deeds by which we will ultimately be judged (whew!). Yet Jesus also spoke of a judgment and a sorting. So let’s do another inventory today – let’s look at the fruit we bear, the outward evidence of our life, the good and not-so-good. (Get out the journal...)
- What is the fruit of your relationships? Name some.
- What is the fruit of your work life? Name some.
- Your recreational life? Your financial life?
- Your engagement in activities that help people in need?
- What is the fruit of your spiritual life – what are the outward manifestations of your faith and prayer?
Are you a healthy tree, emotionally, physically, spiritually? Is any pruning or fertilizing needed? How might you become more fruitful?
Whether we’re singing, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” or “When the Man Comes Around,” a Johnny Cash song based on Revelation with strong Advent themes (and not a whole lot of grace), I thank God for the greatest gift – freedom from the ax and the fire. God is an arborist extraordinaire, who tends the trees we are and makes us trees of love. In fact, today let's give Bono and B.B. King the last word - they say it all in "When Love Comes to Town."
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Whether we’re singing, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” or “When the Man Comes Around,” a Johnny Cash song based on Revelation with strong Advent themes (and not a whole lot of grace), I thank God for the greatest gift – freedom from the ax and the fire. God is an arborist extraordinaire, who tends the trees we are and makes us trees of love. In fact, today let's give Bono and B.B. King the last word - they say it all in "When Love Comes to Town."
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-3-25 - Changed Lives
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
When we are seeking reconciliation with God or another person, “I’m sorry” is where we start; making it stick is much harder. I can imagine the sneer on John the Baptist’s face as he sees the professional religious folks coming to be baptized by him: But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
Translation: "Who warned you to get your act together? Stop resting on your laurels as 'keepers of the law,' as inheritors of the promises given to your ancestors. What changes are we going to see in your lives?"
What does, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance” mean? That it’s easy to say “I’m sorry,” and a lot harder to make the kinds of changes that render our “I’m sorry’s” unnecessary. John didn’t want people undergoing his baptism for show – he wanted them to take a serious look at themselves and recognize the ways and times in which their behavior or attitudes damaged other people. In our times this might be analogous to folks who recite land acknowledgements at the beginning of events, but never examine the ways our privileges and opportunities come at a cost to our first nations peoples, or what we might to do extend those privileges to those historically denied them.
The call to repent and amend our lives is ever before us. One way to meet it is to undertake an inventory of confession, to get below the surface to the more stubborn patterns of sinfulness that persist in us. Here is a simple one you might try – and write down your answers:
When we are seeking reconciliation with God or another person, “I’m sorry” is where we start; making it stick is much harder. I can imagine the sneer on John the Baptist’s face as he sees the professional religious folks coming to be baptized by him: But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
Translation: "Who warned you to get your act together? Stop resting on your laurels as 'keepers of the law,' as inheritors of the promises given to your ancestors. What changes are we going to see in your lives?"
What does, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance” mean? That it’s easy to say “I’m sorry,” and a lot harder to make the kinds of changes that render our “I’m sorry’s” unnecessary. John didn’t want people undergoing his baptism for show – he wanted them to take a serious look at themselves and recognize the ways and times in which their behavior or attitudes damaged other people. In our times this might be analogous to folks who recite land acknowledgements at the beginning of events, but never examine the ways our privileges and opportunities come at a cost to our first nations peoples, or what we might to do extend those privileges to those historically denied them.
The call to repent and amend our lives is ever before us. One way to meet it is to undertake an inventory of confession, to get below the surface to the more stubborn patterns of sinfulness that persist in us. Here is a simple one you might try – and write down your answers:
- When did I last hurt someone I love? What did I do or say? Why did that happen – what “hooked” me?
- When did I last hurt people who are culturally different from me? Why did that happen?
- When did I last hurt myself in some way? (Include food and self-criticism…) How did that come about?
- When did I last hurt the creation around me in some way, nature, animals. Why did that happen?
- When did I last hurt God – by ignoring or avoiding or defying? What happened?
For each thing you list, offer your regret and think about what would have to change in you to avoid doing that again. What spiritual practices and messages do you need to build into your life to bear better fruit? Invite the Holy Spirit into each one of those areas and ask God to release more life and love in you.
When our repentance is genuine, we’re more inclined to move into fruitful patterns of being and relating. And as we bear the fruit of repentance, the people around us will be sweetened with God’s love.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
When our repentance is genuine, we’re more inclined to move into fruitful patterns of being and relating. And as we bear the fruit of repentance, the people around us will be sweetened with God’s love.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-2-25 - Leveling the Road
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
John the Baptist was a profoundly counter-cultural figure out there in the desert, but something about his message commanded attention. Matthew tells us, "Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan...”
His message was simple: repent and get ready – something is up. God is on the move: John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"
Even in his day John was linked with Isaiah’s prediction that a prophet would arise out in the wilderness crying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” That prophecy says, “Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Making space for the life of God breaking into our lives means building a highway for Christ to travel, a straight and level road in the desert of this world. This “leveling,” the valleys being lifted and mountains brought low, the rough and rugged ground becoming plains, is a metaphor which has economic, political, even emotional dimensions.
When we start looking for peaks and valleys, highs and lows, we can see them everywhere: in our environment, in toxic slag heaps and crater-filled mining areas; in our economy, in the income gap between rich and poor, widening at an alarming rate in our times – for individuals and for countries. We can find disparity in our own moods, as we become hostage to pressure and stress from without and within. There is an equalizing element to this spiritual work, as we make space for the life of God, the love of God, the justice of God.
As you survey the world and your own life, what hills might be brought low and what vacancies filled in? A simpler way to ask that might be:
John the Baptist was a profoundly counter-cultural figure out there in the desert, but something about his message commanded attention. Matthew tells us, "Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan...”
His message was simple: repent and get ready – something is up. God is on the move: John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"
Even in his day John was linked with Isaiah’s prediction that a prophet would arise out in the wilderness crying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” That prophecy says, “Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Making space for the life of God breaking into our lives means building a highway for Christ to travel, a straight and level road in the desert of this world. This “leveling,” the valleys being lifted and mountains brought low, the rough and rugged ground becoming plains, is a metaphor which has economic, political, even emotional dimensions.
When we start looking for peaks and valleys, highs and lows, we can see them everywhere: in our environment, in toxic slag heaps and crater-filled mining areas; in our economy, in the income gap between rich and poor, widening at an alarming rate in our times – for individuals and for countries. We can find disparity in our own moods, as we become hostage to pressure and stress from without and within. There is an equalizing element to this spiritual work, as we make space for the life of God, the love of God, the justice of God.
As you survey the world and your own life, what hills might be brought low and what vacancies filled in? A simpler way to ask that might be:
- What do you have too much of in your life (think spiritually and emotionally as well as materially…)?
- What do you not have enough of? What feels empty in you that needs to be filled?
If we can answer those two questions, we have some prayer work laid out for the season of Advent, as we keep praying into those “too-much-es,” and “not-enoughs.” Why is the “too-much-ness” there? Has the deficiency always existed? Is there an external, justice dimension to our personal issues?
Christ has come, Christ is coming, Christ will come again. How might we make a level road for him to walk - into our world, into our hearts?
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Christ has come, Christ is coming, Christ will come again. How might we make a level road for him to walk - into our world, into our hearts?
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-1-25 - The Holy Grinch
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
In our first full week of Advent, we invite a strange figure into our lives and imaginations – John the Baptizer. Every December, as twinkly lights appear in our neighborhoods and tinkly music fills our stores, we church folk are confronted by this stark, uncompromising messenger from God calling us to repent and renew our commitment to God: In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near..." Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
John was a man completely committed to his mission, to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” the purpose an angel predicted to his bewildered father Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25). He stayed in desert places, eschewing all but the most rudimentary clothing, chewing on locusts and wild honey – a diet high in protein and low in fat, if a bit stark. Other Gospel references tell us that he had disciples, but he did not seem interested in building a following or winning popularity. His message was focused and harsh, confronting the materialism and corruption of his countrymen, and calling people back to reliance on God alone.
It can be hard to reconcile John’s message with our cultural preparations for Christmas. I once wrote a sermon drama imagining John the Baptist on the loose in a shopping mall, decking Santa and confronting carolers; it ended with him baptizing the mall cop in the fountain. Where do you imagine this single-minded messenger of God might turn up in your holiday preparations?
Today, we might call to mind the image we’re given, the wild man in skins calling to us, “Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand!” Imagine John on your street or in your office, or anywhere that comes to mind as you open your imagination in prayer. What do you hear him call to you? What do you say to him? Do you feel you have anything to repent of?
How does it feel to hear, “The Kingdom of God is at hand?” God's realm is right here. Is it now. Are there any changes you want to make in your life in the light of that reality?
John is strange company to keep for a month, but let's let him in – he is an important companion and antidote to the materialism and stress that rise around us in this season. We can take him along as we shop or decorate – he won’t sap the joy. Just the superficiality.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
In our first full week of Advent, we invite a strange figure into our lives and imaginations – John the Baptizer. Every December, as twinkly lights appear in our neighborhoods and tinkly music fills our stores, we church folk are confronted by this stark, uncompromising messenger from God calling us to repent and renew our commitment to God: In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near..." Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
John was a man completely committed to his mission, to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” the purpose an angel predicted to his bewildered father Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25). He stayed in desert places, eschewing all but the most rudimentary clothing, chewing on locusts and wild honey – a diet high in protein and low in fat, if a bit stark. Other Gospel references tell us that he had disciples, but he did not seem interested in building a following or winning popularity. His message was focused and harsh, confronting the materialism and corruption of his countrymen, and calling people back to reliance on God alone.
It can be hard to reconcile John’s message with our cultural preparations for Christmas. I once wrote a sermon drama imagining John the Baptist on the loose in a shopping mall, decking Santa and confronting carolers; it ended with him baptizing the mall cop in the fountain. Where do you imagine this single-minded messenger of God might turn up in your holiday preparations?
Today, we might call to mind the image we’re given, the wild man in skins calling to us, “Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand!” Imagine John on your street or in your office, or anywhere that comes to mind as you open your imagination in prayer. What do you hear him call to you? What do you say to him? Do you feel you have anything to repent of?
How does it feel to hear, “The Kingdom of God is at hand?” God's realm is right here. Is it now. Are there any changes you want to make in your life in the light of that reality?
John is strange company to keep for a month, but let's let him in – he is an important companion and antidote to the materialism and stress that rise around us in this season. We can take him along as we shop or decorate – he won’t sap the joy. Just the superficiality.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
1-28-25 - Time To Wake Up!
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
The First Sunday of Advent usually falls on Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., and it's a rude awakening. Just as the triptofan-laden turkey feast is clearing our systems, here comes the word, “Wake up! Get ready! “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
We may not know what the hour is, but St. Paul knew the time: “You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” Some of us might relate to the rest of Paul’s comments too: “…let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” I don’t know if family quarrels or scarfing leftover stuffing qualify as “gratifying the desires of the flesh,” but be warned!
In Sunday's Gospel, Jesus also talks about eating and drinking – amid dire warnings of destruction: “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away; so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
These are not words of comfort. I have always had trouble seeing the good news in Christ's impending return, though the state of our world currently gives me glimpses of the appeal. Today, just for the heck of it, let’s reflect on what might be good about Christ coming back to ring down the curtain and roll up the sidewalks on this earthly life of ours.
The First Sunday of Advent usually falls on Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., and it's a rude awakening. Just as the triptofan-laden turkey feast is clearing our systems, here comes the word, “Wake up! Get ready! “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
We may not know what the hour is, but St. Paul knew the time: “You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” Some of us might relate to the rest of Paul’s comments too: “…let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” I don’t know if family quarrels or scarfing leftover stuffing qualify as “gratifying the desires of the flesh,” but be warned!
In Sunday's Gospel, Jesus also talks about eating and drinking – amid dire warnings of destruction: “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away; so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
These are not words of comfort. I have always had trouble seeing the good news in Christ's impending return, though the state of our world currently gives me glimpses of the appeal. Today, just for the heck of it, let’s reflect on what might be good about Christ coming back to ring down the curtain and roll up the sidewalks on this earthly life of ours.
- Do you fear that, or anticipate it?
- What would you not mind parting with?
- What would you miss very much?
If contemplating the apocalypse is not your fancy today, here’s a more “here and now” question to ponder:
- What in your life do you think you need to wake up to?
- In what areas are you kind of snoozing, coasting, not really conscious, and you sense it’s time to become more aware and intentional?
- How might you become more focused in those areas?
One memorable Advent 5 o'clock service in Bethany, we placed alarm clocks all over set to go off at random times, just to reinforce the “wake up!” theme of the season. It was fun, as well as highly annoying.
For better or worse, life presents us plenty of alarm clocks, and we can rarely predict when they’ll buzz or clang. What’s waking you up lately? Don’t hit the snooze button…
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
For better or worse, life presents us plenty of alarm clocks, and we can rarely predict when they’ll buzz or clang. What’s waking you up lately? Don’t hit the snooze button…
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
1-26-25 - Ready For the Guest
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
What if you were hosting a feast, but had no idea when the guests would arrive? “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
Back when I was planning alternative worship every week, I wrote a lot of sermon dramas. One of the most fun – and elaborate – was at Thanksgiving one year, called “The Martha Show.” It depicted a TV cooking show featuring a famous Martha. Not Martha of Westport, though the character shared many of her attributes. This was Martha of Bethany, whose dinner party for Jesus got her so stressed out she became royally ticked off at her sister for not helping. (Chiming any Thanksgiving family memories?)
And in the midst of prepping for her Thanksgiving show, an unexpected guest arrives early. Not what our Martha wanted. She wanted to make a beautiful dinner for Jesus, not with Jesus. And she wants her sister to help, damn it! But Mary recognizes that when this guest comes to dinner, you need to stop what you’re doing and receive the gifts he brings.
We can get so busy preparing for Thanksgiving that we barely appreciate the time with our loved ones when it arrives. Same thing, in a broader way, can happen during Advent. In a season meant to help us prepare to receive the gift of Christ in our lives, we can get so busy preparing we miss the fact that he’s already showed up. Jesus’ words to Martha in the gospel story are simple and pointed: “Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things. Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her.”
If you are happy and at peace today, hallelujah – spread some of that peace to someone stressed.
And if you’re worried and fretting about anything today, stop and imagine Jesus walking into whatever place you’re in, and saying, “Hey, hey, you are worried and fretting. You don’t need to. You have everything you need – I’m here.” Try that on, in prayer, in your imagination today. One of God’s promises is peace when we pray, and presence, and power.
Wherever you’re spending Thanksgiving this year, and whoever you’re spending it with, invite Jesus to the table. That’s what it means to say grace – to invoke his holy presence. See if it’s different being aware of him there.
And don’t forget to pass him the stuffing – they didn’t have that in Galilee back in the day…
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
What if you were hosting a feast, but had no idea when the guests would arrive? “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
Back when I was planning alternative worship every week, I wrote a lot of sermon dramas. One of the most fun – and elaborate – was at Thanksgiving one year, called “The Martha Show.” It depicted a TV cooking show featuring a famous Martha. Not Martha of Westport, though the character shared many of her attributes. This was Martha of Bethany, whose dinner party for Jesus got her so stressed out she became royally ticked off at her sister for not helping. (Chiming any Thanksgiving family memories?)
And in the midst of prepping for her Thanksgiving show, an unexpected guest arrives early. Not what our Martha wanted. She wanted to make a beautiful dinner for Jesus, not with Jesus. And she wants her sister to help, damn it! But Mary recognizes that when this guest comes to dinner, you need to stop what you’re doing and receive the gifts he brings.
We can get so busy preparing for Thanksgiving that we barely appreciate the time with our loved ones when it arrives. Same thing, in a broader way, can happen during Advent. In a season meant to help us prepare to receive the gift of Christ in our lives, we can get so busy preparing we miss the fact that he’s already showed up. Jesus’ words to Martha in the gospel story are simple and pointed: “Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things. Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken away from her.”
If you are happy and at peace today, hallelujah – spread some of that peace to someone stressed.
And if you’re worried and fretting about anything today, stop and imagine Jesus walking into whatever place you’re in, and saying, “Hey, hey, you are worried and fretting. You don’t need to. You have everything you need – I’m here.” Try that on, in prayer, in your imagination today. One of God’s promises is peace when we pray, and presence, and power.
Wherever you’re spending Thanksgiving this year, and whoever you’re spending it with, invite Jesus to the table. That’s what it means to say grace – to invoke his holy presence. See if it’s different being aware of him there.
And don’t forget to pass him the stuffing – they didn’t have that in Galilee back in the day…
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
11-25-25 - Holy Preppers
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
We have a name for people who take readiness so seriously that they devote time, space and resources to being ready for disaster. They want to be sure they and those they love can thrive when the rest of the planet is being obliterated. We call them “doomsday preppers” – or just “preppers.”
This Sunday’s gospel reading – and many of the readings we will hear during Advent – invite us to live ready: ready for the end of days, ready for judgment, ready for Christ to show up in our lives. But what kind of preparedness is Jesus asking of us? I suspect that the One who said we need to give up our lives in order to save them is not advocating preparation for survival so much as preparation for Life – the Life of God that comes to us now, the Life that will be, the Life that will never end.
That kind of preparation involves being prepared to give our stuff away, not to stockpile it; to work for the security of all, not just safety in our own bunkers; to live so that everyone around us can thrive. For the “end of days” happens daily in someone’s life, sometimes in the life of whole communities and nations. And judgment comes upon us, ready or not, as we suffer the consequences of our own actions, or someone else’s free will. And Christ shows up in our lives all the time, in so many ways, not just when he “comes in glory at the end of the ages.”
Being alert means being alive to where Jesus is showing up, to what God is doing around us, to how we are being invited to participate in God’s mission to bring wholeness to all of creation in Christ. Being ready means having space and time in our lives for God’s new thing, having the mental, emotional and spiritual capacity to take on God's mission when it finds us.
St. Peter writes that we are always to “be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you.” (Î Peter 3:15b) That’s the kind of prepper Jesus is inviting us to be, bearers of hope, no matter what.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
We have a name for people who take readiness so seriously that they devote time, space and resources to being ready for disaster. They want to be sure they and those they love can thrive when the rest of the planet is being obliterated. We call them “doomsday preppers” – or just “preppers.”
This Sunday’s gospel reading – and many of the readings we will hear during Advent – invite us to live ready: ready for the end of days, ready for judgment, ready for Christ to show up in our lives. But what kind of preparedness is Jesus asking of us? I suspect that the One who said we need to give up our lives in order to save them is not advocating preparation for survival so much as preparation for Life – the Life of God that comes to us now, the Life that will be, the Life that will never end.
That kind of preparation involves being prepared to give our stuff away, not to stockpile it; to work for the security of all, not just safety in our own bunkers; to live so that everyone around us can thrive. For the “end of days” happens daily in someone’s life, sometimes in the life of whole communities and nations. And judgment comes upon us, ready or not, as we suffer the consequences of our own actions, or someone else’s free will. And Christ shows up in our lives all the time, in so many ways, not just when he “comes in glory at the end of the ages.”
Being alert means being alive to where Jesus is showing up, to what God is doing around us, to how we are being invited to participate in God’s mission to bring wholeness to all of creation in Christ. Being ready means having space and time in our lives for God’s new thing, having the mental, emotional and spiritual capacity to take on God's mission when it finds us.
St. Peter writes that we are always to “be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you.” (Î Peter 3:15b) That’s the kind of prepper Jesus is inviting us to be, bearers of hope, no matter what.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
11-24-25 - Getting Ready
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Next Sunday we begin the holy season of Advent, advent meaning “the approaching” – the approaching in-breaking realm of God, the approaching celebration of Christ’s incarnation, the ever-approaching promised Second Coming of Christ in glory to usher in the New Age.
It can be challenging for Americans to engage Advent before Thanksgiving, that huge cultural celebration requiring preparation of its own. Forget about readiness to celebrate Christ’s incarnation – we have to get ready for the turkey! For many Americans, this is a week of blessing and stressing like few others. If we're hosting, we have the scramble to finish work, clean houses and buy food; if we're traveling, we have to pack and prep. In other words, this will be, for many, a stressful three days followed by, God-willing, a relaxing three days, after which we plunge into the holy season.
We tend to prepare for things we either dread or anticipate – and Thanksgiving can have elements of both. How might we find ways to bring the Holy Spirit into our preparations? I believe Jesus wants to indwell and transform our every-day lives, not only our formal worship experiences. This week provides opportunities to experience God’s presence amidst the bustle and company of others, if not in serene isolation.
So… if you’re working harder than usual to cram five days’ work into two or three, may I suggest you set an alarm every hour or two. When it goes off, take three minutes away from your tasks to breathe, re-center and tell God what it is you’re working on, and where you’d like some help.
If you’re shopping and cooking, you might make a game of talking to Jesus in the kitchen or the store and remember why you’re participating in this ritual of food and family.
If you’re traveling, you might need extra grace and extra peace – so pack some along as you get things ready for your suitcase, as you clean up your house and commit yourself to the road or skies. Ask the God of peace to fill you and make you an agent of peace in any stress or frenzy you may encounter in trying to get from A to B.
And if your big plan is to hit the Friday sales… ask yourself whether that deal is worth the time and angst it’s going to take. If you love it, go for it (and remember Small Business Saturday…)
Let’s move through this intense week as children of God, beloved and bounded in time and space, not trying to do more than we can or should. Gratitude flows from a balanced perspective on who we are, who we are not, and how we are gifted. We can make this week more blessed than stressed.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Next Sunday we begin the holy season of Advent, advent meaning “the approaching” – the approaching in-breaking realm of God, the approaching celebration of Christ’s incarnation, the ever-approaching promised Second Coming of Christ in glory to usher in the New Age.
It can be challenging for Americans to engage Advent before Thanksgiving, that huge cultural celebration requiring preparation of its own. Forget about readiness to celebrate Christ’s incarnation – we have to get ready for the turkey! For many Americans, this is a week of blessing and stressing like few others. If we're hosting, we have the scramble to finish work, clean houses and buy food; if we're traveling, we have to pack and prep. In other words, this will be, for many, a stressful three days followed by, God-willing, a relaxing three days, after which we plunge into the holy season.
We tend to prepare for things we either dread or anticipate – and Thanksgiving can have elements of both. How might we find ways to bring the Holy Spirit into our preparations? I believe Jesus wants to indwell and transform our every-day lives, not only our formal worship experiences. This week provides opportunities to experience God’s presence amidst the bustle and company of others, if not in serene isolation.
So… if you’re working harder than usual to cram five days’ work into two or three, may I suggest you set an alarm every hour or two. When it goes off, take three minutes away from your tasks to breathe, re-center and tell God what it is you’re working on, and where you’d like some help.
If you’re shopping and cooking, you might make a game of talking to Jesus in the kitchen or the store and remember why you’re participating in this ritual of food and family.
If you’re traveling, you might need extra grace and extra peace – so pack some along as you get things ready for your suitcase, as you clean up your house and commit yourself to the road or skies. Ask the God of peace to fill you and make you an agent of peace in any stress or frenzy you may encounter in trying to get from A to B.
And if your big plan is to hit the Friday sales… ask yourself whether that deal is worth the time and angst it’s going to take. If you love it, go for it (and remember Small Business Saturday…)
Let’s move through this intense week as children of God, beloved and bounded in time and space, not trying to do more than we can or should. Gratitude flows from a balanced perspective on who we are, who we are not, and how we are gifted. We can make this week more blessed than stressed.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
12-12-24 - Fire
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire… isn’t this the season for nice cozy fires? Well, not when we let John the Baptizer in. The fire he’s talking about, which he says Jesus will bring, is another force altogether, which will do more than warm us: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
That doesn’t sound like such good news to me – the ax, the winnowing fork, the unquenchable fire. I prefer my fires contained in a candle or crackling merrily in a fireplace. And unquenchable fire? Isn’t that an image of eternal damnation?
Yet fire is also one of our symbols for the power of the Holy Spirit. Our life in Christ begins with water, the transforming water of baptism by which we are made one with Christ and members of God’s family. And then God’s life is released in us as we are baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. That’s where we get the power by which God works transformation through us. We need water and fire.
I once had a prayer experience in which I fervently asked the Spirit to “set my heart on fire with love for you.” A good and holy prayer, isn’t it? But God shot right back: “Do you know what you’re asking? My fire consumes everything that is not of me.” The fire of God is a purifying flame, and if we let it, it will indeed purify us.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire… isn’t this the season for nice cozy fires? Well, not when we let John the Baptizer in. The fire he’s talking about, which he says Jesus will bring, is another force altogether, which will do more than warm us: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.
That doesn’t sound like such good news to me – the ax, the winnowing fork, the unquenchable fire. I prefer my fires contained in a candle or crackling merrily in a fireplace. And unquenchable fire? Isn’t that an image of eternal damnation?
Yet fire is also one of our symbols for the power of the Holy Spirit. Our life in Christ begins with water, the transforming water of baptism by which we are made one with Christ and members of God’s family. And then God’s life is released in us as we are baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. That’s where we get the power by which God works transformation through us. We need water and fire.
I once had a prayer experience in which I fervently asked the Spirit to “set my heart on fire with love for you.” A good and holy prayer, isn’t it? But God shot right back: “Do you know what you’re asking? My fire consumes everything that is not of me.” The fire of God is a purifying flame, and if we let it, it will indeed purify us.
I once heard a story that describes this process beautifully. I have no idea how accurate it is, but it’s a lovely image of how gold was purified in olden times. The smelter would take the gold and put it into a pot and put a fire under it. As the gold melted, the impurities in it would rise to the surface, all that is known as “dross,” everything that’s not gold, that’s gotten mixed in, all of that would rise to the surface… and the refiner would skim it off.
And then he’d make the fire hotter, and more impurities would rise to the surface, and he’d skim them off. And then he’d make the fire hotter and more elements that were not pure gold would rise, and he’d skim them off. And then he’d make the fire hotter. Until there were no impurities left. Until, when the refiner looked into the pot, he saw his own image perfectly reflected back to him in the gold.
In this metaphor, we are the gold, of course. And you know the Refiner. But there’s something else: the pot which contains us is the Love of God, the One who was called Love. This pot has been fired in the furnace and will not crack. This Love bears the fire with us. This Love contains us as we are purified, and made ready to spend eternity with him.
If we want to open ourselves to a deeper experience of God’s love and power, we need to ask for a deeper filling of the fire of God, the Holy Spirit. There may be parts of our lives we don’t want to see scorched - can we offer God access anyway? Can we let God burn away the parts of us that are inauthentic, not true to who God made us to be? Can we let in the purifying flame? Can we become the fire of God that the world sees?
© 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.
And then he’d make the fire hotter, and more impurities would rise to the surface, and he’d skim them off. And then he’d make the fire hotter and more elements that were not pure gold would rise, and he’d skim them off. And then he’d make the fire hotter. Until there were no impurities left. Until, when the refiner looked into the pot, he saw his own image perfectly reflected back to him in the gold.
In this metaphor, we are the gold, of course. And you know the Refiner. But there’s something else: the pot which contains us is the Love of God, the One who was called Love. This pot has been fired in the furnace and will not crack. This Love bears the fire with us. This Love contains us as we are purified, and made ready to spend eternity with him.
If we want to open ourselves to a deeper experience of God’s love and power, we need to ask for a deeper filling of the fire of God, the Holy Spirit. There may be parts of our lives we don’t want to see scorched - can we offer God access anyway? Can we let God burn away the parts of us that are inauthentic, not true to who God made us to be? Can we let in the purifying flame? Can we become the fire of God that the world sees?
© 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.
12-10-24 - Greed
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
How many coats is too many? Sweaters? Shoes? Cans of tuna? Does it count if the coats are old? Where is the line between thrift and greed? I fear John the Baptist would say I crossed it a long time ago.
In response to his harsh words about the judgment to come upon those who do not “bear fruit worthy of repentance,” John’s listeners were perplexed – and anxious:
And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”
I like stuff. I like accumulating it, and I must like storing it and moving it, because much of my stuff has been with me awhile. Now I also have a bunch of my mother’s stuff. Yet I’m also burdened by it, and deeply moved by the need of so many in the world. I suspect I’m not the only person who squirms in that cognitive dissonance.
Greed is not hard to define. It is keeping more than you need, and not sharing it with people who do need it. Almost everyone I know is complicit in a system that fosters greed, even encourages it – after all, buying things is our duty to keep the economy going, right? Except that we could as well keep the economy going by buying things for other people, people who are not related to us, who do not have the resources we have.
Part of my problem, when I am reminded of the hold greed has on me, is that I go to the “all or nothing” place. I’m not ready to downsize to a 300-square-foot tiny house and a 20-item wardrobe and give everything else away, so I guess I just stay greedy until I’m ready to change, right? Maybe not. Maybe we try the incremental approach. Maybe we figure out some strategies to slow down our rate of accumulation and accelerate our giving to others – and by others, I mean people in genuine need, not gift-giving to our loved ones.
What if we commit to buying one item for a homeless family for every two gifts we buy this Christmas season? What if we make an equivalent donation each time we buy something for ourselves that is not strictly needed? Even beginning to evaluate our purchases would go a long way toward making us more aware of how much we have relative to so many others. And I suspect linking our accumulation to giving would help us release a lot more.
Am I trying to take all the joy out of prosperity? No. I just think it's possible that John – and Jesus, and St. Francis and thousands of other saints over millennia – had a point. If our joy is located in our prosperity, we’re not ready to dwell in the Life of God. And when our joy is located in the Life of God… we're apt to redefine prosperity.
© 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.
How many coats is too many? Sweaters? Shoes? Cans of tuna? Does it count if the coats are old? Where is the line between thrift and greed? I fear John the Baptist would say I crossed it a long time ago.
In response to his harsh words about the judgment to come upon those who do not “bear fruit worthy of repentance,” John’s listeners were perplexed – and anxious:
And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”
I like stuff. I like accumulating it, and I must like storing it and moving it, because much of my stuff has been with me awhile. Now I also have a bunch of my mother’s stuff. Yet I’m also burdened by it, and deeply moved by the need of so many in the world. I suspect I’m not the only person who squirms in that cognitive dissonance.
Greed is not hard to define. It is keeping more than you need, and not sharing it with people who do need it. Almost everyone I know is complicit in a system that fosters greed, even encourages it – after all, buying things is our duty to keep the economy going, right? Except that we could as well keep the economy going by buying things for other people, people who are not related to us, who do not have the resources we have.
Part of my problem, when I am reminded of the hold greed has on me, is that I go to the “all or nothing” place. I’m not ready to downsize to a 300-square-foot tiny house and a 20-item wardrobe and give everything else away, so I guess I just stay greedy until I’m ready to change, right? Maybe not. Maybe we try the incremental approach. Maybe we figure out some strategies to slow down our rate of accumulation and accelerate our giving to others – and by others, I mean people in genuine need, not gift-giving to our loved ones.
What if we commit to buying one item for a homeless family for every two gifts we buy this Christmas season? What if we make an equivalent donation each time we buy something for ourselves that is not strictly needed? Even beginning to evaluate our purchases would go a long way toward making us more aware of how much we have relative to so many others. And I suspect linking our accumulation to giving would help us release a lot more.
Am I trying to take all the joy out of prosperity? No. I just think it's possible that John – and Jesus, and St. Francis and thousands of other saints over millennia – had a point. If our joy is located in our prosperity, we’re not ready to dwell in the Life of God. And when our joy is located in the Life of God… we're apt to redefine prosperity.
© 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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