You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
“Teach us how to pray,” Jesus’ disciples ask him. He offers a pretty solid outline. Then he switches perspective, to how God responds to our prayers. He tells a somewhat amusing story about a guy being woken up in the middle of the night by a friend in need, who responds not to the friend’s need, but to his persistence. Jesus’ punch line is, "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” In case they didn’t get it the first time, he says, “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Does this mean we get everything we ask for in prayer? Find everything we’re looking for? Every door we knock on is opened to us? I don’t know about your life, but mine hasn’t always gone that way. And that disjoint is enough to put some people off the whole enterprise of prayer. Unless they understand what prayer is.
Prayer is not a laundry list of things we present to a genie. Prayer is a conversation in the context of a living relationship. We make our requests because God invites us to, the same way a human parent wants her children to ask for the unicorn even if there’s no way to grant that wish. But you want the conversation to reflect her heart. And you’re unlikely to give her a viper instead.
So God, our Father in heaven, Jesus suggests, wants us to ask for the desires of our hearts, wants us to seek the truth, wants us to knock on the doors separating us from divine presence. And does Jesus say we will get what we “pray for?” He goes us one better: “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Maybe the Holy Spirit doesn’t sound like much if you wanted healing for a loved one, or a better job. Yet the gift of the Spirit encompasses everything. The Holy Spirit brings the life of God into our hearts and minds and bodies. With more of the Spirit alive in us, we are so much better equipped to help bring about healing, to use our gifts at a higher level of functioning, to dwell in the kind of peace that enables us to bring joy and light into all kinds of situations. The Spirit equips us for ministry and gives all kinds of other gifts… love, joy, patience, forbearance. The Spirit prays through us, Paul writes in Romans – and you can be pretty sure God will answer a prayer that started with God.
How about today we sit down in stillness for a few minutes, take a few deep “in-spiring” breaths, let out some stale thoughts and feelings on the exhales, and then invite the Holy Spirit to come and play. “Spirit of God,” you might say (or “Spirit of Christ”), “I’d like to feel your presence in me. I’d like to feel the peace you bring. I’d like to know what you’re praying through me, what holy encounters you might be equipping me for. I’d like to make more space for you.”
Pay attention to what you feel in your body - do you feel energy anywhere? A tingle? A relaxing? A rush? Sometimes we have a physical response to the Spirit’s visits.
Pay attention to what you feel in your mind and in your spirit – do any images take shape? Do you receive any words or conversation or a desire to do something, pray for someone, go somewhere?
Write it down if you noted anything significant. Share it with someone. If you don’t sense anything, that’s okay. Sometimes our receptors need tuning. Keep at it – the time we spend inviting more of God’s life into our lives is never wasted.
© 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 Prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prayer. Show all posts
7-24-25 - Ask, Seek, Knock
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
I like it when things come flowing to me without my having to do anything – especially when I don't expect it. And sometimes that happens in life. In the spiritual life, though, it happens more often when we’re also being active, asking, searching, knocking on those doors we wish would open. In fact, Jesus promises that these actions will yield success:
“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
This passage is such an important reminder about the generous nature of God. So often we assume things will come with difficulty, especially spiritual graces; that we need to spend hours in prayer, decades studying difficult texts, climbing the ladder of holiness. No! Jesus says we need only genuinely ask, diligently search, knock with the knowledge that God can’t wait to open the door and invite us in. If we, in our limited way, are programmed to want good things for our children, how much more does our heavenly father, who has no restrictions whatsoever on his largesse?
Yet let’s note the outcome Jesus promises. He does not say, “How much more will your heavenly father give you what you ask for in prayer.” Sometimes we receive that, sometime we don’t. Jesus says, “How much more will God give his Holy Spirit to those who ask.” Does that feel like getting a sweater at Christmas when we really wanted a pony? Maybe. But only if we are ignorant about the gifts that come along with the gift of Spirit.
With the Spirit we get the faith to trust in our daily bread. With the Spirit we get the grace to forgive those who have wronged us, and the humility to ask for forgiveness from those whom we have wronged. With the Spirit we get the strength and hope that help us weather spiritual trials. The Spirit is the answer to the whole Lord’s Prayer!
I hope we haven’t stopped asking to see God’s hand at work in the world about us. I hope we never stop searching for God in all the places and people God can show up in. I hope we never stop knocking at the doors to truth and beauty and goodness and love and peace and joy and generosity. God’s door barely needs to be knocked at – the knock itself pushes it open so we can walk right in.
© 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.
I like it when things come flowing to me without my having to do anything – especially when I don't expect it. And sometimes that happens in life. In the spiritual life, though, it happens more often when we’re also being active, asking, searching, knocking on those doors we wish would open. In fact, Jesus promises that these actions will yield success:
“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
This passage is such an important reminder about the generous nature of God. So often we assume things will come with difficulty, especially spiritual graces; that we need to spend hours in prayer, decades studying difficult texts, climbing the ladder of holiness. No! Jesus says we need only genuinely ask, diligently search, knock with the knowledge that God can’t wait to open the door and invite us in. If we, in our limited way, are programmed to want good things for our children, how much more does our heavenly father, who has no restrictions whatsoever on his largesse?
Yet let’s note the outcome Jesus promises. He does not say, “How much more will your heavenly father give you what you ask for in prayer.” Sometimes we receive that, sometime we don’t. Jesus says, “How much more will God give his Holy Spirit to those who ask.” Does that feel like getting a sweater at Christmas when we really wanted a pony? Maybe. But only if we are ignorant about the gifts that come along with the gift of Spirit.
With the Spirit we get the faith to trust in our daily bread. With the Spirit we get the grace to forgive those who have wronged us, and the humility to ask for forgiveness from those whom we have wronged. With the Spirit we get the strength and hope that help us weather spiritual trials. The Spirit is the answer to the whole Lord’s Prayer!
I hope we haven’t stopped asking to see God’s hand at work in the world about us. I hope we never stop searching for God in all the places and people God can show up in. I hope we never stop knocking at the doors to truth and beauty and goodness and love and peace and joy and generosity. God’s door barely needs to be knocked at – the knock itself pushes it open so we can walk right in.
© 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.
7-23-25 - Bothering God
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Is it okay to ask God for stuff? Too often I hear people say things like, “Oh, I wouldn’t want to bother God with that…” or “God has more important prayers to answer,” as though God were limited in time or resources. If God is who we say God is – creator of all that is, seen and unseen; all-powerful, all-knowing; without limits or constraint; then we should feel free to make our needs known to God. Jesus said as much:
“Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”
It’s an oddly negative example, this head of household all tucked in for the night with his children, this friend who will yield to annoying persistence before the claims of friendship, but Jesus often uses negative examples to contrast how good and generous God is by comparison. Jesus invites us not only to ask for our daily bread – the day’s supply, not a year’s – and beyond that to bring our petitions to God in prayer. Remember, Jesus tells this story in response to his disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” This is part of praying, trusting enough in God’s love to be persistent.
Why should we have to be persistent? Doesn’t God hear us the first time? I believe God hears us before we’ve even formed a prayer into words. God hears the intentions of our hearts. And if we’re praying in the Spirit, then God has inspired the very prayer God proposes to answer. That’s when prayer is really cooking. But in this life we’ll have some desires of our own, and anxieties, and we can offer those in prayer as often as we want. It’s the most productive way of dealing with our worries and wants. It is communication that deepens our relationship with God. And when we talk to God, we’re promised peace, a peace which allows us to better let go of our wants and worries.
Persistence doesn’t always yield the “result” we want. Sometimes God’s response is silence, or “no,” or we see an outcome very different than what we want or regard as life-giving. Mystery and timing are factors in prayer we can never control. Yet even when we don’t see the answer we desire, we’re invited to pray.
It could be that the only outcome is a deeper relationship with God – and what better outcome could there be than to be closer to the Maker of all worlds, the Lover of our souls, the one relationship that will endure when all else has fallen away?
© 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.
Is it okay to ask God for stuff? Too often I hear people say things like, “Oh, I wouldn’t want to bother God with that…” or “God has more important prayers to answer,” as though God were limited in time or resources. If God is who we say God is – creator of all that is, seen and unseen; all-powerful, all-knowing; without limits or constraint; then we should feel free to make our needs known to God. Jesus said as much:
“Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”
It’s an oddly negative example, this head of household all tucked in for the night with his children, this friend who will yield to annoying persistence before the claims of friendship, but Jesus often uses negative examples to contrast how good and generous God is by comparison. Jesus invites us not only to ask for our daily bread – the day’s supply, not a year’s – and beyond that to bring our petitions to God in prayer. Remember, Jesus tells this story in response to his disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us how to pray.” This is part of praying, trusting enough in God’s love to be persistent.
Why should we have to be persistent? Doesn’t God hear us the first time? I believe God hears us before we’ve even formed a prayer into words. God hears the intentions of our hearts. And if we’re praying in the Spirit, then God has inspired the very prayer God proposes to answer. That’s when prayer is really cooking. But in this life we’ll have some desires of our own, and anxieties, and we can offer those in prayer as often as we want. It’s the most productive way of dealing with our worries and wants. It is communication that deepens our relationship with God. And when we talk to God, we’re promised peace, a peace which allows us to better let go of our wants and worries.
Persistence doesn’t always yield the “result” we want. Sometimes God’s response is silence, or “no,” or we see an outcome very different than what we want or regard as life-giving. Mystery and timing are factors in prayer we can never control. Yet even when we don’t see the answer we desire, we’re invited to pray.
It could be that the only outcome is a deeper relationship with God – and what better outcome could there be than to be closer to the Maker of all worlds, the Lover of our souls, the one relationship that will endure when all else has fallen away?
© 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.
7-21-25 - A Certain Place
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Do you have a special place where you pray? Some people pray in the car, chatting with Jesus in the passenger seat. Others pray as they walk in nature. Some even pray in churches. Many people pray on the run, going from here to there, or as need or occasion arises.
All of these are good and valid forms of prayer in terms of talking to God. If we truly want to hear what God has to say to us we will also incorporate the kind of prayer that builds up our relationship with God. The gospels show us that Jesus often went apart to pray, and spent time in prayer. His disciples seem to have observed this pattern and were intrigued: He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
No relationship can grow unless both parties devote time to conversation. When we’ve made a new friend, or become enamored of someone, we find ourselves naturally wanting to communicate. That impulse can weaken as familiarity grows, so we need to be proactive and intentional about it. If we want to strengthen our connection with the God who made the universe, who knows and loves us more than we can imagine, we will need to show up for the conversation God is always ready to have with us. Yes, it requires more from us, because, unlike God, our time is finite and we can only effectively focus on one person at a time.
Designating a time and especially a place for quiet, contemplative prayer is the key. What time of day are you least likely to be distracted? Is there a place in your home – a chair, a window – where you can truly relax and go into “spirit-mode?” What you do when you get there can vary – some people read and chew on a passage of Scripture, or read the Daily Office (Episcopal-speak for a cycle of readings and prayers for morning and evening). You might read Water Daily and find your own way into Sunday’s gospel reading.
Leave some time to allow your spirit to settle deeply and invite God to speak in that silence. Perhaps your imagination will produce a scene in which you and Jesus can chat. I don’t know what it will look like for you. I only know that God desires connection with God’s beloveds, and connection requires communication, and communication with God will transform our whole day – and life.
© 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.
Do you have a special place where you pray? Some people pray in the car, chatting with Jesus in the passenger seat. Others pray as they walk in nature. Some even pray in churches. Many people pray on the run, going from here to there, or as need or occasion arises.
All of these are good and valid forms of prayer in terms of talking to God. If we truly want to hear what God has to say to us we will also incorporate the kind of prayer that builds up our relationship with God. The gospels show us that Jesus often went apart to pray, and spent time in prayer. His disciples seem to have observed this pattern and were intrigued: He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
No relationship can grow unless both parties devote time to conversation. When we’ve made a new friend, or become enamored of someone, we find ourselves naturally wanting to communicate. That impulse can weaken as familiarity grows, so we need to be proactive and intentional about it. If we want to strengthen our connection with the God who made the universe, who knows and loves us more than we can imagine, we will need to show up for the conversation God is always ready to have with us. Yes, it requires more from us, because, unlike God, our time is finite and we can only effectively focus on one person at a time.
Designating a time and especially a place for quiet, contemplative prayer is the key. What time of day are you least likely to be distracted? Is there a place in your home – a chair, a window – where you can truly relax and go into “spirit-mode?” What you do when you get there can vary – some people read and chew on a passage of Scripture, or read the Daily Office (Episcopal-speak for a cycle of readings and prayers for morning and evening). You might read Water Daily and find your own way into Sunday’s gospel reading.
Leave some time to allow your spirit to settle deeply and invite God to speak in that silence. Perhaps your imagination will produce a scene in which you and Jesus can chat. I don’t know what it will look like for you. I only know that God desires connection with God’s beloveds, and connection requires communication, and communication with God will transform our whole day – and life.
© 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.
7-17-25 - Distracted Living
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
“Martha, Martha.” It’s that repeating of the name that hooks me, a master-stroke of narrative reporting by Luke. Maybe it’s simply the way he heard the story (from Martha herself?). As Martha of Bethany stresses out over her hosting chores, asking Jesus to make her sister get up and help her rather than sit there listening to him teach, Jesus addresses her calmly and directly: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Of all the weapons the Enemy of Human Nature uses to divert us from God, worry is among the most effective and frequently deployed. When we are worried, we are by definition distracted, focusing on what worries us rather than on the God who blesses. Martha can no longer remember why she invited Jesus to her home, why she wants to offer a lovely meal. All the joy and generosity of giving is lost in her annoyance and anxiety. She’s no longer available for relationship with Jesus, or with her sister Mary – she can only try to control and manipulate them. That ever happen to you?
I once invited a man I was interested in to a dinner party, and then spent the entire evening in the kitchen stressing myself out to present an impressive meal, overhearing all the great conversation among the wonderful guests I’d invited, never making myself present or available for the relationship I hoped for. Talk about distracted.
Imagine there are three boxes drawn on the pavement, as though for hopscotch. You are in the center box. Your worries are in the one on the left, and God is in the one on the right. If you turn to focus on what worries you, that’s all you can see. God is behind you, still able to bless, but you can't engage. If you turn the other way (and the Greek word for repentance, metanoia, means to turn fully around) you are now facing God. And where are your worries? They are in the box behind you. They’re still there, and God can see them, yet you are now focused on the source of solutions and answers. In fact, as we focus on God, we are better able to imagine solutions ourselves.
Focusing on what worries us is like distracted driving; taking our eyes off Jesus is like taking our eyes off the road. We may not crash, but our risk and anxiety levels increase, and we’re a danger to others. Think about what “many things” are worrying and distracting you. Now, hear Jesus say your name, not once, but twice, gently calling you back to yourself – and himself. Hear his words: “There is need of only one thing.” He is the one thing. He is all we need.
© 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.
“Martha, Martha.” It’s that repeating of the name that hooks me, a master-stroke of narrative reporting by Luke. Maybe it’s simply the way he heard the story (from Martha herself?). As Martha of Bethany stresses out over her hosting chores, asking Jesus to make her sister get up and help her rather than sit there listening to him teach, Jesus addresses her calmly and directly: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Of all the weapons the Enemy of Human Nature uses to divert us from God, worry is among the most effective and frequently deployed. When we are worried, we are by definition distracted, focusing on what worries us rather than on the God who blesses. Martha can no longer remember why she invited Jesus to her home, why she wants to offer a lovely meal. All the joy and generosity of giving is lost in her annoyance and anxiety. She’s no longer available for relationship with Jesus, or with her sister Mary – she can only try to control and manipulate them. That ever happen to you?
I once invited a man I was interested in to a dinner party, and then spent the entire evening in the kitchen stressing myself out to present an impressive meal, overhearing all the great conversation among the wonderful guests I’d invited, never making myself present or available for the relationship I hoped for. Talk about distracted.
Imagine there are three boxes drawn on the pavement, as though for hopscotch. You are in the center box. Your worries are in the one on the left, and God is in the one on the right. If you turn to focus on what worries you, that’s all you can see. God is behind you, still able to bless, but you can't engage. If you turn the other way (and the Greek word for repentance, metanoia, means to turn fully around) you are now facing God. And where are your worries? They are in the box behind you. They’re still there, and God can see them, yet you are now focused on the source of solutions and answers. In fact, as we focus on God, we are better able to imagine solutions ourselves.
Focusing on what worries us is like distracted driving; taking our eyes off Jesus is like taking our eyes off the road. We may not crash, but our risk and anxiety levels increase, and we’re a danger to others. Think about what “many things” are worrying and distracting you. Now, hear Jesus say your name, not once, but twice, gently calling you back to yourself – and himself. Hear his words: “There is need of only one thing.” He is the one thing. He is all we need.
© 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.
7-15-25 - Deep Listening
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
I aspire to be a good listener – it doesn’t come naturally, as so often there is something I want to say. (Five days a week, even!) Listening well is an attribute demonstrated by Mary of Bethany, as we see when Jesus comes to visit the house:
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.
We often think of prayer as what we have to say to God, pouring out our gratitude and grumbles, our hopes and regrets. But saints and mystics throughout the centuries have pointed to Mary’s posture as the beginning of true prayer, sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to what he says.
There are a number of ways we can do that. One is by reading and chewing on his words and actions as we find them in Scripture. Taking a small chunk of Jesus’ teaching, or reading, re-reading and putting ourselves into a gospel story about him is a way we can settle our spirits and start to truly hear from him. Talking to someone else about where we're experiencing God's activity and love, and hearing their stories is another way we listen to Jesus.
And we can learn to listen in prayer. Some do that through cultivating meditation techniques like centering prayer, learning to still the chattering mind and come into a place of deep, unspoken communion with God, in which occasionally we receive words or encouragement. Those of us whose chattering rarely ebbs are hard pressed to truly quiet our minds. But we can open our imaginations to the Spirit, inviting God to make himself known through places or scenes that unfold in our mind’s eye.
For a time in my life, there was a rocky beach in Greece where I met Jesus in prayer in my imagination, and shared conversation. That was followed by a musty old English church, a chalet kind of house in the mountains, and most recently a forest glade by a pond. Go figure. I didn’t choose these “mediating” spots, as I call them. They unfolded in my mind as I prayed, and I just went with them, asking where Jesus was. Right now there is no place, just sometimes words coming to mind as I pray, that I believe come from Jesus.
Our minds might not easily become still, but we can bring our bodies into stillness by setting aside time in our day or week, and even a place in our home or office where we settle in to listen to Jesus. I’m sure he doesn’t mind when we talk – our loving God wants to hear from her children. Yet we will find our spirits expand as we learn to follow the way of Mary, and let ourselves listen deeply to that still small voice of God which is amplified in our silences.
© 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.
I aspire to be a good listener – it doesn’t come naturally, as so often there is something I want to say. (Five days a week, even!) Listening well is an attribute demonstrated by Mary of Bethany, as we see when Jesus comes to visit the house:
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.
We often think of prayer as what we have to say to God, pouring out our gratitude and grumbles, our hopes and regrets. But saints and mystics throughout the centuries have pointed to Mary’s posture as the beginning of true prayer, sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to what he says.
There are a number of ways we can do that. One is by reading and chewing on his words and actions as we find them in Scripture. Taking a small chunk of Jesus’ teaching, or reading, re-reading and putting ourselves into a gospel story about him is a way we can settle our spirits and start to truly hear from him. Talking to someone else about where we're experiencing God's activity and love, and hearing their stories is another way we listen to Jesus.
And we can learn to listen in prayer. Some do that through cultivating meditation techniques like centering prayer, learning to still the chattering mind and come into a place of deep, unspoken communion with God, in which occasionally we receive words or encouragement. Those of us whose chattering rarely ebbs are hard pressed to truly quiet our minds. But we can open our imaginations to the Spirit, inviting God to make himself known through places or scenes that unfold in our mind’s eye.
For a time in my life, there was a rocky beach in Greece where I met Jesus in prayer in my imagination, and shared conversation. That was followed by a musty old English church, a chalet kind of house in the mountains, and most recently a forest glade by a pond. Go figure. I didn’t choose these “mediating” spots, as I call them. They unfolded in my mind as I prayed, and I just went with them, asking where Jesus was. Right now there is no place, just sometimes words coming to mind as I pray, that I believe come from Jesus.
Our minds might not easily become still, but we can bring our bodies into stillness by setting aside time in our day or week, and even a place in our home or office where we settle in to listen to Jesus. I’m sure he doesn’t mind when we talk – our loving God wants to hear from her children. Yet we will find our spirits expand as we learn to follow the way of Mary, and let ourselves listen deeply to that still small voice of God which is amplified in our silences.
© 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.
5-7-25 - Hearing Jesus
You can listen to this reflection here.
In our gospel reading this week, we see the religious leaders of Jesus’ time demand that he state whether or not he is the Messiah. None of this hinting around. “Are you or aren’t you?” they ask. In reply, he throws an “Are you or aren’t you?” back at them: Are they his sheep, or not? He doesn’t even ask, because he knows they are not: The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
Jesus presents an argument that is hard to refute – and hard to accept. He says, “If you believe in me, you’re one of my sheep. If you don’t, you’re not – so you won’t recognize my voice and become one of my sheep.” He defines his critics “out” as firmly as he defines his followers “in.” That cannot have felt very good to these leaders, already suspicious of him yet desperately hoping he might in fact be the long-awaited Messiah.
How about us, reading this so many thousands of years later? Do you feel like one of Jesus’ sheep? He describes his relationship with his sheep as an intimate one, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” Do you feel known by Jesus? Do you let him know you? Do you feel you are following him?
It can be hard to follow him if we don’t hear his voice, and it can be hard to hear his voice in the din in which we live our lives – actual noise, constant input and stimulus from social media and email and texts, not to mention the incessant chatter inside our own heads… How can we hear Jesus’ voice? Well, here are some ways:
We can follow him without hearing him – that’s called faith. Mother Theresa reportedly went for years without a felt sense of connection to God, moving forward on the strength of the revelation she'd experienced earlier. Yet I believe Jesus wants us to hear his voice. Let’s explore and see if one or more of these avenues opens the ears of our hearts to hear Love calling us in.
© 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 gospel reading this week, we see the religious leaders of Jesus’ time demand that he state whether or not he is the Messiah. None of this hinting around. “Are you or aren’t you?” they ask. In reply, he throws an “Are you or aren’t you?” back at them: Are they his sheep, or not? He doesn’t even ask, because he knows they are not: The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
Jesus presents an argument that is hard to refute – and hard to accept. He says, “If you believe in me, you’re one of my sheep. If you don’t, you’re not – so you won’t recognize my voice and become one of my sheep.” He defines his critics “out” as firmly as he defines his followers “in.” That cannot have felt very good to these leaders, already suspicious of him yet desperately hoping he might in fact be the long-awaited Messiah.
How about us, reading this so many thousands of years later? Do you feel like one of Jesus’ sheep? He describes his relationship with his sheep as an intimate one, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” Do you feel known by Jesus? Do you let him know you? Do you feel you are following him?
It can be hard to follow him if we don’t hear his voice, and it can be hard to hear his voice in the din in which we live our lives – actual noise, constant input and stimulus from social media and email and texts, not to mention the incessant chatter inside our own heads… How can we hear Jesus’ voice? Well, here are some ways:
- In prayer, inviting him to speak to us as we wait in silence;
- In the Gospels, reading them with an eye to get to know the Jesus we find in them – chewing on his words as we encounter them;
- In the sacraments, inviting him to speak through objects and actions both sacred and ordinary;
- In hymns and spiritual songs, attending to phrases that stick or come to the surface;
- In other people, especially people in need, in whom he said he could be found;
- in our responses to suffering and joy;
- In our own thoughts, as we invite the Holy Spirit to speak in us.
We can follow him without hearing him – that’s called faith. Mother Theresa reportedly went for years without a felt sense of connection to God, moving forward on the strength of the revelation she'd experienced earlier. Yet I believe Jesus wants us to hear his voice. Let’s explore and see if one or more of these avenues opens the ears of our hearts to hear Love calling us in.
© 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.
10-22-24 - Lord, Have Mercy
You can listen to this reflection here.
In this week’s story, we find Jesus leaving Jericho with a large crowd, on his way to Jerusalem. At the side of the road sits a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, who is anything but shy. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
This shouted prayer has come through the ages from the lips of Bartimaeus into the lives of millions of Christ-followers. It forms the heart the “Jesus prayer,” which many pilgrims and mystics have taken as a mantra to help them cultivate the practice of praying without ceasing. This spiritual practice, called “hesychasm,” flourished in Russia and some of the Eastern Orthodox churches, and has popped up in other unexpected places, most notably in J.D. Salinger’s great novella of spirituality and neurosis, Franny and Zooey. Also called “the prayer of the heart,” the words vary somewhat, but are most often rendered, “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me,” with some formulations adding the words “…a sinner.”
What is it about these words that so many have found so compelling? Need we beg for mercy from a God of love? In a perfect world, we wouldn’t. In the world in which we yet live, awaiting the perfection of God’s plan of redemption, many of us find ourselves aware of the need for God’s mercy and love on a regular basis, whether from a place of pain or poverty or as a cry of repentance. No matter how well we know God’s grace, our awareness of being less than we were made to be compels us to that prayer.
But let us not mistake this for a prayer of degradation or forced humility. Bartimaeus uttered these words with vigor and volume; this was not a meek plea, but a cry of faith and recognition both of who Jesus was and who he himself was. God is God, and we are not. God is all in all; we are ever becoming whole. This side of glory, we will always be in need of the mercy of the One who made us, knows us, loves us, and never lets us go.
About what would you utter such a cry?
In this week’s story, we find Jesus leaving Jericho with a large crowd, on his way to Jerusalem. At the side of the road sits a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, who is anything but shy. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
This shouted prayer has come through the ages from the lips of Bartimaeus into the lives of millions of Christ-followers. It forms the heart the “Jesus prayer,” which many pilgrims and mystics have taken as a mantra to help them cultivate the practice of praying without ceasing. This spiritual practice, called “hesychasm,” flourished in Russia and some of the Eastern Orthodox churches, and has popped up in other unexpected places, most notably in J.D. Salinger’s great novella of spirituality and neurosis, Franny and Zooey. Also called “the prayer of the heart,” the words vary somewhat, but are most often rendered, “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me,” with some formulations adding the words “…a sinner.”
What is it about these words that so many have found so compelling? Need we beg for mercy from a God of love? In a perfect world, we wouldn’t. In the world in which we yet live, awaiting the perfection of God’s plan of redemption, many of us find ourselves aware of the need for God’s mercy and love on a regular basis, whether from a place of pain or poverty or as a cry of repentance. No matter how well we know God’s grace, our awareness of being less than we were made to be compels us to that prayer.
But let us not mistake this for a prayer of degradation or forced humility. Bartimaeus uttered these words with vigor and volume; this was not a meek plea, but a cry of faith and recognition both of who Jesus was and who he himself was. God is God, and we are not. God is all in all; we are ever becoming whole. This side of glory, we will always be in need of the mercy of the One who made us, knows us, loves us, and never lets us go.
About what would you utter such a cry?
What are you in need of deliverance from or blessing with?
One night a friend, whose wife was in the hospital, was putting his very church-experienced little girls to bed. As he turned out the light, he sighed and said under his breath, "Lord, have mercy!" From the darkness came a whispered response, "Christ, have mercy."
Whatever drives us to pray it, let us like Bartimaeus, pray it with pride, “Lord Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me.”
© 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.
One night a friend, whose wife was in the hospital, was putting his very church-experienced little girls to bed. As he turned out the light, he sighed and said under his breath, "Lord, have mercy!" From the darkness came a whispered response, "Christ, have mercy."
Whatever drives us to pray it, let us like Bartimaeus, pray it with pride, “Lord Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me.”
© 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.
9-3-24 - Cranky Jesus?
You can listen to this reflection here.
Those who doubt the full humanity of Christ might look no further than the 7th chapter of Mark's gospel. In the story we have this week, we meet a Jesus who appears out of sorts, brusque to the point of rudeness - and seemingly able to change his mind.
Jesus has come to this house to get away from the crowds and incessant need for his attention and power. He needs a break. And this woman, a Gentile yet, finds him and has the temerity to intrude upon his solitude, demanding spiritual deliverance for her daughter. At first he dismisses her, curtly saying she is outside his assigned mission. Then he likens her to a dog seeking scraps: She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
As she persists, refusing to take offense, he detects something beneath the annoyance she is causing. He discerns a woman of real faith who will not take "no" for an answer because she knows with all her heart that Jesus can heal her little girl. This is the kind of faith he has hoped to see in his own Jewish community – but familiarity can cloud faith vision. This Gentile woman has no such blinders. She sees clearly, and once Jesus' own blinders fall, he sees her truly too, and rewards her faith.
This story contains several invitations for us. One is to be persistent in prayer, with faith, even when it looks like God seems not to answer. Prayer is primarily about deepening our relationship with God, not "getting what we need," so we can pester and cajole and ask nicely and cry our need. Jesus hears us, and adds his perfect faith to ours, as we learn to trust his perfect will and timing.
Another invitation is to keep our senses tuned to discern faith in people outside the community of faith as we recognize it. Those of us who are longtime churchgoers and deeply steeped in our religious tradition don’t always see that the woman with the angel posters or the multiply "tatted" guy asking for money may have a clearer, less complicated, more powerful faith than we do. As we recognize that, we can make it our mission to invite such folks to draw nearer the community, nearer to Christ – and maybe find that it is they who make Christ known to us.
© 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.
Those who doubt the full humanity of Christ might look no further than the 7th chapter of Mark's gospel. In the story we have this week, we meet a Jesus who appears out of sorts, brusque to the point of rudeness - and seemingly able to change his mind.
Jesus has come to this house to get away from the crowds and incessant need for his attention and power. He needs a break. And this woman, a Gentile yet, finds him and has the temerity to intrude upon his solitude, demanding spiritual deliverance for her daughter. At first he dismisses her, curtly saying she is outside his assigned mission. Then he likens her to a dog seeking scraps: She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
As she persists, refusing to take offense, he detects something beneath the annoyance she is causing. He discerns a woman of real faith who will not take "no" for an answer because she knows with all her heart that Jesus can heal her little girl. This is the kind of faith he has hoped to see in his own Jewish community – but familiarity can cloud faith vision. This Gentile woman has no such blinders. She sees clearly, and once Jesus' own blinders fall, he sees her truly too, and rewards her faith.
This story contains several invitations for us. One is to be persistent in prayer, with faith, even when it looks like God seems not to answer. Prayer is primarily about deepening our relationship with God, not "getting what we need," so we can pester and cajole and ask nicely and cry our need. Jesus hears us, and adds his perfect faith to ours, as we learn to trust his perfect will and timing.
Another invitation is to keep our senses tuned to discern faith in people outside the community of faith as we recognize it. Those of us who are longtime churchgoers and deeply steeped in our religious tradition don’t always see that the woman with the angel posters or the multiply "tatted" guy asking for money may have a clearer, less complicated, more powerful faith than we do. As we recognize that, we can make it our mission to invite such folks to draw nearer the community, nearer to Christ – and maybe find that it is they who make Christ known to us.
© 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.
5-17-24 - Peace, Power, Presence
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
This week we have explored the ways the Holy Spirit helps us pray and praise, live “pneumatically,” be like pie with the Spirit’s fruit and filling, and accept the Spirit’s gifts for ministry (can’t think of a “P” word for that…). Let’s end by looking at the way the Spirit brings us supernatural peace, presence and power, through prayer (phew, four more Ps!).
I can think of nothing we need more in our multi-faceted, out-of-control lives than peace and power. And though both are states we can try to achieve on our own, something extraordinary kicks in when we ask them of the Holy Spirit.
When we are in turmoil and pray for God’s peace, and we feel ourselves begin to settle, that is the Holy Spirit at work. Paul calls this peace from the Spirit “the peace that defies understanding.” It comes in profoundly unpeaceful circumstances and is all the more wondrous for being beyond our ability to reason or meditate ourselves into. He told the Philippians to pray in times of anxiety, making petitions, with thanksgiving, and then trust that this peace of Christ will fill us.
Similarly, the power of God comes into us most fully when we are at our weakest. Paul wrote that he heard God say, in a moment of crisis, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9) This is so counter-intuitive, it can be hard to remember at those times when we’re at a low ebb. Sometimes, when I am facing a deadline or an event and I think, “I got nothin',” I am reminded (by the Spirit?) of this principle. If I remember to ask for inspiration when creating a sermon or a flyer, ideas soon come to me.
Paul – and Jesus before him – also relied upon that power of the Spirit revealed in what look like miracles to back up the message of radical forgiveness and transformation in God’s love. It is not our power or our persuasiveness or our gifts that reach another’s heart – it is the power of God's Spirit working through us.
The Holy Spirit is right here, as close as our breath. In fact, we need only stop and breathe in with intention to begin feeling the Spirit’s presence. If I pray in tongues for a moment, I am dropped into the Spirit's presence. Though praying in tongues is unfamiliar to some who associate it with the fervor and occasional emotional excess of Pentecostalism, it is a great gift of the Spirit, one intended as a prayer language. It allows us to allow the Spirit to pray through us. In that way, our prayer begins and ends with God. We are just part of the loop, though an integral part, for if we don’t add our faith and intention, then God’s own desire may not be realized.
Hmmm…. Did I just say we could thwart God's desires? Maybe... and here's Paul again: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:22-27)
We don’t even have to pray on our own strength! Nothing we do as Christ-followers needs to be done alone. God is with us in all of it, all the time, or wants to be. And how do we experience God with us in it all, all of the time? Through the Spirit of the Father and of the Son – the Holy Spirit of God.
© 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.
This week we have explored the ways the Holy Spirit helps us pray and praise, live “pneumatically,” be like pie with the Spirit’s fruit and filling, and accept the Spirit’s gifts for ministry (can’t think of a “P” word for that…). Let’s end by looking at the way the Spirit brings us supernatural peace, presence and power, through prayer (phew, four more Ps!).
I can think of nothing we need more in our multi-faceted, out-of-control lives than peace and power. And though both are states we can try to achieve on our own, something extraordinary kicks in when we ask them of the Holy Spirit.
When we are in turmoil and pray for God’s peace, and we feel ourselves begin to settle, that is the Holy Spirit at work. Paul calls this peace from the Spirit “the peace that defies understanding.” It comes in profoundly unpeaceful circumstances and is all the more wondrous for being beyond our ability to reason or meditate ourselves into. He told the Philippians to pray in times of anxiety, making petitions, with thanksgiving, and then trust that this peace of Christ will fill us.
Similarly, the power of God comes into us most fully when we are at our weakest. Paul wrote that he heard God say, in a moment of crisis, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (II Corinthians 12:9) This is so counter-intuitive, it can be hard to remember at those times when we’re at a low ebb. Sometimes, when I am facing a deadline or an event and I think, “I got nothin',” I am reminded (by the Spirit?) of this principle. If I remember to ask for inspiration when creating a sermon or a flyer, ideas soon come to me.
Paul – and Jesus before him – also relied upon that power of the Spirit revealed in what look like miracles to back up the message of radical forgiveness and transformation in God’s love. It is not our power or our persuasiveness or our gifts that reach another’s heart – it is the power of God's Spirit working through us.
The Holy Spirit is right here, as close as our breath. In fact, we need only stop and breathe in with intention to begin feeling the Spirit’s presence. If I pray in tongues for a moment, I am dropped into the Spirit's presence. Though praying in tongues is unfamiliar to some who associate it with the fervor and occasional emotional excess of Pentecostalism, it is a great gift of the Spirit, one intended as a prayer language. It allows us to allow the Spirit to pray through us. In that way, our prayer begins and ends with God. We are just part of the loop, though an integral part, for if we don’t add our faith and intention, then God’s own desire may not be realized.
Hmmm…. Did I just say we could thwart God's desires? Maybe... and here's Paul again: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:22-27)
We don’t even have to pray on our own strength! Nothing we do as Christ-followers needs to be done alone. God is with us in all of it, all the time, or wants to be. And how do we experience God with us in it all, all of the time? Through the Spirit of the Father and of the Son – the Holy Spirit of God.
© 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.
9-8-23 - Promise of Presence
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Sometimes I wish Jesus would show up and set a few things straight in this messed up world of ours – if people would pay more attention than they did the first time around. But that idle wish misses a big ol’ point: He is here. He said he would be. It’s up to us to discern him and to make him known.
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them,” is a promise. A promise of presence. To unfold that promise, though, requires a few actions from us.
First, we have to be able to distinguish between flesh and spirit. Jesus said that fleshly reality was limited, and that spiritual reality was never-ending. Jesus’ enfleshed presence was time-and-space-limited, 33 years or so, give or take, in one region of the world. His presence in a resurrection body lasted about 40 days. His spiritual presence is eternal, and still going strong among those who believe in his promise.
We also need to buy into the idea of Jesus living in us. We can take the promises of baptism at face value - the promise that we are united with Christ, made a new creation, given a new heart and a new spirit – his spirit. So Paul wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” This filling with his spirit is not an “invasion of the body snatchers” thing. Rather, his spirit joined with mine brings forth a new person, that most true “Kate” (fill in your name) that can possibly be.
If Christ dwells in us, abides in us, then he is real in us. And when we gather with others in whom Christ lives, his presence becomes even stronger and more real. By believing and joining together, we make Christ present in our world, not just a suggestion of presence, but fully here, spiritually speaking. (We supply the flesh and blood.)
How might it change our lives and ministries if we brought this reality more fully to our consciousness? If, when we gathered together, we knew Jesus was among us, and we spoke and acted and prayed like we knew we were in the presence of the all-powerful God? If, when we went out in ministry, we made sure we went in teams of at least two, so that the power of Christ’s presence would fill and empower our work in his name? Don’t get me wrong – Christ is present in us when we’re alone. But he said when two or three of us – our more – gathered in his name, he would be in our midst.
Where would you like Jesus to show up this weekend? In what place, person, situation? Do you have any idea how you might bring him there, with a few others?
Going deeper… where do you think he might want to go? We can get quiet in prayer and ask him: “Jesus, where do you want me to take you today, to make you known?” I can’t wait to hear how those prayers turn out. I do know the world needs a lot more Jesus, and we’re just the ones to help make that happen.
Sometimes I wish Jesus would show up and set a few things straight in this messed up world of ours – if people would pay more attention than they did the first time around. But that idle wish misses a big ol’ point: He is here. He said he would be. It’s up to us to discern him and to make him known.
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them,” is a promise. A promise of presence. To unfold that promise, though, requires a few actions from us.
First, we have to be able to distinguish between flesh and spirit. Jesus said that fleshly reality was limited, and that spiritual reality was never-ending. Jesus’ enfleshed presence was time-and-space-limited, 33 years or so, give or take, in one region of the world. His presence in a resurrection body lasted about 40 days. His spiritual presence is eternal, and still going strong among those who believe in his promise.
We also need to buy into the idea of Jesus living in us. We can take the promises of baptism at face value - the promise that we are united with Christ, made a new creation, given a new heart and a new spirit – his spirit. So Paul wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” This filling with his spirit is not an “invasion of the body snatchers” thing. Rather, his spirit joined with mine brings forth a new person, that most true “Kate” (fill in your name) that can possibly be.
If Christ dwells in us, abides in us, then he is real in us. And when we gather with others in whom Christ lives, his presence becomes even stronger and more real. By believing and joining together, we make Christ present in our world, not just a suggestion of presence, but fully here, spiritually speaking. (We supply the flesh and blood.)
How might it change our lives and ministries if we brought this reality more fully to our consciousness? If, when we gathered together, we knew Jesus was among us, and we spoke and acted and prayed like we knew we were in the presence of the all-powerful God? If, when we went out in ministry, we made sure we went in teams of at least two, so that the power of Christ’s presence would fill and empower our work in his name? Don’t get me wrong – Christ is present in us when we’re alone. But he said when two or three of us – our more – gathered in his name, he would be in our midst.
Where would you like Jesus to show up this weekend? In what place, person, situation? Do you have any idea how you might bring him there, with a few others?
Going deeper… where do you think he might want to go? We can get quiet in prayer and ask him: “Jesus, where do you want me to take you today, to make you known?” I can’t wait to hear how those prayers turn out. I do know the world needs a lot more Jesus, and we’re just the ones to help make that happen.
9-7-23 - Pre-Blessed Prayers
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Some promises are dangerous, offering more than can seemingly be delivered. This statement of Jesus’ strikes me that way: “Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Anything? If even just two of us agree?
Is this a promise with a back-door clause – is it so unlikely that two people on earth would ever fully agree about any request, God has an automatic out? No, let’s assume Jesus was being straightforward. That might leave us doubting God, knowing that we have prayed for outcomes with many people in whole-hearted agreement, without seeing them come to pass. Exhibit A are prayers for healing that are not visibly answered.
This is one of those bible verses that cannot be separated from the one that follows. It only accords with both faith and experience when seen in tandem with this:
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Ah, now we’re not only talking about human agreement. We’re talking about being gathered as the Body of Christ, in his very presence. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray as Christ; to pray from inside, as it were; to invoke the power that his very name makes known. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in agreement with him, and thus to pray with perfect faith. Our own is far from perfect, but Jesus’ is 100%. When we pray with Jesus, not only to Jesus, we have all the faith we need.
So why are some of our prayers not answered as we desire? Perhaps we weren’t quite praying in Christ. Maybe we were bringing forward our desires and seeking God's blessing upon them, like a pie at the county fair. “Here, isn’t this one pretty? Don’t you want to give it a prize?” Sometimes that yields answers we recognize. But our prayers feel more effective when we pray what Jesus is already praying for; his prayers come pre-blessed. We just need to figure out what Jesus’ desires are – and we get a glimpse in the scriptures. Peace. Healing. Equity for the poor. Justice. Inclusion. Holiness.
What are some of those “unanswered prayers” in your life? Most of us have some, and they often put distance between us and God. Call one to mind today. Have you ever asked God what God thinks about that prayer? Ever discussed it with Jesus? Ever paid attention to the Spirit in you when you pray about that?
We might even try asking God: "What is your desire for me in this area?" God's answer could surprise us. We might have to stay still for a time, and attend to what words or images or songs arise in us, now or later.
Prayer is not about getting what we want; it’s about deepening a relationship, one that will last forever. We need to speak our desires – that's just good communicating, being real. The more we cultivate intimacy with Jesus, the more we’ll find ourselves truly praying in his name, his will, his mind, his heart.
And sometimes, as Garth Brooks reminds us, there are reasons we only discover later for what feel like Unanswered Prayers.
Some promises are dangerous, offering more than can seemingly be delivered. This statement of Jesus’ strikes me that way: “Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Anything? If even just two of us agree?
Is this a promise with a back-door clause – is it so unlikely that two people on earth would ever fully agree about any request, God has an automatic out? No, let’s assume Jesus was being straightforward. That might leave us doubting God, knowing that we have prayed for outcomes with many people in whole-hearted agreement, without seeing them come to pass. Exhibit A are prayers for healing that are not visibly answered.
This is one of those bible verses that cannot be separated from the one that follows. It only accords with both faith and experience when seen in tandem with this:
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Ah, now we’re not only talking about human agreement. We’re talking about being gathered as the Body of Christ, in his very presence. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray as Christ; to pray from inside, as it were; to invoke the power that his very name makes known. To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in agreement with him, and thus to pray with perfect faith. Our own is far from perfect, but Jesus’ is 100%. When we pray with Jesus, not only to Jesus, we have all the faith we need.
So why are some of our prayers not answered as we desire? Perhaps we weren’t quite praying in Christ. Maybe we were bringing forward our desires and seeking God's blessing upon them, like a pie at the county fair. “Here, isn’t this one pretty? Don’t you want to give it a prize?” Sometimes that yields answers we recognize. But our prayers feel more effective when we pray what Jesus is already praying for; his prayers come pre-blessed. We just need to figure out what Jesus’ desires are – and we get a glimpse in the scriptures. Peace. Healing. Equity for the poor. Justice. Inclusion. Holiness.
What are some of those “unanswered prayers” in your life? Most of us have some, and they often put distance between us and God. Call one to mind today. Have you ever asked God what God thinks about that prayer? Ever discussed it with Jesus? Ever paid attention to the Spirit in you when you pray about that?
We might even try asking God: "What is your desire for me in this area?" God's answer could surprise us. We might have to stay still for a time, and attend to what words or images or songs arise in us, now or later.
Prayer is not about getting what we want; it’s about deepening a relationship, one that will last forever. We need to speak our desires – that's just good communicating, being real. The more we cultivate intimacy with Jesus, the more we’ll find ourselves truly praying in his name, his will, his mind, his heart.
And sometimes, as Garth Brooks reminds us, there are reasons we only discover later for what feel like Unanswered Prayers.
8-17-23 - Even the Dogs
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Is there a greater example of humility in our scriptures than this unnamed woman, persistently asking Jesus to heal her daughter? In the face of his rejection, even his insinuation that giving her the gifts of the kingdom of God would be like throwing food to dogs, she does not flinch, she does not protest, she does not argue. She simply comes back with a statement that shows she is not about to put her pride before getting what she needs from Jesus:
But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Is there a greater example of faith in our scriptures than this? “Even the dogs get fed. If you’re going to compare me to dogs, fine – let me tell you about dogs. They eat too, maybe on crumbs and scraps, but they get fed on what falls from the table. Surely your power is so great that even a crumb of it can heal my poor little girl?” Clearly Jesus was moved, for with this comment she finally got his attention. Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
In her gentle refusal to be thwarted, this woman models faith for us. How often do we think God isn’t paying attention to our prayers? How quickly do we turn away – and sometimes walk away, even for years – because we don’t sense a response? How frequently do we conclude “God must not really care about me," when we don’t perceive an answer?
This mother held nothing back. She was willing to beg, to cross religious and ethnic lines, to compare herself to a dog cadging crumbs under a table to get the help her daughter needed. And how did she know Jesus had the power to help? Without knowing him, she believed whole-heartedly in what was said of him – that he was the Holy One, the Messiah, the Son of David. She knew no one else could help. She gave it her all, not only her best shot, but every shot she had.
I don’t want us to respond to this story by thinking, “Oh, I didn’t beg enough, I didn’t pray hard enough.” We don’t always get what we pray for; there is still mystery. I do want us to know that we can approach Jesus the way she did, no holds barred, to keep arguing our case until we are satisfied we have been heard, or we have received the grace to release it into God’s hands. I want us to go back and forth with Jesus in prayer, not walk away empty-handed and disheartened. As Wayne Gretzky famously said, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."
What do you want Jesus to do for you? Don’t dredge up all the things you’ve wanted before; what do you want now? Tell him – in as personal a way as you can. Imagine talking with him, or speak aloud in a private space, or write to him – but listen to what he says. Talk back if you need to. Jesus never gave us a “no talk-back” rule.
It is a delicate balance – to pray boldly, because we know God is generous and powerful beyond our imagining, and yet to pray humbly, without feeling entitled. Let’s try to match the Canaanite woman in both the passion of her asking and her humility before God. We might even think of ourselves as many dogs we know – loved and pampered, and willing to feast under the table as well as at it.
Is there a greater example of humility in our scriptures than this unnamed woman, persistently asking Jesus to heal her daughter? In the face of his rejection, even his insinuation that giving her the gifts of the kingdom of God would be like throwing food to dogs, she does not flinch, she does not protest, she does not argue. She simply comes back with a statement that shows she is not about to put her pride before getting what she needs from Jesus:
But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
Is there a greater example of faith in our scriptures than this? “Even the dogs get fed. If you’re going to compare me to dogs, fine – let me tell you about dogs. They eat too, maybe on crumbs and scraps, but they get fed on what falls from the table. Surely your power is so great that even a crumb of it can heal my poor little girl?” Clearly Jesus was moved, for with this comment she finally got his attention. Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”
In her gentle refusal to be thwarted, this woman models faith for us. How often do we think God isn’t paying attention to our prayers? How quickly do we turn away – and sometimes walk away, even for years – because we don’t sense a response? How frequently do we conclude “God must not really care about me," when we don’t perceive an answer?
This mother held nothing back. She was willing to beg, to cross religious and ethnic lines, to compare herself to a dog cadging crumbs under a table to get the help her daughter needed. And how did she know Jesus had the power to help? Without knowing him, she believed whole-heartedly in what was said of him – that he was the Holy One, the Messiah, the Son of David. She knew no one else could help. She gave it her all, not only her best shot, but every shot she had.
I don’t want us to respond to this story by thinking, “Oh, I didn’t beg enough, I didn’t pray hard enough.” We don’t always get what we pray for; there is still mystery. I do want us to know that we can approach Jesus the way she did, no holds barred, to keep arguing our case until we are satisfied we have been heard, or we have received the grace to release it into God’s hands. I want us to go back and forth with Jesus in prayer, not walk away empty-handed and disheartened. As Wayne Gretzky famously said, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."
What do you want Jesus to do for you? Don’t dredge up all the things you’ve wanted before; what do you want now? Tell him – in as personal a way as you can. Imagine talking with him, or speak aloud in a private space, or write to him – but listen to what he says. Talk back if you need to. Jesus never gave us a “no talk-back” rule.
It is a delicate balance – to pray boldly, because we know God is generous and powerful beyond our imagining, and yet to pray humbly, without feeling entitled. Let’s try to match the Canaanite woman in both the passion of her asking and her humility before God. We might even think of ourselves as many dogs we know – loved and pampered, and willing to feast under the table as well as at it.
5-16-23 - Jesus' Unanswered Prayer
You can listen to this reflection here.
How many people have stepped away from God because a prayer they desired with all their heart was not answered? If we’re going to put our trust in a being we cannot see, hear or touch, whom we can only imagine based on reports of others and our own subjective experience, hadn’t that all-powerful being at least deliver the goods? And it seems that God does not always deliver the goods we want.
We might do well to remember that even Jesus, the incarnate, sinless Son of God, who dwelt in God’s holy presence since before time began and dwells there for eternity, had unanswered prayers. There is one in this Sunday’s gospel. Jesus prayed, “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
In case you hadn’t noticed, the church that is meant to be Christ’s One Body in the world is as divided as it has ever been. Most people on one side or another of its many divides would say that those on the other sides distort or misinterpret Jesus’ legacy. Many would offer excellent support for their position. Unfortunately, unity rarely trumps the human need to be right.
So, did Jesus pray a dumb prayer? Why has it not been answered in a way that matched the deep desire of his heart? Why has love been so hard a road, even for the followers of the Lord of Love, the Prince of Peace?
I think it is because we remain human. Not even the unlimited power of God can prevail against a human will that is not yielded to God. That is the way God set it up. God’s power is unlimited – except where God has chosen to limit it. If we have free will, the will to choose God or not-God, then God has voluntarily bound God’s own hand. If our prayers depend on the will of another person to choose one way or another, their efficacy will depend on how much that person is open to the influence of the Holy Spirit.
What prayers of yours have felt fruitless? Are you trying to pray around someone rather than for them?
This prayer of Jesus that his followers would be one, protected from the corrosion and dis-ease that division cause, can only be answered in our choosing differently. When we invite God to bring our wills for his church into alignment with his will, we might begin to seek reconciliation with others who claim to follow Christ. And seeking reconciliation is not the same thing as seeking agreement. Too often we start by trying to resolve differences rather than by building relationships.
How might we work toward the fruit that Jesus prayed for, that fruit of unity and love by which he said the world would know his followers? Is there someone who believes differently than you to whom you might offer relationship?
In the fullness of God's time, Jesus’ prayer has already been answered. Its completion will become more visible in this world as we align ourselves with that prayer and live into it. Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Where true love is, God is there.
How many people have stepped away from God because a prayer they desired with all their heart was not answered? If we’re going to put our trust in a being we cannot see, hear or touch, whom we can only imagine based on reports of others and our own subjective experience, hadn’t that all-powerful being at least deliver the goods? And it seems that God does not always deliver the goods we want.
We might do well to remember that even Jesus, the incarnate, sinless Son of God, who dwelt in God’s holy presence since before time began and dwells there for eternity, had unanswered prayers. There is one in this Sunday’s gospel. Jesus prayed, “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
In case you hadn’t noticed, the church that is meant to be Christ’s One Body in the world is as divided as it has ever been. Most people on one side or another of its many divides would say that those on the other sides distort or misinterpret Jesus’ legacy. Many would offer excellent support for their position. Unfortunately, unity rarely trumps the human need to be right.
So, did Jesus pray a dumb prayer? Why has it not been answered in a way that matched the deep desire of his heart? Why has love been so hard a road, even for the followers of the Lord of Love, the Prince of Peace?
I think it is because we remain human. Not even the unlimited power of God can prevail against a human will that is not yielded to God. That is the way God set it up. God’s power is unlimited – except where God has chosen to limit it. If we have free will, the will to choose God or not-God, then God has voluntarily bound God’s own hand. If our prayers depend on the will of another person to choose one way or another, their efficacy will depend on how much that person is open to the influence of the Holy Spirit.
What prayers of yours have felt fruitless? Are you trying to pray around someone rather than for them?
This prayer of Jesus that his followers would be one, protected from the corrosion and dis-ease that division cause, can only be answered in our choosing differently. When we invite God to bring our wills for his church into alignment with his will, we might begin to seek reconciliation with others who claim to follow Christ. And seeking reconciliation is not the same thing as seeking agreement. Too often we start by trying to resolve differences rather than by building relationships.
How might we work toward the fruit that Jesus prayed for, that fruit of unity and love by which he said the world would know his followers? Is there someone who believes differently than you to whom you might offer relationship?
In the fullness of God's time, Jesus’ prayer has already been answered. Its completion will become more visible in this world as we align ourselves with that prayer and live into it. Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Where true love is, God is there.
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5-5-23 - Greater Things
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
How did the church’s expectations get so small? Maybe not all churches – some do expect that God will move in power among them. But many churches, and Christians, seem to ask very little of God, as if unsure what they can count on. Just listen to what Jesus said:
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
Greater works than what Jesus did? He who transformed water into vats of finest wine, who extended a snack into a meal for 5,000, who healed the lame and lepers and gave sight to the blind? He who rose from the dead? It’s not possible. And yet, for a time, after the Spirit came at Pentecost, the apostles did indeed perform just such amazing works in God’s name and power. So what happened?
Well, God still works among us in miraculous ways, despite lukewarm faith or hesitance to ask too much of the Lord, as though God’s power were finite. Perhaps one obstacle comes from what Jesus is quoted as saying next, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” And, in case they didn’t get it, “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
I have asked for things in Jesus’ name that I have not seen come to pass. Good things, holy things – healing and restoration, the gift of faith for those who wanted to believe but didn't. What are we to make of these words? Bad translation? Maybe the writer of John adding things for effect? I say that’s too easy. However this came into our sacred writings, we are invited to deal with it.
In part, that means dealing honestly with our disappointment with God for the “unanswered prayers.”* It means opening our spirits to the operation of the Holy Spirit so that more and more we pray for what God already intends – and maybe was waiting for us to be willing to be the conduits for. Praying in Jesus' name means praying in his will, in his Spirit. It means praying Jesus’ prayers.
It is a fine balance to pray with huge faith and boldness and yet release our desires into the mystery of God’s will. We can only do that, I believe, from within an honest relationship with God, trusting in God’s love, even when that is hard to feel. That’s why they call it faith.
Name a “great work” you would like God to accomplish through you. Don’t be timid, don’t be rational – go for broke. Let God know that today in prayer. Ask the Spirit to help refine that prayer in you until you have an inner conviction that you are praying God’s prayer. If we have to say, “If it is your will,” we don’t yet have that conviction. We are invited to keep praying and keep inviting the Spirit to knead that prayer in us until it is ready to rise and become bread.
If we don’t ask, if we don’t step out on the promises of God in faith, we will see mostly small works. Jesus said it; let’s lean on it. The more we pray, in faith, in the Spirit, the more amazing activity of God we will see. Amen! Let it be so!
*We’ll go 5 for 5 with the song links this week… Garth Brooks gets the nod today, if not the prize for theology…
How did the church’s expectations get so small? Maybe not all churches – some do expect that God will move in power among them. But many churches, and Christians, seem to ask very little of God, as if unsure what they can count on. Just listen to what Jesus said:
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
Greater works than what Jesus did? He who transformed water into vats of finest wine, who extended a snack into a meal for 5,000, who healed the lame and lepers and gave sight to the blind? He who rose from the dead? It’s not possible. And yet, for a time, after the Spirit came at Pentecost, the apostles did indeed perform just such amazing works in God’s name and power. So what happened?
Well, God still works among us in miraculous ways, despite lukewarm faith or hesitance to ask too much of the Lord, as though God’s power were finite. Perhaps one obstacle comes from what Jesus is quoted as saying next, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” And, in case they didn’t get it, “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
I have asked for things in Jesus’ name that I have not seen come to pass. Good things, holy things – healing and restoration, the gift of faith for those who wanted to believe but didn't. What are we to make of these words? Bad translation? Maybe the writer of John adding things for effect? I say that’s too easy. However this came into our sacred writings, we are invited to deal with it.
In part, that means dealing honestly with our disappointment with God for the “unanswered prayers.”* It means opening our spirits to the operation of the Holy Spirit so that more and more we pray for what God already intends – and maybe was waiting for us to be willing to be the conduits for. Praying in Jesus' name means praying in his will, in his Spirit. It means praying Jesus’ prayers.
It is a fine balance to pray with huge faith and boldness and yet release our desires into the mystery of God’s will. We can only do that, I believe, from within an honest relationship with God, trusting in God’s love, even when that is hard to feel. That’s why they call it faith.
Name a “great work” you would like God to accomplish through you. Don’t be timid, don’t be rational – go for broke. Let God know that today in prayer. Ask the Spirit to help refine that prayer in you until you have an inner conviction that you are praying God’s prayer. If we have to say, “If it is your will,” we don’t yet have that conviction. We are invited to keep praying and keep inviting the Spirit to knead that prayer in us until it is ready to rise and become bread.
If we don’t ask, if we don’t step out on the promises of God in faith, we will see mostly small works. Jesus said it; let’s lean on it. The more we pray, in faith, in the Spirit, the more amazing activity of God we will see. Amen! Let it be so!
*We’ll go 5 for 5 with the song links this week… Garth Brooks gets the nod today, if not the prize for theology…
10-13-22 - Have a Little Faith
You can listen to this reflection here.
Talk about burns – how’s this for a closing: “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" That’s what Jesus says at the end of his story.
Faith. That again. Isn’t it nicer when the focus is on God’s action – or delayed action? With this parting shot, Jesus swerves the lens neatly back to us. That persistent widow in his story, annoying as she may have been, was also an examplar of faith. She had faith in a system that thus far had yielded no justice. But she kept at it.
How about us? I know many people who turn away from God because their suffering, or the suffering of others, has not been alleviated, as though that were the only criteria for belief. I acknowledge the reality of that pain – AND I want to invite people with that viewpoint to widen their field of vision. On any given day, most of us can see many blessings and answers to prayer and signs of God-life, as well as the persistence of injustice and challenges. We are invited to take it all in, to give praise in all circumstances, to allow the blessings to strengthen our faith for the challenges.
As I wrote this, John Hiatt’s song, Have a Little Faith in Me started up in my head. Though it is a love song from a man to a woman, I can imagine our loving God singing it to us: When the road gets dark and you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark, and have a little faith in me.
Today in prayer, instead of making lists and thinking of all the areas where we want to see God’s justice, let’s recall God’s faithfulness and our own faith. If you want to try a new prayer experience, play the song and imagine God singing it to you (okay, if John Hiatt as God is a little too much, you could just read the words…)
God has chosen to work through our faith, weak or strong as it may be at any given moment. It is a key ingredient in bringing forth justice. So remember. Remember the times when you’ve known God’s faithfulness, and dare to have a little faith, one more time, for Jesus to find.
Talk about burns – how’s this for a closing: “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" That’s what Jesus says at the end of his story.
Faith. That again. Isn’t it nicer when the focus is on God’s action – or delayed action? With this parting shot, Jesus swerves the lens neatly back to us. That persistent widow in his story, annoying as she may have been, was also an examplar of faith. She had faith in a system that thus far had yielded no justice. But she kept at it.
How about us? I know many people who turn away from God because their suffering, or the suffering of others, has not been alleviated, as though that were the only criteria for belief. I acknowledge the reality of that pain – AND I want to invite people with that viewpoint to widen their field of vision. On any given day, most of us can see many blessings and answers to prayer and signs of God-life, as well as the persistence of injustice and challenges. We are invited to take it all in, to give praise in all circumstances, to allow the blessings to strengthen our faith for the challenges.
As I wrote this, John Hiatt’s song, Have a Little Faith in Me started up in my head. Though it is a love song from a man to a woman, I can imagine our loving God singing it to us: When the road gets dark and you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark, and have a little faith in me.
Today in prayer, instead of making lists and thinking of all the areas where we want to see God’s justice, let’s recall God’s faithfulness and our own faith. If you want to try a new prayer experience, play the song and imagine God singing it to you (okay, if John Hiatt as God is a little too much, you could just read the words…)
God has chosen to work through our faith, weak or strong as it may be at any given moment. It is a key ingredient in bringing forth justice. So remember. Remember the times when you’ve known God’s faithfulness, and dare to have a little faith, one more time, for Jesus to find.
10-11-22 - Widow or Judge?
You can listen to this reflection here.
Interpreting parables can be similar to interpreting dreams – on some level, we can find ourselves in all the characters, and meaning shifts according to who we identify with most. So, in this parable, are you the widow, or the judge?
When we feel we’re on the wrong side of justice, powerless, unheard, victims of a system we can’t control, we identify with this widow. It’s hard to get more powerless than widows in Jesus’ day – they were at the mercy of relatives or charity. What situations in your life make you feel powerless? We all have some area in which we don’t get what we want or need, and we get tired of asking. It’s okay to feel a righteous anger over injustice – and it’s okay to be angry at God.
Or do you identify with this judge, unsavory as he may be? Are you tired of people haranguing you to fix everything? Maybe you think this widow ought to take more responsibility for her life. Maybe (the story doesn’t tell us…) the opponent has a good case, and ruling in favor of the widow is not the most just thing, but she’s worn you down.
In many situations we are sitting in the power seat, denying other people resources or justice or simply a hearing. When we hoard assets or exert socio-economic privilege, we’re like that judge. When we fail to honor the humanity in another person, no matter how annoying or destructive we may find them, we’re sitting on that bench.
I don't find either of these characters very appealing. Carl Jung might say they represent our “shadow” sides. Those feelings are part of us, and the more we’re able to bring them into the light, the better we can be free of their toxic elements. And freedom is our goal in the spiritual life.
Today, name some things you feel helpless about, angry at, sick of. Tell God how you feel. God doesn’t want us to be polite – God wants us to be real. If these are things you often pray about, examine that. Is there another angle from which to look at them? Action you could take? Anyone else who might join you in that prayer?
Then let's switch places and assume the judgment seat. Who is asking you for justice or mercy – or your time? Who don’t you want to be bothered with? What resources and power do you have that you might exercise on someone else’s behalf? If you feel forgiveness is needed, ask for that. Even more, ask God to show you God’s solutions for those people so you can join God in helping them.
This is hard work, to look at ourselves clearly. But the light we shine into our shadows is the love of God in Christ, a fierce love that makes us truer than we knew we could be.
Interpreting parables can be similar to interpreting dreams – on some level, we can find ourselves in all the characters, and meaning shifts according to who we identify with most. So, in this parable, are you the widow, or the judge?
When we feel we’re on the wrong side of justice, powerless, unheard, victims of a system we can’t control, we identify with this widow. It’s hard to get more powerless than widows in Jesus’ day – they were at the mercy of relatives or charity. What situations in your life make you feel powerless? We all have some area in which we don’t get what we want or need, and we get tired of asking. It’s okay to feel a righteous anger over injustice – and it’s okay to be angry at God.
Or do you identify with this judge, unsavory as he may be? Are you tired of people haranguing you to fix everything? Maybe you think this widow ought to take more responsibility for her life. Maybe (the story doesn’t tell us…) the opponent has a good case, and ruling in favor of the widow is not the most just thing, but she’s worn you down.
In many situations we are sitting in the power seat, denying other people resources or justice or simply a hearing. When we hoard assets or exert socio-economic privilege, we’re like that judge. When we fail to honor the humanity in another person, no matter how annoying or destructive we may find them, we’re sitting on that bench.
I don't find either of these characters very appealing. Carl Jung might say they represent our “shadow” sides. Those feelings are part of us, and the more we’re able to bring them into the light, the better we can be free of their toxic elements. And freedom is our goal in the spiritual life.
Today, name some things you feel helpless about, angry at, sick of. Tell God how you feel. God doesn’t want us to be polite – God wants us to be real. If these are things you often pray about, examine that. Is there another angle from which to look at them? Action you could take? Anyone else who might join you in that prayer?
Then let's switch places and assume the judgment seat. Who is asking you for justice or mercy – or your time? Who don’t you want to be bothered with? What resources and power do you have that you might exercise on someone else’s behalf? If you feel forgiveness is needed, ask for that. Even more, ask God to show you God’s solutions for those people so you can join God in helping them.
This is hard work, to look at ourselves clearly. But the light we shine into our shadows is the love of God in Christ, a fierce love that makes us truer than we knew we could be.
10-10-22 - Knockin' On Heaven's Door
You can listen to this reflection here.
God shows up in different guises in Jesus’ parables: a forgiving father, an absentee landlord, a generous vineyard owner, an exacting manager, a frantic housewife, the host of a banquet, to name a few. And sometimes Jesus seemed to use a negative example, not to say “this is what God is like,” but rather, “If even someone this lousy can behave in a generous way, how much more will your Father in heaven?”
So our gospel story this week features an unjust judge “who neither feared God nor had respect for people,” being pestered by a persistent widow. He finally gives in and judges in her favor – not because he wants to see justice done, or because he has compassion, but because he wants to get rid of her. Jesus says, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?”
Luke introduces this as a “parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” Jesus suggests we make our needs known to God and keep on asking, day and night. Hey, shouldn't once be enough? Is God deaf? Not listening? Keeping up with his 950 zillion Facebook friends? What kind of a complaint department is this? What kind of justice?
Let’s assume that God knows what God is doing, and that Jesus is conveying truth about God. What benefit could there be to persistence in prayer? That depends on what we consider the purpose of prayer. If it is to get what we ask for, we often find it frustrating not to see the results we desire. If our goal is to draw closer in relationship to God, to open our spirits to deeper understanding and belovedness, then we can pray for the same thing over and over and see what changes in us as well as in the circumstances of the prayer.
Is there something you haven't dared to pray for, which your heart desires? Something that seems impossible? Start today, in faith and humility – and be persistent.
Is there something you feel you’ve prayed for repeatedly, and haven’t seen realized? Tell God how you feel about that… and maybe ask if there’s another way to pray about it. Is God showing you something underneath that prayer?
Sometimes not seeing the desired outcome right away invites us to reexamine the prayer: why do we want that? Does it involve God controlling another person’s actions (the one thing I believe God will not do…)? Can we see some deeper good in our not receiving that desired outcome?
These questions don’t always get answered – and then we’re back at learning to wait on the Lord. But we don’t have to wait passively. We can wait engaged, persistent, insistent, standing on the promises we have received: that the most immediate fruit of sincere prayer is the peace of Christ, that we pray in the presence of Christ, that we can be conduits of the power of Christ.
Then we can invite God to reshape that prayer in us until it becomes God’s prayer. Those always get answered.
God shows up in different guises in Jesus’ parables: a forgiving father, an absentee landlord, a generous vineyard owner, an exacting manager, a frantic housewife, the host of a banquet, to name a few. And sometimes Jesus seemed to use a negative example, not to say “this is what God is like,” but rather, “If even someone this lousy can behave in a generous way, how much more will your Father in heaven?”
So our gospel story this week features an unjust judge “who neither feared God nor had respect for people,” being pestered by a persistent widow. He finally gives in and judges in her favor – not because he wants to see justice done, or because he has compassion, but because he wants to get rid of her. Jesus says, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?”
Luke introduces this as a “parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” Jesus suggests we make our needs known to God and keep on asking, day and night. Hey, shouldn't once be enough? Is God deaf? Not listening? Keeping up with his 950 zillion Facebook friends? What kind of a complaint department is this? What kind of justice?
Let’s assume that God knows what God is doing, and that Jesus is conveying truth about God. What benefit could there be to persistence in prayer? That depends on what we consider the purpose of prayer. If it is to get what we ask for, we often find it frustrating not to see the results we desire. If our goal is to draw closer in relationship to God, to open our spirits to deeper understanding and belovedness, then we can pray for the same thing over and over and see what changes in us as well as in the circumstances of the prayer.
Is there something you haven't dared to pray for, which your heart desires? Something that seems impossible? Start today, in faith and humility – and be persistent.
Is there something you feel you’ve prayed for repeatedly, and haven’t seen realized? Tell God how you feel about that… and maybe ask if there’s another way to pray about it. Is God showing you something underneath that prayer?
Sometimes not seeing the desired outcome right away invites us to reexamine the prayer: why do we want that? Does it involve God controlling another person’s actions (the one thing I believe God will not do…)? Can we see some deeper good in our not receiving that desired outcome?
These questions don’t always get answered – and then we’re back at learning to wait on the Lord. But we don’t have to wait passively. We can wait engaged, persistent, insistent, standing on the promises we have received: that the most immediate fruit of sincere prayer is the peace of Christ, that we pray in the presence of Christ, that we can be conduits of the power of Christ.
Then we can invite God to reshape that prayer in us until it becomes God’s prayer. Those always get answered.
9-29-22 - Holding Faith Together
You can listen to this reflection here.
This week's reading speaks of faith as something you can have more of or less of. The disciples ask for increased faith because they can see what it takes to live this "God-Life." It does take faith to trust in what cannot be seen, to proclaim life in the midst of death, to bear light into darkness and truth in the face of injustice. We need faith to forgive the unforgivable, love the unlovable, heal the incurable, restore those who have been cast aside as worthless.
God seems to wait for us to participate in exercising faith. I wish it were otherwise, for our faith is often weak. But time and again in the Gospels we see Jesus respond to people’s faith, even saying to some, “Your faith has made you well.” Not “my power has made you well,” but “your faith.”
Why would God leave so much up to us, when God knows how feeble and fickle we can be? Is this a cosmic cruelty? It might be, had God not also provided what we need, asking only that we take hold of it. In addition to the “perfect faith” of Jesus, who joins us by His Spirit when we pray, God has also set us into communities of faith.
It seems that faith is a contagious thing, and one which we can hold for one another. We can pass it down from one generation to another, and friend to friend. In Sunday’s epistle, Paul writes to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” Lois and Eunice and many a father and grandfather too have “held faith” for their children until such time as they took hold of it. Some are still holding it.
Who are your “grandmothers” and “fathers” in the faith, from whom you learned to trust and believe? Name a few. Give thanks for those men and women.
Who are your friends in the faith, brothers and sisters who help you believe when your faith is weak? And for whom do you do that, by your prayers and your encouragement?
And is there a “big thing” you’ve had trouble trusting God about that you might ask a community of faith to pray about with you, for you? It’s a godly risk.
Jesus didn’t set us down, wind us up and say, “Okay – go do everything I commanded you.” He said, “Yo, I am with you always, to the end of the ages.” (Well, most translations say, “Lo…”) We have plenty of faith around us to move trees, mountains, illnesses, injustice – and even hearts.
This week's reading speaks of faith as something you can have more of or less of. The disciples ask for increased faith because they can see what it takes to live this "God-Life." It does take faith to trust in what cannot be seen, to proclaim life in the midst of death, to bear light into darkness and truth in the face of injustice. We need faith to forgive the unforgivable, love the unlovable, heal the incurable, restore those who have been cast aside as worthless.
God seems to wait for us to participate in exercising faith. I wish it were otherwise, for our faith is often weak. But time and again in the Gospels we see Jesus respond to people’s faith, even saying to some, “Your faith has made you well.” Not “my power has made you well,” but “your faith.”
Why would God leave so much up to us, when God knows how feeble and fickle we can be? Is this a cosmic cruelty? It might be, had God not also provided what we need, asking only that we take hold of it. In addition to the “perfect faith” of Jesus, who joins us by His Spirit when we pray, God has also set us into communities of faith.
It seems that faith is a contagious thing, and one which we can hold for one another. We can pass it down from one generation to another, and friend to friend. In Sunday’s epistle, Paul writes to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.” Lois and Eunice and many a father and grandfather too have “held faith” for their children until such time as they took hold of it. Some are still holding it.
Who are your “grandmothers” and “fathers” in the faith, from whom you learned to trust and believe? Name a few. Give thanks for those men and women.
Who are your friends in the faith, brothers and sisters who help you believe when your faith is weak? And for whom do you do that, by your prayers and your encouragement?
And is there a “big thing” you’ve had trouble trusting God about that you might ask a community of faith to pray about with you, for you? It’s a godly risk.
Jesus didn’t set us down, wind us up and say, “Okay – go do everything I commanded you.” He said, “Yo, I am with you always, to the end of the ages.” (Well, most translations say, “Lo…”) We have plenty of faith around us to move trees, mountains, illnesses, injustice – and even hearts.
7-22-22 - How Much More!
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
“Teach us how to pray,” Jesus’ disciples ask him. He offers a pretty solid outline. Then he switches perspective, to how God responds to our prayers. He tells a somewhat amusing story about a guy being woken up in the middle of the night by a friend in need, who responds not to the friend’s need, but to his persistence. Jesus’ punch line is, "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” In case they didn’t get it the first time, he says, “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Does this mean we get everything we ask for in prayer? Find everything we’re looking for? Every door we knock on is opened to us? I don’t know about your life, but mine hasn’t always gone that way. And that disjoint is enough to put some people off the whole enterprise of prayer. Unless they understand what prayer is.
Prayer is not a laundry list of things we present to a genie. Prayer is a conversation in the context of a living relationship. We make our requests because God invites us to, the same way a human parent wants her children to ask for the unicorn even if there’s no way to grant that wish – you want the conversation to reflect her heart. And you’re unlikely to give her a viper instead.
So God, our Father in heaven, Jesus suggests, wants us to ask for the desires of our hearts, wants us to seek the truth, wants us to knock on the doors separating us from divine presence. And does Jesus say we will get what we “pray for?” He goes us one better: “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Maybe the Holy Spirit doesn’t sound like much if you wanted healing for a loved one, or a better job. Yet the gift of the Spirit encompasses everything. The Holy Spirit brings the life of God into our hearts and minds and bodies. With more of the Spirit alive in us, we are so much better equipped to help bring about healing, to use our gifts at a higher level of functioning, to dwell in the kind of peace that enables us to bring joy and light into all kinds of situations. The Spirit equips us for ministry and gives all kinds of other gifts… love, joy, patience, forbearance. The Spirit prays through us, Paul writes in Romans – and you can be pretty sure God will answer a prayer that started with God.
How about today we sit down in stillness for a few minutes, take a few deep “in-spiring” breaths, let out some stale thoughts and feelings on the exhales, and then invite the Holy Spirit to come and play. “Spirit of God,” you might say (or “Spirit of Christ”), “I’d like to feel your presence in me. I’d like to feel the peace you bring. I’d like to know what you’re praying through me, what holy encounters you might be equipping me for. I’d like to make more space for you.”
Pay attention to what you feel in your body - do you feel energy anywhere? A tingle? A relaxing? A rush? Sometimes we have a physical response to the Spirit’s visits.
Pay attention to what you feel in your mind and in your spirit – do any images take shape? Do you receive any words or conversation or a desire to do something, pray for someone, go somewhere?
Write it down if you noted anything significant. Share it with someone. If you don’t sense anything, that’s okay. Sometimes our receptors need tuning. Keep at it – the time we spend inviting more of God’s life into our lives is never wasted.
“Teach us how to pray,” Jesus’ disciples ask him. He offers a pretty solid outline. Then he switches perspective, to how God responds to our prayers. He tells a somewhat amusing story about a guy being woken up in the middle of the night by a friend in need, who responds not to the friend’s need, but to his persistence. Jesus’ punch line is, "So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” In case they didn’t get it the first time, he says, “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Does this mean we get everything we ask for in prayer? Find everything we’re looking for? Every door we knock on is opened to us? I don’t know about your life, but mine hasn’t always gone that way. And that disjoint is enough to put some people off the whole enterprise of prayer. Unless they understand what prayer is.
Prayer is not a laundry list of things we present to a genie. Prayer is a conversation in the context of a living relationship. We make our requests because God invites us to, the same way a human parent wants her children to ask for the unicorn even if there’s no way to grant that wish – you want the conversation to reflect her heart. And you’re unlikely to give her a viper instead.
So God, our Father in heaven, Jesus suggests, wants us to ask for the desires of our hearts, wants us to seek the truth, wants us to knock on the doors separating us from divine presence. And does Jesus say we will get what we “pray for?” He goes us one better: “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Maybe the Holy Spirit doesn’t sound like much if you wanted healing for a loved one, or a better job. Yet the gift of the Spirit encompasses everything. The Holy Spirit brings the life of God into our hearts and minds and bodies. With more of the Spirit alive in us, we are so much better equipped to help bring about healing, to use our gifts at a higher level of functioning, to dwell in the kind of peace that enables us to bring joy and light into all kinds of situations. The Spirit equips us for ministry and gives all kinds of other gifts… love, joy, patience, forbearance. The Spirit prays through us, Paul writes in Romans – and you can be pretty sure God will answer a prayer that started with God.
How about today we sit down in stillness for a few minutes, take a few deep “in-spiring” breaths, let out some stale thoughts and feelings on the exhales, and then invite the Holy Spirit to come and play. “Spirit of God,” you might say (or “Spirit of Christ”), “I’d like to feel your presence in me. I’d like to feel the peace you bring. I’d like to know what you’re praying through me, what holy encounters you might be equipping me for. I’d like to make more space for you.”
Pay attention to what you feel in your body - do you feel energy anywhere? A tingle? A relaxing? A rush? Sometimes we have a physical response to the Spirit’s visits.
Pay attention to what you feel in your mind and in your spirit – do any images take shape? Do you receive any words or conversation or a desire to do something, pray for someone, go somewhere?
Write it down if you noted anything significant. Share it with someone. If you don’t sense anything, that’s okay. Sometimes our receptors need tuning. Keep at it – the time we spend inviting more of God’s life into our lives is never wasted.
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