10-30-26 - No Rose Garden

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

When I was young(er), there was a hit on the radio that went “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden; along with the sunshine there’s gotta be a little rain sometimes.” (Yikes, I even remember the lyrics – worse yet, there’s a video!)

I’m reminded of this little ditty by the last two Beatitudes:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Lest Jesus’ disciples think that following him was their road to glory, he tells them right up front to expect flack, slander, even persecution. This will signal that they’re in the big leagues, up there with the great prophets of Israel who had messages from God their leaders didn’t want to hear. Look at what happened to them: flogging, imprisonment, job loss – sometimes death. Jesus does specify that it’s persecution for the sake of righteousness, or for his sake. Ordinary suffering and mistreatment don’t buy us a reward. But suffering for the revelation he has come to proclaim and demonstrate? That will be honoured.

In Europe and America we don’t face much persecution for being Christian – assuming that we present enough evidence to convict us. But if we’re serious about our faith and vocal about how our relationship with God in Christ affects our choices, decisions, priorities in how we spend our time, money and relationships, we may face derision, even some social cost. And to assert equity and justice for the poor and marginalized, in line with Jesus and the prophets before him, can put us at odds even with other Christians.

Now, if you’ve been keeping score, you’ll notice I skipped one Beatitude: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

This may be the most important one - and perhaps the best known, thanks to Monty Python’s Life of Brian (“Did he say, 'Blessed are the cheesemakers?” - google it if the clip doesn't come up...) I’ve grouped it with these persecution clauses because a true peacemaker is apt to make enemies, ironic as that may seem. Peacemaking is not for the faint of heart – just ask Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr., to cite some obvious examples. Or Jesus. As we are reminded all too clearly in the current aggression between Israel and its neighbours, and worldwide skirmishes around that conflict, many people are deeply invested in their enmities, in us/them thinking, in the political and economic gains to be had by demonizing others. If we take up the ministry of forging peace, we should expect flack, even shrapnel.

• How do these beatitudes hit you today?
• Can you relate to the promise of persecution, and to the eventual reward?
• How have you experienced the ministry of peace-making?
• Are there ways your church community could become more active in that focus?
• What prayers rise up in you today?

Jesus doesn't promise us a rose garden. He doesn’t promise us a return to the Garden of Eden. He promises to make us part of God’s mission to reclaim, restore, and renew the garden of this earth and all its inhabitants. That breathtaking invitation is worth suffering for.

© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

1-30-26 - Blessed Are

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.

Having spent the week delving into Paul’s teaching about the Cross and the way God effects transformation through what looks like weakness and failure, we turn now to Sunday’s gospel passage, the Beatitudes. In this first training talk with his new disciples, Jesus chimes the same theme – that those who follow him will find they are blessed in just the areas that look to the world like weakness and insignificance.

Blessed are the poor in spirit…. those who mourn.. the meek… those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… the merciful… the pure in heart… the peacemakers… those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

I have never been fond of the Beatitudes, perhaps because I want blessings to look like blessings – good health, good job, comfortable living, peace and security. When I exhort people to “expect blessing,” hardship and hunger are not what I have in mind. And looking at the state of our nation and our world, I am not comforted by this reminder that Jesus had a much deeper kind of blessing in mind. Gee, thanks!

I am not predicting that the hardships Jesus’ original disciples endured are ahead for us. I hope not, as I pray daily, “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.” I do know, though, that to count myself a disciple of Jesus means I need to be prepared, to learn to locate blessing in the presence of God unleashed on this earth, not in my own circumstances. And I need to remember daily that I am to be an agent of that unleashing, that releasing of God’s power to love, to heal, to forgive, to have mercy, to make peace. It is not our power, but God’s, which we receive through Christ, and pass along through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We are to expect blessing, but we don’t get to write the script. The blessings may not come as direct answers to our prayers. They come as God gives from a heart of generosity and love and more knowledge than we will ever have. The more we open ourselves to that flow, the more we experience it, whatever our circumstances. It is both now and later. Our future, and our daily bread, is blessing beyond measure. Own it!

© Kate Heichler, 2026. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

11-3-23 - No Rose Garden

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here. 

When I was young(er), there was a hit on the radio that went “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden; along with the sunshine there’s gotta be a little rain sometimes.” (Yikes, I even remember the lyrics – worse yet, there’s a video!)

I’m reminded of this little ditty by the last two Beatitudes:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Lest Jesus’ disciples think that following him was their road to glory, he tells them right up front to expect flack, slander, even persecution. This will signal that they’re in the big leagues, up there with the great prophets of Israel who had messages from God their leaders didn’t want to hear. Look at what happened to them: flogging, imprisonment, job loss – sometimes death. Jesus does specify that it’s persecution for the sake of righteousness, or for his sake. Ordinary suffering and mistreatment don’t buy us a reward. But suffering for the revelation he has come to proclaim and demonstrate? That will be honored.

In Europe and America we don’t face much persecution for being Christian – assuming that we present enough evidence to convict us. But if we’re serious about our faith and vocal about how our relationship with God in Christ affects our choices, decisions, priorities in how we spend our time, money and relationships, we may face derision, even some social cost. And to assert equity and justice for the poor and marginalized, in line with Jesus and the prophets before him, can put us at odds even with other Christians.

Now, if you’ve been keeping score, you’ll notice I skipped one Beatitude: 

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

This may be the most important one - and, thanks to Monty Python’s Life of Brian (“Did he say, 'Blessed are the cheesemakers?”) perhaps the best known. I’ve grouped it with these persecution clauses because a true peacemaker is apt to make enemies, ironic as that may seem. Peacemaking is not for the faint of heart – just ask Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King, Jr., to cite some obvious examples. Or Jesus. As we are reminded all too clearly in the actual enmities between Israel and its neighbors, and social/ political skirmishes about that conflict, many people are deeply invested in their enmities, in us/them thinking, in the political and economic gains to be had by demonizing others. If we take up the ministry of forging peace, we should expect flack, even shrapnel.

How do these beatitudes hit you today? Can you relate to the promise of persecution, and to the eventual reward? How have you experienced the ministry of peace-making? Are there ways your church community could become more active in that focus? What prayers rise up in you today?

Jesus doesn't promise us a rose garden. He doesn’t promise us a return to the garden of Eden. He promises to make us part of God’s mission to reclaim, restore, and renew the garden of this earth and all its inhabitants. That breathtaking invitation is worth suffering for.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for All Saints Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

11-2-23 - Poor, Sad and Passive?

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here. 

Now here’s a recruitment slogan: “Calling all who are poor, all who are sad, all who are passive – I’m going to change the world with you!”

These may not be the qualities we associate with leadership and success… Maybe Jesus is inviting us to reconsider our criteria for leadership. His closest followers were not the cream of society’s crop – they were Galilean fishermen, tax collectors, women with “reputations.” And yet we honor them and know their names 2000 years later.

The first three “beatitudes” deal with emotional conditions:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are the grief-stricken, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." 

What does “poor in spirit” mean? I think of it as being at a low ebb, spiritual energy sapped by fatigue or sadness or disappointment, faith less than robust. I suspect most of us have felt poor in spirit. But we, Jesus promises, will inherit the fullness of God’s spiritual realm, the Life of God.

Similarly, most of us know what it’s like to mourn; for some grief seems to go on forever. But Jesus says we will be comforted. This doesn’t end the mourning, but can shift it into a different key, so that we manage to sing a new song even in our grief.

Meekness may be the one attribute here that is less common to us. I think of “meek” as passive, not pushy, not forwarding ones own agenda. We often associate “meek” with being a doormat. But I once heard that “meek” may not be the best translation of the Greek. In French Bibles the word is rendered “debonair.” That gives a different slant. As an essay I found online (the link no longer live, alas) says, “Gone was Casper Milk Toast. Instead, my mental images were of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, or of Gene Kelly, singing in the rain. I would so much rather be debonair than meek! The debonair are people who move with grace through life. They have style. Blessed are the debonair!”

The writer goes on to say that the Greek word can be translated ‘gentleness.’ "The word can refer to a strong animal such as a horse, who is well-trained and gentle in spirit, in spite of its strength. It can also mean the quality of being teachable — modest, generous, humble and considerate. In other words, those who are blessed are those who have strength, and yet use it with gentleness.”

You may or may not feel debonair today, but I hope you have a sense of your strength and your gentleness. God can work through us best when we combine the two. Perhaps that’s what it means to “inherit the earth” – to participate fully in God’s mission in strength and gentleness.

And when grief and dispiritedness are upon us, we might pray for more of the gentle power of the Spirit to fill us, to pump up our tires (the word for spirit is pneuma, after all…), to transform our mourning into joy. In making these feelings markers of discipleship, Jesus honors our emotional truth and invites us to bring all of who we are each day into the fullness of our God-Life.

And he offers hope for us when we’re not feeling so strong, reminding us, “This is not the end of your story.” He is the end of our story, and he will lead us there, as we follow.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here.  Here are the bible readings for All Saints Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

1-27-23 - Blessed Are

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here. 

Having spent the week delving into Paul’s teaching about the Cross and the way God effects transformation through what looks like weakness and failure, we turn now to Sunday’s gospel passage, the Beatitudes. In this first training talk with his new disciples, Jesus chimes the same theme – that those who follow him will find they are blessed in just the areas that look to the world like weakness and insignificance.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit…. those who mourn.. the meek… those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… the merciful… the pure in heart… the peacemakers… those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake."

I have never been fond of the Beatitudes, perhaps because I prefer my blessing straight up. I want blessings to look like blessings – good health, good job, comfortable living, peace and security. When I exhort people to “expect blessing,” hardship and hunger are not what I have in mind. And looking at the state of our nation and our world, I am not comforted by this reminder that Jesus had a much deeper kind of blessing in mind. Gee, thanks!

I am not predicting that the hardships Jesus’ original disciples endured are ahead for us. I hope not, as I pray daily, “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.” I do know, though, that to count myself a disciple of Jesus means I need to be prepared, to learn to locate blessing in the presence of God unleashed on this earth, not in my own circumstances. And that I am to be an agent of that unleashing, that releasing of God’s power to love, to heal, to forgive, to have mercy, to make peace. It is not our power, but God’s, which we receive through Christ, and pass along through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We are to expect blessing, but we don’t get to write the script. The blessings may not come as direct answers to our prayers. They come as God gives from a heart of generosity and love and more knowledge than we will ever have. The more we open ourselves to that flow, the more we experience it, whatever our circumstances. It is both now and later. Our future, and our daily bread, is blessing beyond measure. Own it!

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Next Sunday’s readings are here. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

10-31-22 - Trick or Treat?

You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here. 

Next week we come to the Sunday after All Saints Day, on which many congregations use the All Saints readings. Most years, the gospel is the Beatitudes, Jesus’ “blessed are you” teachings. Though I would rather skip this passage, America's mid-term elections are a week away. In these trying and troublesome times, it wouldn’t hurt to review the standard of behaviors and attitudes to which Christ-followers are called. We’ll be needing all the humility and generosity we can muster, no matter who prevails in the ballot box.

The Beatitudes begin Jesus’ first training session with his newly chosen disciples. In Matthew’s Gospel it is called the Sermon on the Mount, as Jesus was said to have been standing on a slight hill (and maybe Matthew wanted to evoke Moses bringing the Commandments down Mount Sinai). Luke, whose version we read this year, sets this occasion on a plain, on level ground, consistent with his emphasis on the equalizing, leveling properties of the Realm of God.

And this great leveling, it appears, is outside of human time. For each condition that Jesus mentions, a future reversal is promised. And similarly, a corresponding “woe” is given, with the sad news that if you’re receiving goodies now, you’ll have none later. (Trick or treat, anyone?)

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: 

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
“… But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep."

As one who is rich, well fed and fond of laughing, this does not strike me as good news. That’s why I avoid this passage; it's hard to find grace in it. As I wrestle with what feels like a rigid either/or set-up, I need to remember that no one passage of the bible contains the whole revelation of God’s goodness. I am comforted that Jesus himself was sometimes hungry, sometimes fed, sometimes mourning and sometimes rejoicing. And he was always blessed.

And I remember that when we step into the realm of God we are in some senses outside of time – the now has an eternal dimension. As we share our wealth, our food and our cheer with those who lack them, we find ourselves growing a community in which all have enough.

That is what Jesus was pointing to. One day we will know that in full; now we can participate in bringing it into being in this realm, by the power of God's Spirit at work in us.

To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Next Sunday’s readings are here. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.