4-22-26 - Coming In and Going Out

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

“I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.”

Earlier this week we explored Jesus’ saying that he was the gate of the sheepfold, the means of entry, and about sheepfolds in Jesus’ day: scholars think they often had no gate. The shepherd, when the flock was safely enclosed, would lie down to sleep in the opening as a way of securing the flock. Thus, the shepherd became a gate.

Putting aside the amusing image this prompts of a sleepy shepherd trampled one morning by hungry sheep going out to pasture, it helps make sense of Jesus’ words. The shepherd is the one who leads the flock in and out of the fold. Jesus says those who enter the Life of God by way of relationship with him will come in and go out and find pasture.

It occurs to me that sheep don’t get sustenance in the sheepfold – for nourishment, they have to go out to pasture. What they get in the sheepfold is rest and security. What does that say to us as churchgoers? Often people say they go to church to be fed. What if instead we saw church-time as a time to rest and recharge, be renewed, safely enclosed in the fold with the rest of our flock – and then sent back out to find God’s nourishment in our lives the rest of the week?

What if we were fed in spiritual conversation with other people, by sharing our faith stories with people who aren’t in our “fold?” What if God wants us to be "pasture" by which others to be fed? The going out becomes as important as the coming in, maybe more.

• Why do you go to church? What do you seek there? 
• What do you seek when you leave and head back to your “life?”
• Where do you, or where might you find spiritual nurture in the week between worship services? 
• Where might you offer it? 

In prayer today, we could ask, “God, what pastures are you leading me to in my life right now? Who might you be asking me to provide a feast for?” See what occurs to you, or who crosses your path.

We don’t come and go alone. The Great News is that the Shepherd goes with us, coming in and going out. The Shepherd leads us to green pastures and the Shepherd leads us home again. We don’t have to search for pasture – we only have to learn the voice of the Shepherd and follow him.

© 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.

5-26-25 - To Be One

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

The Seventh Sunday of Easter Dilemma: Use the readings appointed for the that Sunday, or those set for Ascension Day – knowing that no one, unless their church happens to be named Ascension, attends Ascension Day services anymore? We will split the difference this week, starting with the Easter 7 gospel.

This takes us back yet again to that upper room on Jesus’ last night in earthly life. After his long discourse to his disciples, he embarks upon a lengthy prayer for them; that’s where we tune in now: “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

One reason to skip this reading entirely is that it is heart-breaking to engage this prayer. Unity was Jesus’ deepest desire for his followers; almost his last wish, we might say; and it has proved an impossible standard for the church that bears his name.And one reason the world does not believe that God sent Jesus as Redeemer is that those who follow Christ so excel at division when our mission should be multiplication.

We have vastly different ways of reading and interpreting Scripture; what we think is important in worship; how we live out the calls to justice and generosity, care for the poor and the marginalized. We are divided by history, language, and culture, by conflicts both ancient and recent. Maybe we shouldn’t feel so bad about the current state of Christ’s church – his followers were locked in bitter divisions within a few years of his resurrection.

I am most convicted by this line, "on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word.” If we don’t speak our word, the word of grace and forgiveness and our experience of God’s overwhelming love; and if we don’t back that up by our actions; fewer and fewer will believe through us. And friends, the community of Christ-followers is spread by human contact, like a virus, a good virus, one that strengthens the immune system and promotes healthy growth and a just and secure world. We should find this as urgent a matter as Jesus did.

If we speak the words of grace and live them, and allow the Spirit to really rule our hearts and direct our actions, we will find ourselves unable to condemn our brothers and sisters, even when their words or actions are reprehensible. We will be able to pray for them and commit them to God’s hand, and keep our eyes on Jesus, and spread the message of his love. Maybe if all Christians put that first, we’d have less energy for fighting with each other. And one day we will make Jesus’ dream of unity a reality.

© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Here are the readings for Ascension Day. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.

12-6-22 - Holy Leaders

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

What do you think a holy man or woman should look like? What are the markers of "success" for spiritual leaders? This is what Jesus asks the crowds about how they viewed John the Baptist.

"What did you go out there to the desert to look at? Were you just spiritual tourists gawking at the latest guru? Did you think you were going to see a smooth-talking, well-dressed leader, get a little charge, and leave your life unchanged?"

Advent is a good time to examine our spiritual motivations, what is it we truly yearn for, why we engage or disengage from spiritual community. It is easy to become disenchanted with church and clergy, to expect little so we’re not disappointed - or to expect too much. Today, let's do a little inventory. When we can name our expectations, we can better manage them.

What are your expectations of your spiritual community?
When you are disappointed or disaffected, what causes it?
Do you communicate that, distance yourself, or engage more? Nothing is worse than walking without talking.

What are your expectations of your spiritual leaders? 

In what ways do they bless you? How do they disappoint?

As you name these truths, ask how you want to respond.
One way, I hope, is by praying regularly for your community and your clergy - they are a part of you, and you of them.

In some ways, the role of spiritual leaders can be described in the words Jesus used about John, "This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'"

Clergy can be messengers of God's Word, God's love, God's call and invitation. At our best, we help to prepare your spiritual way, and help you walk it, without blocking your path. The more clarity you have about how you want to grow in faith, the better your leaders can help prepare the way. And whatever that “way” looks like, it should lead to Jesus.

The more you grow Christ-ward, the more you can help your pastor walk the way of truth and grace - and then our congregations truly become spiritual communities.

If you want to deepen your spiritual experience of Advent this year, come to our Spa for the Spirit Saturday morning - details below.

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.

ADVENT SPA FOR THE SPIRIT: Living Expectantly
Saturday, December 10, 9 am - Noon Online

Rev. Kate will lead an Advent online retreat morning on “Living Expectantly.” The story of God has more than a few unexpected pregnancies – women too old or too young filled with unexpected life. Through art and poetry, scripture and reflection we will examine what it means to live in expectation of blessing and fullness and hope. 

Please sign up here. The retreat will be on Zoom; link and info will be sent in advance.