You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Many landlords can tell horror stories about bad tenants – people who never clean bathrooms, who damage walls in riotous parties, allow animals to roam the basement, or cart off appliances when they leave in the middle of the night, six months’ rent unpaid. But the tenants in Jesus’ parable about the leased vineyard? This is like renting your property to a drug cartel.
What does the landlord desire in letting out his vineyard? He wants it to be well tended, to bear good fruit, of which he is due a portion as income. These are the terms which allow the tenants to live on the beautiful land and produce good grapes and fine wine. But these tenants don’t honor their agreement, and they communicate their refusal violently. They want to seize the vineyard and own it outright.
Jesus was suggesting to the religious leaders hearing this that they, as stewards of Israel’s religious life, were like those tenants. They had not heeded the prophets. They perpetuated a highly remunerative system of temple sacrifice, and left ordinary people thinking they could never be right in the sight of God. They had set themselves as arbiters of right and wrong instead of seeing themselves as stewards of God’s power and mercy.
Yesterday I said it was human nature to ignore warnings. It is also human nature to appropriate what has been freely loaned to us. Religious communities in particular can fall prey to this danger, to focus their energy and resources on perpetuating their own life at the expense of fostering a living relationship with the God of surprises.
If we assess ourselves as tenants of God’s vineyard, how do we measure up? Compared to the larcenous, murderous lot in Jesus’ story, we’re golden. But let’s look at ourselves straight on. God has entrusted us with the care of the earth, of our families, our money and income, our gifts, our neighbors… how are we doing? Is there good fruit? Are we returning to God a portion of what we have received?
Take an inventory of all the areas of life in which God has entrusted you with resources or ministry. Name the fruit. For instance, if you think of your family, what good is discernible in and through the people with whom you share a home or a name? If the gift is your body, what good fruit do you see from how well you care for it? If the gift is your work, what fruit do you see? Let’s name the fruits, and also the stagnant, unfruitful things connected to those areas. More prayer fodder.
Everything we have is a gift from God – a gift not to be seized but to be invested, nurtured, grown, and returned, at least in part. And always ready to be shared.
What kind of tenant on this earth do you want to be? What kind of steward of God's love can you become?
© 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.
Showing posts with label discipleship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discipleship. Show all posts
8-26-26 - Are We Following?
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
The culture in which most of us live is not high on self-denial, unless it’s in the service of health or beauty. Once upon a time, self-sacrifice and sharing one’s resources for the common good were high values. These days generosity is often sporadic, a reaction to emergencies and based on our perception of whether we have enough to share. We might make impulsive donations to places ravaged by fires or floods, but not ongoing support to local agencies working to end hunger or homelessness.
“Do we have enough?” stands in stark contrast to Jesus’ core teachings – and one of his most hardcore teachings was this: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Did Jesus mean “cross” in a general, “whatever-your-calling-from-God” way? Or did he mean a specific willingness to endure martyrdom? For him, death on a cross was a literal eventuality. That’s not the case for every follower. Since I hope never to be in a position of having to choose my faith in Jesus over my physical life, I look at this teaching more figuratively. Our “cross” might be anything that represents the way we are called to participate in the mission of God to make all things whole. It may or may not involve suffering; it likely will include inconvenience and even discomfort.
Perhaps before we contend with the call to self-denial and taking up of crosses, we should look at the first part of Jesus’ sentence: “If any want to become my followers.” Why would anyone today who did not already know about Jesus want to follow him? Where is he going that we want to be?
Why am I a follower of Christ? Partly, it’s habit and custom and a lifetime of choices. But why today? It’s because I believe he is Life and Truth as well as Way. Because following him gives meaning to what might otherwise appear a meandering path through life. Because I believe his power to heal is still real and still with us. And because he says he loves me. I don’t know what that means, fully, but I want to find out.
How do you answer that question? Why are you a follower of Christ? If you're not, do you want to be? Whatever your answers, you can talk to Jesus about it. If that feels impossible, talk to a person whose spiritual life you trust.
When we decide that we want to be Christ’s followers we’re more ready to lay down our privileges and prerogatives and take up our crosses. And, as we allow ourselves to be transformed in that relationship, we may also discover a stronger desire to introduce others to this way of Jesus, cross, self-denial and all.
© 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.
The culture in which most of us live is not high on self-denial, unless it’s in the service of health or beauty. Once upon a time, self-sacrifice and sharing one’s resources for the common good were high values. These days generosity is often sporadic, a reaction to emergencies and based on our perception of whether we have enough to share. We might make impulsive donations to places ravaged by fires or floods, but not ongoing support to local agencies working to end hunger or homelessness.
“Do we have enough?” stands in stark contrast to Jesus’ core teachings – and one of his most hardcore teachings was this: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Did Jesus mean “cross” in a general, “whatever-your-calling-from-God” way? Or did he mean a specific willingness to endure martyrdom? For him, death on a cross was a literal eventuality. That’s not the case for every follower. Since I hope never to be in a position of having to choose my faith in Jesus over my physical life, I look at this teaching more figuratively. Our “cross” might be anything that represents the way we are called to participate in the mission of God to make all things whole. It may or may not involve suffering; it likely will include inconvenience and even discomfort.
Perhaps before we contend with the call to self-denial and taking up of crosses, we should look at the first part of Jesus’ sentence: “If any want to become my followers.” Why would anyone today who did not already know about Jesus want to follow him? Where is he going that we want to be?
Why am I a follower of Christ? Partly, it’s habit and custom and a lifetime of choices. But why today? It’s because I believe he is Life and Truth as well as Way. Because following him gives meaning to what might otherwise appear a meandering path through life. Because I believe his power to heal is still real and still with us. And because he says he loves me. I don’t know what that means, fully, but I want to find out.
How do you answer that question? Why are you a follower of Christ? If you're not, do you want to be? Whatever your answers, you can talk to Jesus about it. If that feels impossible, talk to a person whose spiritual life you trust.
When we decide that we want to be Christ’s followers we’re more ready to lay down our privileges and prerogatives and take up our crosses. And, as we allow ourselves to be transformed in that relationship, we may also discover a stronger desire to introduce others to this way of Jesus, cross, self-denial and all.
© 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.
8-19-26 - God's Rock
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
At their first meeting, Jesus gave Simon, son of Jonah, a nickname: “Petros,” meaning “rock.” He may have been teasing him about hard-headedness. But here, when he is commending Peter for the spiritual insight he has just confessed, he uses his given name, “Simon bar Jonah,” perhaps underscoring the gravity of this moment: And Jesus answered Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
Jesus switches again to the nickname, now alluding to another quality of rock: as a sure foundation. Jesus once told a story about a person who built a house on sand and another who built on rock; the house built on sand washed away, while the one on rock stood firm. Now he uses that image to describe a spiritual edifice, the community of those who call him Lord, that will endure in the face of all that Hell can throw its way.
Does it change our view of “The Church” to see it as a mystical community ordained by Jesus himself, meant to last for all time, not just our little communities struggling to sustain themselves?
How might it alter our critique of its failings when we remember that this community represents a threat to the forces of evil; that it is the object of spiritual opposition? Might that remind us to be more faithful in praying for the church itself, that it be protected and true to its mission to make the disrupting love of God known in the world?
How might it strengthen our commitment to mission to remember that we are meant to be a threat to the forces of evil – we should be stirring up trouble!
Calling Peter the rock on which the church will be built means, in part, that we stand on the foundation of those apostles, who walked and worked with Jesus in his earthly life and witnessed to his rising from death. That’s why we read the teachings and stories and letters they left behind, and give these more weight than later ideas.
Today let’s pray for the church in specific ways:
At their first meeting, Jesus gave Simon, son of Jonah, a nickname: “Petros,” meaning “rock.” He may have been teasing him about hard-headedness. But here, when he is commending Peter for the spiritual insight he has just confessed, he uses his given name, “Simon bar Jonah,” perhaps underscoring the gravity of this moment: And Jesus answered Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
Jesus switches again to the nickname, now alluding to another quality of rock: as a sure foundation. Jesus once told a story about a person who built a house on sand and another who built on rock; the house built on sand washed away, while the one on rock stood firm. Now he uses that image to describe a spiritual edifice, the community of those who call him Lord, that will endure in the face of all that Hell can throw its way.
Does it change our view of “The Church” to see it as a mystical community ordained by Jesus himself, meant to last for all time, not just our little communities struggling to sustain themselves?
How might it alter our critique of its failings when we remember that this community represents a threat to the forces of evil; that it is the object of spiritual opposition? Might that remind us to be more faithful in praying for the church itself, that it be protected and true to its mission to make the disrupting love of God known in the world?
How might it strengthen our commitment to mission to remember that we are meant to be a threat to the forces of evil – we should be stirring up trouble!
Calling Peter the rock on which the church will be built means, in part, that we stand on the foundation of those apostles, who walked and worked with Jesus in his earthly life and witnessed to his rising from death. That’s why we read the teachings and stories and letters they left behind, and give these more weight than later ideas.
Today let’s pray for the church in specific ways:
- Pray for your own community of faith – pray for its ministry and its clarity about where it fits into the larger scheme of God’s mission.
- Pray for the churches in your community, especially how they might work together more effectively.
- Pray for the church in the world, where it is persecuted, and where it is lukewarm and complacent (the latter is a greater danger). Pray for those who face torture and pressure to renounce their faith.
- Pray for transformation for Christians who perpetrate violence against other religions; there are many of those instances in our world too.
And pray for yourself as a part of the worldwide body of Christ. Don’t hold yourself apart, no matter how corrupt or irrelevant church may seem at times. If you do that, you withhold gifts that the church needs to be the agent of transformation and healing Jesus intended it to be.
© 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.
© 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.
6-12-26 - Are We Disciples of Jesus Christ?
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Our gospel reading this week has Jesus sending his new disciples out on their first mission trip – to go to all the towns and villages he will visit, proclaim the good news that God is near, and heal the sick. Oh yeah, and cast out demons and raise the dead, as needed. And don’t take any baggage or money – just rely on the hospitality you find. If you’re not welcomed, hit the road and find some place that wants you. And if you get arrested or worse, don’t worry – God will be with you and tell you what to say.
How do we interpret these instructions in our day? Some Christ-followers take these words at face value and go out to share the Good News of God’s love. But more of us stay home, busy with work and family. Our “going in the name of Christ” mostly means going to church and maybe engaging in volunteer activities there or for other organizations whose values align with ours. Few of us are out blazing new trails, telling our stories, healing the sick. What do we do with these instructions for Jesus’ road warriors when we’re not out there and may have no intention of altering our priorities?
Let's start with the call to proclaim Good News. If we don’t know what’s good about this Good News, we don’t have much of a message to share. Jesus said the Good News was about freedom, release, forgiveness, healing, the inbreaking of God’s life into this world. Where have you experienced those things in your spiritual life? What stories flow from those experiences? With whom might you share those stories?
Then there’s the “doing” part – healing, raising, releasing, forgiving:
Our gospel reading this week has Jesus sending his new disciples out on their first mission trip – to go to all the towns and villages he will visit, proclaim the good news that God is near, and heal the sick. Oh yeah, and cast out demons and raise the dead, as needed. And don’t take any baggage or money – just rely on the hospitality you find. If you’re not welcomed, hit the road and find some place that wants you. And if you get arrested or worse, don’t worry – God will be with you and tell you what to say.
How do we interpret these instructions in our day? Some Christ-followers take these words at face value and go out to share the Good News of God’s love. But more of us stay home, busy with work and family. Our “going in the name of Christ” mostly means going to church and maybe engaging in volunteer activities there or for other organizations whose values align with ours. Few of us are out blazing new trails, telling our stories, healing the sick. What do we do with these instructions for Jesus’ road warriors when we’re not out there and may have no intention of altering our priorities?
Let's start with the call to proclaim Good News. If we don’t know what’s good about this Good News, we don’t have much of a message to share. Jesus said the Good News was about freedom, release, forgiveness, healing, the inbreaking of God’s life into this world. Where have you experienced those things in your spiritual life? What stories flow from those experiences? With whom might you share those stories?
Then there’s the “doing” part – healing, raising, releasing, forgiving:
- Where and when in your life do you offer those ministries that Jesus said were integral to living the Good News?
- Is there anyone with whom you pray for healing?
- Anyone who you remind of their status as beloved no matter what they’ve done or said, or not done or said?
- Are there dead places you’ve helped bring God’s Life to? Any that are calling to you now?
These are the “what’s” – proclaiming the Realm of God, healing the sick. Jesus also talked a lot about the “how” and the “how not.” Most notably he said not to take any resources with us, to rely solely on provision from God and from the people among whom we go. That is probably the most challenging part of Jesus’ teaching for me and folks I know. I don’t see us untethering ourselves from our financial and emotional security systems anytime soon. Are we any good at all to Jesus, or to the people who need to hear of his love?
Might we find small ways to do this, trying to get to know our neighbors or people around us who have acute needs, not offering gifts or advice, but simply as people, building relationships that can lead to community, and seeing where the Spirit takes us?
The harvest is still plentiful, and the laborers are still few. Folks around us are still harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus doesn’t ask us to go to them out of guilt, but out of excitement at the joy of being his followers, and anticipating blessings. Are we his disciples?
© 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.
Might we find small ways to do this, trying to get to know our neighbors or people around us who have acute needs, not offering gifts or advice, but simply as people, building relationships that can lead to community, and seeing where the Spirit takes us?
The harvest is still plentiful, and the laborers are still few. Folks around us are still harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus doesn’t ask us to go to them out of guilt, but out of excitement at the joy of being his followers, and anticipating blessings. Are we his disciples?
© 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.
6-1-26 - Follow Me
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Congratulations – you have made it through the seasons and festivals and holidays that span Christmas through Easter to Pentecost, and have arrived safely at that long stretch we call “Ordinary Time.” From now until Advent, minus a few feast days, we will hear stories from Jesus’ ministry and teaching. We have an opportunity to get to know him better, and to explore our own callings within his ongoing mission.
This week’s passage from Matthew’s gospel contains two stories. Today we’ll look at the first, which is very short as stories go: As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
Brevity may be a virtue in writing, but this is a little too short. Why did Jesus call this tax collector? Had he had his eye on him for a while, or was it a spontaneous movement of the Spirit? In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), Jesus first calls four fishermen to be his disciples. John’s Gospel tells how Philip and Nathaniel got added to the corps. Did Matthew (named Levi in another gospel) come after them, or before? Did Jesus figure a financial guy would come in handy?
Perhaps a more important question is this: Why does Matthew get up without a question, a word, a goodbye, and follow Jesus? Like Peter and Andrew, James and John, he just walks away from his job, his livelihood, presumably his family. Had he already heard of Jesus, or seen him healing, or heard his teaching? Was he looking for a purpose? What was Jesus offering that these people were willing to walk away from their lives to go with him?
And that invites an even deeper question: What would it take for us to follow Jesus this completely? To be a disciple means to take on the discipline of a master. Are we willing to pattern our lives on the Way of Love that Jesus lived and taught?
Perhaps the only way to know the answer to that is to be able to say what it is we are yearning for in the depth of our hearts. When we know that what we yearn for is something that only God can satisfy, rather than all the things and people we chase, hoping they will fill the need, it’s not so hard to walk away. I am guessing that those people Jesus invited to join his mission knew he had something they needed and wouldn’t find anywhere else.
And walking away is not the only movement here. These people to whom Jesus said, “Follow me,” seemingly with no preamble or orientation program, were also walking to. They were walking to Jesus. And then they were walking with Jesus. If we think of it only as “walking away,” we may not want to leave our familiar circumstances and follow. When we experience the joy of walking with Jesus, into his always surprising, sometimes painful, transformative and transformational mission, we don’t even thinking about staying put, even when we don’t know where we are going.
© 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.
Congratulations – you have made it through the seasons and festivals and holidays that span Christmas through Easter to Pentecost, and have arrived safely at that long stretch we call “Ordinary Time.” From now until Advent, minus a few feast days, we will hear stories from Jesus’ ministry and teaching. We have an opportunity to get to know him better, and to explore our own callings within his ongoing mission.
This week’s passage from Matthew’s gospel contains two stories. Today we’ll look at the first, which is very short as stories go: As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
Brevity may be a virtue in writing, but this is a little too short. Why did Jesus call this tax collector? Had he had his eye on him for a while, or was it a spontaneous movement of the Spirit? In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), Jesus first calls four fishermen to be his disciples. John’s Gospel tells how Philip and Nathaniel got added to the corps. Did Matthew (named Levi in another gospel) come after them, or before? Did Jesus figure a financial guy would come in handy?
Perhaps a more important question is this: Why does Matthew get up without a question, a word, a goodbye, and follow Jesus? Like Peter and Andrew, James and John, he just walks away from his job, his livelihood, presumably his family. Had he already heard of Jesus, or seen him healing, or heard his teaching? Was he looking for a purpose? What was Jesus offering that these people were willing to walk away from their lives to go with him?
And that invites an even deeper question: What would it take for us to follow Jesus this completely? To be a disciple means to take on the discipline of a master. Are we willing to pattern our lives on the Way of Love that Jesus lived and taught?
Perhaps the only way to know the answer to that is to be able to say what it is we are yearning for in the depth of our hearts. When we know that what we yearn for is something that only God can satisfy, rather than all the things and people we chase, hoping they will fill the need, it’s not so hard to walk away. I am guessing that those people Jesus invited to join his mission knew he had something they needed and wouldn’t find anywhere else.
And walking away is not the only movement here. These people to whom Jesus said, “Follow me,” seemingly with no preamble or orientation program, were also walking to. They were walking to Jesus. And then they were walking with Jesus. If we think of it only as “walking away,” we may not want to leave our familiar circumstances and follow. When we experience the joy of walking with Jesus, into his always surprising, sometimes painful, transformative and transformational mission, we don’t even thinking about staying put, even when we don’t know where we are going.
© 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.
5-27-26 - Making Disciples
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
It’s a muscular charge, the way Matthew renders Jesus’ last earthly instruction to his followers: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
Authority…. Go and make… Obey… Commanded…. This is not language of invitation and inspiration – or love. And it has caused some atrocious Christian behavior in world history. It’s not so hard to justify crusades and conquistadors when you take your marching orders from this verse – and this verse has had more influence than many in the bible. We even call it The Great Commission.
We can chalk some of this up to Matthew’s style – his version of stories and sayings often sound more legalistic, even aggressive than in other Gospels. Writing forty or so years after the events he records, in the face of persecution and unrest and competing factions in the Christian movement, he may have felt it important to emphasize Jesus’ authority and command. To those who wanted to reserve Jesus’ blessing to Jewish believers, he may have wanted to stress that these gifts were for all nations, that spreading the Good News is part of the church’s DNA. In a time when alternate readings of Christian revelation were already sprouting, he called people back to the teachings and commandments of Christ.
How do we take these words and live into them, aware of the harm and the good they’ve often caused? How might we rediscover the joy of sharing Good News in Jesus’ name, not holding back the blessing we have received?
Let’s ponder what it means to “make disciples.” It is not forcing a discipline on another, or manipulating allegiance. A disciple, one who takes on the discipline of a teacher, needs to do so by choice or she will lack the motivation to follow through. Those who chose to follow Jesus in his earthly ministry caught his passion and wanted to be a part of what he was doing. That’s how people still become his disciples. If we want to share in this mission of God, we will rediscover and share our own passion for the love of God and the Way of Jesus. Otherwise, we’re just going to church.
When someone has caught the passion for loving God, we invite him to be baptized (note the passive verb form... baptism is something we receive more than "do"), to mark this new commitment. We invoke the Holy Spirit to fill and equip her. And yes, we teach her all that Jesus has commanded, in all its counter-intuitive glory – to love enemies, value the poor more than our own families, seek peace over being right, to name a few. And we train him to walk in the Spirit, so that choosing to obey Jesus’ commands gradually becomes a desire, not just a duty.
Making disciples starts with us. Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord? Why or why not? If you’re not, and you want to be, you can pray, “Okay, Jesus, I want to follow you… show me how.” And ask someone you consider to be a disciple already to walk alongside you in holy friendship.
Is there someone you know whom you might mentor in the faith, helping them discover discipleship? You can start by praying for God to bless that desire and give you openings.
Making disciples is a little more complex than “just add water” – but it is God’s work. We just get to help.
© 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.
It’s a muscular charge, the way Matthew renders Jesus’ last earthly instruction to his followers: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
Authority…. Go and make… Obey… Commanded…. This is not language of invitation and inspiration – or love. And it has caused some atrocious Christian behavior in world history. It’s not so hard to justify crusades and conquistadors when you take your marching orders from this verse – and this verse has had more influence than many in the bible. We even call it The Great Commission.
We can chalk some of this up to Matthew’s style – his version of stories and sayings often sound more legalistic, even aggressive than in other Gospels. Writing forty or so years after the events he records, in the face of persecution and unrest and competing factions in the Christian movement, he may have felt it important to emphasize Jesus’ authority and command. To those who wanted to reserve Jesus’ blessing to Jewish believers, he may have wanted to stress that these gifts were for all nations, that spreading the Good News is part of the church’s DNA. In a time when alternate readings of Christian revelation were already sprouting, he called people back to the teachings and commandments of Christ.
How do we take these words and live into them, aware of the harm and the good they’ve often caused? How might we rediscover the joy of sharing Good News in Jesus’ name, not holding back the blessing we have received?
Let’s ponder what it means to “make disciples.” It is not forcing a discipline on another, or manipulating allegiance. A disciple, one who takes on the discipline of a teacher, needs to do so by choice or she will lack the motivation to follow through. Those who chose to follow Jesus in his earthly ministry caught his passion and wanted to be a part of what he was doing. That’s how people still become his disciples. If we want to share in this mission of God, we will rediscover and share our own passion for the love of God and the Way of Jesus. Otherwise, we’re just going to church.
When someone has caught the passion for loving God, we invite him to be baptized (note the passive verb form... baptism is something we receive more than "do"), to mark this new commitment. We invoke the Holy Spirit to fill and equip her. And yes, we teach her all that Jesus has commanded, in all its counter-intuitive glory – to love enemies, value the poor more than our own families, seek peace over being right, to name a few. And we train him to walk in the Spirit, so that choosing to obey Jesus’ commands gradually becomes a desire, not just a duty.
Making disciples starts with us. Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord? Why or why not? If you’re not, and you want to be, you can pray, “Okay, Jesus, I want to follow you… show me how.” And ask someone you consider to be a disciple already to walk alongside you in holy friendship.
Is there someone you know whom you might mentor in the faith, helping them discover discipleship? You can start by praying for God to bless that desire and give you openings.
Making disciples is a little more complex than “just add water” – but it is God’s work. We just get to help.
© 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.
1-22-26 - Follow the Leader
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Would you have gone, if Jesus walked by your place of work and said, “Follow me?” Would you have left your job, family, home on the promise of “I will make you fish for people?”
As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
There wasn’t any security in what Jesus was offering. And yet he said, “Follow me,” and people did. Immediately. How could they be so sure, that they were willing to go right then and there? Leave it all, no looking back.
Once I was praying, and had a sense of Jesus say, “Follow me.” I said, “Where are we going?” An answer came quickly in my mind: “You don’t get an itinerary. You don’t get the route. When I say, ‘Follow me,’ I just mean, ‘Follow me.’ Put your focus on where I am, not where I’m going.” In other words, follow the leader, not the path.
Maybe this should not have come as a revelation, but I had never thought of it that way. If you’re like me, you want to see what you’re committing to, what’s around the next corner. But it makes sense – Jesus invites us not to a walk-about, but to a relationship in which we are transformed and equipped to participate in God’s work of transforming others. In Christ, we are committing to a person, not a program. Kind of like a marriage… we don’t get much of a road map with those either, do we?
Here’s a prayer experiment: for the next week, let’s invite Jesus to lead us every day to the things and people he has blessed or intends to bless. And pray to be alive to that leading – which will mean checking in with him a few times during the day. You might set an alert on your phone or computer, or set up some regular times to stop and pray, “Where we going next, Lord?” And in the evening, take about five minutes to write down where you were led.
I commit myself to doing this. If you do, let me know if you’re surprised by anything. I believe Jesus says, “Follow me,” because he knows where we’re going. And there’s only one way for us to find out…
© 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.
Would you have gone, if Jesus walked by your place of work and said, “Follow me?” Would you have left your job, family, home on the promise of “I will make you fish for people?”
As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
There wasn’t any security in what Jesus was offering. And yet he said, “Follow me,” and people did. Immediately. How could they be so sure, that they were willing to go right then and there? Leave it all, no looking back.
Once I was praying, and had a sense of Jesus say, “Follow me.” I said, “Where are we going?” An answer came quickly in my mind: “You don’t get an itinerary. You don’t get the route. When I say, ‘Follow me,’ I just mean, ‘Follow me.’ Put your focus on where I am, not where I’m going.” In other words, follow the leader, not the path.
Maybe this should not have come as a revelation, but I had never thought of it that way. If you’re like me, you want to see what you’re committing to, what’s around the next corner. But it makes sense – Jesus invites us not to a walk-about, but to a relationship in which we are transformed and equipped to participate in God’s work of transforming others. In Christ, we are committing to a person, not a program. Kind of like a marriage… we don’t get much of a road map with those either, do we?
Here’s a prayer experiment: for the next week, let’s invite Jesus to lead us every day to the things and people he has blessed or intends to bless. And pray to be alive to that leading – which will mean checking in with him a few times during the day. You might set an alert on your phone or computer, or set up some regular times to stop and pray, “Where we going next, Lord?” And in the evening, take about five minutes to write down where you were led.
I commit myself to doing this. If you do, let me know if you’re surprised by anything. I believe Jesus says, “Follow me,” because he knows where we’re going. And there’s only one way for us to find out…
© 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.
1-14-26 - What Are You Looking For?
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
The label “Lamb of God” may not have much meaning for us, but John’s followers knew exactly what he meant when he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” To an oppressed people yearning for God to send a savior, those were loaded words meaning, “That’s the one! The Messiah, the Savior.”
Two of John's disciples hear him refer to Jesus that way, two days in a row, and they have to find out who this guy can be. Can the Savior of the world really be just a guy walking by?
It doesn’t surprise me that they start tailing Jesus – I’d be curious too. I am amused, though, by Jesus’ response : Who are these guys, following me? (“You lookin’ at me?”) I would expect him to say “What do you want?,” but he asks a more profound question: “What are you looking for?” It could be a subtle interview question.
“What are you looking for?” is a searching question.
It’s a good question for us today: “What are you looking for?”
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re involved in the Christian enterprise in some way, as a Christ-follower, seeker, or observer from a distance. What’s in it for you? What do you desire from God? From Jesus? Peace? Challenge? Comfort? Purpose? Healing? Forgiveness? Company?
Imagine Jesus asking you the question as you walk curiously behind him. “What are you looking for?”
Think about it for a few minutes. Write it down if you keep a prayer journal. And then meditate on that – is it what you want to be looking for? Can you imagine finding it?
When we know what we’re looking for, we’re often halfway to finding it. Even if we think the answer is obvious, it’s valuable to articulate it. The answer might have changed since the last time you thought about it. The way you put it into words might surprise you.
I don’t expect we’ll ever be quite done looking for things until we’re face to face with the Holy One. Then we won’t need to look anymore; only gaze in utmost love and joy, complete at last.
© 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.
The label “Lamb of God” may not have much meaning for us, but John’s followers knew exactly what he meant when he said, “Here is the Lamb of God!” To an oppressed people yearning for God to send a savior, those were loaded words meaning, “That’s the one! The Messiah, the Savior.”
Two of John's disciples hear him refer to Jesus that way, two days in a row, and they have to find out who this guy can be. Can the Savior of the world really be just a guy walking by?
It doesn’t surprise me that they start tailing Jesus – I’d be curious too. I am amused, though, by Jesus’ response : Who are these guys, following me? (“You lookin’ at me?”) I would expect him to say “What do you want?,” but he asks a more profound question: “What are you looking for?” It could be a subtle interview question.
“What are you looking for?” is a searching question.
It’s a good question for us today: “What are you looking for?”
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re involved in the Christian enterprise in some way, as a Christ-follower, seeker, or observer from a distance. What’s in it for you? What do you desire from God? From Jesus? Peace? Challenge? Comfort? Purpose? Healing? Forgiveness? Company?
Imagine Jesus asking you the question as you walk curiously behind him. “What are you looking for?”
Think about it for a few minutes. Write it down if you keep a prayer journal. And then meditate on that – is it what you want to be looking for? Can you imagine finding it?
When we know what we’re looking for, we’re often halfway to finding it. Even if we think the answer is obvious, it’s valuable to articulate it. The answer might have changed since the last time you thought about it. The way you put it into words might surprise you.
I don’t expect we’ll ever be quite done looking for things until we’re face to face with the Holy One. Then we won’t need to look anymore; only gaze in utmost love and joy, complete at last.
© 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.
9-5-25 - You Take the High Road, I'll Take the Low
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
The first time I went on retreat, I immersed myself in prayer, scripture, worship and the writings of Bernard of Clairvaux. His passion for God was so fervent, at one point I remember praying, “Oh Lord, set my heart on fire with love for you!” Right away a response came in my mind: “Do you know what you’re asking? My fire burns away everything that is not of me, everything.” I thought of all those references to God as a refiner’s fire, a consuming fire, and I felt I was being offered a choice – the “high road” of full commitment to the way of Jesus, or the lower, slower way of mixed motives and divided devotions. I chose the slower, messier way. And you?
The hard teachings we’ve been wrestling with this week concern this choice. Jesus tells those who would follow his way that they must walk away from the claims of this world, family and money. “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” James in his epistle says even more starkly, “Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
Did Jesus really mean we should hate this life we’ve been given? The passage from Deuteronomy appointed for this Sunday urges us to “Choose life.” “…today I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him…”
Jesus invites us to choose the life that is the most real, the most true, the most eternal; the God-life, visible to the eyes of faith, not the mere world-life apparent to our physical senses. “I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance,” he says. (John 10:10). He invites us to leave behind all that distracts us from receiving the abundance of love, joy, peace, grace, forgiveness, healing – and ministry – that God offers us.
I chose the slow road, the “middle way.” I may still be on it, but over the years, as my commitment has sharpened, I perceive that this is also a kingdom path. The God Jesus revealed meets us on any road we’re on, any time we turn away from the emptiness allegiance to the world brings us. This Father in heaven rushes out to greet his children as we come back to ourselves and back to our true home.
Jesus’ invitation is to follow him, to start consciously walking the road with Him every day. As we do that, He will point out sights we may not have noticed before. He may introduce us to people who live closer to the edge; might nudge us to give to this organization or that ministry. We might find ourselves making friends in parts of town we never saw before.
Who have you met on the road? When have you experienced the Father’s greeting? When have you experienced the Holy Spirit guiding you, protecting you, strengthening you? Write down those stories – other people might want to hear them.
The original name for Christ followers was “The People of the Way.” If we’re on the road with Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, we will end up where God wants us.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
The first time I went on retreat, I immersed myself in prayer, scripture, worship and the writings of Bernard of Clairvaux. His passion for God was so fervent, at one point I remember praying, “Oh Lord, set my heart on fire with love for you!” Right away a response came in my mind: “Do you know what you’re asking? My fire burns away everything that is not of me, everything.” I thought of all those references to God as a refiner’s fire, a consuming fire, and I felt I was being offered a choice – the “high road” of full commitment to the way of Jesus, or the lower, slower way of mixed motives and divided devotions. I chose the slower, messier way. And you?
The hard teachings we’ve been wrestling with this week concern this choice. Jesus tells those who would follow his way that they must walk away from the claims of this world, family and money. “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” James in his epistle says even more starkly, “Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
Did Jesus really mean we should hate this life we’ve been given? The passage from Deuteronomy appointed for this Sunday urges us to “Choose life.” “…today I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him…”
Jesus invites us to choose the life that is the most real, the most true, the most eternal; the God-life, visible to the eyes of faith, not the mere world-life apparent to our physical senses. “I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance,” he says. (John 10:10). He invites us to leave behind all that distracts us from receiving the abundance of love, joy, peace, grace, forgiveness, healing – and ministry – that God offers us.
I chose the slow road, the “middle way.” I may still be on it, but over the years, as my commitment has sharpened, I perceive that this is also a kingdom path. The God Jesus revealed meets us on any road we’re on, any time we turn away from the emptiness allegiance to the world brings us. This Father in heaven rushes out to greet his children as we come back to ourselves and back to our true home.
Jesus’ invitation is to follow him, to start consciously walking the road with Him every day. As we do that, He will point out sights we may not have noticed before. He may introduce us to people who live closer to the edge; might nudge us to give to this organization or that ministry. We might find ourselves making friends in parts of town we never saw before.
Who have you met on the road? When have you experienced the Father’s greeting? When have you experienced the Holy Spirit guiding you, protecting you, strengthening you? Write down those stories – other people might want to hear them.
The original name for Christ followers was “The People of the Way.” If we’re on the road with Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, we will end up where God wants us.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
2-7-25 - Leaving Everything
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
We have zoomed in this week on how Jesus’ actions on that fishing boat affected Simon, soon to be nicknamed “Peter.” Let’s widen our lens and take in all of this very public event – the throngs on the shore and the other fishermen in the water. This had a profound effect on them as well. After Simon’s profession of humility and repentance, we read: For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Jesus doesn’t reply to Simon’s plea, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” He just says, “Don't be afraid. I have plans for you. From now on, you will fish for people and catch them.” That’s all he says in the way of recruitment, and it’s a mighty odd offer. Yet after what they have just experienced with him, Peter and Andrew, and James and John in the next boat, haul their catch to shore, leave it all for others to sell, and set off to follow Jesus.
Who walks away from his business at its most successful moment? Who decides, when they’ve finally gotten what they most desired, that they will now seek something else? Someone who has encountered something better, something more powerful, more real, more engaging. That’s the only way I can account for the actions of these fishermen. The power and reality they encountered in Jesus, and maybe the love they detected, was sufficient to draw them away from all they knew and cared for, all their investments, and leave it behind to move forward on a mission they scarcely understood.
What would that look like for us? For you? Where are you most invested? What do you love to do? What are you good at? Is there some way that Jesus is calling you forward, to take with you the skills but leave the investment behind, to put your energies and passions into God’s mission to reclaim, restore and renew all of creation to wholeness in Christ? Or to stay where you are, but become more active in following Jesus, who invites us into an ever-deepening relationship, who is always moving forward, never back?
It isn’t always one decisive moment, but gradually we are invited to bring our boats – all that we rely on in this life – to shore, and leave them behind to walk with Jesus, trusting in his amazing power and love. That is the way of freedom. That is the Way of Love.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
We have zoomed in this week on how Jesus’ actions on that fishing boat affected Simon, soon to be nicknamed “Peter.” Let’s widen our lens and take in all of this very public event – the throngs on the shore and the other fishermen in the water. This had a profound effect on them as well. After Simon’s profession of humility and repentance, we read: For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Jesus doesn’t reply to Simon’s plea, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” He just says, “Don't be afraid. I have plans for you. From now on, you will fish for people and catch them.” That’s all he says in the way of recruitment, and it’s a mighty odd offer. Yet after what they have just experienced with him, Peter and Andrew, and James and John in the next boat, haul their catch to shore, leave it all for others to sell, and set off to follow Jesus.
Who walks away from his business at its most successful moment? Who decides, when they’ve finally gotten what they most desired, that they will now seek something else? Someone who has encountered something better, something more powerful, more real, more engaging. That’s the only way I can account for the actions of these fishermen. The power and reality they encountered in Jesus, and maybe the love they detected, was sufficient to draw them away from all they knew and cared for, all their investments, and leave it behind to move forward on a mission they scarcely understood.
What would that look like for us? For you? Where are you most invested? What do you love to do? What are you good at? Is there some way that Jesus is calling you forward, to take with you the skills but leave the investment behind, to put your energies and passions into God’s mission to reclaim, restore and renew all of creation to wholeness in Christ? Or to stay where you are, but become more active in following Jesus, who invites us into an ever-deepening relationship, who is always moving forward, never back?
It isn’t always one decisive moment, but gradually we are invited to bring our boats – all that we rely on in this life – to shore, and leave them behind to walk with Jesus, trusting in his amazing power and love. That is the way of freedom. That is the Way of Love.
© Kate Heichler, 2025. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for next Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
9-12-24 - Thinking Like God
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
When Jesus tells his followers the horrors that are to befall the “Son of Man,” Peter takes him aside and admonishes him. “Don’t be talking like that! How can anything bad happen to you? I’ve just said I believe you are the Messiah!” And Jesus in turn rebukes Peter, quite harshly, telling him: “You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Jesus was asking a lot of Peter. Yet that neatly describes the task of discipleship: learning to think like God. Paul writes that those who would follow Jesus “Have the mind of Christ.” This makes sense – if we are united with Christ in baptism, if he takes up residence in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit, then we have his mind as well, not replacing our own, but informing, even transforming ours.
Our minds and capacity for thought are among God’s greatest gifts to us. They are also the seat of our strongest resistance to God. Funny how that is… Before we can set our mind on the things of God we have to become aware of the distinction between our own thoughts and God’s thoughts. Whenever we become aware that we are thinking out of our own reality – say, when anxiety or anger are leading the way, or we're convinced faith is irrational, or when we’re set on a course that we know is other than the way God would work in us – we can ask God to show us situations or people as God sees them. Often a broader perspective opens immediately.
This week, try to notice when your thoughts are purely human, and when they seem tinged with the holy. This is a spiritual practice we can cultivate; as we become conscious, gradually we learn to think more like God. As Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
It is a delicate balance to prize the gift of human nature and yet allow God’s life to grow in us and uproot everything that is not of God. Perhaps this is best summed up in the adage, “God loves us just the way we are – and far too much to leave us that way.”
© 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.
When Jesus tells his followers the horrors that are to befall the “Son of Man,” Peter takes him aside and admonishes him. “Don’t be talking like that! How can anything bad happen to you? I’ve just said I believe you are the Messiah!” And Jesus in turn rebukes Peter, quite harshly, telling him: “You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
Jesus was asking a lot of Peter. Yet that neatly describes the task of discipleship: learning to think like God. Paul writes that those who would follow Jesus “Have the mind of Christ.” This makes sense – if we are united with Christ in baptism, if he takes up residence in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit, then we have his mind as well, not replacing our own, but informing, even transforming ours.
Our minds and capacity for thought are among God’s greatest gifts to us. They are also the seat of our strongest resistance to God. Funny how that is… Before we can set our mind on the things of God we have to become aware of the distinction between our own thoughts and God’s thoughts. Whenever we become aware that we are thinking out of our own reality – say, when anxiety or anger are leading the way, or we're convinced faith is irrational, or when we’re set on a course that we know is other than the way God would work in us – we can ask God to show us situations or people as God sees them. Often a broader perspective opens immediately.
This week, try to notice when your thoughts are purely human, and when they seem tinged with the holy. This is a spiritual practice we can cultivate; as we become conscious, gradually we learn to think more like God. As Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
It is a delicate balance to prize the gift of human nature and yet allow God’s life to grow in us and uproot everything that is not of God. Perhaps this is best summed up in the adage, “God loves us just the way we are – and far too much to leave us that way.”
© 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.
2-19-24 - You Call This Good News?
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
The term “ Good News,” which is what “Gospel” means, is all over the New Testament. But do we find the “news” about Jesus Christ being the risen Son of God all that new (come on, 2,000 years?), or all that “good” in the “Wow! Yippee!” way we associate with “good news?” God’s promise of eternal life is not one we hope to collect on any time soon; God’s promise of forgiveness is great, on days we’re willing to acknowledge how much we need it. But if we’ve been in the church awhile, we know too much.
We know that following Christ does not make for an easier life. We know it’s no picnic – at least not the kind of picnic we’d choose; more like the picnic described in Psalm 23 – “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” Gee, thanks, God. I'll take the ants.
Jesus’ original band of followers discovered just how mixed this “Good News” was to be when Jesus started talking about what was going to happen to him. He did not mince words: Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly.
We’ll see later how this message went over with Peter. I doubt any of them liked it. They had given up a lot to follow Jesus – homes, jobs, reputations. And up until now they had seen one healing and brilliant teaching and miracle after another. Why would Jesus predict such dire events when everything was going so well?
The disciples were being asked to adjust their vision of what God was up to, as are we. We live on the far side of the events Jesus predicted, so far beyond them we have to re-enact them each year. We don’t experience the fear and protectiveness the disciples did; Jesus is not going to die again. But we too must continually adjust our vision of what God is up to, and what the Good News means.
That can be easier to grasp if we look at what it does not mean. It does not mean success, financial or vocational or any other kind we crave as human beings. We might be blessed with success in many areas of life, but let’s not confuse that with the Gospel. Even harder for many to accept, the "Good News" does not mean security or safety, for us or for our loved ones. It does not mean serenity and never-ending joy and love, at least not in this life.
It does mean what it meant from the beginning: Emmanuel, God With Us. In all circumstances. It does mean New Life – resurrection, that what we think are endings are never final because God always has the last word, and God’s Word is Life. God’s Word is Jesus the Christ.
And it does mean that all those things we cannot change can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we invite the Spirit in. She seems to wait for our invitation – but boy, when we invoke the power of God, things become redeemed, transformed, made new in ways we cannot imagine.
In what ways has the “Good News” seemed less than good to you? Where would you like to see some transforming power at work, in the world and in your life? Invite the Spirit of God into that situation. Envision changed lives. Even picnics with our enemies are good news, if it means we become friends. That’s the Good News in action.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
The term “ Good News,” which is what “Gospel” means, is all over the New Testament. But do we find the “news” about Jesus Christ being the risen Son of God all that new (come on, 2,000 years?), or all that “good” in the “Wow! Yippee!” way we associate with “good news?” God’s promise of eternal life is not one we hope to collect on any time soon; God’s promise of forgiveness is great, on days we’re willing to acknowledge how much we need it. But if we’ve been in the church awhile, we know too much.
We know that following Christ does not make for an easier life. We know it’s no picnic – at least not the kind of picnic we’d choose; more like the picnic described in Psalm 23 – “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” Gee, thanks, God. I'll take the ants.
Jesus’ original band of followers discovered just how mixed this “Good News” was to be when Jesus started talking about what was going to happen to him. He did not mince words: Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly.
We’ll see later how this message went over with Peter. I doubt any of them liked it. They had given up a lot to follow Jesus – homes, jobs, reputations. And up until now they had seen one healing and brilliant teaching and miracle after another. Why would Jesus predict such dire events when everything was going so well?
The disciples were being asked to adjust their vision of what God was up to, as are we. We live on the far side of the events Jesus predicted, so far beyond them we have to re-enact them each year. We don’t experience the fear and protectiveness the disciples did; Jesus is not going to die again. But we too must continually adjust our vision of what God is up to, and what the Good News means.
That can be easier to grasp if we look at what it does not mean. It does not mean success, financial or vocational or any other kind we crave as human beings. We might be blessed with success in many areas of life, but let’s not confuse that with the Gospel. Even harder for many to accept, the "Good News" does not mean security or safety, for us or for our loved ones. It does not mean serenity and never-ending joy and love, at least not in this life.
It does mean what it meant from the beginning: Emmanuel, God With Us. In all circumstances. It does mean New Life – resurrection, that what we think are endings are never final because God always has the last word, and God’s Word is Life. God’s Word is Jesus the Christ.
And it does mean that all those things we cannot change can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we invite the Spirit in. She seems to wait for our invitation – but boy, when we invoke the power of God, things become redeemed, transformed, made new in ways we cannot imagine.
In what ways has the “Good News” seemed less than good to you? Where would you like to see some transforming power at work, in the world and in your life? Invite the Spirit of God into that situation. Envision changed lives. Even picnics with our enemies are good news, if it means we become friends. That’s the Good News in action.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
1-16-24 - Just Passing By
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Last week we looked at the way the Jesus recruited disciples in John's Gospel. This week we’re back to Mark, which is much shorter on details. In fact, on its face this encounter appears absurd:
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
A guy comes by, promises to make you good at... what? Fishing for people? Sounds vaguely like human trafficking. You leave your job and family and follow him? We must be missing something.
Well, if we factor in the stories in John’s gospel, what we’re missing is that Jesus had already met Peter and Andrew. Andrew had already proclaimed him the “Real Thing,” and Jesus had already given Andrew’s brother Simon the nickname Petros, or Peter. All that had taken place by the Jordan River, where John was baptizing. Then Jesus went to Bethsaida, in Galilee, and started his mission proclaiming and demonstrating the power of God’s in-breaking realm. Now he comes to invite Peter and Andrew to take the next step – to actually become part of his inner circle. And they do.
If this is the way it unfolded, there was more than one meeting, more than one invitation. This might encourage those of us for whom committing ourselves to following Jesus with our heart, mind, body and time is not an instant decision but a gradual process.
When in your life have you been asked or challenged to commit yourself to following Jesus in a deeper way? How have you responded? Have you responded differently at one time than another?
What do you think “following Jesus” means for you? What is he asking of you? What is exciting about going deeper? What is scary or inconvenient or otherwise causes you to hesitate?
That day Jesus was passing by the Sea of Galilee. Another day he was passing by a tax collector’s booth. Today he might pass by the halls of your office building or on your way to the store, or sit down with you in your kitchen. So here's a prayer for today: “Open my spirit to see you, Jesus, to hear your invitation. Open my heart to say ‘yes.’”
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Last week we looked at the way the Jesus recruited disciples in John's Gospel. This week we’re back to Mark, which is much shorter on details. In fact, on its face this encounter appears absurd:
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
A guy comes by, promises to make you good at... what? Fishing for people? Sounds vaguely like human trafficking. You leave your job and family and follow him? We must be missing something.
Well, if we factor in the stories in John’s gospel, what we’re missing is that Jesus had already met Peter and Andrew. Andrew had already proclaimed him the “Real Thing,” and Jesus had already given Andrew’s brother Simon the nickname Petros, or Peter. All that had taken place by the Jordan River, where John was baptizing. Then Jesus went to Bethsaida, in Galilee, and started his mission proclaiming and demonstrating the power of God’s in-breaking realm. Now he comes to invite Peter and Andrew to take the next step – to actually become part of his inner circle. And they do.
If this is the way it unfolded, there was more than one meeting, more than one invitation. This might encourage those of us for whom committing ourselves to following Jesus with our heart, mind, body and time is not an instant decision but a gradual process.
When in your life have you been asked or challenged to commit yourself to following Jesus in a deeper way? How have you responded? Have you responded differently at one time than another?
What do you think “following Jesus” means for you? What is he asking of you? What is exciting about going deeper? What is scary or inconvenient or otherwise causes you to hesitate?
That day Jesus was passing by the Sea of Galilee. Another day he was passing by a tax collector’s booth. Today he might pass by the halls of your office building or on your way to the store, or sit down with you in your kitchen. So here's a prayer for today: “Open my spirit to see you, Jesus, to hear your invitation. Open my heart to say ‘yes.’”
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
1-12-24 - Following In Relationship
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
In the early chapters of all four gospels, we see Jesus putting together his team, his community of trainees. These are the men (and probably some women) through whom his message would be proclaimed and demonstrated. I’m struck by how little Jesus had to say to get them to come along: “Follow me,” “Come and see.” That’s pretty much it.
Why did they go, without plans or itineraries, curricula or policy papers, with no instructions about what they were to do, where, and with whom? Perhaps it was because Jesus was not inviting them into a project. He was inviting them into relationship, one that required them to commit and release their other commitments. They didn’t need to know what they would be doing – more than a few would likely have turned back had they known. They only needed to know they were going to become friends and followers of a profoundly holy man, whom some suspected was the long-awaited Messiah.
Maybe in our productivity-driven culture fewer people choose to follow Jesus because there is no to-do list. I can live in my to-do list 24/7. And though many of the things on that list are things I think I’m doing “for” Jesus, I don't know that he's all that interested. I suspect he'd much prefer me to spend time with him in conversation and contemplation, knowing and being known. And I believe he is very interested in being close to you.
Can we enter into relationship with someone we can’t see and can only connect with spiritually in prayer, someone whose words we “hear” as they appear in our mind and don’t seem like our own? Sometimes we begin just by learning to be still and centered and open to feeling God’s presence.
Of course, there is a “doing” dimension – Jesus had his disciples heal and proclaim and feed and all kinds of things. But these were things they did with him, not just for him. As we allow our spirits to open to relationship with the Living Christ, we find his power and his priorities take hold in us. So we might engage less in projects and more in showings, demonstrations of God’s love.
Do you feel you are a follower of Christ? That means more than following his example. It means traveling with him, discerning where his Spirit is taking you for the next adventure. And it means sitting down to dinner with him after a long day, and letting his agenda be your agenda.
Every day, Jesus comes by somewhere we are and says, “Come on. Follow me.” We don’t have to know where we’re going, only who we’re going with.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
In the early chapters of all four gospels, we see Jesus putting together his team, his community of trainees. These are the men (and probably some women) through whom his message would be proclaimed and demonstrated. I’m struck by how little Jesus had to say to get them to come along: “Follow me,” “Come and see.” That’s pretty much it.
Why did they go, without plans or itineraries, curricula or policy papers, with no instructions about what they were to do, where, and with whom? Perhaps it was because Jesus was not inviting them into a project. He was inviting them into relationship, one that required them to commit and release their other commitments. They didn’t need to know what they would be doing – more than a few would likely have turned back had they known. They only needed to know they were going to become friends and followers of a profoundly holy man, whom some suspected was the long-awaited Messiah.
Maybe in our productivity-driven culture fewer people choose to follow Jesus because there is no to-do list. I can live in my to-do list 24/7. And though many of the things on that list are things I think I’m doing “for” Jesus, I don't know that he's all that interested. I suspect he'd much prefer me to spend time with him in conversation and contemplation, knowing and being known. And I believe he is very interested in being close to you.
Can we enter into relationship with someone we can’t see and can only connect with spiritually in prayer, someone whose words we “hear” as they appear in our mind and don’t seem like our own? Sometimes we begin just by learning to be still and centered and open to feeling God’s presence.
Of course, there is a “doing” dimension – Jesus had his disciples heal and proclaim and feed and all kinds of things. But these were things they did with him, not just for him. As we allow our spirits to open to relationship with the Living Christ, we find his power and his priorities take hold in us. So we might engage less in projects and more in showings, demonstrations of God’s love.
Do you feel you are a follower of Christ? That means more than following his example. It means traveling with him, discerning where his Spirit is taking you for the next adventure. And it means sitting down to dinner with him after a long day, and letting his agenda be your agenda.
Every day, Jesus comes by somewhere we are and says, “Come on. Follow me.” We don’t have to know where we’re going, only who we’re going with.
© Kate Heichler, 2024. To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Here are the bible readings for Sunday. Water Daily is also a podcast – subscribe to it here on Apple, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
1-8-24 - Going Viral
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
The Second Sunday in Epiphany – it never fails; whatever the reading, Jesus is telling somebody, “Follow me!” That’s how you start a movement – invite people to follow you, start a social network. There was indeed something “viral” about the way Jesus’ network of followers grew. It wasn’t a linear process, Jesus asking one after another. It was radial, people telling their friends and family, who came to check out what they’d heard, and stuck around to become followers themselves.Three paragraphs in a row in the first chapter of John start with “The next day…” So this would be the third day since John the Baptist first saw Jesus approaching and identified him as the Son of God. On the second day, Andrew follows Jesus, spends the day with him and by nightfall has gone to fetch his brother Simon Peter, saying “We’ve found the Messiah!” And by this third day, Andrew and Peter have introduced their friend and neighbor Philip to Jesus, for we see Jesus inviting Philip to follow him too.
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip, in turn, goes and finds his friend Nathanael, telling him “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote!” And even though Nathanael is sarcastic at first, Jesus finds a way to get through to him.
It’s not up to us to make the people in our lives fall in love with Jesus, only to make the introduction. And in our day and age we can do “radial” faster and more effectively than ever before. If you’ve ever had a post on social media garner attention from people well beyond your own network, you know how quickly that can happen. Even your own circles include friends of friends, and people who hear about you. Every once in a while, Instagram informs me that someone I never heard of is now following me. How did that happen? I have not a clue. It’s a wide open world out there – with a lot of people hungry for connection to the holy.
Of course, the call to introduce others to Jesus presupposes that we’ve “caught” the connection ourselves, that we’ve experienced undeserved love and transformation through coming to know Jesus better. The language of “falling in love” can be a bit much for some – but truly, that is our invitation. I know in some ways I resist intimacy with God, but I do know it’s where my life’s deepest meaning and purpose will be found. And when I allow myself to get close to that fire, I’m much more apt to tell somebody about it.
Who has been an “Andrew” or a “Philip” for you? Who has drawn you closer to a relationship with God in Jesus Christ by the way they speak or live their lives, or the stories they’ve told you? What was it about the way their faith sparkled or their love ran deep that got your attention?
And who are the “Nathanaels” around you, whom you might invite to explore faith? We can spread the Word by posting something about church or asking for prayer - that'll let people know that your spiritual life is important and vital, and maybe they'll ask about it. (Need I add, you can always forward Water Daily or invite friends to subscribe!)
“The next day” is today – and the ones featured in the story are you and me. To whom will we introduce Jesus?
8-30-23 - Are We Following?
You can listen to this reflection here. (I mistakenly introduce this recording as being for August 29 - it is indeed the one for August 30.) Sunday's gospel reading is here.
The culture in which most of us live is not high on self-denial, unless it’s in the service of health or beauty. Once upon a time, self-sacrifice and sharing one’s resources for the common good were high values. These days generosity is often sporadic, a reaction to emergencies and based on our perception of whether we have enough to share – we might make impulsive donations to places ravaged by fires or floods, but not ongoing support to local agencies working to end hunger or homelessness.
“Do we have enough?” stands in stark contrast to Jesus’ core teachings – and one of his most hardcore teachings was this: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Did Jesus mean “cross” in a general, “whatever-your-calling-from-God” way? Or did he mean a specific willingness to endure martyrdom? For him, death on a cross was a literal eventuality. That’s not the case for every follower. Since I hope never to be in a position of having to choose my faith in Jesus over my physical life, I look at this teaching more figuratively. Our “cross” might be anything that represents the way we are called to participate in the mission of God to make all things whole. It may or may not involve suffering; it likely will include inconvenience and even discomfort.
Perhaps before we contend with the call to self-denial and taking up of crosses, we should look at the first part of Jesus’ sentence: “If any want to become my followers.” Why would anyone today who did not already know about Jesus want to follow him? Where is he going that we want to be?
Why am I a follower of Christ? Partly, it’s habit and custom and a lifetime of choices. But why today? It’s because I believe he is Life and Truth as well as Way. Because following him gives meaning to what might otherwise appear a meandering path through life. Because I believe his power to heal is still real and still with us. And because he says he loves me. I don’t know what that means, fully, but I want to find out.
How do you answer that question? Why are you a follower of Christ? If you're not, do you want to be? Whatever your answers, you can talk to Jesus about it. If that feels impossible, talk to a person whose spiritual life you trust.
When we decide that we want to be Christ’s followers we’re more ready to lay down our privileges and prerogatives and take up our crosses. And, as we allow ourselves to be transformed in that relationship, we may also discover a stronger desire to introduce others to this way of Jesus, cross, self-denial and all.
The culture in which most of us live is not high on self-denial, unless it’s in the service of health or beauty. Once upon a time, self-sacrifice and sharing one’s resources for the common good were high values. These days generosity is often sporadic, a reaction to emergencies and based on our perception of whether we have enough to share – we might make impulsive donations to places ravaged by fires or floods, but not ongoing support to local agencies working to end hunger or homelessness.
“Do we have enough?” stands in stark contrast to Jesus’ core teachings – and one of his most hardcore teachings was this: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Did Jesus mean “cross” in a general, “whatever-your-calling-from-God” way? Or did he mean a specific willingness to endure martyrdom? For him, death on a cross was a literal eventuality. That’s not the case for every follower. Since I hope never to be in a position of having to choose my faith in Jesus over my physical life, I look at this teaching more figuratively. Our “cross” might be anything that represents the way we are called to participate in the mission of God to make all things whole. It may or may not involve suffering; it likely will include inconvenience and even discomfort.
Perhaps before we contend with the call to self-denial and taking up of crosses, we should look at the first part of Jesus’ sentence: “If any want to become my followers.” Why would anyone today who did not already know about Jesus want to follow him? Where is he going that we want to be?
Why am I a follower of Christ? Partly, it’s habit and custom and a lifetime of choices. But why today? It’s because I believe he is Life and Truth as well as Way. Because following him gives meaning to what might otherwise appear a meandering path through life. Because I believe his power to heal is still real and still with us. And because he says he loves me. I don’t know what that means, fully, but I want to find out.
How do you answer that question? Why are you a follower of Christ? If you're not, do you want to be? Whatever your answers, you can talk to Jesus about it. If that feels impossible, talk to a person whose spiritual life you trust.
When we decide that we want to be Christ’s followers we’re more ready to lay down our privileges and prerogatives and take up our crosses. And, as we allow ourselves to be transformed in that relationship, we may also discover a stronger desire to introduce others to this way of Jesus, cross, self-denial and all.
6-19-23 - The Un-Prosperity Gospel
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Would you have gone on this mission if Jesus asked you? His words to his followers as he sends them out to proclaim the good news and heal the sick are full of warnings about unwelcoming communities, hostile audiences and even persecution. He says the challenges he encountered would also come to those who went forth in his name – master and disciple are equal in the sight of detractors:
“If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!”
It’s a wonder any of them went. Would facing danger for proclaiming Christ embolden us – or send us into hiding?
Some preachers build huge congregations and rake in loads of money promising prosperity and good fortune for those who put Jesus first – which often gets defined as making large donations to the pastor’s ministry. I sometimes wonder if they’re right; their churches sure seem blessed. Then I remember Jesus never promised anything but love and an odd kind of joy amidst adversity in this life, and an eternity of relationship in the next. And he promised his presence with us throughout, no matter what.
That is where I suggest we rest this week as we read through another challenging passage: by opening ourselves to Jesus’ presence. That is where all ministry in his name begins – being filled with his Spirit.
Today, let’s take a few minutes to sit quietly, offering thanks for the gifts of the week past, repentance for our failures to demonstrate love, and naming those things that worry us about the week to come. And then let’s pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” (an ancient formulation is “Maranatha!”). And wait. See how Jesus draws near, or what comes up in you as you sit in stillness.
The prosperity preachers are right about one thing: cultivating an expectation of blessing yields blessing. God’s “yes” comes in many forms, not only material wealth. As we are open to it, look for it, name it, we will experience it more often, and tell what we’ve experienced. And then, whether we’re in the midst of wolves or sleepy sheep, we can proclaim our good news, “The Life of God has come near to you!”
Would you have gone on this mission if Jesus asked you? His words to his followers as he sends them out to proclaim the good news and heal the sick are full of warnings about unwelcoming communities, hostile audiences and even persecution. He says the challenges he encountered would also come to those who went forth in his name – master and disciple are equal in the sight of detractors:
“If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!”
It’s a wonder any of them went. Would facing danger for proclaiming Christ embolden us – or send us into hiding?
Some preachers build huge congregations and rake in loads of money promising prosperity and good fortune for those who put Jesus first – which often gets defined as making large donations to the pastor’s ministry. I sometimes wonder if they’re right; their churches sure seem blessed. Then I remember Jesus never promised anything but love and an odd kind of joy amidst adversity in this life, and an eternity of relationship in the next. And he promised his presence with us throughout, no matter what.
That is where I suggest we rest this week as we read through another challenging passage: by opening ourselves to Jesus’ presence. That is where all ministry in his name begins – being filled with his Spirit.
Today, let’s take a few minutes to sit quietly, offering thanks for the gifts of the week past, repentance for our failures to demonstrate love, and naming those things that worry us about the week to come. And then let’s pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” (an ancient formulation is “Maranatha!”). And wait. See how Jesus draws near, or what comes up in you as you sit in stillness.
The prosperity preachers are right about one thing: cultivating an expectation of blessing yields blessing. God’s “yes” comes in many forms, not only material wealth. As we are open to it, look for it, name it, we will experience it more often, and tell what we’ve experienced. And then, whether we’re in the midst of wolves or sleepy sheep, we can proclaim our good news, “The Life of God has come near to you!”
6-15-23 - Wise As Serpents
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
Adversity is part of the deal when we become ministers of the Gospel, especially when we invite people to re-examine long-standing beliefs and traditions. Jesus uses a potent image to warn his disciples about the challenges they will face as they proceed:
“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.”
The “wolves” for Jesus' disciples in this scenario are fellow Jews, in particular religious leaders benefiting from the status quo. Jesus knew they would oppose him and put obstacles in the way of his followers. He suggests meeting such opposition with a tricky balance of cunning and transparency.
It’s not so hard to fathom what it means to be “innocent as doves” – it means to have an agenda of peace and goodwill, be straightforward about your message and your aim. If we think of sharing our faith or introducing people to Christ as we’ve come to know him, it means being clear that this is part of who we are. There’s nothing worse than a “bait and switch” approach to evangelism. If we’re sincere about building relationships AND about letting our spiritual selves be part of the encounter, we’re being innocent as doves.
Jesus’ exhortation to be “wise as serpents” is harder to parse. Where does being canny morph into cunning? Let's consider what attributes of serpents we might adopt as we move out in mission. One is their ability to move quickly and nimbly and with great flexibility. They are low to the ground, able to get where they need to be without drawing a lot of attention to themselves. So we might show up at opportune moments, and maneuver with grace around those who would shut us up, or tell us to leave our religion out of it.
Jesus was telling his followers that there would be resistance to their ministry which might well harden into persecution – and that no matter what, God would be with them, speaking his message through them: "When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
I doubt we need worry about being handed over to councils and flogged (in this country, anyway – so far). Any resistance we encounter might take the form of indifference or social pressure not to be “so religious." Whatever happens, Jesus’ counsel to be both winsome and wise, gentle and canny is as apt for us as it was for his disciples. We have a story to tell, an invitation to offer, an introduction to make – let’s not let anything stop us from making Jesus' love known.
Adversity is part of the deal when we become ministers of the Gospel, especially when we invite people to re-examine long-standing beliefs and traditions. Jesus uses a potent image to warn his disciples about the challenges they will face as they proceed:
“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.”
The “wolves” for Jesus' disciples in this scenario are fellow Jews, in particular religious leaders benefiting from the status quo. Jesus knew they would oppose him and put obstacles in the way of his followers. He suggests meeting such opposition with a tricky balance of cunning and transparency.
It’s not so hard to fathom what it means to be “innocent as doves” – it means to have an agenda of peace and goodwill, be straightforward about your message and your aim. If we think of sharing our faith or introducing people to Christ as we’ve come to know him, it means being clear that this is part of who we are. There’s nothing worse than a “bait and switch” approach to evangelism. If we’re sincere about building relationships AND about letting our spiritual selves be part of the encounter, we’re being innocent as doves.
Jesus’ exhortation to be “wise as serpents” is harder to parse. Where does being canny morph into cunning? Let's consider what attributes of serpents we might adopt as we move out in mission. One is their ability to move quickly and nimbly and with great flexibility. They are low to the ground, able to get where they need to be without drawing a lot of attention to themselves. So we might show up at opportune moments, and maneuver with grace around those who would shut us up, or tell us to leave our religion out of it.
Jesus was telling his followers that there would be resistance to their ministry which might well harden into persecution – and that no matter what, God would be with them, speaking his message through them: "When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
I doubt we need worry about being handed over to councils and flogged (in this country, anyway – so far). Any resistance we encounter might take the form of indifference or social pressure not to be “so religious." Whatever happens, Jesus’ counsel to be both winsome and wise, gentle and canny is as apt for us as it was for his disciples. We have a story to tell, an invitation to offer, an introduction to make – let’s not let anything stop us from making Jesus' love known.
5-31-23 - Making Disciples
You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.
It’s a muscular charge, the way Matthew renders Jesus’ last earthly instruction to his followers: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
Authority…. Go and make… Obey… Commanded…. This is not language of invitation and inspiration – or love. And it has caused some atrocious Christian behavior in world history. It’s not so hard to justify crusades and conquistadors when you take your marching orders from this verse – and this verse has had more influence than many in the bible. We even call it The Great Commission.
We can chalk some of this up to Matthew’s style – his version of stories and sayings often sound more legalistic than in other Gospels. Writing forty or so years after the events he records, in the face of persecution and unrest and competing factions in the Christian movement, he may have felt it important to emphasize Jesus’ authority and command. To those who wanted to reserve Jesus’ blessing to Jewish believers, he may have wanted to stress that these gifts were for all nations, that spreading the Good News is part of the church’s DNA. In a time when alternate readings of Christian revelation were already sprouting, he called people back to the teachings and commandments of Christ.
How do we take these words and live into them, aware of the harm and the good they’ve often caused? How might we rediscover the joy of sharing Good News in Jesus’ name, not holding back the blessing we have received?
Let’s ponder what it means to “make disciples.” It does not mean force a discipline on another, or manipulate allegiance. A disciple, one who takes on the discipline of a teacher, needs to do so by choice or she will lack the motivation to follow through. Those who chose to follow Jesus in his earthly ministry caught his passion and wanted to be a part of what he was doing. That’s how people still become his disciples. If we want to share in this mission of God, we will rediscover and share our own passion for the love of God and the Way of Jesus. Otherwise, we’re just going to church.
When someone has caught the passion for loving God, we invite him to be baptized (note the passive verb form... baptism is something we receive more than "do"), to mark this new commitment. We invoke the Holy Spirit to fill and equip her. And yes, we teach her all that Jesus has commanded, in all its counter-intuitive glory – to love enemies, value the poor more than our own families, seek peace over being right, to name a few. And we train him to walk in the Spirit, so that choosing to obey Jesus’ commands gradually becomes a desire, not just a duty.
Making disciples starts with us. Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord? Why or why not? If you’re not, and you want to be, you can pray, “Okay, Jesus, I want to follow you… show me how.” And ask someone you consider to be a disciple already to walk alongside you in holy friendship.
Is there someone you know whom you might mentor in the faith, helping them discover discipleship? You can start by praying for God to bless that desire and give you openings. Making disciples is a little more complex than “just add water” – but it is God’s work. We just get to help.
It’s a muscular charge, the way Matthew renders Jesus’ last earthly instruction to his followers: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
Authority…. Go and make… Obey… Commanded…. This is not language of invitation and inspiration – or love. And it has caused some atrocious Christian behavior in world history. It’s not so hard to justify crusades and conquistadors when you take your marching orders from this verse – and this verse has had more influence than many in the bible. We even call it The Great Commission.
We can chalk some of this up to Matthew’s style – his version of stories and sayings often sound more legalistic than in other Gospels. Writing forty or so years after the events he records, in the face of persecution and unrest and competing factions in the Christian movement, he may have felt it important to emphasize Jesus’ authority and command. To those who wanted to reserve Jesus’ blessing to Jewish believers, he may have wanted to stress that these gifts were for all nations, that spreading the Good News is part of the church’s DNA. In a time when alternate readings of Christian revelation were already sprouting, he called people back to the teachings and commandments of Christ.
How do we take these words and live into them, aware of the harm and the good they’ve often caused? How might we rediscover the joy of sharing Good News in Jesus’ name, not holding back the blessing we have received?
Let’s ponder what it means to “make disciples.” It does not mean force a discipline on another, or manipulate allegiance. A disciple, one who takes on the discipline of a teacher, needs to do so by choice or she will lack the motivation to follow through. Those who chose to follow Jesus in his earthly ministry caught his passion and wanted to be a part of what he was doing. That’s how people still become his disciples. If we want to share in this mission of God, we will rediscover and share our own passion for the love of God and the Way of Jesus. Otherwise, we’re just going to church.
When someone has caught the passion for loving God, we invite him to be baptized (note the passive verb form... baptism is something we receive more than "do"), to mark this new commitment. We invoke the Holy Spirit to fill and equip her. And yes, we teach her all that Jesus has commanded, in all its counter-intuitive glory – to love enemies, value the poor more than our own families, seek peace over being right, to name a few. And we train him to walk in the Spirit, so that choosing to obey Jesus’ commands gradually becomes a desire, not just a duty.
Making disciples starts with us. Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord? Why or why not? If you’re not, and you want to be, you can pray, “Okay, Jesus, I want to follow you… show me how.” And ask someone you consider to be a disciple already to walk alongside you in holy friendship.
Is there someone you know whom you might mentor in the faith, helping them discover discipleship? You can start by praying for God to bless that desire and give you openings. Making disciples is a little more complex than “just add water” – but it is God’s work. We just get to help.
2-10-23 - Chosen For Fruitfulness
You can listen to this reflection here. Today's gospel reading is here.
I suggested at the beginning of this week that Jesus’ tough talk to his new recruits may have been a way of pruning them, or helping them do the kind of pruning of themselves that would make them more fruitful. At the end of his time with them in earthly form, Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine to tell his disciples about staying connected to him and to each other. He isn’t just talking about the vine. He is also talking about grapes, and how a healthy system can produce much fruit. He tells them he has chosen them for a purpose:
“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.”
Chosen. Let's dwell on that word for a moment; let's claim that identity. Jesus has just said, “I no longer call you servants, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends…”
His followers received a big status upgrade, and we’re grafted into their apostleship as Christ-followers ourselves. At those times when we might question our value or our reach, we can remember, “Oh yeah, I was chosen by Jesus, who calls me friend.” How might carrying that knowledge change the way we move and interact with the world?
And appointed. Jesus says he appointed us to bear fruit that will last. Our identity comes with a purpose, a purpose which the Holy Spirit helps us fulfill. What do you think your life's purpose is? Some think it’s to care for their family, or make a good living, or stand for justice… What is yours?
Does it change anything to be reminded that Jesus has a purpose for you beyond what you may have for yourself? And that it is simply to bear fruit? That means participating in God’s mission to reclaim, restore and renew all of creation to wholeness – whenever and however the opportunity arises to do that. When we are about the ministry of justice and compassion, exercising healing and peace-making in the power of the Holy Spirit, there will be fruit, and it is fruit that will last, whether or not we get to see the full outcome. We need to hang on to that promise in times when it may feel like two steps forward, three steps back. If we’re moving with God in the power of the Spirit, the fruit will last.
The most visible fruit, Jesus suggest, is our love for one another. Whether or not we like his language, Jesus was talking about how to love well in those harsh teachings we’ve looked at this week. He was talking about faithfulness and generosity in relationships. If we can learn to love with such integrity as Jesus both commends and commands, that could change the course of the whole world.
I suggested at the beginning of this week that Jesus’ tough talk to his new recruits may have been a way of pruning them, or helping them do the kind of pruning of themselves that would make them more fruitful. At the end of his time with them in earthly form, Jesus uses the metaphor of a vine to tell his disciples about staying connected to him and to each other. He isn’t just talking about the vine. He is also talking about grapes, and how a healthy system can produce much fruit. He tells them he has chosen them for a purpose:
“You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.”
Chosen. Let's dwell on that word for a moment; let's claim that identity. Jesus has just said, “I no longer call you servants, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends…”
His followers received a big status upgrade, and we’re grafted into their apostleship as Christ-followers ourselves. At those times when we might question our value or our reach, we can remember, “Oh yeah, I was chosen by Jesus, who calls me friend.” How might carrying that knowledge change the way we move and interact with the world?
And appointed. Jesus says he appointed us to bear fruit that will last. Our identity comes with a purpose, a purpose which the Holy Spirit helps us fulfill. What do you think your life's purpose is? Some think it’s to care for their family, or make a good living, or stand for justice… What is yours?
Does it change anything to be reminded that Jesus has a purpose for you beyond what you may have for yourself? And that it is simply to bear fruit? That means participating in God’s mission to reclaim, restore and renew all of creation to wholeness – whenever and however the opportunity arises to do that. When we are about the ministry of justice and compassion, exercising healing and peace-making in the power of the Holy Spirit, there will be fruit, and it is fruit that will last, whether or not we get to see the full outcome. We need to hang on to that promise in times when it may feel like two steps forward, three steps back. If we’re moving with God in the power of the Spirit, the fruit will last.
The most visible fruit, Jesus suggest, is our love for one another. Whether or not we like his language, Jesus was talking about how to love well in those harsh teachings we’ve looked at this week. He was talking about faithfulness and generosity in relationships. If we can learn to love with such integrity as Jesus both commends and commands, that could change the course of the whole world.
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