🎼 “On the Eleventh Day of Christmas…” (a Steve Orr Bible Reflection for Epiphany)

This year, the Eleventh Day of Christmas falls on Sunday, January 4th. At our church, it’s going to share the day with Epiphany Sunday. Can you imagine it? Those eleven pipers piping as they march down the aisle of the church? 

 

That’s probably not happening.

 

But we need to pour that kind of excitement into our Epiphany Sunday. Christmas celebrates the day Jesus came to the people of Israel. Epiphany (sometimes called Three Kings Day) celebrates when, in the form of the three wise men (the Magi), the rest of the world joined in. Celebration is key.

 

Here, from the Matthew passage in the Epiphany scriptures, is what we think we know about those Magi. We learn that some “wise men” (astronomers? scientists?) from somewhere east of Israel observed a light in the sky they had never seen before. They interpreted it to mean a new “King of the Jews” had been born. Somehow, this light—the star—led them westward, in the direction of Israel. They took note of when the star first appeared, packed up some supplies and gifts, and headed west—not knowing their final destination. 

 

They upset King Herod “and all of Jerusalem” when they told why they had come. King Herod called in priests and scholars to tell him and these Magi where this “King of the Jews” was to be born. Prophecy said: Bethlehem. So, the Magi left Jerusalem, following the star until it “stopped” over a house. They went into the house where they presented their gifts to Mary and the baby. 

 

They brought gifts to Christmas. 

 

Now, none of that actually explains what the Magi saw in the night sky, why they believed it heralded the birth of Israel’s new king, or how, exactly, it “led” them westward. We are left with lots and lots of supposition—and little clarity—about those visitors from the East. 

 

Here’s what we can know: God got their attention by placing something unusual where they couldn’t help but see it. God enticed them to leave the comfort of their homes and travel to meet Jesus—and bring gifts fit for a king. God led them to Jesus using that same unusual thing. This is true for us today. God calls us in ways we understand, and then leads us gently to that place of meeting. 

 

For all the uncertainty surrounding those travelers from the east, there is one thing that is perfectly clear in scripture: We are to enjoy ourselves in this Epiphany season. If you haven't picked up on that in your Bible reading, look again. It's there.

 

That is my wish for you. As we wrap up the twelve days of Christmas and move into the Season of Epiphany, take time to soak up the good stuff. Take a break. Put your feet up. Eat some fruit cake. Drink some wassail. Sing "The 12 Days of Christmas" and giggle when you mess up on the eight whatevers. Spend time with loved ones. Cut everyone (including you) some slack. Snuggle. Play. Hug. 

 

Enjoy.

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PHOTO (The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo):

https://www.edintattoo.co.uk/

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Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and whatever you wish people for Epiphany! 

We’re taking a break for the holidays. Come and meet with us again on January 9th for DaySpring’s next Lectionary Breakfast. The Epiphany scriptures are included in case you’re celebrating Epiphany on Sunday January 4th instead of on the 6th. 

 

No wise guys (unless you’re bringing gold. We have way too much frankincense and myrrh).

Blessings,

Steve

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=c&d=11

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_SecondSundayafterChristmas.pdf

 

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Psalm 147:12-20

Ephesians 1:3-14

John 1:(1-9), 10-18

Second Sunday After Christmas (January 4, 2026)

 

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SCRIPTURES FOR EPIPHANY

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=e&d=12

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_EpiphanyoftheLord.pdf

 

Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

Epiphany of the Lord (January 6, 2026)

 

Are You Team Scrooge or Team Potter? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection for the Christmas season)

The FBI did not like It’s A Wonderful Life. 

Perhaps you are not so much shocked that someone didn’t like the film—after all, opinions differ—but that the FBI had any kind of opinion about the film. I think many of us, especially George Bailey fans, are scratching our heads. How could they not like It’s A Wonderful Life? 

The answer: The FBI felt Mr. Potter was not portrayed realistically in the film. After all, they reasoned, he was just a local banker doing what he thought best under the laws and regulations of the State of New York. Face facts, they argued: He had bank examiners to consider, and he knew they would criticize his loans should he not require adequate collateral. Heaven forbid he should make a loan to a person who was a credit risk! They went to bat, big time, for Mr. P.  In fact, they liked almost everything about Henry Potter and almost nothing about George Bailey. They viewed George, in his leadership of the ol’ Bailey Building & Loan, as the very opposite of a cautious banker.

Still, whether you agree with the FBI or not, there is something on which I hope we can all agree: Though just as mean and hard-hearted as Henry Potter, and even more of a skinflint, Ebenezer Scrooge got a better deal. 

From almost the very beginning of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, people are reaching out to Mr. Scrooge, pleading, cajoling, inviting him to join them in all that is Christmas. Some cared enough about his immortal soul to go out of their way to try to bring him into the fold. Why, the very first words spoken to him are: “A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!”

No one said “God save you!” to Mr. Potter. 

We cheer for George Bailey because we like him, and with good reason. George personifies all that we cherish as good and all we aspire to be. Almost nobody cheers for the villains. 

But could we at least pray for them?

No one in It’s A Wonderful Life ever showed any interest in Henry Potter’s soul. They, and we, were too caught up in saving George. The vast spiritual need of the other man just never registered with us. Yes, Mr. Potter was the villain, but so was Mr. Scrooge. The most significant difference between the two men? Others cared enough about Mr. Scrooge to reach out to him. Some cared enough to go to extraordinary lengths. 

So, in this season that celebrates a love so great it left heaven for our benefit, let’s pause to pray for the Potters in our lives. Wouldn’t it be great if, someday, we could greet them with the same joy as Mr. Scrooge’s nephew? 

“A merry Christmas, Mr. Potter! God save you!”

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PHOTO-Mr. Potter sitting at his desk in It’s A Wonderful Life: 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/?ref_=tt_mv_close

PHOTO-Mr. Scrooge sitting at his desk in A Christmas Carol (1951 version): 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0044008/?ref_=fn_al_tt_6

BONUS MATERIAL 

Read all about the FBI reaction to It’s A Wonderful Life, here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/weird-story-fbi-and-its-wonderful-life-180967587/

The ending of It’s A Wonderful Life. You'll need to supply your own Kleenex. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uDQVRxRlGdQ&pp=ygUVV29uZGVyZnVsIGxpZmUgZmluYWxl

In A Wonderful Life, a Bevin Bell rang when Clarence got his wings. Find out how these bells are made at the Bevin Bells website (scroll down):

https://bevinbells.com/?tw_source=google&tw_adid=558419806990&tw_campaign=15145410621&tw_kwdid=kwd-1620821399514&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=15145410621&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgP_JBhD-ARIsANpEMxzINH4nzdHCn7gwnua8kXqm_L56vurCyHkRDxclMW2RGJXr9Dk1FB8aAtVNEALw_wcB

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We’re taking a break for the holidays. Come and meet with us again on January 9th for DaySpring’s next Lectionary Breakfast.

Blessings,

Steve

READINGS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE, CHRISTMAS DAY, THE SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, AND NEW YEARS

There are multiple options for these readings. I am using “Proper I” for the Christmas reading, but you should read whichever of the groups you wish. See the table of readings and links for December 24th through Sunday January 4th: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/calendar/2025-26/?season=christmas

Another Unfinished Christmas (a Steve Orr Bible reflection for Advent)

It was a Christmas we would never forget.

I was no older than the first grade. The most enduring memory of that Christmas season is a night of downtown shopping. My hometown is located at the confluence of two rivers: the Ohio and the Tennessee. They make the downtown crosswinds positively icy in winter. The coldest corner was Fourth and Broadway, the location of Paducah Dry Goods (a twin of the Higbee’s department store in A Christmas Story).

 

As Dad dropped the three of us off at the store, cold air funneled up from those rivers to chill us. After parking the car a few blocks away, he rejoined us inside. The fourth floor, home of toys, was also the home of Santa’s red velvet throne. The highlight of this Christmastime memory is sitting on Santa’s lap, telling him my toy needs, and realizing that his beard was real. That beard convinced me he was the real thing.

 

Eventually, my parents bundled us up and moved us down four floors and to the front of the store. Things get a little hazy after that. I do have a vibrant memory of my mother holding my hand as the three of us stood at the curb waiting for Dad to return with the car and drive us home. We waited, and waited.

 

And waited.

 

Dad never returned that night. 

 

That is the end of that memory: the three of us standing there, getting colder: watching, waiting, wondering.

 

An unfinished Christmas.

 

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There is, of course, more to this memoir.*

 

But what if there weren’t? What if that was all we could ever know? How strange to feel there must be more, but be unable to know how things turned out.

 

That’s what’s happening with King Ahaz in this week’s Isaiah passage. It must have seemed odd to hear Isaiah tell about a virgin conceiving a son whose name would mean "God with us" and then—nothing. Ahaz lived and died without ever experiencing the fulfillment of that prophecy.

 

It was like that for all the people of Israel year in and year out, century after century, as they waited for the Messiah, waited to learn the rest of the story. All they had heard was the beginning. Prophet after prophet delivered a cliff-hanger but never finished the story.

 

We, too, have been waiting on God all these centuries, ever since Jesus came to us in human form. And … God has been waiting on us. While we’ve been patiently waiting on God to return, God has been patiently waiting until more of us are ready for that return.

 

It’s the story of a Christmas that had its beginning more than 2,000 years ago and has remained open all this time—waiting on us.

 

An unfinished Christmas, indeed. 

 

 

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* For the rest of the story about my dad, the fuller version of that Christmas memory can be read on this blog. Look for “An Unfinished Christmas” in the memoir section. It’s near the top of the Table of Contents on the right of the screen.

PHOTO and Info about my hometown of Paducah, Kentucky: 

https://www.paducah.travel/

  

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We’re deep into the Advent season and Christmas Day is almost here. Friday morning at 8:00 is our last opportunity in 2025 to join together at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. As always, we will gather on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place for tasty food, filling scriptures, and nourishing discussions. 

And the best laughter, anywhere. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

**Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

READINGS FOR 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (DECEMBER 21, 2025) AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=a&d=4

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_FourthSundayofAdvent.pdf

 

 

Isaiah 7:10-16

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-25