Miracle in Gaza? (A Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

Madeline L’Engle would likely call it a “wrinkle in time.” Perhaps Stephen King would call it a “thinny.” Gamers might want to term it a “gate” or “portal.” Einstein might call it a “space-time bridge.”

Whatever you call it, this was one of the stranger occurrences found it scripture.

The story in Acts chapter 8 begins a lot like other biblical stories: God instructs Philip to go southwest on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, sometimes called the Wilderness Road. Along that road, Philip encounters a very important person riding in a chariot, a eunuch from Ethiopia. This eunuch is a court official of Ethiopia, in charge of Queen Candace’s entire treasury. He is returning home from recently worshipping in Jerusalem (Passover has just ended).

As Philip nears the moving chariot, he notes that the eunuch is reading aloud from what we would call Isaiah chapter 53. [You should stop, here, and go read that chapter before continuing on.] Most christians would recognize this passage of scripture as describing the last days and hours before Jesus died on the cross. But, when Philip asks the eunuch if he understands what he is reading, the fellow says, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

The eunuch invites Philip to join him in the chariot. And then, as the chariot eats up the miles, traveling along that Wilderness Road into Gaza and on toward Ethiopia, Philip explains. Starting with this scripture, Philip proclaims to him the good news (gospel) of Jesus as the Messiah (Christ). After a while, now believing what Philip has been teaching about Jesus, the eunuch spies a body of water and says, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?"

He commands the chariot to stop, then he and Philip enter the water and he is baptized by Philip.

Like I said, the story starts out pretty straight forward. God sends Philip. He meets and instructs the eunuch on a prophecy that tells of Jesus being the Christ. Finally, having now become a believer, the eunuch asks for and is baptized.

Here is where it gets a little strange.

As they are returning to dry land, “the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.”

Let me unpack that for you: Philip disappears right in front of the eunuch and then finds himself over 30 miles away in Azotus (a town situated west of Jerusalem, near the Mediterranean Sea).

Did God teleport Philip to his next assignment?

You will not be shocked to discover that scholars, of course, are divided on this. Was it a miraculous event or was Luke just describing a quick exit for Philip? But, this is hardly the only instance of such miraculous transportation in the Bible. Consider when Jesus appeared to His disciples as they were gathered, post crucifixion, in locked rooms. Jesus just appeared in the midst of them. I tend to agree with those who think it was a miraculous event, mostly because of the phrase, “the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away.” The original language there for “snatched” is the same as for the “rapture.” Sounds pretty miraculous to me.

But, what is the point of all this? I think our takeaway is really found in the “bookends” of the story. It begins with God sending Philip to proclaim the good news to someone. And how does it end? Apparently unaffected by his miraculous journey to Azotus, Philip just heads north and keeps on telling folks the good news about Jesus.

And isn't that always the point?

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PHOTO: https://curiosity.com/topics/theoretically-passing-through-space-and-time-in-a-wormhole-curiosity/

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fifth Sunday of Easter (April 29, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//

Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 22:25-31
1 John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8
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Join us Friday morning at 8:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We spend that hour in the function room of the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant eating, praying, discussing scripture, and enjoying each other’s company. Lotta laughter, too.

Blessings,
Steve

The Good Shepherd and Stephen King’s Low Men (a Steve Orr Lectionary Reflection)

“In their true form, they appear as rat-like humanoids, complete with fleas, lice, and, sometimes, rabies.”

Stephen King has created some very intriguing supernatural characters over the years. And, while his main characters are almost always captivating folk, drawing us ever deeper into King’s tales, it is sometimes his lesser characters that really capture our interests and imagination. One group King invented — and which appear in many of his stories, novels, and novellas — are his “low men.”

These low men usually show up to perform distinct, limited —usually bad— actions and then, fairly quickly, move off the stage. They’re pretty horrible: in their true form, they appear as rat-like humanoids, complete with fleas, lice, and, sometimes, rabies. They dress in garishly colored, out-of-fashion clothing, and they drive what appear to be — but might not actually be — vintage cars. There is no question as to how King wants his readers to regard these creatures. If having the heads of rats isn’t frightening enough, the fact that they walk among us on two legs just ratchets up the creep factor. And in every scene, we always have the sense that things are about to go from bad to worse.

But King doesn’t need the supernatural to write “low” characters. Consider Greg Stillson in The Dead Zone, Ace Merrill in Stand By Me, and Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile, to name a few. They are all “low men” of the very human type; people of low character who act in villainous ways.

But we don’t need fiction to think of such folk. We’ve met some, haven’t we?

And that brings us to this week’s Lectionary passage from the Gospel of John. In it, Jesus contrasts himself (“the good shepherd”) with those who, by their acts of low character, have proved themselves to be bad shepherds. Of those “low men,” Jesus says that, upon seeing wolves threaten the sheep, they will run away and leave the sheep to the wolves. The result? Some of the sheep are “snatched” by the wolves, an event that will surely lead to their deaths, while others are “scattered” in fear for their lives.

The bad shepherd “runs away” because the bad shepherd “does not care for the sheep.” By contrast, Jesus tells us that the good shepherd will do all he can to protect and save the sheep, even going so far as to lay down his life for them. Jesus wanted everyone to understand that the measure of whether a shepherd is good or bad is based on what the shepherd does for the sheep. Most importantly, Jesus wanted everyone to know that everyone has a choice, Him included.

Psalm 23 underscores that David had chosen the good shepherd to be his shepherd. Also, the 1st John passage shows how John didn’t just report what Jesus taught about the good shepherd. He fully incorporated it into his own teaching, further advocating that we should imitate the good shepherd in “truth and action.”

One could reason that Stephen King’s “low men” are the way they are because of what they are; that they have no real choice other than to be low. By contrast, Jesus did not lay down his life because it was destined or coerced. He had the power and authority to choose.

He chose that because He is the good shepherd.

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PHOTO: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/farm/sheep
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 22, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//

Acts 4:5-12
Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24
John 10:11-18

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Join us Friday morning when we, once again, share a meal, say a prayer, and discuss one or more of this week’s Lectionary passages. DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast still meet at 8:00 in the function room of the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant.

Shepherd or sheep, all are welcome.

Blessings,
Steve

Sin is an Archery Term?! (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

There’s sin, and then there’s “the practice of sin” — A tale of two archers who meet in a wood . . .

One archer, dressed in various shades of brown, entered the Wood from the east and walked westward. The other archer, dressed all in green, entered from the opposite side of the Wood and walked eastward. The brown archer strode purposefully; he clearly had a destination in mind and appeared to ignore the Wood. The green archer walked with ease, ambling a bit, taking in the beauty of the Wood.

Still, each was on such a path that, had they not halted, they would certainly have collided. Who can say for certain what causes one of us to take notice of another in such disparate mindsets? And yet, at the last, they did sense each other and stopped. For a few seconds they just looked at each other.

Then the brown archer said, "Hello friend. I see you, too, have come to use the King's archery range."

The green archer appeared surprised, looked about, and, for the first time, took notice of the targets set aways off to the north. The brown archer missed this reaction, having already set his gear and begun preparation to shoot.

All the green archer said was, "So, this is the King's range?"

"Oh yes!" replied the brown archer. "Do you not know? The King has set aside the whole of His Wood for the pleasure of His subjects. And he encourages us to use the range to improve our targeting."

As if to demonstrate, the brown archer nocked his first arrow, drew back, eyed the target, and let fly. The arrow flew swiftly across the vast clearing toward one of the targets. At first, the arrow was on course, but at the very last it appeared to lose speed. When it finally struck the target, the arrow rested well below the bullseye.

"Sin!" cried the green archer, a bright grin splitting his face. He was suddenly awakened to the fun that might be had here.

Selecting an arrow from his quiver, the green archer quickly nocked it, drew deeply on the bow, and released. In no time, a loud "THUNK" heralded the arrow's arrival at the other end the clearing. But it was not on the target. It was not even in the hay bales backing the targets. Rather, it was buried, to the fletching, in a hollow tree far off to the right.

"Miss," said the brown archer.

"At least it didn't fall short like yours!" crowed the green archer. Then, before the other could act, he grabbed another arrow, set it to string, and pulled even farther back before releasing. This arrow flew even faster than the first, slicing past the targets, over the bales, past the nearby trees, and off into the forest. No sound of its landing was heard.

The brown archer watched, frozen, as the green archer lofted a third arrow high and to the left, a fourth high and to the right, then turned and sent one through the woods behind them. Finally, shaken from his shock, the brown archer, cried, "What are you doing? You're not even trying to hit the target!"

"Of course not," replied the green archer. "How boring! The fun is in not aiming for the target! I so enjoy the feel of flinging the arrows off at top speed, the flexing of my muscles, and that sense of power! I really don't want to fuss with all that aiming."

The brown archer had heard enough. "Don't you realize there are others in the King's Wood? Your wild arrows could easily hit someone, perhaps even kill someone. We come here so we can practice our aim. This clearing is set up for just that exercise. That's why there are targets. Certainly the King knows we will not always hit the bullseye. I tally many a sin because I am plagued with a weak pull; my arrow often falls short. But no one, not even the worst archer, comes here intending to sin. And we never act in such a way as to endanger others."

The green archer, no longer enjoying himself, spoke petulantly, "Well, you’re no fun." Gathering up his gear, he stalked away, continuing his original journey to the east.

The brown archer watched the other bowman disappear to the east. He stood that way for a while, thinking of the wild abandon with which the other had launched his missiles, recalling the days of his youth when he, too, had been the thoughtless archer. After a while, he selected an arrow from his quiver, nocked it along the string, pulled deeply on the bow, eyed the target for a long while . . .

And then let fly.

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"All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God’s order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They’ve got him all backward.

So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways." (‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭4-8‬ MSG)

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PHOTO: http://www.icollector.com/Native-American-Indian-Artifact-Stillwell-Arrowhead_i13082071
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A similar version of this reflection appeared in April 2015.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Third Sunday of Easter (April 15, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=89

Acts 3:12-19
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7
Luke 24:36b-48

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DaySpring’s Friday morning Lectionary Breakfasts are a true pleasure. If you're in Waco, join us at 8:00 at the "Egg and I" restaurant. We enjoy the treasures the King has shared with us, luxuriating in each other's company, and tasting the Word to see that it is good.

Bows and arrows are checked at the door.

Enjoy the week!
Steve

The House on Bridge Street (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

It was a good gig ... while it lasted.

As newly weds, we were privileged to live in a community a lot like that seen in this week’s Lectionary selection from Acts 4. Our town was the home of three christian church-related colleges, one of which was my recent alma mater. It’s no stretch to state we felt surrounded by believers who would help us in time of need. And there were challenges. My wife was still in college and I was working whatever jobs I could land to cover our housing, food, transportation, etc. And let’s not forget those monthly school loan payments. As it happened, I was able to keep employed for about six months at a time. Sometimes, though, there was a gap between jobs.

It was in one of those gaps that we experienced one of the premiere blessings provided to us by other christians.

We needed housing ... cheap housing. But, since we were surrounded by people who practiced the christian way, we should have been able to reach out for help when we needed it. That thought was foremost in my mind when I picked up the phone to call a leader of a local church to see if we could get some help with housing.

Not only did he find us a place to live ... it was free!

An elderly lady needed to take an extended trip to visit family members and needed someone to house-sit. There would be no rent —just pay whatever utilities we incurred and tend her garden— but there was one minor quirk: we had to leave the utilities in her name. She did not want to return from her travels and have to go through all the hassles of paying deposits, being subjected to credit checks, etc., in order to reestablish what she had already been doing for several decades at that address.

Considering our situation, it seemed little enough to accommodate.

Our time on Bridge Street was pretty idyllic. We lived in a home and gardened in the backyard. I eventually got a job and my wife continued her studies. But, of course, something finally occurred to change all that: my wife graduated from college and received the job offer of her dreams ... in another city.

Our benefactor asked only one thing from us: find another, trustworthy couple to be caretakers of the home ... and who would abide by the agreement to leave the utilities in the homeowner’s name. It’s seemed an easy assignment. We were living in a town of christians. There were several married couples at our college, alone, in similar (or worse) financial straits, and who would surely be interested in house-sitting under those circumstances. What’s a little gardening? And we found the perfect couple. He was the student and she was the one who was employed. Otherwise, they were the same; christians in need of a housing blessing.

We discussed the situation with them and they enthusiastically agreed to the requirements of the garden and the utilities . . . on which they promptly reneged once they were in the property. We were already in our new city when we learned of this. A quick phone call settled all speculation about possible misunderstandings.

They never intended to abide by the agreement. And they freely admitted it.

Like the christians in Acts 4, we had experienced the “mountaintop moment.” But like those early christians later learned in Acts Chapters 5 and 6, we learned churches are not always utopian communes. In short order, the early church was faced with one couple who lied about donating all of their land-sale proceeds to the needy, wanting everyone to believe they were more generous than they actually were. And it’s only a bit later when the church discovered prejudice alive and well within their fellowship: the Greek Jews reported that those in charge of distributing the communal food (local, Hebrew Jews) were intentionally skipping the Greek widows.

Here’s the bottom line: churches are often messy things, and they are comprised of fallible humans. It is worth pointing out that there is something the people in Acts 4, Acts 5, and Acts 6 had in common: they were all church members! While most of us would love for churches to always be like the one depicted in Acts 4, we have learned —sometimes in the hardest, most disappointing way— that the opposite is never too far away.

This is not Heaven; and, to paraphrase Max Lucado, we should stop expecting it to be. People are going to disappoint us. And it will hurt all the more when those people claim Christ as their savior, too. Acts 4 tells us those early christians “were of one heart and soul.” That can still happen. It does happen. But, as scripture also shows, humans are spiritually messy. When we have these kinds of “mountaintop” experiences, we should cherish them. And we should also recognize them for what they really are: a preview of the world to come, not expectations in which we should place our faith.

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Reference to When God Whispers Your Name © 1994 by Max Lucado

Photo: Google Maps
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Second Sunday of Easter (April 8, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//

Acts 4:32-35
Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2
John 20:19-31

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DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast meets each Friday morning at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant. Join us at 8:00 for an interesting time of laughter, scripture, prayer, and discussion. Food’s good, too!

Blessings,
Steve