Vampires, Dragons, and the Big Bad (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

There has always been a “big bad.” 

It’s been with us for so long, we’ve buried it in our stories. And in our stories, there have always been heroes to fight it. Knights to battle the dragons. Dark Knights to defeat the criminals. But it was Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her “Scooby Gang” of vampire-stakers who first named it the “Big Bad.” And it was never just the monsters they fought each week. It was something truly world-shattering. 

So what is the "Big Bad"?

It’s knowing that those you thought were your friends now seek to harm you, that your family shuns you. And now that your family and friends have turned against you, that no one stands with you. It’s facing inescapable death when there is no longer any water. It’s the realization that you and your child are not going to survive. It’s drowning when the mighty waters rise above you. It’s the sure knowledge that no knight, whatever his or her stripe, can save you from what is to come. It is there in the moment you realize all is lost, the moment when clarity shows you there really is no escape. 

The Big Bad is front and center in this week’s scriptures. But it’s not alone. We find Hagar expecting death in the desert—for herself and for her baby—when her water runs out. We find the Psalmist fearing the exact opposite end: too much water. Death has been the Big Bad for so long—the biggest, the true inescapable fate—for as long as recorded history.

But that time has ended.

It is now the day of our trouble. We need to call on the Lord. If the prophet Jeremiah tries to withhold the message of God, it becomes like "a burning fire shut up in his bones," a fire he cannot hold in. That message, the one so hot no one can contain it, is that God continues to care about us, cares enough to "deliver the life of the needy from the hands of the evildoers."

Jeremiah’s bone-burning message eventually took human form as the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And it was His sacrifice that turned death—once an inescapable prison—into a mere way-station. That’s why, in the day of our troubles—facing our own world-shattering Big Bad—we can confidently call on the Lord. 

We can know—in our very bones—the Big Bad can never overcome the Big Good.

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PHOTO: Adobe Express 

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DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast continues to meet Friday mornings at 8:00 on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place. Please join us for an hour that will leave you energized and ready for the coming week.

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=147

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_Proper7.pdf

Genesis 21:8-21

Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17

Jeremiah 20:7-13

Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18

Romans 6:1b-11

Matthew 10:24-39

Proper 7 (12) (June 25, 2023)

The Winters of My Discontent (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I lived in Greater Boston for 17 and 1/2 years. Or, as I think of it, 18 winters. 

 

I am not a winter person.

 

There are, of course, positives when it comes to New England winters. But it didn’t take long for the harsh realities to overtake the positives: constantly slick surfaces, impassable roads, power outages, being late to everything—never, ever getting warm enough. Worst of all, at least for me, that claustrophobic—almost overwhelming—sensation winter would never end. 

We made some wonderful, life-long friends, there. We miss them every day. But I do not miss winter. 

 

Summer in New England, and the few weeks that bookend either side of it, is a lovely time—very Robert Frost. So, when winter does finally end, everyone feels an uplift in spirit. Joy fills every heart. A kind of collective amnesia overtakes, clouding the harsher memories of winter.

Deep in the bleak days of winter, though, instead of dwelling on their momentary difficulties, they look ahead. People’s thoughts turn to the spring to come, the green grass, blooming flowers, and the planting of gardens. They think of the warm days of summer and the coming (though still far distant) harvest. 

They have hope.

They know that every inch of snow piled upon the ground throughout the winter is actually stored water, just waiting for spring to release it. Water that brings life to the land, the plants, the animals, and all of us humans who can’t survive without it.

This week’s Romans passage talks about a "hope that does not disappoint." Such hope is more than just a wish. It's a confidence that good is coming, is already on its way, will certainly arrive. The passage asserts that enduring our sufferings will grow character, the kind of character that can rest in the belief that our faith is not misplaced. 

Our faith is our storehouse of hope. And it will see us through the winter.

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PHOTO: Adobe Express 

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We, too, have that hope that does not disappoint. Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place. We meet at 8:00 for an hour that feeds us, physically and spiritually, and from which we draw hope for the days ahead.

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=146

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_Proper6.pdf

 

Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7)

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

Exodus 19:2-8a

Psalm 100

Romans 5:1-8

Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

Proper 6 (11) Third Sunday After Pentecost (June 18, 2023)

No Law? No Problem! (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Is lawlessness a good thing? Most of us would say no.

But in 1968 the film “Wild in the Streets” was released to wild acclaim—among teenagers. Adults? Not so much. The plot: The voting age lowered to 14, drug use legalized, and 20-year-old rock star Max Frost elected President. What could go wrong?

 

Teens: great soundtrack! Adults: chaos!

 

For most of us, orderly is the way. We like order. We especially like law and order. Just to be certain, many of us seek out highly-structured environments within which to live and move and have our being. It's just a lot more comfortable that way. Most of us live in communities with schools, traffic signals, local governments and stop signs, with fire, rescue, and law enforcement on call. We feel safer knowing the law is there to protect us from all manner of things that might do us harm. And most of us have no desire to live without this structure and protection. 

 

With statements like “the law brings wrath“ and “where there is no law there is no transgression,” this week’s Romans selection can leave us a bit unnerved. If you read the passage and find assurance that our faith is what connects us to God, excellent. It’s what we're supposed to get from it. But many of us can't get past the "no law” part. That sounds a bit like anarchy; maybe a lot like anarchy. We may not actually say anything about it, but deep down we don't really accept it. 

 

We're not alone in this concern. The first-century Jewish people reading the letter to the Romans were struggling with just how much of their old life (and their old religion) they should bring forward into this new way. Like them, we keep adding law layers to our lives, even the parts of our lives that we allocate to a relationship with God.

 

Letting go of the law does not have to lead us to anarchy, in life or in our relationship with God and His people. Lawlessness is a good thing in the spiritual sense—as long as we remember to grab hold of faith as we release our grip on the law. With faith, there is no need for the law. The law can actually get in our way of living by faith.

 

Yes, it's a little scary. But take a deep breath—and let it go.

 

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GRAPHIC (the anarchy symbol from a brief article in the Encyclopedia Britannica): 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/anarchism

Max Frost and the Troopers herald revolution and anarchy in The Shape of Things to Come from the movie “Wild in the Streets”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSInh0W7FHs&list=RDEM_EajN8_sH5niFDPm-5UQmQ&start_radio=1&rv=6kidWiTBsQk

Roger Ebert reviews “Wild in the Streets”:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wild-in-the-streets-1968

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Can you be with us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We're learning to do good as we peruse God's word, discuss it among ourselves, and continue replacing bad habits with good ones. Join us at 8:00 on Zoom** or at Our Breakfast Place for food, fellowship, and fun—all squeezed into an hour like no other.

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=145

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_Proper5.pdf

 

Genesis 12:1-9

Psalm 33:1-12

Hosea 5:15-6:6

Psalm 50:7-15

Romans 4:13-25

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Proper 5 (10) Second Sunday After Pentecost (June 11, 2023)

Sam Houston: Brawler, Drunkard, Christian (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Before I moved to Texas, I had never heard of Sam Houston. In fact, If I hadn’t moved to Texas, it’s likely I never would have.

If you come to Texas, you will discover that much has been written about Sam. His stamp on public life and on the political side of our nation cannot be overstated. He was in the U.S. House of Representatives, a Governor of Tennessee, and a military leader in the War of 1812—all before he moved to Texas. He then became a leader in the Texas Revolution, served as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, shepherded the treaty that later joined Texas to the United States, was a U.S. Senator from Texas, and then served as Governor of Texas.

 

Sam was a complex, complicated person; a wayward youth and a wild adult. He was known for his drunkenness, womanizing, and brawling. 

 

What is often overlooked: his spiritual side. 

Twice, Sam was drawn to Christian beliefs and sought baptism. Twice, pastors turned him down. When Sam moved to Texas, it was still part of Mexico. No one, then, could own land without becoming a Catholic. Mexican dictator Santa Anna required everyone to practice that one religion. So, Sam arranged to be baptized into the Catholic Church. 

 

Later in life, once Texas had freed itself from the requirements of Santa Anna, Sam experienced a conversion not tied to politics. He chose to commit his life to the Lord. 

 

What happened? A person.

 

When Sam married Margaret Lea, a woman 26 years his junior, there was frank and open skepticism. But they were happily married 23 years, until Sam's death. Margaret's impact on Sam's life was deep and broad. He made changes he believed were important to his new life (for example, he became a tea-totaler, not even keeping alcohol for guests). He and Margaret produced and raised eight children. And, under her discipleship, Sam slowly began to move in the direction of the Lord. While away from home in Washington, D.C., he began attending the E Street Baptist Church. 

 

Still, it was only after Sam moved his family to the bustling village of Independence, Texas, so his daughters could attend Baylor University—one of the few admitting women at the time—that he seriously considered conversion.

 

Finally, on November 19, 1854, more than 14 years after marrying Margaret, Sam was baptized in Independence's Little Rocky Creek. What made the difference: the calm, considerate, constant teaching of Margaret, the example she set for Sam as wife and mother, and her own faith in the Lord. It took 14 years of her life, and many, many more of his to arrive at that juncture.

 

Now, more than 165 years later, the creek is still there, as is the Independence Baptist Church where Sam and Margaret attended. Adults are still baptized in Little Rocky Creek. One can only hope they are being discipled by folks who, like Margaret, will take whatever time is needed. The process is set forth in this week's Matthew passage.

 

Disciple, baptize, teach them the commands and to obey them. And, finally, help them know that Jesus will be with them always, right up to the very end.

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PHOTO (Bill Paxton, as Sam Houston in the miniseries Texas Rising, next to the real Sam Houston):

https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/texas-rising/

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Join us Friday morning on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place from 8:00 to 9:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. There's plenty of good food, plenty of good fellowship, and plenty of good scripture. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=142

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_TrinitySunday.pdf

 

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Psalm 8

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Matthew 28:16-20

Trinity Sunday (June 4, 2023)