The Way Things (Really) work - a scripture reflection by Steve Orr

You may know David Macaulay’s book, "The Way Things Work." But you may not know his "Motel of the Mysteries." This funny, quirky book does for the modern world what he has done for machines, castles, nuclear power, and pyramids. 

But there's a twist.

The set up: 2000 years from now, most of the American continent is covered in a thick layer of petrified material. It has become one giant archeological site; people from across the globe try to piece together what life was like in "Usa" before the not-fully-understood catastrophe made it uninhabitable. 

 

In humorous parallels to Howard Carter's excavation of Tutankhamen's tomb, Macaulay shows us how easy it is, despite best intentions, to get it all wrong. Every time something is discovered about life in "Usa," it is assumed to have religious significance. And that's what happens when the ground gives way beneath amateur archeologist Howard Carson. He drops several feet into a shaft that reveals a previously undisturbed "burial" chamber in one of the former civilization's mysterious "motels." 

 

A great part of the fun in reading through "Motel of the Mysteries" is that, due to Mr. Macaulay's remarkable drawings, we readers recognize each thing and know it is not what they think it is. We know that what they have found is just a motel room and that each discovered item is not something of religious significance. Some of my favorites are the Sacred Urn (commode), the Sacred Point (foil seal on the toilet paper), the Internal Component Enclosure used to symbolically store major organs of the deceased (ICE bucket), and the "Plant That Would Not Die."

 

If you have any interest in archeology—whether you’ve read Michener's "The Source" cover to cover or are just a fan of Indiana Jones—you’ll find this makes for an entertaining afternoon. Snickers abound.

 

And that brings us to this week's scripture passages. Somewhat like Macaulay's future archeologists, we tend to see what we expect to see. And all the more so when we are treading familiar territory. We get so caught up in the part of the Bible story we know, we often miss some very significant gems.

 

The unexpected discovery in this week’s Esther passage: The celebration included "days for sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor." Wait. What? They celebrated by giving gifts to the poor?

 

The unexpected in the Numbers passage: God puts the Spirit on some folk who didn’t even come to the meeting! This should be a cautionary note to those in spiritual authority. A leader's desire must be that God blesses the people and leaders equally, particularly in matters of the Spirit. 

 

The unexpected in the Mark passage: "If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones [children] who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea." 

 

The unexpected in the James passage: “whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." 

 

Gifts to the poor. God’s spirit infusing people we think should not be included. A shocking promise of punishment for those who harm children. A vast multitude of sins are forgiven by a simple loving act. Not what we expected to find. 

 

Examples of the way things really work. 

 

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PHOTO: Adobe Express and Photoshop Express 

 

Friday is almost here. It gets here pretty fast. I hope you can join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We gather at 8:00 a.m. on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place. It’s an hour of revelation, tasty food, and laughter. 

 

No one will be asked to dig up a motel. 

 

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

 

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK 

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=382&z=p&d=77

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Bx_Proper21.pdf

 

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

Psalm 124

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

Psalm 19:7-14

James 5:13-20

Mark 9:38-50

Proper 21 (26) (September 29, 2024)

Failing Better (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I was a clumsy kid.

 

How clumsy? My parents always said I could trip over the flowers in the rug. Quite often, my shoulders clipped our corners and doorframes. I was always knocking over some cup of liquid. And, if nothing else was going wrong, I could always count on knocking my fork off the table.  

 

To be clear, most of these things didn’t last a lifetime. After a while, I learned how to pick up the front of my shoes when I walked, seriously limiting sprawling before my peers. I did eventually figure out that I could swing a bit wider than my eyes told me to when coming near these corners and portals. Result? All but eliminated that painful shoulder bruising. 

 

Solving the problem of knocking over liquids presented more of a challenge. I couldn’t seem to cure that one. So, I developed the ability to quickly grab the container as it is still tilting over. I’ve gotten really good at this mid-spill save. You can witness my ability at almost any meal. The fork thing? Well…it’s still a thing. But I’ve narrowed down the culprit to long sleeves. Some things, I guess, are just going to remain a work in progress.

 

I am what a kind person would call an “experiential learner.” I make a lot of mistakes. But my errors are my tutors. I learn from my mistakes. That’s a subtlety that may be overlooked when we read this week’s James passage. James says: We don’t have because we don’t ask God for what we want. And, even when we do ask God, we don’t receive because we ask for selfish reasons.

 

James is talking about the problems that keep popping up when we want what already belongs to others: selfish ambition, bitter envy, contentiousness, even murder. We have gone about these things backwards. Instead of coveting and then fighting to get what we desire, we should go to God with our wants, needs, and desires. 

 

Plus, we can apply the correct process (ask God), but still not receive it because we are only asking for selfish reasons. We need to realize that asking God to give us something that already belongs to someone else is never going to work. 

 

Turns out: there is a right way and a wrong way to ask. And we can learn that right way. 

 

We are to ask while in the presence of God. That means we are to be praying and listening, being still before God. And, if we ask while living the Golden Rule—seeking for others what we wish for ourselves—we will receive. As promised.

 

Finally, it’s okay if we struggle with this a bit. We’re unlikely to excel at this when we first begin. It’s okay to fail. Seriously, it’s okay. We just need to fail better. Our errors can be our tutors.

 

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PHOTO: Adobe Express and Photoshop Express 

 

What are you doing Friday morning? Can you join us at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We meet at 8:00 on Zoom** and in the function room at Our Breakfast Place. It’s an hour like no other. We come away refreshed and fortified. 

 

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

 

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK 

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=382&z=p&d=76

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Bx_Proper20.pdf

 

Proverbs 31:10-31

Psalm 1

Jeremiah 11:18-20

Psalm 54

James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a

Mark 9:30-37

Proper 20 (25) (September 22, 2024)

Surviving Boston Drivers (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Upon moving to Massachusetts for work, I spent my first few weeks terrified by Boston drivers.

Not so much by their bad driving—though it was truly bad—but more by their unpredictability. I had no idea what they would do next. And yet, I had to enter that fray at least twice every working day.

 

When I voiced my concern to a church friend, he touched my arm and gently said, “I can help.” He shared an essential wisdom that gave me some much-needed confidence. What he shared was this: In the mind of every Boston driver is one thought: “Can I make it?”

 

Soon, I was driving all over the Boston area without undue fear (a little fear was still a good idea). It all made a kind of crazy sense. I learned to watch, not the cars, but the faces of those nearby drivers. Directional signals? Forget it. Lane location? Meaningless. Where were they looking? That told me everything I needed to know.

 

Important lessons I learned: 

(1) Those Boston drivers were not going to change (no matter how much I wanted them to change, and no matter how much they needed to change).

(2) Imparted wisdom may be for them but sometimes the wisdom is for me. 

(3) As for Boston drivers, I was the one who had to change, and my friend’s wisdom helped me do it.

 

All of this week’s scriptures are related to wisdom. It is easy to conclude that the wisdom of the scriptures is for someone else—for them, not me. Well, of course, not me. None of us wants to think of ourselves as unwise. Quick quiz: Do you ever read scripture and immediately think of someone who would benefit from adopting that code or mode of conduct? Someone who is not you? Might need to rethink that imparted wisdom.

 

I have realized that all of this week's scriptures are about me, and are for me, not them. So, I’ve been re-reading the passages with me in mind instead of someone else. My takeaway: heed Wisdom's call, and just assume those are for me. Can’t go wrong with that approach. I choose the instruction that leads to life.

 

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PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

An article explaining why Boston traffic is SO BAD): 

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2017/04/30/boston-traffic/

 

 

The Boston Driver’s Handbook is a hilarious read (and essential should you ever want to drive in Boston). See it here: https://www.amazon.com/Boston-Drivers-Handbook-Streets-Almost/dp/0306813262/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536798162&sr=8-1&keywords=the+boston+drivers+handbook

 

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Join us on Zoom** or in the function room at Our Breakfast Place Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. As usual, we gather at 8:00 for an hour-ish of visiting, reading scripture, praying, and discussing. 

 

No one is required to drive in Boston. 

 

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

 

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK 

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=382&z=p&d=75

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Bx_Proper19.pdf

Proverbs 1:20-33

Psalm 19

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 116:1-9

James 3:1-12

Mark 8:27-38

Proper 19 (24) (September 15, 2024)