Preparing the Soil (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

I was a “townie.” I grew up in a good-sized city in the middle of the USA. Our tiny house sat on a busy street corner and sported a yard of patchy grass and Mimosa trees. No flowers. Certainly not any crops. By all rights, I should know absolutely nothing about farming.

 

And yet…I know quite a bit about farming.

 

Like many communities in "the middle," my hometown rested against a crescent of farmland. It was impossible for us to not know about it. Farming was part of our economy, made headlines in the newspaper. Many of our friends and relatives lived and worked on farms. Scouting events were held at the Tobacco Barn.

 

We knew. 

 

Almost any one of us could tell you about soil preparation; how a farmer first plowed, then harrowed, then furrowed the soil. All before ever planting a single seed. 

 

Much like the followers of Jesus, when we heard the parable of the sower in this week’s Matthew passage, we understood the farming part. We knew about seeds needing good ground to produce the best crop, how weeds and brambles can choke out a section, and how birds and varmints will whisk those seeds away if they are not covered in enough earth.

 

One might wonder why Jesus told so many parables; why not just speak plainly? Why should they (and we) have to "figure out" what is meant by a story? Sure, we could understand the agricultural references—even though we were townies—but why use that approach at all? Turns out, we aren’t the first to ask. Those first disciples beat us to it. Jesus explained: Not every listener could receive the direct teaching He had been giving the disciples. There was no “readiness” in many people’s hearts.

 

Jesus said different things to different people; His message was and still is shaped to the listener. He assessed His listeners before He spoke to them. What do they need to hear? The leaders often need shaking up. The poor and oppressed need to know that God has not forgotten them. The ailing need a kind word and some intervention. And, of course, everyone needs to hear the good news in a way they can understand and appreciate.

 

Like any good farmer, Jesus understood there was a need to, first, prepare the soil. Planting came only after the soil was ready to receive. He used parables to create that readiness. Then He planted the seed.

 

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PHOTO: Adobe Express 

 

BONUS MATERIAL

His first listeners likely understood something else many of us might miss: In the Matthew passage, Jesus was referencing the prophet Jeremiah: “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3)

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Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet at 8:00 on Zoom* and in Waco at Our Breakfast Place. We share scripture, fellowship—and even some laughs—over good food. 

 

Plows must be checked at the door.

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=17134&z=p&d=64

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper10.pdf

 

Genesis 25:19-34

Psalm 119:105-112

Isaiah 55:10-13

Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13

Romans 8:1-11

Matthew 13:1-23

Proper 10 (15) (July 12, 2026) (Seventh Sunday After Pentecost)

Adventures in Our Other Lives (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

We don't always like our real lives. 

 

We struggle with how to live a good life, often fighting inclinations to do things we know we should not, and sometimes losing that fight. 

In a pretend life, we are completely in control. So, it's nice to pretend from time to time, to "get away" for a while from the pressures of this life. It can be fun, and even a relief. 

 

I have one of those pretend lives. 

 

It’s in a different time—actually, a different timeline. People dress in clothing that looks a lot like steampunk costumes, great dirigibles ply the skies, and land transport looks much like automobiles did in the early part of the 20th Century. 

 

In my imagined life, I am in service to the Queen of England, a secret knight of the realm, her personal Paladin. My friends are people like Nikola Tesla (genius inventor, possible extraterrestrial) and Harriet Quimby (a very early aviatrix, first woman to fly the English Channel). I have adventures, drive and fly interesting vehicles, and often "go undercover" to ferret out enemies of the Crown.

 

It's all in fun, a harmless exercise of my imagination. My alternate history lives on a Pinterest board where, by pinning photos, I tell a kind of story about a life in which there's—well, a bit more swash in my buckle.  

 

As fun as that kind of thing is, though, we must not allow ourselves to spend too much time in such retreats. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in A Psalm of Life:

 

Life is real! Life is earnest!  

And the grave is not thy goal;  

Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

Was not spoken of the soul.

 

Each of us does have another life, a different life—the one that continues after this one concludes. Scripture says we get a new body, and adventures so amazing they can't be described in terms we can fully understand—at least not now. 

 

For now, if we weary of this life, we should follow the teachings in this week's Matthew and Romans passages. In Matthew, Jesus claims: “Wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” In Romans, Paul explores why we keep breaking the rules even though we desire to be good. The answer, he asserts, lies with Jesus. So let’s allow the Lord to place us in light harness, under an easy yoke, so we may be guided. And then, let’s trust Him to rescue us when we live a life contrary to what we know is good.

 

I can’t imagine a better way.

 

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If interested, you can view the above photo and the rest of my Pinterest Board, "In Another Life," here:

https://pin.it/RqWIHtN

 

NOTE: Scroll down to the photo of Harriet Quimby and the ornate spiral staircase: That’s the bottom of my board. Then, start up. For most of these pins, I have added notes about how I (fictitiously) used or interacted with the subject of the pin. You may need to click on some bits to read them. Sadly, Pinterest hasn’t always preserved my notes. So, use your imagination. 

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We’re taking a break from DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday! We will return at 8:00 the Friday AFTER July 4th when, once again, we will meet for scripture, food, and fellowship.

Costumed adventurers welcome. 

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=17134&z=p&d=63

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper9.pdf

 

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Psalm 45:10-17 or Song of Solomon 2:8-13

Zechariah 9:9-12

Psalm 145:8-14

Romans 7:15-25a

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Proper 9 (14) (July 5, 2026) (Sixth Sunday After Pentecost)

 

Thank You for Being a Friend (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

In the early days of social media, my account kept suggesting I become friends with celebrated actor Ashley Judd. Yes, that Ashley Judd, daughter of music star Naomi Judd and sister to country music legend Wynonna Judd.

 

That friending suggestion popped up with some regularity. Eventually I just couldn’t resist: I clicked on the link. 

Yes, I was that naive.

The screen quickly displayed a message informing me that Ashley couldn't be friends with me because she already had too many friends. 

 

It was quite the mystery why the prompt was there. She was a movie star and I was…well, not. I eventually realized it was because the algorithm thingy recognized we both grew up in Kentucky. So, of course we might know each other. But I had learned my lesson. From then on, I just ignored it.  

 

It's too bad, really. I think if Ashley welcomed me into her circle of friends, I could share some stories that, being from Kentucky, would resonate with her. I could tell her about Paul and Mike, about Carolyn and Ginny Ann, about Bob and Robin, Bruce and Bonnye; about the great times we all had exploring the Land Between the Lakes, spelunking, picking apples to earn spending money, writing poetry, climbing on the monkey bars, playing on the train tracks, driving through the 19th Hole, playing baseball on a makeshift mowed-out diamond, being in school plays and musicals, canoeing Kentucky Lake, holding hands, and, yes, skipping stones.  

 

Great memories of growing up in West Kentucky. Yes, I think Ashley would recognize some of that—and might welcome a friendship that helps her recall her own growing-up times. Welcoming me would open her to a whole universe of those who are part of me. 

When Bob Dylan wrote his song “I Contain Multitudes” (based on a line in Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself”), he brought forward a key idea: that we contain those who welcomed us into their lives, those who have influenced us, those who shaped us, those who helped make us who we are. 

Both authors saw a connectivity that stretches across time and space. It’s a wonderful way to understand the promise of true friendship Jesus made to his disciples in this week’s Matthew passage, a promise connecting them to the Creator and source of all:

 

"Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

 

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Graphic — Van Gogh’s painting Starry Night. Also, a brief piece connecting that painting and Whitman’s poem:

https://blogs.charleston.edu/hons172/2026/03/15/song-of-my-starry-night-cosmic-interconnections-in-van-gogh-and-whitman-lilly-miller/

A little friending music (“Thank You for Being a Friend” —The Golden Girls theme):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU4Zeiwvy6g

 

 

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Join us Friday morning on Zoom* or in Waco at Our Breakfast Place for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We start at 8:00. There’s always great food, great scriptures, and a fine time talking about them. Laughter keeps showing up, too. 

All are welcome. Nobody here has “too many friends” . . .

 

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=17134&z=p&d=62

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper8.pdf

 

Genesis 22:1-14

Psalm 13

Jeremiah 28:5-9

Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

Romans 6:12-23

Matthew 10:40-42

Proper 8 (13) (June 28, 2026) (Fifth Sunday After Pentecost)