Got Mittens?

Got Mittens?
(a brief Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

D-Day was mere days behind them. Dad and his crew continued to operate their British 40MM Bofors gun, so they had little opportunity to fire their rifles. He and his crew had one of six the U. S. Army had borrowed from the Brits for the D-Day Invasion. The gun had originally been intended as an anti-aircraft weapon, and was still used that way by the British. The U.S. Army, however, had decided it made a very nice anti-tank weapon.

They engaged the enemy daily, sometimes in multiple battles. And since they were part of the infantry, they were always in the thick of the fighting. It was in these early battles that Dad heard something strange.

The voices were, of course, heavily accented; but Dad could think of no other phrase that made any sense. And even that made no sense. But there was no mistaking what he was hearing. For some reason, as they charged Dad’s position, the German soldiers were shouting “Got Mittens!” Over and over Dad heard them shout “Got Mittens!”; so many of them shouting it that the nearly continuous rattle and thump-thump-thump of gunfire did not drown it out.

But, strange as he thought that was, it didn’t even come CLOSE to how strange Dad thought it was when he learned what they were REALLY shouting.

Dad couldn’t say exactly when he came into possession of the belt buckle; but it was after one of those early battles. He found it just lying on the battlefield, a ragged piece of webbed belt still clinging to one side of it. He picked it up, turning it over and over in his hand. Even without close scrutiny he knew it wasn’t one of theirs; it had to be German. And when he saw the swastika gripped in the Eagle’s talons, he knew for certain. Then, he saw something else. At first, he didn’t realize he was looking at words; he thought them just symbols embossed as part of the design. But then he really saw them. There, stamped into the thin metal of the buckle, in a tight circle around the Eagle and Swastika, were the words, “GOTT MIT UNS.”

Dad stared at the words. It took a little bit; but slowly his mind worked it out. And before he could actually think the words, Dad felt his skin begin to crawl; some part of his brain already realizing. There on the belt buckle were the words he had been hearing as wave upon wave of Germans assailed their positions all throughout those early battles. “Gott Mit Uns! Gott Mit Uns! Gott Mit Uns!”

God with us.

##########################################

While it was a shocking moment for my Dad, it wasn’t a new thing in World War II for armies to claim God was on “their” side in the conflict. Even the armies of the late Roman Empire used “God with us!” as their battle cry. But at what point does it become wrong to use God’s name? In Exodus 20:7, we are all warned, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses His name.” At what point do we cross the line?

There is certainly no scripture that says a soldier should not believe God is with him or her when he or she is in battle. In fact, that seems to be one of those times you would REALLY want God to be with you; would want to CALL on God to be with you. And yet … one must wonder about an army of soldiers on whose belt buckles are embossed “God with us.” It is one thing to send soldiers into battle to serve their country. It is quite another to tell them to do so in the name of God.

To “make wrongful use” of God’s name must include, at a minimum, the use of God’s name to convince others to act wrongly. Lest you think this is a diatribe against war, let me assure you, I am not writing about war. I am writing about whether, whatever the topic, we honor God with the things we do in His name and with those actions we convince others to take in His name. We risk our very souls if we do otherwise.

LECTIONARY READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 22 (27) (October 2, 2011)
o Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
o Psalm 19
o Isaiah 5:1-7
o Psalm 80:7-15
o Philippians 3:4b-14
o Matthew 21:33-46

If you are in Waco Friday morning, join us. Maybe we'll talk about whether we must still follow the 10 Commandments, or, perhaps the difference between “looking” and “lusting.” The only way to know for sure is to come. We'll be at Cafe Cappuccino (8:00 a.m., downtown on 6th Street, near the Courthouse) for breakfast and a great time kicking around this week's Lectionary passages. We would love to have you drop in.

Enjoy!

God's Sense of Humor

(a brief Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

People who think God doesn't have a sense of humor have just not read enough Bible. There are funny moments scattered throughout. Take the events described in Exodus 16. The Israelites are complaining (what ELSE is new?) about Moses dragging them out into the wilderness to starve to death. Whine, whine, whine. They have seen miracle after miracle; from little things, like dead frogs scattered all about, to big ones, like God using the Red Sea to destroy the Egyptian army. All those miracles, and yet they couldn't trust Him to provide the food they needed.

So God tells Moses to tell the people HE will send them meat each evening and bread each morning. Then, that night, God sent Quail. Wow ... quail ... pretty tasty, But it's not a nicely prepared pan-roasted quail with a Port sauce reduction. No, no, no. It's QUAIL. And not just quail; DEAD quail. They're falling ... on the ground (THUD!) ... on the tents (THUMP!) ... on the kids (THWAP!). They're falling on ... well, EVERYTHING! God dropped quail from the sky, and they "covered the entire camp."

THUD! THUD! THUD!
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
THWAP! THWAP! THWAP!

So, next time you're thinking of complaining about God not meeting your needs, pause a minute; reflect. Could it be God IS meeting our needs and we just don't recognize it as that? The Israelites cannot have forgotten the events that took place just a few days prior, those stunning events that had so effectively extricated them from the clutches of their cruel masters. And yet, they seemed unable to see the big picture ... to connect the dots.

It can happen to any of us, slipping into this not-seeing-the-miracles-for-the-frogs mindset. When that happened to the Israelites, the message God sent to them was "Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining." And then He met their needs ... just not, I'm sure, quite like they had in mind.

So, the next time you feel a bout of whining coming on, remember ... God has a very interesting sense of humor :-)

################################
You never know WHAT we'll talk about when we get together at Lectionary Breakfast ... Something from that week's lectionary passages. The only way to know for sure is to join us. This week, we might have discussed miracles, or how how God sometimes changes His mind(!), or maybe how sometimes we are envious when God is generous to other people. As it turns out, we talked about the equal-pay-for-unequal-work situation in the Matthew passage. What do YOU think about that?

Readings for the Coming Week
Proper 20 (25) (September 18, 2011)
Exodus 16:2-15
Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45
Jonah 3:10-4:11
Psalm 145:1-8
Philippians 1:21-30
Matthew 20:1-16

We're at Cafe Cappuccino (8:00 a.m. every Friday, downtown on 6th Street, near the Courthouse) for breakfast and a great time kicking around this week's Lectionary passages. We would love to have you drop in.

Enjoy!
Steve

Justice For All?

(a brief Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

"What do YOU think?" 

The question significantly ratcheted up the tension in an already uncomfortable situation.  The person from whom I was collecting testimony wanted me to provide my opinion about the matter under investigation.  That question, or one like it, comes up a lot in the course of conducting a federal investigation.  They say things like, "Don't you agree?" or "You would have done the same thing.  Right?" or any number of things intended to solicit the Investigator's opinion.  In one sense, it is natural.  People involved in a conflict want to win others to their side of the issue.  And when federal law is involved, the pressure to be right grows exponentially for some of the parties.  It's a big deal.  For some of them, if they are wrong, if they don't prevail, the price can be steep. 

Is it any wonder that the folks providing evidence or testimony want to win over the investigator?  Still, that is not allowed.  Investigators are neutral parties. They do not render judgments.  And in that vein, they do not share any opinions they have formed about the matter under investigation.  In fact, for an Investigator to do his/here job correctly, it is essential they remain neutral.  Opinions, and eventually judgments, are the province of the adjudicators, the judges who render decisions.

If I do my job correctly ---do the digging, questioning, evidence gathering, probing, analysis, etc.--- then the judges can do theirs.  So, when asked, "What do YOU think?" I reiterate my roles in the process, explaining, again, that I am neutral.  It's not ever quite that smooth, though.  They don't give up easily.  People want justice, or at least, they want what they consider to be justice; to win, to beat the charge, to not pay the piper, or to force the accused TO pay the piper.  It's all in their perspective.

However you look at it, one thing is certain.  I am not the Judge.

Federal investigators become involved in some pretty interesting matters, not least of which is being up close and personal with our justice system.  There is a lot said and written about the justice system in this country, some positive and some negative.  But for all that, it is a rare person to suggest we should do without it.  We recognize that there are times when a person with discernment must settle the conflicts between parties because, whether laws were broken or parties believe themselves wronged by another, a decision must be made or the conflict will continue; or worse, escalate. 

Ironically (and the irony here is VERY heavy), conflicts over spiritual matters are far more contentious than those over matters of this world.  We SO want to be right in our spiritual choices.  After all, literally everything is riding on it.  We have committed our very selves.  But that just does not seem to be enough.  It doesn't seem like our being right is fully satisfying; those who are different must also be wrong.  And that is truly sad.  

A few weeks ago, I asked if we could not trust God in His declaration that HE will take care of any vengeance that needs dispensing.  And now I am asking, can't we trust Him in his commandment to not judge others?  If we cannot accept the explanation in this week's Lectionary reading (Romans 14:4), can we not just trust the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount?  I realize some of us will disagree on this, and perhaps part of that is due to differences in our definitions of judging.  So, to clarify, I am not addressing situations where we need to exercise discernment or wisdom.  And I am not addressing the judicial portion of our justice system.  In fact, about the only criticisms of justice systems in scripture is when they fail to serve their function.

No.  What I'm addressing here are matters of dispute between "people of the book."  For those, I stand with the Romans passage: "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall.  And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand." (Romans 14:4 NIV)

########################################

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 19 (24) (September 11, 2011)

Exodus 14:19-31
Psalm 114 or Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21
Genesis 50:15-21
Psalm 103:(1-7), 8-13
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35

If you are in Waco Friday morning, join us.  Maybe we'll talk about what really happened at the Red Sea crossing, or perhaps the price paid by the forgiven servant who failed to subsequently extend that grace to another, or something else from this week's scriptures.  We'll be at Cafe Cappuccino (8:00 a.m., downtown on 6th Street, near the Courthouse) for breakfast and a great time kicking around this week's Lectionary passages.  We would love to have you drop in. 

Words I Can't Remember

There are these words I can't remember. I don't know why that is. All of us, from time to time, come up short when we reach for a word. But that's not what I am talking about. These words are specific words; the same handful of words every time. There is nothing especially difficult about these words. Here, see for yourself.

Inertia
Tweed
Visi-Calc
Aesthetic Outrage
Disparate Impact

See? Nothing about them is difficult.

I have wondered if this has something to do with aging. We lose so much with the passing of years. I suppose it COULD be an aging thing. I only learned Aesthetic Outrage a few years ago; but it was Teflon from the git-go, sliding just out of reach with each attempt to apply it. And Disparate Impact dropped off my radar in just the last couple of years when I stopped using it on a daily basis. I almost didn't put Visi-Calc on the list. I mean, so MUCH of the '80s is forgettable. Maybe that was just inevitable. But a couple of these words, inertia and tweed, have been hiding from me for decades. What does that say about the way I age?

So, with age at least suspect, I can't help but think it might be some sort of mental block. I find this both strange and troubling. So much of my self-concept is wrapped up in words. I love to tell stories. Words are essential for that. And yet, here are a handful that dance just out of range when I reach for them. Most of these are words I reach for on a fairly regular basis. These particular words show up in stories I like to tell. They SHOULD pop right up. But, when I want them ... they're not there. I like these words. Why won't the come when I need them?

Perhaps you are wondering how it is I can reveal them to you if I can't remember them. Well, after a while, I finally had to write them down. So, copy & paste to the rescue. Sort of.

One of the things (just one of the many things) I like about books is that the words stay right where I left them. Any time I need to recall certain words, all I have to do is open the book and look them up. I find that absolutely brilliant! I love it! My memory, or lack thereof, is never really an issue. Perhaps that is why I keep so many of my books after I've finished reading them. It is comforting to know I can just dip into one of them to find the thought or passage that is tickling at the edge of my mind and know that I WILL find it.

All of this points to an important lesson: memory is undependable. I've said, for years, that memoirs should be classified as fiction. In fact, I suspect they invented the biography classification because even the publishing industry recognizes that memoirs don't qualify as non-fiction. Our memories are just not dependable.

When I write a memoir piece, I struggle with keeping it on track. There is this persistent urge to remember it better than it was, to remember ME as better than I was. I am constantly having to check myself, to re-read a section, to be sure I didn't gloss over the part where I was a jerk just because it is painful to remember it as it was. I do a lot of rewrites.

Recently I read an article that goes a long way to explaining this phenomena. Apparently, we can't help it. We are sort of spring-loaded to remember things differently than they happened. And this is not limited to the reshaping of negative memories into positive, or at least less negative, memories. We even remember our treasured memories differently.

We don't "Save." We "Save As."

It turns out the process we call "memory" is heavily laced with creativity. We are creative beings; something that should come as no surprise to those of us who believe we are created in the image of God. Creativity is such a part of God, we must be crammed full of it. So, perhaps we should not get too uptight about the gaps in our memories. The fact that we save over our memories with revised memories strongly suggests creation is stronger than memory. In fact, if you can understand that, you can understand what scripture means when it says love covers a multitude of sins.

So, I have decided to not stress about the memory thing. I will continue to write down those gap words. iPhones and iPads are a big help. I can keep my list handy. And, I suspect that's not the end of it. Lately, I've been having a little trouble remembering asynchronous ...

4th & Final Part - Sabotage and Mustard Seeds

(a not very brief Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr ... in parts ... and this is the final part)

When we started this journey a few weeks back, I promised you I would explain what sabotage had to do with mustard seeds, and I will perform on that promise this week. The first week we looked at the labor movement in 1920 and the fact that sabotage was sometimes employed by those who were pro-labor. The second week we explored why we often feel our faith is inadequate, that it doesn't seem to stand up to the standard of "mustard seed faith."

In the third week we wanted to understand just what Jesus meant when he told his disciples "I assure you that if you have as much faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this hill ("mountain" in the NIV), 'Up you get and move over there!' and it will move --- you will find nothing is impossible."; so we spent some time learning about the mustard seed itself. We learned that, over time, the mustard seed transforms itself from the smallest of seeds into the largest of plants, that our faith could be similarly nurtured from weakness to strength.

Here's where we tie all of that together. During the labor movement of the 1920's, certain labor leaders considered sabotage a legitimate means of drawing attention to their cause. It should be noted that even those who agreed (clearly the minority) saw these as the acts of desperate people; last ditch efforts to be employed only when all other means had failed.

One of the most effective weapons of sabotage employed by these folks (you saw this coming, right?) was the mustard seed. Saboteurs used to sneak large amounts of mustard seeds into concrete mixtures. They were so small, no one noticed them among the sand, pebbles, and other ingredients. The "miracle" of the mustard seed occurred long after the liquid concrete mixture had been poured into forms and hardened. Those little mustard seeds did enormous damage. How?

Just by being themselves.

Remember what Jesus said about those little seeds? "... it grows and become the largest plant in the garden." Even encased in concrete, those mustard seeds just kept in growing. Nothing more.

And nothing less.

What would it be like if WE were those mustard seeds? Would we look around us and say, "Oh well. I'm completely blocked in. There's nothing I can do." Or could we bring ourselves to say, "I may be a tiny mustard seed, but I can do what I was designed to do. God doesn't ask any more of me than that. I will grow." When those seeds grew, they did a real number on that concrete. It crumbled to pieces under the onslaught of those little mustard seeds.

Just so we're clear, I am NOT suggesting you go out and use your God-given gifts destructively. I AM recommending you consider that Jesus may not have been talking about size, alone, when he used the mustard seed to illustrate true faith. What is it to have "as much faith" as a mustard seed? Isn't it just that amount of faith needed to go on doing what God designed us for, even when surrounded by adversity?

Height, width, breadth ... none of these dimensions matters in a human being. The dimension that matters is depth. Next time you find yourself thinking your faith is too weak or second rate ---perhaps feeling blocked in or immobilized by the hard things in your life--- remember the saboteurs and their tiny mustard seeds. Trust that God gave you a faith that, though now tiny, will grow; a faith that, in the end, will grow so large it will overshadow your problems. The branches of your faith may even, in time, become a haven for others. Nurture it.


################################################

As always, if you are in Waco Friday morning, you're invited to join our little band at Cafe Cappuccino (8:00 a.m., downtown on 6th Street, near the Courthouse) for breakfast and a great time kicking around this week's Lectionary passages. We would love to have you drop in.

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 14 (19) (August 7, 2011)
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 and Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45b
1 Kings 19:9-18 and Psalm 85:8-13
Romans 10:5-15
Matthew 14:22-33

3rd part - Sabotage and Mustard Seeds

(a not very brief Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr ... in parts)

In the previous installments, I told you about sabotage and the labor situation in 1920, and then promised I would relate it to mustard seeds.  To do that, I started writing about faith; specifically, "as much faith" as a mustard seed, and the guilt we experience because we don't seem to be able to perform to the standards (moving mountains with such a small amount of faith).

If we're being honest with ourselves, I think we can all agree that we tend to put "mustard seed faith" on the "No Can Do" list.  Let's face it.  It sounds so surreal!  Who goes around moving mountains?  And on top of that strangeness, why did Jesus use such an obscure metaphor?  Yes, it IS small, but there are smaller things around.  Jesus once used a mote (speck of dust) to suggest how picky we can be when searching out the sin in OTHER people's lives.  A mote is a lot smaller than a mustard seed.  Of course, if you are already feeling guilty about having too little faith, the mote thing doesn't help.  Why not use a pebble?  They were quite common in Jesus' time and have remained so.  We would all recognize a pebble.  In fact, if SIZE was all that mattered, Jesus could have chosen any number of small items which have endured right up until today: grain of salt, grain of wheat, speck of dirt, particle of sand, drop of rain.  

I don't think anyone would accuse Jesus of being haphazard.  It's really no stretch to believe he intentionally selected the mustard seed as the metaphor for effective faith.  So what is it about mustard seeds?  I think you see where this is going.  It CAN'T be just a matter of size.  There must be something about the mustard seed, itself; some inherent quality other than its size.  Knowing more about them may help clear all this up.  

First, Jesus himself tells us (Mark 4:31-32) a mustard seed "is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.  Yet when planted it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."  That is how Jesus illustrated the Kingdom of God.  And it can serve as a way we can view faith.  When it is very small, we are to plant it; to initially shield it from the harsher elements by placing it in a nurturing environment, an environment designed to facilitate its growth.

The other side of this illustration is that the properly nurtured faith can grow into a very strong faith.  Like the resulting mustard PLANT, it will not only grow larger than anything else in the garden of our lives, it can become SO large that others can find shelter, protection, and rest there.  This is God at work in a most mighty way.

One more thing you may not know about a mustard seed is its inherent strength.  And in this way, we are VERY like the little tyke.

But, what does any of this have to do with sabotage and the 1920 labor scene?  Be here next time for the wrap-up where we tie it all together.

In the meantime, if you are in Waco Friday morning, join our little band at Cafe Cappuccino (8:00 a.m., downtown on 6th Street, near the Courthouse) for breakfast and a great time kicking around this week's Lectionary passages.

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 13 (18) (July 31, 2011)
Genesis 32:22-31 and Psalm 17:1-7, 15  
Isaiah 55:1-5 and Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21  
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21

Sabotage and Mustard Seeds 2

(a not very brief Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr ... in parts)

Last time, I told you about sabotage and the labor situation in 1920, and then promised I would relate it to mustard seeds. For me to deliver on that promise, we first need to spend some time talking about faith; specifically, "as much faith" (Phillips) as a mustard seed.

If you look up Matthew 17:20, you will find a teaching of Jesus that most of us followers consider very difficult (if not impossible!) to accomplish. Right after Jesus casts out a demon, his followers ask why THEY couldn't cast of the same demon. His answer: "You have so little faith." He then says something that, to many of us, lands like a bomb. "I assure you that if you have as much faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this hill ("mountain" in the NIV), 'Up you get and move over there!' and it will move --- you will find nothing is impossible."

When most people read that passage they immediately conclude it is impossible to have that kind of faith. Plus, they then feel bad about whatever faith they do have; it feels inadequate. Let me suggest that this conclusion derives more from how we interpret this passage than from Jesus' intended message. Here's my reasoning.

First, and this is key, when we read the Bible we must always keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of us are reading a translation; not the original language. I'm not looking to digress into controversy, here. All I want to suggest is that we have a tendency to interpret what we read in the Bible as RULES, as standards, as measures of performance. It's neater that way. The closer the Bible comes to being a list of rules, the tidier it is. And once we've been able to divide those rules into the "I guess I can do that" list and the "Oh, come on! Nobody can do THAT!" list, we give ourselves permission to ignore whatever is on the second list.

That WOULD be tidy except for one problem. We don't ALSO give ourselves permission to stop feeling guilty about it.

What do we do about THAT? ... More of the answer in the next installment.

In the meantime, if you are in Waco Friday morning, join our little band at Cafe Cappuccino (8:00 a.m., downtown on 6th Street, near the Courthouse) for breakfast and a great time kicking around this week's Lectionary passages.

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 12 (17) (July 24, 2011)
Genesis 29:15-28 and Psalm 105:1-11, 45b or Psalm 128
1 Kings 3:5-12 and Psalm 119:129-136
Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52