The Genius of Mister Rogers (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I must confess: The first time I saw “Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,” I was... 

"Underwhelmed" just doesn't go far enough.  

 

As I strolled through the living room that day, on my way I'm sure to something of great importance to me, I saw my young daughter watching the show. As I always did in those days, I slowed down to be sure I approved of what she was watching. I was never one to place too many limits on her (I was more of a "Let's discuss what you just watched" kind of dad), but I drew the line at gore, extreme violence and the like. 

 

If you've ever seen “Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,” you know there is nothing remotely objectionable in its content. I was able to conclude, without stopping, that she was in no danger. In fact, so little was happening on the screen, I recall thinking something along the lines: "This guy has no future in TV. No child will sit still for a show that moves at such a glacial pace."

 

Then, as I was about to exit the room, I saw my daughter’s face. She was mesmerized.

 

I stopped. For the next several minutes my eyes moved back and forth between her face and the TV. I realized I had seen this guy before, singing what I had thought was a stupid song about being neighbors. It was only later that I learned this song opened every show. As I watched her watch him, I just marveled. What was it, I wondered, that she saw that I didn't see?

 

There is a lot written about the genius of Mister Rogers. I invite you to do your own googling. Suffice to say: I learned to value his laid-back approach to children, not least because it made my daughter happy.

 

For this week's reflection, I want to zero in on just one aspect of Mister Rogers' genius. Fred Rogers knew something that I did not. It was decades before I encountered a name for it. In his The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey called it “your sphere of influence.” 

 

If you haven't read Covey's book, you should. It gets my highest rating: worth your time and your money. A foundational concept he promotes is concentrating your attention, gifts, concerns, resources, etc., on those matters within your sphere of influence (as opposed to the universe of things outside your control). It sounds so simple when you read it. And yet most of us don’t apply that bit of wisdom in our lives.

 

Fred understood it and applied it. What he understood was that the reach of television allowed him to extend his sphere of influence. There was nothing impractical about him asking his young viewers, "Won't you be my neighbor?" TV brought him close to them. He really wanted to be neighbors—neighbors as the term is used in the Bible. And in his way, he became a neighbor to a generation of children.

 

Most of us are not going to have such a broad sphere of influence. To be neighbors, we're going to need to focus on those we go to church with, those we work with, those we go to school with, those who have homes near ours, etc. In short, our neighbors are those people within our sphere of influence.

 

Don't misread me. I am not saying anything negative about supporting international missions, charitable organizations, et al. I am all for them. What I'm advocating is: In our desire to serve, we must not skip over the needs of the people near us.

 

Consider this week's Acts passage. As new brothers and sisters in Christ, they chose to help out those of their number who were in need. Psalm 133 sums it up well: “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity.” They acted within their sphere of influence. 

We, like those early Jesus followers, must find our neighbors—those people in our sphere of influence—and truly be their neighbor.

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PHOTO (and Mister Rogers singing the neighbor song): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQS3JGqx46U

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It would be so great if you could join us as we continue our Easter celebrations. We gather Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We cram an amazing amount into an hour of sharing scripture, food, and laughter. Meet us at 8:00 on Zoom** or at Our Breakfast Place. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Here’s the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

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=87

 

Print them here:

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

 

Acts 4:32-35

Psalm 133

1 John 1:1 - 2:2

John 20:19-31

Second Sunday of Easter (April 7, 2024)

Tag Backs, Do-Overs & King's X (a Steve Orr Easter reflection)

Were any of these part of your childhood?

 

·      "Ready or not, here I come!” 

·      "Ollie, Ollie in-come free!"

·      "Tag! You're it!"

·      "No tag backs!" 

·      "King's X!"

·      “No do-overs!”

 

As adults, we recall the power these phrases had when we were kids. We also recognize that few adult situations actually bend to their authority. There was a time, though, when calling out "no tag backs" could ward off pulling double duty as "it," and yelling "King's X!" could bring any game or activity to a complete halt.

 

We yelled "King's X!" when something unanticipated arose, a game-changer, if you will. This could be something as simple as a bee flying onto the field. Or it could be a far more complex situation, such as when some of us realized others were playing by different rules. “King’s X” was a truce term similar to “time out.” We stopped whatever we were doing until everyone could agree that it was okay to continue with the game; until the "norm" was either restored or reset.

 

"King's X" returns to top of mind when reading this week’s scriptures from Mark and John with their focus on resurrection. I’m reminded of a revelation in 1 Corinthians Chapter 2: "But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord."

 

No doubt those "rulers" wished they could have yelled out "King's X!" Imagine their shock when what their evil machinations had actually produced with the crucifixion of Jesus began to sink in. Not only did they not see it coming, they facilitated it! Their "Game of Graves" had been turned upside down by the resurrection. What they intended for evil, God intended for eternal good. 

 

But, no. No King's X.

 

And, just in case it wasn’t clear to them when Jesus rose from the grave, let’s declare it now:

"No do-overs!"

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PHOTO: Hourglass or Sandglass from the Metropolitan Museum of Art 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/191871

Tempus Fugit Article: The hourglass as a symbolic reminder of “the difficulty of reclaiming lost opportunities.”

http://www.inspiredantiquity.com/2023/07/tempus-fugit-symbolism-of-hourglass.html?m=1

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Join us at 8:00 on Good Friday, either on Zoom or in person at Our Breakfast Place for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Enjoy an hour of scripture, discussion, and laughter. A good Friday indeed.

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Here’s the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

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=85

 

Print them here:

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

 

Acts 10:34-43

Isaiah 25:6-9

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

John 20:1-18

Mark 16:1-8

Easter (March 31, 2024) “Resurrection of the Lord”

 

The Thrill of Hope (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

We disagree, we Jesus folk. Still, there are a few things upon which, regardless of the Christian tradition we follow, we all agree. 

One of them is described in this week’s Mark 11 and John 12 passages: One day Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. And, for one brief shining moment, the crowd saw him as he truly was: their King.

 

Imagine the city swelled with visitors readying for the upcoming Passover. Now imagine a man living near the city gate. He started his day having to shoulder his way through the crowds so he could select the lamb for his own family's Passover meal. Now, enjoying the relatively spacious elbow room of his rooftop, he is cooking that lamb. A part of his mind is on the story of the first Passover and how, because of the blood of those first Passover lambs, the Angel of Death passed over the homes of his ancestors.  

 

Another part of his mind is considering what everyone has been talking about: this man, Jesus, who supposedly walks on water, heals the sick, and even raises the dead! Everyone has been speculating. Maybe—just maybe, at long last—their deliverance has come. Maybe this Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King who will throw off the shackle of Rome.

 

The man’s thoughts are interrupted. He hears a commotion, over by the city gate. He raises his eyes to take in something that, at first, he can hardly believe. He sees a man riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. He sees a growing crowd pulling off their cloaks and laying them, along with young palm fronds, onto the path before the donkey.

 

He feels a frisson of energy charge up his spine.  

 

Everything is there just as predicted by the prophets: the donkey, the crowds, the shouts of "Hosanna!" “Save us!” and "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of The Lord!" Suddenly he finds himself running down the steps, out the door, toward the gate; hears his own voice joining those of strangers and neighbors in joyful expression of what has been pent up for so long! 

 

He is shouting and laughing and crying, living to the fullest the greatest moment of his life. All is well!! All will be well! At last, at last. Their savior has come.

 

People with a great desire to believe in their hope are charged with an energy that is truly mind-blowing in its intensity. It’s the thrill of hope. If we can even come close to that in our own joy, we will begin to understand the truth of our current relationship with God. But if we slide over this scene in scripture, we miss that thrill of hope. We must go back for it. 

 

If we truly are believers, then this is how we must see Jesus, triumphantly arriving as our King.

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PHOTO: From The Art Institute of Chicago. Coin depicting Caesar Tiberius wearing the Laureate, the best known crown at the time Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/5602/aureus-coin-portraying-emperor-tiberius

 

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Join us at 8:00 Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We gather on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. What happens when we gather is unique. We explore scriptures for the coming Sunday’s sermon. We read, we discuss, and we laugh. Truly, an hour like no other. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Here’s the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

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

 

March 24, 2024 - Sixth Sunday in Lent

 

Liturgy of the Palms

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16

 

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=76

 

Print them here:

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

 

 

Liturgy of the Passion

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 31:9-16

Philippians 2:5-11

Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39 (40-47)

 

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=77

 

Print them here:

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