Not Exactly Chemistry (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Who wouldn’t love to turn lead into gold or rocks into precious gems? That was the claim of alchemists for centuries: that they could “purify” baser materials into more noble materials. My sights weren’t aimed nearly so high when 10-year-old me begged for a chemistry set. After I received one for Christmas, I recall being very excited. 

For about an hour.

 

That’s how long it took to realize it wasn't what I thought it would be. The main problem was expectation. I wanted to make something cool. I expected to turn one thing into another thing, to transform something. That wasn’t  going to happen. As any real scientist will confirm: You must commit to a long-term relationship with science if you want to get anywhere with it. To actually use a chemistry set requires understanding the scientific method, knowing how to conduct an experiment, and the ability to read and follow directions. None of which 10-year-old me possessed in sufficient quantity. 

 

My chemical romance, it turns out, was nothing more than puppy love. 

 

Transformation is the subject of this week's passage from the gospel of John where Jesus attended a wedding party at Cana. A lot has been written about this event, mostly about whether Jesus turned the water into alcoholic wine (or not). I’ve concluded that, like me with my chemistry set, many of these writers have missed the point.

 

The actual point: Jesus took one thing, and without so much as a gesture, transformed it into something else. 

 

Stop for a minute and let that really sink in.

 

The wedding steward makes it clear that the no-longer-water was not just good. Rather, it was the very essence of good. Like every transformation performed by Jesus, it was both the best and something new. 

 

There, in one seemingly small miracle, Jesus encapsulated His entire reason for being on Earth. He came to transform us, to make us new creations. Not ideals, not better human beings, not the best versions of ourselves. 

 

New ... creations.

 

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GRAPHIC: Adobe Express and Photoshop Express 

The Debt Science Owes to Alchemy: 

https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2018/03/the-debt-science-owes-to-alchemy/

 

A brief discussion of alchemy from ancient times to modern particle accelerators: 

https://www.jewelpedia.net/alchemy-transmutation-gold/

 

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Join us Friday morning at 8:00 at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet in person at "Our Breakfast Place” and on Zoom.** Good food, good folk, and a feast for the soul … all in about an hour.

 

It's transformative. 

 

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 & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=384&z=e&d=14

 

Print them here:

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

 

Isaiah 62:1-5

Psalm 36:5-10

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

John 2:1-11

Second Sunday after the Epiphany (01-19-2025)

 

Lyrics and Lightning (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Have you ever gone to the well and found it empty? The well of thoughts I mean. For some of us, reaching into our thoughts for small-talk at social gatherings produces … exactly nothing. We’ve gone to the well and found it empty. 

That particular well is not just a haunt for the socially challenged. Poets, public speakers, songwriters—lots of us, from time to time—go to that well and come away empty. 

 

An empty well is one of the reasons I fell in love with the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago. The first time I heard the group, they were performing “25 or 6 to 4.” (You can hear the song by clicking on the link below). I was blown out of the water. Perhaps the most interesting thing about “25 or 6 to 4” is that its lyrics are a product of an empty well.

 

Waiting for the break of day

Searching for something to say

Flashing lights against the sky

Giving up I close my eyes

Sitting cross-legged on the floor

25 or 6 to 4

 

Robert Lamm, keyboard player, singer, and founding member of Chicago, wrote “25 or 6 to 4” early one morning while looking down on Los Angeles from the Hollywood Hills. He was trying to write a song and he was struggling. No matter what he tried, his well of thoughts gave him nothing useful. Eventually he decided to write a song about the process of writing the song he was writing. (Did you follow that? No? Well … it was the '60s.)

 

He had been sitting up all night, trying to come up with something, anything. The title reflects the time of day—3:35 or 3:34 a.m. Because more traditional lyrics wouldn’t come, he wrote down what he was experiencing. 

 

Somehow, I think David, the author of this week’s Psalm 29, would understand. He wrote a song encouraging the people to honor their powerful God. But David was not satisfied with simple encouragement. He needed the song to say more. Did David go to that well and come up empty? Maybe. Writing songs can be hard. What I do know is that, like Robert Lamm, David turned to descriptions to complete his lyrics. He included floods, storms, earthquakes, mighty winds, thunder—and lightning. 

 

Like all songwriters, David had the option to simply list those mighty events—or not. The difference for the Psalmist was this: When he focused on the Lord, his “well” was never truly empty. What he saw and heard was the presence of God all about him. David saw God in the storm. He saw God commanding the mighty waters. David wanted those who read and sang his songs to make that transition with him, to move from simply seeing the world to experiencing God in every moment. 

 

The lesson for us: Look beyond what our senses report to us. Remember: David also saw flashing lights against the sky. 

 

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You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang perform “25 or 6 to 4!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpVV4grjoLQ

 

Follow the link to hear Chicago perform “25 or 6 to 4” (with lyrics): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb13I34J8K4

 

PHOTO (and a brief article explaining Lightning from the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Atmospheric Research):

https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/storms/thunder-and-lightning

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Join us Friday morning as we gather for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet in person at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom** at 8:00. Lots of laughter mixed with good food, scripture, and good discussions. 

 

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 & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=384&z=e&d=13

 

Print them here:

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

 

Isaiah 43:1-7

Psalm 29

Acts 8:14-17

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Baptism of the Lord (January 12, 2025)

 

 

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas… (a Steve Orr Epiphany reflection)

This year, the Twelfth Day of Christmas falls on Sunday, January 5th. At our church, it’s going to share the day with Epiphany Sunday. Can you imagine it? Those twelve drummers drumming as they march down the aisle of the church? 

That may or may not happen.

 

But the excitement such a demonstration would bring: That we need to pour into our Epiphany Sunday. Christmas celebrates the day Jesus came to the people of Israel. Epiphany celebrates when, in the form of the three wise men (the Magi), the rest of the world joined in. 

 

Here’s what we think we know about the Magi. Some “wise men” (astronomers? scientists?) from somewhere east of Israel observed a light in the sky they had never seen before. They interpreted its presence to mean a new “King of the Jews” had been born. Somehow, this light—the star—moved westward, in the direction of Israel. The Magi took note of when the star first appeared, packed up some supplies and gifts, and headed west—not knowing their final destination. 

 

They upset Herod “and all of Jerusalem” when they revealed why they had come. Scripture said the child would be born in Bethlehem; so, the Magi left Jerusalem, following the star until it “stopped” over a house. They went into the house where they presented their gifts to Mary and the baby. They didn’t trust Herod, so these wise ones took a different route home. Still, based on their earlier interactions with him, Herod calculated the child had been born within the past two years. 

 

None of that actually explains what the Magi saw in the night sky, why they believed it heralded the birth of Israel’s new king, or that, at least to them, it moved westward. We are left with lots and lots of supposition, and little clarity, about those visitors from the East. 

 

Here’s what we can know: God got their attention by placing something unusual where they couldn’t help but see it. God enticed them to leave the comfort of their homes and travel to meet Jesus—and bring gifts fit for a king. God led them to Jesus using that same unusual thing. 

The same is true today. God calls us in ways we understand, and then leads us gently to that place of meeting. 

 

One thing that is perfectly clear in scripture is that we are to enjoy ourselves in this season. If you haven't picked up on that in your Bible reading, look again. It's there.

 

That is my wish for you. As we finish up the twelve days of Christmas, take time to soak up the good stuff. Take a break. Put your feet up. Eat some fruit cake. Drink some wassail. Sing "The 12 Days of Christmas" and giggle when you mess up on the eight whatevers. Spend time with loved ones. Cut them (and yourself) some slack. Snuggle. Play. Hug. 

 

Enjoy.

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GRAPHIC: Adobe Express 

Happy New Year! We’re taking a holiday break from Lectionary Breakfast. Look for us to start up again on January 10, 2025. I’ve included the Epiphany scriptures in case you’re celebrating Epiphany on Sunday January 5th instead of Monday the 6th. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=384&z=c&d=11

 

Print them here:

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

 

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Psalm 147:12-20

Ephesians 1:3-14

John 1:(1-9), 10-18

Second Sunday After Christmas (January 3, 2025

 

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SCRIPTURES FOR EPIPHANY

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=384&z=e&d=12

 

Print them here:

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

 

Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

Epiphany of the Lord (January 6, 2025)