Elevated (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

The flight out of Midland was packed. 

 

My carry-on was an over-the-shoulder Kluge garment bag. Because it incorporated a space to carry a suit, wrinkle-free, it was the only piece of luggage I would need for this trip. As I made my way through First Class, I couldn’t help but wish I was joining them. They looked so comfortable in their very roomy, extra-wide seats. I saw they had already been provided beverage service. The rest of us wouldn’t get that until we were half way to Dallas.

 

Continuing on, I placed a restraining hand on my bag. Wouldn’t do to accidentally smack one of the high-paying customers. Once I passed into the main cabin, where six of us would occupy about the same space as two in First Class, I kept my hand on my bag. Wouldn’t do for it to smack one of my own, either. 

 

I made my way toward the back third of the plane to find the seat my employer had purchased for this trip. I liked being a “tailie,” preferring to be nearer the coffee and the restroom. Finding Row 26, I was pleased to see there was still space in the overhead. I slid the bag in with its new buddies and sat down.

 

As I settled into my aisle seat, I took a look at my row mates. In 26A, the window spot, I saw a petite young woman. I’ve always felt a little squeezed in a window seat, but I could have handled it. The window adds a couple inches at shoulder height, right where I need it most. Problem was, window seats were almost as hard to snag as aisles. Next to me in 26B was a big guy like me. He looked miserable. Those centers are nightmares. Especially for us big folk. 

 

Despite the extra few inches of shoulder room I get by sitting on the aisle, I’m still crowded. And don’t get me started on those flyers who crank their seats all the way back. I tend to be a bit stoic about air travel. It doesn’t spark joy, but I get through it. With all that running through my thoughts, I settled in and awaited my usual mid-flight beverage—coffee, black.

 

And that’s when everything changed. 

 

I became aware of someone in the aisle to my right. When I looked, I found myself looking into the eyes of a friend. I had known Tom for a couple years, and had, in fact, spoken to him just a few minutes earlier. Tom was an airline agent. He had taken my ticket as I passed into the jet bridge on my way to board this very flight. Still, I was puzzled to find him next to me. Why was Tom here? Why was Tom in the aisle on my flight to Dallas?

 

With a twinkle in his eye, Tom said, “Mr. Orr, I am so sorry. There was a mix-up with your ticket. You’re supposed to be in First Class. If you could retrieve your bag and follow me, we will get this cleared up right now.”

 

OK, I’ll admit I didn’t quite know what was going on. But I knew Tom, and I had definitely heard him say “First Class.” So, I did as I was told and got my bag from the overhead. But before I could take a step, Tom took the bag from me and walked back up the aisle. When we arrived in First Class, Tom indicated an empty aisle seat on my left. He handed my bag to a flight attendant who whisked it away to that little closet we all pass when we first enter the plane. Tom looked down at me and said, “Enjoy your flight, Mr. Orr.”

 

As I watched Tom walk off the plane, a flight attendant asked me if I would like a beverage. Still a little stunned, I mumbled, “Coffee.” Shortly, she was back with a small tray holding a ceramic coffee cup, a silver creamer, a silver sugar bowl, and a silver spoon. As she moved these items to my own tray, she apologetically explained that she would need to collect them soon, because we were about to taxi. But she assured me she would bring me a fresh cup as soon as we were airborne. 

 

Luxuriating in the broad, leather seat, I wondered if this was how royalty felt. Then, in honor of the occasion, I added a little cream to my coffee. 

 

I can’t be certain, of course, but I imagine some of those attending the meal in this week’s Luke passage might have felt as I did on my very first First Class experience. It felt amazing to be invited to join those who were already sitting in the best seats. I felt special and, well, elevated. 

 

The reverse would have been humiliating. 

 

Jesus warns us against positioning ourselves in the places of honor. It’s the same in this week’s Proverbs passage. An honor is something someone bestows upon us, not something we take for ourselves. 

 

Jesus then neatly pivots the lesson from one of positional power to a lesson about what God desires of us: More important than where we sit at the banquet is whom we invite to it. God doesn’t really care where we sit. God doesn’t care about our power games at all. What God wants is for us to open our eyes and see the real needs of the real people all around us. 

 

That’s the real First Class experience. 

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PHOTO: Adobe Express and Photoshop Express 

Vintage Kluge Travel Bags:

http://www.kingportindustries.com/subpg06/K1L_BK_originalklugebag.htm

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Join us Friday morning at Our Breakfast Place or on Zoom** for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. The hour starts at 8:00 and is comfortably packed with Bible discussion, breakfast, prayer, and fellowship. We would love for you to join us. 

 

All the seats are First Class. 

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=384&z=p&d=71

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Cx_Proper17.pdf

 

Jeremiah 2:4-13

Psalm 81:1, 10-16 

Proverbs 25:6-7

Psalm 112

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Luke 14:1, 7-14

Proper 17 (22) (August 31, 2025)

Milking the Cows on Sunday (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

I woke to the sound of Dad calling my name, telling me to get up. I was completely disoriented: Wasn't this Sunday? Then my head cleared and I knew it was Sunday—very early on Sunday. Even as a teen, Sundays were mine. My "day of rest." My day to worship, attend Sunday School, and do youth group before evening worship. 

Nobody messed with my Sundays. 

 

But that Sunday, the cows did.

 

Dad worked with a family friend to run a small dairy operation just outside of town. Every other month, for the duration of that month, Dad drove out to the farm twice a day to milk the cows. My participation was rare—a few early school day mornings.

 

I pulled on my jeans and a shirt and griped all the way down the stairs—and all the way out to the farm. I whined about losing "Sunday time" to the cows. I was emphatic that we had to finish in time for me to get to church. I was oh-so-righteously ticked off at Dad for making me do this "on a Sunday!" Silent himself, Dad let me rant all the way to the farm. But once we arrived and were walking toward the dairy barn, he turned and stopped me with a palm to the chest.

 

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

 

Of course, I hadn't heard anything besides the sound of my own voice for several minutes. But as I paused to listen, I did hear something.

 

"Yeah," I said, "The cows are bawling."

 

Then he asked a question that really shut my mouth: "Do you know why they're bawling?"

 

Up to that point, I had never once stopped to wonder, well, any thing about the cows. I had no idea why they were bawling. 

 

"They're bawling," explained Dad, "because they're in pain. And they will stay in pain until somebody milks them."

 

There’s a term for what I had been doing that morning: aesthetic outrage. It describes a person having an angry reaction to events that, in reality, have had no actual impact on them. I was like those folks in this week's Luke passage. I couldn't see past my own well-ordered worldview to actual living beings who were in need. In Luke, Jesus messed with somebody’s church time. He healed a woman while at church! To us, that may seem absolutely the right place and time. But the leader of the synagogue didn’t see it that way. He was offended. How dare Jesus—or anyone—say or do anything to breach the decorum of the Sabbath?! In his view, all that healing should take place on one of the other six days. But Jesus responded with inescapable logic: None of them would leave their farm animals bound on a Sabbath, unable to have access to water. How does that compare to providing much needed relief to a human?

 

Some people prefer the traditional pieces of worship to the actual work of worship. Nothing Jesus said that day was new, and it wasn’t news, either. For centuries, the Prophets had been telling God’s people that the work of worship—attending to the needs of the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the imprisoned and the ill—was more important to God than the sacrifices and festivals. Even though God had instituted those, as well. The acts of worship have meaning and purpose. They are not, however, satisfactory on their own. Like Jesus, we must become attuned to the needs of those near us—our neighbors, if you will—and act on that knowledge in a timely manner. Do the actual work of worship.

 

Once I could see those dairy cows as real beings with real needs, it completely changed my attitude toward them. 

 

Can we do any less for people?

 

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A brief 2009 article about a family running a micro dairy (Brown Family Dairy). It will give you an idea of our dairy operation: 

https://www.grit.com/animals/small-dairy/

2022 followup on the Brown Family Dairy: 

https://thedmonline.com/brown-family-dairy-to-continue-providing-oxfords-favorite-milk/

 

PHOTO: From the Brown Family Dairy Facebook page. 

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I look forward to seeing you Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Join us at 8:00 on Zoom** or at Our Breakfast Place. We enjoy some great food and have a great time discussing the scriptures.

No one will be pasteurized or homogenized at this meeting.

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=384&z=p&d=70

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Cx_Proper16.pdf

 

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Psalm 71:1-6

Isaiah 58:9b-14

Psalm 103:1-8

Hebrews 12:18-29

Luke 13:10-17

Proper 16 (21) (August 24, 2025)

A Walk in the Clouds (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Did film critic Roger Ebert know he was saving A Walk in The Clouds from the dustbin of obscurity? He called it “a glorious romantic fantasy, aflame with passion and bittersweet longing.” Other critics didn’t see what he saw. Ebert also said: “One needs perhaps to have a little of these qualities in one's soul to respond fully to the film…that to me sang with innocence and trust.” Perhaps that explains the other critics’ reviews: not enough passion and bittersweet longing.

 

The story: Paul, a veteran fresh from the trauma of World War II, befriends Victoria, a pregnant woman on her way home from college. She’s been abandoned by the man she thought loved her. Now she fears a harsh reaction from her father, the strong-willed master of their family, and of their family vineyard “The Clouds.” Paul agrees to temporarily pose as her husband, and she hopes this will blunt her father’s anger.

 

But don’t let any of this drama distract you: It’s really all about the vineyard. The family’s entire existence revolves around it. Each day is filled with everything it takes to keep the vines healthy and producing the varietals needed for a great wine. The challenges are constant. Before the film is over, an existential crisis threatens the vineyard.

 

At the heart of it all is the original vine, the root. Without it, the vineyard would be lost.

 

It’s the same for the vineyard in this week’s Isaiah and Psalm 80 passages. It represents God’s people. His vineyard also needs its root to flourish: It cannot survive on its own. Sadly, God’s people keep failing and then begging to be forgiven. All that rootless vineyard will produce is wild grapes, useless for making wine.

 

Eventually, God has had enough and says He is giving up on His vineyard. After that, animals, plants, and even the weather work to destroy it.

Centuries pass before someone appears to end that heartbreaking cycle. As we know, that cycle-breaker is Jesus, the promised Messiah, the root, the original vine. Without Him, the vineyard will be entirely lost, cut off from God.

 

Jesus said, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who He is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” (John15:5-8, The Message)

 

Is what Jesus said sentimental? Definitely. Idealistic? Maybe. Too simple for a cynic to believe? Perhaps. But it absolutely sings with innocence and trust. And nothing could be more true.

 

Because Jesus volunteered to be the new vine, He now sits to the right of God. When God looks to His right, he sees the son He loves, the true vine, and not those wild grapes of His wrath. 

 

_________________________

 

Check out Roger Ebert’s review here: 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-walk-in-the-clouds-1995

Like The Wizard of Oz and It’s a Wonderful Life films before it—both box office flops—the film’s following expanded greatly after moving to smaller screens. 

Check out A Walk in The Clouds here: 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0114887/?ref_=m_nv_sr_1

 

PHOTO: Adobe Express 

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Friday mornings are a treat. DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast meets at 8:00 and includes an hour of scripture, discussion, food, prayer, and laughter. Join us on Zoom** or at Our Breakfast Place. 

No grapes will be subjected to wrath at this meeting.

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=384&z=p&d=69

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Cx_Proper15.pdf

 

Isaiah 5:1-7

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

Jeremiah 23:23-29

Psalm 82

Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Luke 12:49-56

Proper 15 (20) (August 17, 2025)