Friday, May 2, 2025

A Great Big Dose of Ordinary (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Each weekday morning of my childhood—thousands of them—started out pretty much the same way. I awoke to the fragrance of coffee and the pooka-pooka sounds of the percolator. Joining that were the sounds and smells of country bacon snapping and crackling in our cast iron skillet. Long before I was awake, Dad had started all of this by lighting the burners on our gas stove. I slept through that initial whoosh of energy. Later there would be eggs, fried (always over medium), and on the best days, bread toasted under the oven’s broiler, dark and crispy around the edges with four yellow bulges where the little chunks of broken butter pats had been dotted.

As anyone can tell you, I am not a morning person. I have to gradually transition from sleep, in stages, gently trading pieces of sleepiness for pieces of wakefulness. I am like a deep-sea diver, slowly ascending from the depths. I will eventually come to the surface. But, oh, I am slow to take hold of the day.

Those fragrances and gentle noises, and thoughts of eggs and toast to come, were an essential lever to get me from horizontal to vertical, especially on school days.

That may be why this week's passage from John 21 is one of my favorites. Reeling from recent events, restless, frustrated and stressed, the Apostles needed—something. One night, still a bit shell-shocked after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter declares, "I'm going fishing." The rest of the guys, at loose ends, exhausted from the "not knowing" of whatever is coming next, decide to go with him. That night's fishing doesn't produce a single fish. But that's not really the point of fishing, is it?

When Jesus arrives early the next morning, he changes everything. He helps them catch a great deal of fish, and then says, "Come and eat breakfast." Jesus cooked breakfast for his people. He called them to breakfast. They came and they ate. 

I love the ordinariness of this episode. It reminds me of when God fed Elijah in 1 Kings, strengthening him for the 40-day journey that was still ahead of him and, as a result, for all of his future actions as a prophet of God in this world. God gave him what he needed: a nap and some food. 

For the Apostles, being front and center for the most important events in history was extremely stressful. They needed to go fishing and eat some breakfast. They needed a great big dose of ordinary, and that’s what Jesus gave them.

Sometimes, what we need the most is a simple thing: a nap, some food, a quiet moment, a pat on the back, a hug. To borrow from Stephen Covey, we need to take time to “sharpen the saw.” In case it’s not clear: We’re the saw. 

God doesn't ask of us what we cannot do. It's just that we often fail to perceive our fullest capability. If we will but take it, God provisions us so we can carry out what he has planned. God gets us what we need. 

Come, and eat breakfast.

_________________________
PHOTO: Adobe Express

BONUS MATERIAL

Listen to the pooka-pooka in this old time black & whale commercial:

Just for fun: “How To Make Turkish Coffee” 

A deeper dive into the history of coffee: 


_________________________

We continue the Easter season Friday at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Join us at 8:00 am for an hour of scripture, food, fellowship, and discussion. Laughter is common. We meet on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place.

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


Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)
Psalm 30
Revelation 5:11-14
Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

An Impossible Quest? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

If not for the musical The Man of La Mancha, I might never have read Cervantes’ classic novel Don Quixote. But because I did, I learned something important about knights and quests that seem impossible. 

In the story, a confused, elderly Don Quixote thinks himself a knight and goes on a quest in late 16th century Spain. 

Or is he confused? As he sings in the musical:

"Hear me now 
Oh thou bleak and unbearable world, 
Thou art base and debauched as can be; 
And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled 
Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee! 

Hear me, heathens and wizards 
And serpents of sin! 
All your dastardly doings are past, 
For a holy endeavor is now to begin 
And virtue shall triumph at last! 

I learned I needed to broaden my concepts of what it means to be a knight. It's not about the armor, the jousting, or the swords. It’s about the quest—and the kind of people who go on quests.

We meet some true knights in this week’s Acts passage. Peter and the other Apostles are dragged before Israel’s leaders. They are chastised because, even though ordered not to, they dared to tell everyone about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is actually a contest between good knights and evil men. Weapons are brandished—spiritual weapons. It's not the confused tilting at windmills of Don Quixote. But make no mistake about it: When Peter responds to the Chief Priest, a gauntlet is hurled down!

These Apostles are on a quest. They are "armed" with the Holy Spirit, and no amount of priestly command or threat is going to keep them from going "onward to glory!" There’s another Man of La Mancha song, “The Impossible Dream,” which perfectly captures the quest of these Jesus followers:

"To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

“This is my quest, to follow that star
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far 
To fight for the right, without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause

“And the world will be better for this: 
That one man, scorned and covered with scars, 
Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, 
To reach the unreachable star!"

Does it seem impossible to dream big dreams, to stand against seemingly unbeatable foes, to bear one another’s sorrows, to right wrongs, to love purely, to keep trying and to never lose faith?

It’s not. 

Jesus, scorned and covered with scars, marched into Hell for a Heavenly cause—the Heavenly cause—and returned triumphant. We can now reach what was once unreachable. Now, we are the knights engaged in the Heavenly endeavor. 

This is our quest. 


_________________________
ART: Picasso’s Don Quixote and the controversy surrounding it:

A fascinating summary and review of the Don Quixote novel:

Josh Groban sings The Impossible Dream:

Ricky Comeaux sings Man of La Mancha:


_________________________

DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast meets Friday on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. Join us at 8:00 am for some good food, great scripture, and each other’s company. 

No gauntlets will be hurled, down or otherwise. 


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

Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
Second Sunday of Easter (April 27, 2025)
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, April 19, 2025

Prioritizing the Big Rocks (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Stephen Covey’s “Big Rocks” story goes something like this: An expert on priorities made a presentation to a group of high-powered overachievers. To illustrate his point, he placed large, fist-sized rocks into a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar. When no more of the rocks would fit, he asked, “Is the jar full?”

 

“Yes,” they called out. Clearly, no more of the rocks would fit into the jar.

 

He then poured in a large pail of pebbles, shaking the jar to settle them into the spaces between the big rocks. Again he asked, “Is the jar full?” This time, they were less certain in their response. 

 

Then he added sand until no more would fit, and asked, “Is the jar full, now?” No response.

 

Finally, he poured in water, only stopping when no more would go in. It was then obvious to everyone that the jar was, finally, full. Now he asked a different question, “What was the point of this illustration?”

 

One of the overachievers declared, “No matter how full your schedule, if you try really hard, you can always fit more into it!”

 

“No,” he replied, “That is not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

 

The jar represents life and all that goes into it. The big rocks represent what is most important in our lives: our faith, education, finances, time with our loved ones, teaching or mentoring others. They represent our main goals in life, those activities we care about the most—the critical ones, the life-changing ones. 

 

The pebbles, sand, and water represent all the other matters that fill our lives: the good, the bad, the unanticipated, the anticipated, the less important, the frivolous.

 

No surprise, Covey advocates we do all we can to identify our Big Rocks. We can’t prioritize them if we don’t know what they are. And so, as Easter is upon us, I point out two very big rocks in Peter’s speech from this week’s Acts passage. They’re huge rocks, actually. And they’re problematic.

 

First, Peter says, “God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” That’s definitely a Big Rock moment. Peter had just realized that God did not intend for His blessings to be restricted to the Jews—In fact, not restricted to any group, person, or place. 

 

Next, Peter says: “All the prophets testify about [Jesus] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Everyone everywhere who believes in Jesus. No qualifiers of race, skin color, gender, national origin, culture, political affiliation, physical characteristic, church affiliation. 

 

The two actual qualifiers are simple: fear God and do what is right, believe in Jesus. The unlimited nature of these words in Peter’s speech is astounding—Anyone. Everyone. 

 

Big Rocks. Some of the biggest. Definitely worth pondering. 

 

_________________________

PHOTO (and how the big rocks can help you set priorities):

https://www.thecuriosityvine.com/post/big-rocks


The original Big Rocks story in Covey’s wonderful book, First Things First:

http://www.appleseeds.org/big-rocks_covey.htm

 

_________________________

Easter is upon us. Join us Friday morning as we spend time in the Bible, reading and discussing the Easter story. We meet at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom** for some good food and something even better. We will be there at 8:00 for about an hour of thought-provoking, idea storming, thrill-inducing moments.  

 

And eggs, lots of eggs. But not the kind you hide.

 

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

 

Read them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=384&z=s&d=42

 

Print them here:

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

 

Acts 10:34-43

Isaiah 65:17-25

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15:19-26

John 20:1-18

Luke 24:1-12

 

Easter Sunday (April 20, 2025)

Resurrection of the Lord

Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Horse Thieves for Jesus? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

The final fate of former Texas Ranger Jake Spoon is the most sobering moment in Larry McMurtry’s  Lonesome Dove. He goes from respected lawman—to horse thief. How the mighty fall. In the Old West, horse thieves were hanged. As he is about to be hanged, Jake tells his former friends and former fellow lawmen, "I'd rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch o' strangers." 


That's one of the saddest things I've ever heard.


In this week’s Luke passage about Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we might wonder if we’re reading about horse thieves.  


In present day, we celebrate that triumphal entry as Palm Sunday when, in fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. But before that entry, before all those palms lined the road, and before people shouted “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”—There was need of a colt. Jesus directed two of his disciples to take a colt from a nearby village! Did Jesus tell his disciples to steal a colt? And is that what they, in fact, did?


Were they horse thieves for Jesus?


To most believers, the question sounds ludicrous. But there are many outside the faith who take the passage at face value. And because of their influence, it is worth our time to investigate a bit. How do we answer the charge unless we give some thought to it?


The strongest defense here is that no one ever charged Jesus or his disciples with theft—and there was plenty of opportunity for someone to do that. Also, just to underscore the point, they were caught in the act. If the colt’s owner thought it was being burgled, why not raise an alarm? The most likely scenario: Similar to the “upper room” later used by Jesus and crew for the Passover meal, the use of the colt was prearranged. And why not? Jesus was well known in the area. After all, He had recently raised one of their neighbors from the dead.


The biggest danger here is that some will point to this passage as a “license to steal”—justification for "securing" whatever is needed by those who serve God. They imagine a sort of "eminent domain" for Christians; proof they can take whatever from whomever because “it will help the cause.”


Nothing could be further from the truth. Stealing is not just criminal: It's a sin. "Thou shalt not steal" is one of the original Ten Commandments, and it still applies. For believers, how we accomplish God’s work is just as important as the end result.


A horse thief is still a horse thief. 


___________________________

PHOTO: Adobe Express


BONUS MATERIAL: A couple of triumphant songs for Jesus’ triumphal entry, a short poem, and a couple paragraphs on horse thieving:

Michael W. Smith: “Hosanna” (Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord)

Petra: “The King of Glory Shall Come In” (Be Lifted Up Everlasting Doors—from Psalm 24) 

The Donkey (G. K. Chesterton’s short poem):


A bit more about horse thieves:

In the Old West, a horse thief could be shot if caught in the act. Those captured later faced the hangman. Some people try to update the reference by suggesting it's like someone stealing a car. I grant you, the sense of violation would likely feel the same. But to steal a horse in the Old West usually meant stranding someone out in the wild with a real chance they would die. 


So—not really the same.


In the mildest sense, a horse thief deprived a person or family of something they used to produce their livelihood. Might as well just steal their money. But it was worse, really. It was stealing future money, too; stealing whatever resources that horse could have helped provide over time.



_________________________


We’re getting our hearts and minds prepared for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Palm Sunday, and all that precedes Easter. We'll be feasting Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Join us at 8:00 on Zoom** or in person at Our Breakfast Place. 

Horses must be tied up outside. 

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
Psalm 24
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Luke 19:28-40


Print them here:

More pre-Easter reading should you wish it: 
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Luke 22:14-23:56 or Luke 23:1-49


Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

A Cup of Ambition (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Every workday of my childhood, my mother started her day with a cup of ambition. It was Maxwell House. Then she put on her armor and went off to do battle. 


The battle: her attempt to make some kind of progress toward management positions. In those days, such jobs were rare for women. 

Her armor: hair, make-up, and a professional wardrobe paired with her brain, personality, and drive. 

Having grown up with little, my mother was motivated from a very young age to have something of her own, to gather enough resources to run her own life. That meant having a well-paying job, a near impossibility in those days. But she persevered. A part of that was diligence, hard work, good work; but a big part of that, as anyone in management can tell you, is looking the part. 


My mother was focused. She had a plan. And she used everything at her disposal to pursue her objective. She even went so far as to rest her head each night on a satin pillow because it preserved her armor for the coming day. 


But here's the thing: Though she achieved some successes in her career, she never believed she had "arrived," never came to a point where she felt it was time to "rest on her laurels." She continually pursued an objective of ever-improving accomplishment, and she never stopped moving in the direction of her goal.


In this week's Philippians passage, Paul sets the same example for us in the pursuit of our relationship with the Lord. We must press on. We must not assume we have "arrived." Sure, our "battle armor" differs from my mother’s. But like her, we are to bring every bit of ourselves.


We are expected to actively pursue spiritual maturity, pressing on until the day we are finally told, "Well done, good and faithful servant."


_________________________

GRAPHIC (this looks so much like my mother, it gave my heart a squeeze):

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/559924166167297532/


Dolly Parton sings Working 9 to 5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq1JD-bcGTo


_________________________

Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We share a meal and the pleasure of talking about how the words of the Bible actually work in our real lives. We'll be on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place at 8:00. One Friday closer to Easter! 


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


Psalm 126
Philippians 3:4b-14

John 12:1-8

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)