The Little Dog Marathon (a Steve Orr Bible Reflection)

Many people want to be the people other people think about. 

 

There’s a preoccupation with being the topic of every conversation, the focus of every moment, the Main Character. Part and parcel: certain phrases we toss about on social media posts, in self-help books, and in our real world conversations. 

Likely you’ve heard them:

"If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch!" 

"Go big or go home!" 

"Cookies are for closers!" 

There are many, rendered all sorts of ways, but their messaging boils down to one thing: You should really want to be one of those people—a closer, a winner, a big dog. 

 

But there's another, darker, side to that message: If you’re not a winner, you are, somehow, lesser. There’s a not-so-subtle subtext that you're either among the elite, or . . . you're not worth our consideration.

 

It's not really a new thing. We've been caught up with being exceptional for quite some time. Decades. Centuries. Millennia.

 

In Matthew this week, Jesus is confronted by a non-Jewish woman. She is seeking His intervention on behalf of her daughter who is besieged by demons. 

 

Jesus ignores her. (Wait. What?!)

 

But she keeps following Him, calling after Him, never letting up, really advocating on behalf of her suffering child. Even His disciples beg Jesus to address her—specifically, to send her away. Eventually, Jesus does engage with her, but the reader gets another shock. 

 

Jesus does not give her what she's asked for. 

 

He tells her that He was sent to the "lost sheep" of Israel. In other words: "Not you." Then, when she persists, Jesus adding insult to injury, calls her a dog. He tells her it would not be right for the "little dogs" (house pets—as opposed to the big, feral dogs that ran in packs in those days) to have the food intended by the master for His children. He is telling her she is one of the "little dogs," and, therefore, not due anything from Him

 

Jesus is astonished by her response: "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table."

 

How often do you think Jesus is astonished by something we say or do? I can’t imagine it’s often. Here, Jesus is so affected by her perspective, He praises her faith. Hers is a faith that existed despite the absolute absence of any reason to believe it would produce a benefit for her or her daughter. In His astonishment, He grants her request. 

 

We need to be like this woman—one of the "little dogs” in this world. We should seek Jesus even if we are convinced that we are in no position to demand His attention, much less His action on our part.

 

Life is not about whether we're winners or losers, whether we're closers, or even if we can run with the big dogs. Desiring excellence can be a good thing. But it raises the question: With whom do we associate when we pursue that desire?

 

Maybe we should have been running with the little dogs all along. 

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"The task is, not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees." 

—Erwin Schrödinger

PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

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Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet at 8:00 on Zoom* and in Waco in the back function room at Our Breakfast Place. Good food, good folk, spending an hour with a good God. 

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=17134&z=p&d=69

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper15.pdf

 

Genesis 45:1-15

Psalm 133

Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

Psalm 67

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Proper 15 (20) (August 16, 2026)

 

Never Surrender? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

World War II in the Pacific officially ended when Japan surrendered in August 1945.

 

But that didn’t end the war for everyone.

 

Lieutenant Hiro Onoda was one of several specially trained Japanese soldiers assigned to occupy small Pacific islands. They had been ordered to disrupt and sabotage enemy efforts—and never surrender or take their own lives.

Lieutenant Onoda was a man who followed orders.

Despite several attempts by Japan’s post-war government to convince him to surrender, he refused to accept the good news that the war was over. His commanding officer had not issued him any new orders. Until that occurred, he would follow the orders he had.

Rather than believe the sound of human footfalls meant good news, Lieutenant Onoda assumed just the opposite: Every sound could be the enemy. In his view, he had to defend himself against any encroachment. Shots were fired. Lives ended. It was only when, in 1974, his former commanding officer was flown to the island and formally delivered new orders to him that Lieutenant Onoda surrendered. 

 

He had been at war for 30 years.

 

In this week's Romans passage, the apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 52 when he writes, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" But, Isaiah also raises (and Paul repeats) the question: "Who has believed our message?" People will be sent, proclamations voiced, and the Lord will be made known throughout the world. But what happens if those who are on the receiving end do not believe what they hear? They may, like Lieutenant Onoda, refuse to come in from the cold.

The prophet Elijah in the 1 Kings passage needed new orders—and he got them. As with Lieutenant Onoda, they were life-changing. The rest of both men’s lives were significantly different from the previous decades. But it took new orders to make that happen. When we humans "dig in" to a belief, it’s very difficult for us to change. Only when the message comes coupled with what we recognize as a higher power are we willing to set aside our "old way" and become something entirely new.

 

Paul was exactly that way before his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He, too, was waging a war. He wouldn't surrender without new orders—and he got them.

 

Our takeaway: If, when we deliver our good news, it is rejected, we should not be discouraged. People often reject change that seems to conflict with their existing structure—especially if it sounds like they may have to "surrender." Instead of giving up, we should reach out to God and pray on their behalf. 

 

New orders may be needed.

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Photo: White Flag from Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

Link to photos of retired Japanese Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, the person who issued the original orders to Lieutenant Hiro Onoda, delivering new orders in 1974 instructing the Lieutenant to surrender after 30 years in the Philippine jungle. 

https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/17/world/gallery/hiroo-onoda?cid=ios_app&openWithFirefox=true

The full story of Lieutenant Onoda:

https://www.historyhit.com/hiroo-onoda-the-japanese-soldier-who-refused-to-surrender/

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DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast is truly a "stand down" experience. We leave our concerns for a while and just enjoy some time together. Join us Friday morning for food, fellowship, and some time in God's word. We meet on Zoom* and in Waco at Our Breakfast Place. We start at 8:00. Visiting and laughter are both on the menu.

 

All feet welcome, even ugly ones.

Blessings,

Steve

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=p&d=68

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper14.pdf

 

Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22, 45b

1 Kings 19:9-18

Psalm 85:8-13

Romans 10:5-21

Matthew 14:22-33

Proper 14 (19) (August 9, 2026)

 

Birds at the Thin Place (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Everything about that morning was unexpected. 

First, it was cool. That summer had been one of the hottest, triple digits for days on end. So, by "cool," I mean it was a pleasant morning to take a stroll in a short-sleeved shirt. 

Also, I was early. Unexpected. I often needed to hurry from the commuter rail station to my office. But not that day. Morning was still dawning. The sun had yet to crest the buildings, the tall sides of the downtown canyon.

 

I was caught off guard by the birds.

 

Rounding a corner, I suddenly found myself serenaded. So, so unexpected. On my right was a small pocket park, and its trees were packed full of singing birds. Even though there was no melody, the collected sound of their birdsong was surprisingly harmonious. I stopped and just let it wash over me. For several long minutes, I was completely wrapped in those blended voices.

 

Many people, when asked to identify a place where they feel closer to God, will describe things like high mountains, majestic waterfalls, a peaceful stretch of ocean, or a moment of absolute silence in an ancient meeting place. But these "thin places" are individual. People often erect edifices to mark those places. 

 

Jacob did that once, marked a place on the west side of the Jordan River. He set up a stone to memorialize his vision of a stairway to heaven. In this week’s Genesis passage, we learn he did it a second time, two decades later. This time, he marked the east side of the Jordan by naming it Peniel (“the face of God”). That was where he wrestled with God on his way back to the land God had promised him. Jacob did not expect either of those encounters. They were arranged by God, on God's timetable.

 

Few modern people claim to have encountered God, at least not up close and personal like Jacob did. In modern times, we tend to describe such encounters as "feeling closer" to God, or, as one friend suggested, "not as far from God as I usually am." However you want to describe it, that unexpected birdsong serenade was my thin place. I felt God was there, in that moment, sharing a portion of His creation with me. I was moved to do something I rarely do: I wrote a poem:

 

Sun still coming

Short-sleeve cool

Birdsong peals

Buildings ring

 

There is no stone to mark that spot of urban birdsong. Only the poem, and my memory of the experience, remain. It was transient, an unexpected moment in an unexpected place.

 

Many people make sometimes long, arduous journeys so they can visit some "thinny," a place where others have claimed an encounter with God. I mean no disrespect for their choices when I state that, for me, there is great value in waiting for God to make the arrangements. I wait for Him to choose the place of encounter—and the nature of that experience. 

 

You never know in what unexpected place—and unexpected way—God may choose to meet you. 

 

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PHOTO: by Steve Orr 

Thanksgiving Square, a pocket park in downtown Dallas

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I hope you can join us on Zoom* or in Waco at Our Breakfast Place Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We're in at 8:00 and out at 9:00. And, for that hour, we have our own little thin place. We spend time in God's word and draw closer to Him. 

 

Grandson disappointed I didn’t insert “something funny about birds” here.

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=17134&z=p&d=67

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper13.pdf

Genesis 32:22-31

Psalm 17:1-7, 15

Isaiah 55:1-5

Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21

Romans 9:1-5

Matthew 14:13-21

Proper 13 (18) (August 2, 2026)