Lawlessness? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

The 1968 film Wild in the Streets was released to wild acclaim—among teenagers. Adults? Not so much. The plot: voting age lowered to 14, drug use legalized, and 20-year-old rock star Max Frost elected President. 

What could go wrong?

 

Teen reaction: great soundtrack! 

Adult reaction: anarchy!

 

For most of us, orderly is the way. We like order. We especially like law and order. We feel safer knowing the law is there to protect us from all the things that might do us harm. But when the Bible talks about “the law,” it means something altogether different. 

That difference is what the apostle Paul was addressing in this week’s reading from the letter to the Romans. The first-century Jewish Christians reading that letter were struggling with just how much of their old life (and their old religion) they should bring forward into this new way. Before Jesus, “the law” was a huge part of their lives. It covered every aspect. When God gave the Law to Moses, its purpose was to help shape the children of Israel into a separate nation, to help them become utterly different from other people groups. 

Devotion to those rules became how they measured their relationship with God. In their minds, it was what made them God’s chosen people. But over many generations, the Israelites kept adding law layers, making it increasingly difficult to actually follow.

This Romans passage—with statements like “the law brings wrath” and “where there is no law there is no transgression”—probably left them a bit unnerved. If you read the passage and find assurance that our faith is what connects us to God, excellent. It’s what Paul intended his readers to get from it.

 

Along these lines, in the Matthew passage, Jesus quotes the Hosea passage when He says: “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’" He was pointing away from the Law of Moses and toward a life lived by faith.

Lawlessness is a good thing in the spiritual sense—as long as we remember to grab hold of faith as we release our grip on “the law.” With faith, there is no need for it. In fact, it can actually get in our way of living by faith. 

Letting go of “the law” does not have to lead to anarchy, in life or in our relationship with God and His people. Yes, it's a little scary. But take a deep breath—and let it go.

_________________________

PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

 

_________________________

If you dare, listen to Max Frost and the Troopers herald revolution and anarchy in “The Shape of Things to Come” from the movie Wild in the Streets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSInh0W7FHs&list=RDEM_EajN8_sH5niFDPm-5UQmQ&start_radio=1&rv=6kidWiTBsQk

Roger Ebert reviews Wild in the Streets:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wild-in-the-streets-1968

_________________________

Can you be with us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We're learning to do good as we peruse God's word, discuss it among ourselves, and continue replacing bad habits with good ones. Join us at 8:00 on Zoom* or at Our Breakfast Place for food, fellowship, and fun—all squeezed into an hour like no other.

Previous dietary restrictions no longer apply.

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=59

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper5.pdf

Genesis 12:1-9

Psalm 33:1-12

Hosea 5:15-6:6

Psalm 50:7-15

Romans 4:13-25

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Proper 5 (10) Second Sunday After Pentecost (June 7, 2026)

Brawler, Drunkard, Christian (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Never heard of Sam Houston? I’m not surprised. Before I moved to Texas, I had never heard of him, either. In fact, if I hadn’t moved to Texas, it’s likely I never would have. 

A leader in the Texas Revolution, he served as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, shepherded the treaty that later joined Texas to the United States, was a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas, and then served Texas as Governor.

 

Sam was a complex, complicated person; a wayward youth and a wild adult. He was known for his drunkenness, womanizing, and brawling. 

 

What is often overlooked: his spiritual side. 

When Sam moved to Texas, it was still part of Mexico. No one could own land without becoming a Catholic. Mexican dictator Santa Anna required everyone to practice that one religion. So, Sam was baptized into the Catholic Church. Later in life, once Texas had freed itself from the requirements of Santa Anna, Sam experienced a conversion not tied to politics. 

 

What happened? A person.

 

When Sam married Margaret Lea, a woman 26 years his junior, there was frank and open skepticism. But they were happily married 23 years, until Sam's death. Margaret's impact on Sam's life was deep and broad. He made changes he believed were important to his new life (for example, he became a tea-totaler, not even keeping alcohol for guests). Under her discipleship, Sam slowly began to move in the direction of the Lord.

 

Still, it was only after Sam moved his family to the bustling village of Independence, Texas, so his daughters could attend Baylor University that he seriously considered conversion. On November 19, 1854, more than 14 years after marrying Margaret, Sam was baptized in Independence's Little Rocky Creek. Absent the previous coercion, he chose to commit his life to the Lord. 

What made the difference: the constant, calm, considerate teaching of Margaret, the example she set for Sam as wife and mother, and her own faith in the Lord. It took 14 years of her life, and many, many more of his to arrive at that juncture. 

For those 14 years, Margaret was discipling Sam. The process she followed with him is rooted in what Jesus told His disciples in this week's Matthew passage. Jesus directed those disciples to go and make more disciples, to teach these new disciples to obey the commands Jesus had given. They were to baptize the new disciples in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And, finally, make sure they know that Jesus will be with them always, right up to the very end.

_________________________

PHOTO: Keith King

_________________________

 

Join us Friday morning on Zoom* and in person at Our Breakfast Place from 8:00 to 9:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. There's plenty of good food, plenty of good fellowship, and plenty of good scripture. 

 

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=52

Print them here:

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

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Psalm 8

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Matthew 28:16-20

Trinity Sunday (May 31, 2026)

Unsuited to the Task? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is about a group chosen to go on a great quest.

 

As is common in such quests, the fellowship—charged with shepherding the Ring of Power to its destruction in the volcanic fires of Mount Doom—is packed with persons of great stature. There are great warriors—current royals, future royals, the brave, the bold—and some Hobbits. 

 

Those hairy-footed little Hobbits—not the royal, the brave, or the bold—are the focus of the story. They are from a pleasant backwater of Middle Earth called The Shire. These little beings live generally low-key, unsophisticated lives, taking joy from eating and drinking and other homely activities. They lead the kinds of lives where Second Breakfast may well be the high point of the day.

 

And yet, Tolkien chose Hobbits to actually bear the powerful and corrupting Ring of Power to its intended unmaking. Much debated: Why were the Hobbits entrusted with such a crucial task?

 

It reminds me of the crowd’s reaction at Pentecost to those Jesus chose as the bearers of His Good News. In this week’s Acts passage, they are empowered to speak in many languages by the Holy Spirit, which appears like “tongues of fire” above their heads. Quickly connecting the flames to when God issued the Ten Commandments, the crowd members were “utterly amazed” that those speaking were “Galileans.” 

I know it’s not a movie script, but I think the Bible translators may have really undersold the crowd's reaction. Shouldn't there be an exclamation point in there somewhere?

 

Umm, Galileans? Really?!

 

That pretty much sums up the general response of ... well, almost everyone who encountered this band of Jesus-followers. They were considered unsophisticated and ill-suited to the tasks they had been assigned. Nathanael was likely not the first (nor the last, I’m sure) to ask: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?

 

And yet, these rough people are the ones Jesus chose.

 

In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf chose the Hobbits to take the ring to its doom because they could bear it. Every other member of the fellowship—the royal, the brave, the bold—would likely succumb to the corruption that comes from possessing such great power.  

 

I don't think we know why Jesus chose the Galileans for the core of His group. But maybe it was for a similar reason. None of the seemingly obvious choices, as it turned out, were really appropriate.

 

The person judged least likely to succeed is often the one needed for the most difficult task. Never forget: God chooses whom God chooses—and God often chooses “the least of these.”

 

 

_________________________

PHOTO: “One ring to rule them all” —Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

_________________________

Be with us Friday morning as we prepare for Pentecost Sunday. DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast begins at 8:00 and finishes in about an hour (or sooner if you need to leave…but you'll find it's more fun to stay). We're on Zoom* and at Our Breakfast Place. Come and enjoy good food, friendly people, laughter, and time in the scriptures.

We're not expecting any tongues of fire, but Cholula Hot Sauce is available upon request.

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=s&d=51

 

Print them here:

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

 

Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21

John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39

Day of Pentecost (May 24, 2026)

 

To the Ends of the Earth (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

In Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, a science fiction classic, humankind has spread out among the stars. We’ve become a galactic empire. Scientist Hari Seldon has invented a branch of mathematics that allows him to predict the fall and rise of future galactic empires. He believes he can use this to smooth out the process, so to speak. 

Seldon sets up a “foundation” to (secretly) guide mankind toward the best-case scenario. Over the centuries, many attempt to find and destroy that foundation. In time, they discover Seldon set up a second foundation to keep matters moving along if the first foundation were to be destroyed or corrupted. The location of this Second Foundation is also secret. The only clue: It can be found at "Star’s End."

 

It’s a big galaxy. There would be millions and millions of planets and moons to consider. "Star’s End" could be, well…almost anywhere.

 

There’s a location puzzle in this week's Acts passages, too. Jesus tells his followers: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The first part of it is pretty clear. But where are the “ends of the earth?” Our planet is a big round-ish ball of a place. The “ends” could be every point on that ball—truly…anywhere. 

 

Perhaps like those first followers of Jesus, you too are wondering just where "the ends of the earth" might be. Where do we go to do the good God desires of us?

 

Something that can be said to be anywhere, can in truth be everywhere. Look about. You are already at the ends of the Earth. Be the living message of Jesus right where you are.*

 

 

_________________________

*How far do we have to travel to find the ends of the Earth? To those who wanted to serve the needy with her in Calcutta, Mother Teresa said: “Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right there where you are—in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools. You can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have the eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by society—completely forgotten, completely left alone.”

GOODREADS page for Foundation by Isaac Asimov:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29579.Foundation

 

PHOTO (Earthrise from behind the Moon, NASA’s Artemis 2 mission 2026):

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/earthset/

 

 

Interesting Facts: Ushuaia, Argentina is the southernmost city in the entire world. It’s the closest city to Antarctica. On the opposite end of the planet—well north of the Arctic Circle—the northernmost city is Longyearbyen. It’s a town of about 2,400 souls on Svalbard, a Norwegian Archipelago. If you need actual map points, these two are definitely in the running for “the ends of the Earth.”

_________________________

We'll be together again this week on Zoom* and at Our Breakfast Place. Join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast at 8:00 on Friday morning. We're going to eat some delicious food and we're going to discuss some creation-spanning ideas from this week's scriptures.

 

All of the food is from Earth.

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

 

Ascension of the Lord (May 14, 2026)

Acts 1:1-11

Psalm 47 or Psalm 93

Ephesians 1:15-23

Luke 24:44-53

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=s&d=49

 

Print them here:

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

 

 

Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 17, 2026)

Acts 1:6-14

Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

John 17:1-11

 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=17134&z=s&d=50

 

Print them here:

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