In the Summer of ’62 (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

In the summer of 1962, I met a god. 

 

It was a comic-book god, but the encounter was thrilling just the same. That’s when Marvel changed the world, launching three new books:  Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor: The God of Thunder.

 

I was a "tween"—not yet a teenager, no longer a little child. Junior high and high school still loomed ahead. I was a ripe target for the angst-filled storylines of Spider-Man and his alter-ego, high school science nerd Peter Parker. The Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of the Incredible Hulk, with his anger management challenges, perfectly resonated with a young male starting to explode with not-entirely-welcome hormones. But the comic-book character who truly enthralled me that summer was the mild-mannered, partially-disabled physician Don Blake. 

 

While vacationing in Norway, Dr. Blake found a stick in a cave. He decided to use it as a cane. Later, circumstances caused him to strike that stick on a rock—and in a flash Don Blake the human was transformed into Thor, the Norse god of thunder. The "stick" resumed its true form: the mighty Mjolnir, the most powerful hammer in existence. At the moment of Dr. Blake's transformation, my pre-adolescent brain wrestled with an astonishing realization: There was a "god" inside that human.

But, while I thrilled to the adventures of Thor, I was troubled that he was portrayed as a god. As far as I was concerned, there could be only one. By spending my hard-earned pennies on those comics, was I, somehow, worshipping a false god? The workaround I finally granted myself was this: This Thor is a fictitious god, just a comic-book superhero. 

 

This week’s scripture passages are filled with God encounters. We also encounter something else: God’s anger toward any who worship pretend gods. God repeatedly sent messages to those idol worshippers: Your “gods” have zero validity. 

 

If you've read Old Testament scripture, you know that God—the God of the Angel Armies—regarded these so-called "gods" as fictitious creations of humans, no more worthy of worship than a rock or block of wood. In the Isaiah passage, God called them out: 

 

"I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let them proclaim it. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. There is no other rock; I know not one."

 

With that kind of Biblical clarity, it should come as no surprise that the comic-book made me think about the "god" inside the man. It dovetailed perfectly with another matter on my young mind: the incarnation of Jesus. I realized I am much more interested in the true God, the God who is unafraid to declare Himself the one and only, the God who is confident the fake ones will not reply. 

 

My God is unafraid to challenge those fake gods. My God entered this existence inside a person—for real. My God doesn't need a magic hammer to transform to human and back again. He is already both at the same time—and the only real God I encountered in the summer of ’62.

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PHOTO (THOR’S HAMMER and a deeper dive into Thor, his hammer, and related Norse mythology):

https://norse-mythology.org/symbols/thors-hammer/

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We would love for you to join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet on Zoom* and in Waco at Our Breakfast Place. We gather at 8:00 and have a great hour together. Come for the food and stay for the fellowship. Or just come for the fellowship. Our time together is transforming.

 

All sticks (and hammers) must be checked at the door.

 

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=65

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper11.pdf

 

Genesis 28:10-19a

Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24

Isaiah 44:6-20

Psalm 86:11-17

Romans 8:12-25

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Proper 11 (16) (July 19, 2026)

 

 

Preparing the Soil (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

I was a “townie.” I grew up in a good-sized city in the middle of the USA. Our tiny house sat on a busy street corner and sported a yard of patchy grass and Mimosa trees. No flowers. Certainly not any crops. By all rights, I should know absolutely nothing about farming.

 

And yet…I know quite a bit about farming.

 

Like many communities in "the middle," my hometown rested against a crescent of farmland. It was impossible for us to not know about it. Farming was part of our economy, made headlines in the newspaper. Many of our friends and relatives lived and worked on farms. Scouting events were held at the Tobacco Barn.

 

We knew. 

 

Almost any one of us could tell you about soil preparation; how a farmer first plowed, then harrowed, then furrowed the soil. All before ever planting a single seed. 

 

Much like the followers of Jesus, when we heard the parable of the sower in this week’s Matthew passage, we understood the farming part. We knew about seeds needing good ground to produce the best crop, how weeds and brambles can choke out a section, and how birds and varmints will whisk those seeds away if they are not covered in enough earth.

 

One might wonder why Jesus told so many parables; why not just speak plainly? Why should they (and we) have to "figure out" what is meant by a story? Sure, we could understand the agricultural references—even though we were townies—but why use that approach at all? Turns out, we aren’t the first to ask. Those first disciples beat us to it. Jesus explained: Not every listener could receive the direct teaching He had been giving the disciples. There was no “readiness” in many people’s hearts.

 

Jesus said different things to different people; His message was and still is shaped to the listener. He assessed His listeners before He spoke to them. What do they need to hear? The leaders often need shaking up. The poor and oppressed need to know that God has not forgotten them. The ailing need a kind word and some intervention. And, of course, everyone needs to hear the good news in a way they can understand and appreciate.

 

Like any good farmer, Jesus understood there was a need to, first, prepare the soil. Planting came only after the soil was ready to receive. He used parables to create that readiness. Then He planted the seed.

 

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PHOTO: Adobe Express 

 

BONUS MATERIAL

His first listeners likely understood something else many of us might miss: In the Matthew passage, Jesus was referencing the prophet Jeremiah: “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3)

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Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet at 8:00 on Zoom* and in Waco at Our Breakfast Place. We share scripture, fellowship—and even some laughs—over good food. 

 

Plows must be checked at the door.

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=64

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper10.pdf

 

Genesis 25:19-34

Psalm 119:105-112

Isaiah 55:10-13

Psalm 65:(1-8), 9-13

Romans 8:1-11

Matthew 13:1-23

Proper 10 (15) (July 12, 2026) (Seventh Sunday After Pentecost)

Adventures in Our Other Lives (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

We don't always like our real lives. 

 

We struggle with how to live a good life, often fighting inclinations to do things we know we should not, and sometimes losing that fight. 

In a pretend life, we are completely in control. So, it's nice to pretend from time to time, to "get away" for a while from the pressures of this life. It can be fun, and even a relief. 

 

I have one of those pretend lives. 

 

It’s in a different time—actually, a different timeline. People dress in clothing that looks a lot like steampunk costumes, great dirigibles ply the skies, and land transport looks much like automobiles did in the early part of the 20th Century. 

 

In my imagined life, I am in service to the Queen of England, a secret knight of the realm, her personal Paladin. My friends are people like Nikola Tesla (genius inventor, possible extraterrestrial) and Harriet Quimby (a very early aviatrix, first woman to fly the English Channel). I have adventures, drive and fly interesting vehicles, and often "go undercover" to ferret out enemies of the Crown.

 

It's all in fun, a harmless exercise of my imagination. My alternate history lives on a Pinterest board where, by pinning photos, I tell a kind of story about a life in which there's—well, a bit more swash in my buckle.  

 

As fun as that kind of thing is, though, we must not allow ourselves to spend too much time in such retreats. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in A Psalm of Life:

 

Life is real! Life is earnest!  

And the grave is not thy goal;  

Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

Was not spoken of the soul.

 

Each of us does have another life, a different life—the one that continues after this one concludes. Scripture says we get a new body, and adventures so amazing they can't be described in terms we can fully understand—at least not now. 

 

For now, if we weary of this life, we should follow the teachings in this week's Matthew and Romans passages. In Matthew, Jesus claims: “Wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” In Romans, Paul explores why we keep breaking the rules even though we desire to be good. The answer, he asserts, lies with Jesus. So let’s allow the Lord to place us in light harness, under an easy yoke, so we may be guided. And then, let’s trust Him to rescue us when we live a life contrary to what we know is good.

 

I can’t imagine a better way.

 

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If interested, you can view the above photo and the rest of my Pinterest Board, "In Another Life," here:

https://pin.it/RqWIHtN

 

NOTE: Scroll down to the photo of Harriet Quimby and the ornate spiral staircase: That’s the bottom of my board. Then, start up. For most of these pins, I have added notes about how I (fictitiously) used or interacted with the subject of the pin. You may need to click on some bits to read them. Sadly, Pinterest hasn’t always preserved my notes. So, use your imagination. 

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We’re taking a break from DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday! We will return at 8:00 the Friday AFTER July 4th when, once again, we will meet for scripture, food, and fellowship.

Costumed adventurers welcome. 

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=63

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper9.pdf

 

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Psalm 45:10-17 or Song of Solomon 2:8-13

Zechariah 9:9-12

Psalm 145:8-14

Romans 7:15-25a

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Proper 9 (14) (July 5, 2026) (Sixth Sunday After Pentecost)