Strike While the Iron is Hot (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

We were walking through the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum when I realized I had no idea what "strike while the iron is hot" actually meant.

The Permian Basin is a sizable chunk of west Texas that used to be under an ocean. Hence the "basin" part of the name. That ocean was there during the Permian period, a portion of the Paleolithic era occurring from about 280 to 230 million years ago. It's a geologic gem.

But for today's purposes: it's oil country, a landscape dotted with drilling rigs and pump jacks. And it's an ideal location for a museum dedicated to the history of petroleum and the industry that sprang up around it.

Before that moment of revelation, my understanding of "strike while the iron is hot" was equivalent to "make hay while the sun shines." Yours too, probably. I thought it was a call to quickly take action, to end the waiting, to "get cracking!" And I thought that action was this: using a hot iron to hit something.

You can imagine what I thought every time I passed an ironing board as a child.

What changed my mind that day was one of the dioramas in the museum. There before us were a couple of men looking at the glowing end of a long piece of iron drilling pipe. One of the men was holding something like a sledge hammer. The recording that started up as we approached explained what we were seeing. In the early days of oil exploration, the part of the iron shaft that did the actual cutting (the drill bit) had to be shaped by hand, so to speak.

In other words, they had to heat up the iron until the drill bit end of it could be beaten with the hammer, shaped so it would actually cut through earth and rock. They could only do this when the heat had softened the iron to the point that it was malleable. They had to strike it, repeatedly, with the sledge until the desired shape was achieved. Without this process, the iron was not useful for getting oil out of the ground.

And there was a time factor to consider. Once the heat was removed, the iron started to cool. The cooler it was, the less malleable it was, and the less useful to the desired purpose. So, they had to strike it while the iron was hot.

If you've never read Max Lucado's On the Anvil, I recommend it. He compares us to implements in God's workshop. Some of the implements are off in a corner, cold and of little use. Some of the implements are near at hand, well within reach, available. And some are on the anvil, hot, glowing, and ready to be shaped to a useful purpose by the smithy of creation.

The next time you hear the phrase, "strike while the iron is hot," consider that you may be the iron. And when you do, think on Psalm 27, one of this week's Lectionary scriptures, and particularly: "Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" (Psalm 27:14 NRSV)

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Second Sunday in Lent (February 21, 2016)
First reading
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm
Psalm 27
Second reading
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Gospel
Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)

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We're still in the beginning of our six weeks of Lent. Join us Friday mornings at Lectionary Breakfast. We take a fresh look at familiar scriptures and prepare our hearts for the coming of Easter. We still meet at 8:00 at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant for an hour like to no other. Strike while the iron is hot.

Enjoy the week!
Steve