Sunday, February 18, 2018

Giant Arrows on the Earth (a Steve Orr Lent reflection)

They’re still out there, you know ... those giant concrete arrows. You can still see them, even though they are quite old.

No, they’re not remnants of some ancient civilization, nor do they point the way to Superman's Fortress of Solitude, and they aren’t evidence of extra-terrestrial landing sites.

These concrete arrows were first placed on the Earth in the 1920's. They were the most visible part of the Transcontinental Airway System, designed to aid Air-mail pilots as they traveled across the United States. Lacking the level of technology we enjoy, today, these pilots could easily get lost. At the time, it was a perfectly reasonable approach to providing a useful navigation aid.

The arrows were painted bright yellow. At the center of each was a tall tower with a rotating beacon boasting a million-candlepower light. So, even though it was possible to see them from the ground, they were designed to be seen, and were best seen, from the air.

At their peak, there were over 1,500 of these "ground beacons" stretching from New York to San Francisco. Day or night, pilots could find their way across the country and back. Their makers intended these arrows to serve as a kind of covenant between themselves and those who had to depend on the arrows for essential, maybe even vital, information.

Today, though, they seem a little simple.

Kind of like rainbows.

After a rain, we see a rainbow arcing across a portion of the sky and feel a little jump of elation, an appreciation of its beauty. Few of us stop to reflect on an essential truth: rainbows are anything but simple.

Without the rain, no amount of sunlight striking our atmosphere could produce a rainbow. For a rainbow to appear high up in the sky, there has to be a brilliant light source and there has to be millions upon millions of rain drops to reflect/refract that light.

To Noah and his family (in this week’s Genesis passage), the appearance of a rainbow was brand new. Before the Flood there had been no rain. Whatever mechanism God used to change our atmospheric composition to bring about that first rain, it remained in place when the flood subsided. And it produced, for the first time, the conditions necessary for a rainbow.

Technically, you can see a rainbow from the air, but it doesn't look quite the same; it can even appear as a circle from certain angles. Where you need to be to see the phenomenon as a bow is on the ground, with rain before you and the sun behind you.

God placed His bow "in the clouds" so that, for all generations, we could be assured that God would never again destroy all flesh by means of a flood.

The rainbow is just one of the covenants God has set between Himself and us ... signs we can see as we travel this spiritual journey on our way to where we are reunited, pointing the way so we don't become lost.

Whether it's bows or arrows, the intent is the same. If you want a successful journey, look for the signs along the way.

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A somewhat different version of this reflection appeared in February 2015.

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If you want to read more on the giant concrete arrows, some of which can still be seen, you could Google them or you could try http://www.citylab.com/work/2015/02/why-is-america-dotted-with-giant-concrete-arrows/385472/?utmsource=GristFB&utm_content=buffere1847&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
First Sunday in Lent (February 18, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=71

Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
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Lectionary Breakfast meets most Friday mornings at 8:00. We gather at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant (Franklin and New Road, near Outback. Look for us at the back.) We read the week’s scriptures and then dig in for the sustenance.

The food's good, too.

Enjoy the week!
Steve

Sunday, February 11, 2018

HUMPTY DUMPTY [ actually ] SAT ON A WALL (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!

Just a nursery rhyme ... right?

Egg shell and yolk at the base of a stone wall, soldiers standing around looking puzzled?

But what if it really happened?

Turns out there was very large canon mounted high on a town wall in 17th century England. During the (then famous) Siege of Colchester, those seeking Parliamentary rule attacked the walled city because it was a haven for Royalist (those who believed rule should remain with the royals, only).

That canon’s name? Humpty Dumpty.

Apparently, Humpty Dumpty was quite effective as weaponry goes, keeping the Parliamentarians at bay for about a month. Effective, that is, until some clever Parliamentarian thought to fire on the wall just below the canon ... and when the wall caved in, Humpty Dumpty "had a great fall."

There was an attempt by the Royalists ("the King's men") to put HD back into commission, but the damage from the fall was too great. Still, the Royalists held out for another six weeks. But in the end, without that big boy high up on the wall to drive them away, the Parliamentarians prevailed. And I think you know how all that ended up.

Maybe knowing the true story of Humpty Dumpty will make it a bit easier to understand a strange phrase from this week's 2 Kings scripture selection.

Stop and read it, then come back.

You saw it, right? Elisha cries out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" right after Elijah is swept away by the chariot of fire? The "father" part I get: likely Elisha had come to regard Elijah as a father. Their separation by the emissaries of God was sudden, so shouting out "father!" certainly fits in the shock of the moment. Elisha suddenly realized just how valuable Elijah was to him, personally.

But what is this business about Israel's chariots and horsemen?

Most scholars believe Elisha's use of this phrase means he had suddenly realized just how vulnerable the nation of Israel was without Elijah. What Elijah had done to protect and save Israel from its enemies, both within and without —by being God's faithful prophet in such a tumultuous time— was greater than even the great armies of the King.

Nothing, not even "all the King's horses and all the King's men" were enough to equal Elijah’s value to Israel.

Look about you. Any Humpty Dumpty's nearby? Are there men and women you know who so faithfully serve the Lord that our fellowship will be significantly diminished by their passing?

Now is the time to be with them. Don't wait until they've gone home to be with the Lord to suddenly realize just how valuable they are, especially to you.

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A different version of this reflection appeared in 2015 as "All the King's Horses and all the King's Men.”

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Transfiguration Sunday (February 11, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//

2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9

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Can you join us Friday morning for Lectionary Breakfast? As usual, we meet at 8:00 at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant (Meeting room just off the main dining room). Our time together is both fun and precious.

If you can't be with us —maybe you're so far away that joining us is impractical— maybe it's time you started your own group like this.

Something to think about.

Enjoy the week!
Steve

Sunday, February 4, 2018

The Bogard House Revisited (a Steve Orr Epiphany reflection)

Moonshiners, Al Capone, Prohibition ... A mansion situated deep in the land between the rivers where only the shacks of poor farmers should have been. We'd all heard the stories about the long lost “Bogard House” ... not much more than rumors, really.

Then, one day, we actually found it.

It’s a longish story that I will spare you. Suffice to say that, by the time one of our group found it, “between the rivers” had become The Land Between the Lakes, a modern recreational playground. Long gone were the moonshiners and poor farmers; though some of the shacks still stood along nearly impassable dirt tracks far from the modern highway that traversed it.

It was along those dirt tracks that we traveled that day, dodging pitfalls and uprooted trees, following our friend, wondering which, or if any, of the rumors were true.

And then we came over a rise and suddenly found ourselves staring at a large, multi-story home situated on the banks of the Lake Barkley. It had seen better days, but even then it was impressive. In an area that, before TVA, was known for its poverty, this house would certainly have been a mansion. Someone with some money had lived there.

But, why? Why would someone with money want to live all the way out there in the boonies? As it turned out, many of the stories we had heard were true. Joe Bogard, revered among his neighbors as the "King of Moonshiners," had lived there with his family. Moonshine was produced there and was sold all over the Midwest, including to certain folk up Chicago way. The rumor that airplanes landed on a strip in front of the house, loaded up with hooch, and flew it back to Al Capone? Well, we could never find any evidence of that.

But we did find four secret rooms.

As I say, though, the story of that day is longish. So we will step away for the moment, pausing only to note this: we had heard of that house, stories of other peoples from other times, and then we came to know it ourselves.

Much like the questions in this week's Isaiah selection:

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV)

None of this was news to the people of Israel. They had been hearing of God all their lives. There was a long, documented history of God doing amazing things among their nation. And yet, they had let what they heard cease to be what they knew. They had become theological amnesiacs. God had become more of a rumor to them than a reality.

God's prophets spoke the message He gave them. Those words from Isaiah? Those are the words of God, spoken to His people. They are about His kingdom and they are not rumor. You can put your faith in them. So, seek it, ask for it, knock doors until you gain entry.

Because, one day, you will come over a rise and there it will be.


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A version of this reflection appeared in February 2015.

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For more of my memory about that day at The Bogard House, there is an incomplete memoir at: http://write-craft.blogspot.com/2011/05/in-development-bogard-house-by-steve.html

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Photo: Sadly, that’s not a photo of the Bogard House. Maybe there’s one out there, somewhere, but I’ve not yet found it. This house, situated on Lake Winnipesaukee, looks a lot like it, though. See more of it at https://www.nhlakesrealty.com/newest-listings-on-lake-winnipesaukee/

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (February 4, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=64

Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 147:1-11, 20c
1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Mark 1:29-39
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Friday mornings are times of exploration and discovery at Lectionary Breakfast. We delve into God’s word to find out for ourselves just what is real. Join us at 8:00 at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant for an hour like no other.

Blessings,
Steve