Worst. Prayer. Ever. (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

The movie, Shenandoah, hit the silver screen in 1965. I was a teenager at the time, and, like many in that stage of life, was quite confident to pass judgment on all sorts of matters. So, I had no difficulty concluding that the “Thanksgiving prayer” offered by Jimmy Stewart’s character, Charlie Anderson, was the worst ever.

“Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvested. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn't be here, we wouldn't be eatin' it, if we hadn't done it all ourselves. We worked Dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel. But we thank you just the same anyway, Lord, for this food we’re about to eat. Amen.”

Charlie Anderson made no pretense about who he felt was responsible for all that had gone into producing their meal: him and his family. He credited their hard work, but not God’s providence. Why, even the Apostle Paul, though crediting himself and Apollos for planting and “watering,” declared “God gave the growth.” In fact, Charlie credited God with ... nothing.

I could not imagine anyone being more disrespectful to God or less grateful to God for the blessings of this life. There was absolutely nothing redeeming about Charlie’s prayer, and certainly nothing to Charlie’s relationship with God.

Or so I thought at the time.

I had yet to get to know those who crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Oh, I knew about the Exodus with its plagues and miracles. And I knew about the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. But that next generation? They weren’t on my judgmental radar. To my young mind, they were the heroes of the story. They crossed over. They marched around Jericho. They were the ones who made it.

I wonder what Charlie Anderson would make of this week’s Lectionary passage from Joshua?

These “Children of Israel” were the “wilderness generation.” Most spent their entire lives living on Manna. They absolutely knew their entire existence had depended on God’s willingness to provide them the essentials of life. And then, upon crossing the Jordan, they were given an entire land full of food; animals they didn’t raise, produce they neither planted nor watered. They were allowed to live in houses, entire cities, they didn’t build. God gave them everything.

Not a single one of them could have prayed Charlie Anderson’s prayer.

They knew they had nothing to do with making any of that. They knew. And yet ... Oh, they seemed thankful. But, after entering the Promised Land, over and over they acted as if God’s providence to them did not warrant the one thing God had requested in return: their obedience. They had, and continued to have, a problem acknowledging the sovereignty of God. He was their Lord, but their actions said they didn’t really accept Him as such.

I was wrong about Charlie Anderson. I judged him on standards that do not exist for followers of Jesus. Because of his love for his deceased wife, Charlie also thanked God in his prayer. You can compare Charlie to the parent who, in his distress and worry about his child, cried to Jesus, “I believe! Help my unbelief!” Even though Charlie couldn’t come up with any good reason to do so, at least in his estimation of what it took to put that food on that table, Charlie Anderson thanked God “just the same, anyway.”

And called Him, “Lord.”

The worst prayer, ever? The one where, even though we cannot think of a single reason to do so, has no point at which we “thank you just the same anyway, Lord.”

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PHOTO: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0059711/?ref=m_nv_sr_1

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fourth Sunday in Lent (March 31, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=121

Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm 32
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
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Thankful: just one of the reasons we gather Friday mornings for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Join us at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant at 8:00 for an hour that also includes good food, prayer, great fellowship, Bible, discussion, and, inevitably, a lot of laughter.

Blessings,
Steve

5 MILES AHEAD (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

That’s what the sign said ...“5 MILES AHEAD.” That’s all the sign said.

In many ways, it was an excellent sign. It was bright red-orange with black letters. And it was affixed to a telephone pole at eye level. You couldn’t miss it. The sign contained information that was quite specific.

The message was unequivocal.

There was much to recommend it; specific, limited, highly visual, nothing to misunderstand. There was just one problem: no context. A vehicle operator would be puzzled by the obvious lack of information.

As we passed that sign (while driving through Virginia), the immediate result was to raise questions. Five miles to/from/until/since ... What? Where? Who? We spent a lot of time discussing that sign. Eventually though, we just had to give up speculating. The potential meanings seemed endless.

Sometimes, it’s that way with God.

Sure, there are all sorts of teachings and events revealed in the Bible that are absolutely crystal clear ... about which we have no misunderstanding. But there are other passages which just leave us scratching our heads. We read of something God did or said, but cannot, definitively, discern its meaning. We get frustrated in our attempts to make some sense of it. No matter how much we speculate, we never reach a conclusion with which we are completely comfortable.

That road sign had all the hallmarks of good communication. Yet, without more information, no one was going to know it’s true meaning. More was needed. But that “more” never came; at least not in the timeframe we occupied.

When God’s communications strike us in similar ways, that’s when we need to recall what is often implied in scripture and is clearly stated in this week’s Isaiah passage: God’s ways are higher than our ways. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

Until God reveals the wider meaning, we are not going to understand.

Does this mean we should not seek knowledge, should not desire to know the will of God? Absolutely not. We are to apply ourselves to such understanding. But we also must accept — and scripture is clear— there are some things that are beyond our comprehension as we currently are

And therein lies the difference. That road sign was never going to yield any further explanation. But God’s “signs” do. As we grow in the Spirit, our discernment changes; our understanding improves.

In time, we will know what is ahead.

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Third Sunday in Lent (March 24, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=120

Isaiah 55:1-9
Psalm 63:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9

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Mmmm, Breakfast! They have good food at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant, but that’s just the beginning. When we gather Friday mornings at 8:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast, there’s so much more. We read scripture, pray, discuss, and enjoy each other’s company. It’s a great way to start the weekend.

Join us.
Steve

Walking in Memphis (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

Most of us don’t know the lyrics to “Walking in Memphis.”

Many consider it Marc Cohn’s signature recording, and it is very popular, not least because of how well he performs it. Maybe it’s just that we get lost in listening to him sing. Whatever the reasons, the truth is this: if we attempt to sing along, at all, it’s only when he croons the actual words, “Walking in Memphis” ... and something, something “the pouring rain.” But that’s about it.

Still, it should come as no shock to learn the song is about when Cohn made a pilgrimage to Memphis, Tennessee: The Home of the Blues.

After this pilgrim “Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues In the middle of the pouring rain,” he toured the southern city. He almost swoons when he walks down Beale Street, claims he sees the ghost of Elvis at Graceland, and notes “They’ve got catfish on the table.”

Perhaps, between not knowing the lyrics and discovering it’s about a blues pilgrimage to Memphis, we can be forgiven for not knowing this next part.

They've got gospel in the air.

Our pilgrim, it turns out, was also on a bit of a spiritual journey while walking in Memphis. He realized there was more to it than just its music, emphasizing how a pilgrim would be welcomed, “When you haven't got a prayer.”

But, boy, you've got a prayer in Memphis.

What comes next is both sad and exhilarating. Cohn incorporates something that actually happened to him while visiting Memphis. One night at the famed blues joint, Hollywood Cafe, he listened to well known pianist and Gospel singer Muriel Wilkins perform ... something she did every Friday night for many years. After one set, Cohn was asked if he would perform a duet with Muriel. What musician could pass that up?

Now Muriel plays piano
Every Friday at the Hollywood
And they brought me down to see her
And they asked me if I would
Do a little number
And I sang with all my might
She said
“Tell me are you a Christian child?”
And I said, “Ma’am, I am tonight.”

That’s about the last we hear of this pilgrim’s spiritual journey: his one-night claim to a relationship with Jesus.

Music is powerful. It pulls us, drives us, fills us in ways nothing else does. Can it be any wonder that the gospel message found its way into music? And when the Blues meets Gospel? Magnetic!

The song finishes with Cohn’s pilgrim walking, walking, walking in Memphis, endlessly wondering “do I really feel the way I feel?” Perhaps he had glimpsed “the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” And, perhaps, he was still grappling with his almost-decision. All I know for certain is this: the duet they sang that night?

Amazing Grace.

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PHOTO (and a great story about Muriel, Marc, and The Hollywood): https://www.tripsavvy.com/story-of-muriel-and-the-hollywood-2321910

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Second Sunday in Lent (March 17, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
Psalm 27
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 13:31-35 or Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)
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Friday mornings are a time of grace at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We read, we pray, we discuss ... and we laugh. Join us at 8:00 at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant for a great start to the weekend.

Blessings,
Steve

Wax On. Wax Off. (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

Daniel has a problem. He is being bullied by schoolmates.

In the original “Karate Kid” movie (1984), Mr. Miyagi saves high school student Daniel from a savage beating. The older man dispatches the bullies through a form of Karate. Daniel begs to be instructed in Karate so that he can protect himself from the bullies.

Mr. Miyagi agrees to train Daniel and then directs Daniel to perform various menial tasks. One such task involves waxing Mr. Miyagi’s car. The older man insists Daniel apply the wax with his right hand, moving it in a clockwise circle. Similarly, he insists Daniel remove the wax with his left hand moving in a counter-clockwise circle. And, to make it even more difficult, it seems, the teen must apply and remove the wax at the same time! All of this while Mr. Miyagi chants, over and over, “Wax on. Wax off ... Wax on. Wax off.”

Daniel soon becomes frustrated with Mr. Miyagi, feeling the older man is taking advantage of him, using him to get some chores done. Daniel refuses to continue performing the tasks. At this juncture, Mr. Miyagi reveals that all the supposed menial tasks are actually practice for effective Karate moves. Upon understanding this, Daniel dedicates himself to perfecting all the moves.

And that brings us to Jesus and His confrontation with Satan in the wilderness.

In this week’s scripture passage from Luke, Satan tempted Jesus three times. Once with sustenance, once with power, and once with personal value. All three could be described as “whats” and/or “hows.” We know that Jesus resisted these temptations, rebuffing Satan’s attempts to entrap him. But, do we know the means of His victory?

If you think Jesus overcame Satan in the wilderness temptations because He is also God, you have completely misunderstood what happened there ... and why. Living life here on Planet Earth was all about experiencing life just as we do. Jesus needed to have our experiences, good and bad, empowering and tempting, etc. If, all through that experience, Jesus could just tap into being God as a way to have what was needed to resist temptation, then how could He be the “first born” of all of us?

He needed to experience everything just as we do; the “whats” and the “hows” of life here. In the wilderness, Satan always led with a “what” or a “how.” Jesus always responded with a “why.” That’s because the “why” always drives behavior. Jesus knew His “why.” That’s how He could resist Satan. The “whats” and the “hows” were not any easier, but knowing the “why” provided the drive to accomplish the mission. Jesus never forgot why He was here. And that drove Him all through His life and ministry.

Daniel’s frustration with Mr. Miyagi grew from performing the “whats” and the “hows” without knowing the “why.” Once he understood the “why,” Daniel was more than willing to perform as required.

Perhaps you have grown tired of the tasks God has assigned you? Maybe you think they are beneath your skill sets, or maybe they’re not aligned with your “calling?” Take heart. There is a plan. And if we will stick with Him, we will, eventually, understand that He has been developing us through our many experiences ... as menial as they may seem.

Wax on. Wax off.

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PHOTO (and a great little article about the true value on “menial” tasks: https://www.communicationlighthouse.com/embracing-menial-tasks-a-leaders-calling/
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
First Sunday in Lent (March 10, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=118

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
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Friday mornings are the best! We gather at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We start at 8:00 and wrap things up around 9:00. Join us for food, fellowship, scripture, and prayer ... and laughter.

Blessings,
Steve

Shine On! (a Steve Orr Lectionary reflection)

There was a lot of controversy surrounding Stephen King's The Shining.

Likely, though, it's not what you think. I mean, if you think the controversies were things like a young child being stalked by evil ghosts or being endangered by his own father, then you would be wrong. Somehow, as strange as that sounds, today, people managed to accept both those premises.

The first controversy had to do with the novel, itself. King's publisher lobbied long and hard for King to not even write it. After the success of Carrie and 'Salem's Lot, Doubleday was worried King would get typed as a ... horror writer! There's some irony for you. The Shining went on the be King's first hardback bestseller.

The second controversy was the title; people just didn't get it. People had heard of visions, as in the Bible, and they had heard of precognition, as in ESP, but "shining?" What was that? Did King just make that up? It wasn't until 11 years after The Shining was first published that King explained. He took the title from a John Lennon song, "Instant Karma!," where Lennon suggests we, like the moon, stars, and sun, "all shine on."

Of course, the big controversy was the Stanley Kubrick film. Generally considered one of the greatest horror films of all time, it nevertheless diverged significantly from King's novel. King was not shy about expressing his disappointment. The irony, here, is that the popularity of the movie likely drove book sales through the roof.

It seems that "shining" has always been a bit controversial ... as we see in this week's Lectionary scriptures. When Moses came down from his mountaintop meeting with God, his face was positively glowing ... really glowing. Let that sink in for a minute; try to picture it. Even in this day of CGI movies, seeing someone like that in real life would be disconcerting. Moses was so bright, the people were afraid. He had to wear a veil for quite some time, until the glow had faded away.

Then, in another of this week's passages, Jesus takes his inner circle up the mountain where He is transfigured and, He too, is left glowing after encountering God there. I wonder how long that glow lasted? Scripture doesn't tell us, but one thing we know, they didn't come down from the mountain until the next day.

Both "shinings" reappear in the Corinthians passage. Paul references them and then declares that we believers can let go of that old, fading shine of the Law of Moses; that, because Jesus has “removed the veil,” we can turn and face God, ourselves. We no longer need some intermediary to trek up the mountain on our behalf.

We should have no fear of the shining, the real shining. It's God's light pouring through, making us the shining.

Shine on.

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PHOTO: https://images.nasa.gov/details-GSFC_20171208_Archive_e000084.html

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A version of this reflection appeared in 2016 as The Shining.

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Transfiguration Sunday (March 3, 2019)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=116

Exodus 34:29-35
Psalm 99
2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2
Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)
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Perky? I don’t think so. Not all of us are morning people, bright and shining when we first face the day. That's what breakfast is for. Join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast Friday morning at 8:00. We gather for a great hour of relaxed fellowship and scripture at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant.

Enjoy the week!
Steve