Zombies at the Resurrection? (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

On the screen, the decaying bodies rise from their graves and move inexorably forward in a shuffling parody of human walking. The plucky heroes and heroines run to hiding places, but can never shake the tide of zombies following them. What’s tips them off? Sound? Smell? Something about truly live humans draws these “walking dead” to their hiding places with unerring accuracy.

That is how we tend to think of the walking dead: as Zombies. That’s the Halloween version, anyway. How else would it be? Dead people do not get up out of their graves and just walk away ... Or do they?

Our thoughts on the subject change as we round the corner from Halloween (All Hallows Eve) on 10/31 to the next day: All Saints Day. That’s when we think of the true resurrection. Like Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead, celebrated on the same day in Mexico and throughout Latin America), All Saints Day is when we honor our loved ones who have died. 

This week’s All Saints Day scriptures reference that time when Jesus will return, the saints will gather in heaven and stand before the Throne of God, and we will “be like him.” This is “the resurrection” at which Martha believed she would one day see her dead brother Lazarus. But Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection.” Then, he raised her brother from his grave to rejoin the living ... right then.

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles returned dead people to life ...those people arose and walked. Perhaps the strangest resurrection episode, though, takes place during the three days Jesus was in the grave. Matthew 27:50-53 states that immediately after Jesus died, graves opened and the “holy ones” returned to life. 

They arose. But these were no zombies! 

These folk were restored to their lives. After Jesus’ resurrection, these “holy ones” walked into Jerusalem and “appeared to many people.” It was a for-real “dia de los [walking] muertos”; another miracle awaiting that first Easter morning to take a stroll.

The power of Jesus to raise the dead was so great, it blasted out into graveyards at the moment of His death. When “the resurrection” is present, there is no waiting ... people come to life!

And now? We’re just waiting for Him to be present once more ... when we will all rise. 

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More about All Saints Day here: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/01/world/all-saints-day-trnd/index.html

More about Zombies here: https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-zombies

PHOTO: Steve Orr

Very different versions of this reflection appeared in prior years

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Can you join us Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We gather on ZOOM at 8:00 for food, fellowship, prayer ... and some quality time hammering out how to use the scriptures to ensure we walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Contact me ahead of time so I can (1) give you the Zoom link, and (2) alert our gatekeeper to let you into our Zoom call.

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the microphone if you do not wish to speak and mute the camera if you do not wish to be seen. 

Blessings,

Steve

SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK

All Saints Day (November 1, 2020)

Find them here: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=166

Revelation 7:9-17

Psalm 34:1-10, 22

1 John 3:1-3

Matthew 5:1-12

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Proper 26 (31) (Sunday, November 1, 2020)

Find these scriptures here: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=167

Joshua 3:7-17

Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37

Micah 3:5-12

Psalm 43

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Matthew 23:1-12

There Can Be Only One (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

My title is the catch phrase from The Highlander movies and TV shows. And, while that may be true for sword wielding immortals, I can’t say the same for my favorites. I’m always stuck when I’m asked to name “my favorite” one anything.

 What about you? Do you have a wide range of favorites? Or, can you answer with one thing when they ask? I can’t seem to pick just one favorite thing.

I have favorite foods, coffees, teas, movies, songs, instrumental music pieces, books, authors, actors, TV shows, people, places, countries, campgrounds, ocean cruises ... but, they’re all plural. 

Here’s a few examples: 

Music: I’ll Stand By You (“Nothing you confess could make me love you less.”); In the Mood, Clair de Lune, Cristofori’s Dream, classic Jazz, and You’re So Vain (because, well ... it’s about me).

Books: Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles, Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels. Plus Robert Heinlein, Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton....

TV & movies: Joe vs the Volcano, Sean Connery in Outland, Downton Abby, A Walk in the Clouds, The Orville, The Education of Little Tree, noir films, and classic Disney. 

So, with all that, it’s probably not a surprise I have a few candidates for favorite scripture. 

I try to live by Proverbs 3:5-6 (“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”). 

My faith is strengthened by Hebrews 11:1 (“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”). 

I measure my spiritual journey progress by Matthew 25:40 (Jesus speaking: “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”). 

I take hope from Lamentations 3:22-24 (Jeremiah speaking: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.”)

But, unlike many other parts of my life, I actually have one favorite scripture: the one in this week’s Matthew passage (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”)

Not only is it the capstone scripture, enfolding all the Law and the Prophets, it is also the most important message in the Bible: God loves me and I love God. God’s love flows into me so I can love my neighbor.

All of the scriptures flow from that one. So, for me, when it comes to favorite scriptures, it’s true: 

There can be only one. 

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Different versions of this reflection appeared in prior years as My Favorites and These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.

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Can you be with us, Friday morning, for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We gather on Zoom at 8:00 for a wonderful hour of scripture, discussion, and humor. Contact me ahead of time so I can get you the Zoom link and tell our gatekeeper to let you in.

Blessings,

Steve

SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK

Proper 25 (30) (October 29, 2017)

Find them here: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=165

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18

Psalm 1

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Matthew 22:34-46

My Kelli 05 Mug (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I have this beautiful, handcrafted coffee mug. It’s rounded, with wheat stalks etched into one side. There’s a tan glaze all around the outside, giving it a kind of leather look. Blue glazing — that dark blue of sunset— circles the lip and coats the inside. My mug is special for another reason, too: because of the way it’s made, there’s no other mug like it. 

It is unique in all the world.

I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

How did I come to own this most unique mug? Just outside our town is a community of folk who practice and preserve the old ways. They grow and grind their own wheat. They build stunningly beautiful furniture using hand tools. They smith their own tools. They weave, sew, make soap. They have a farm-to-table restaurant on site ... their farms; their tables.  

And, they make pottery.

Each piece of pottery is lovingly created by one individual. Each one starts as a lump of clay. This crafter places the wet clay onto a circular piece of wood called a “wheel.” It is turned by that person continually moving their foot; speeding up and slowing down as needed. As the clay turns before them, these artists (for that is what they truly are) shape the spinning clay, working it in the direction they intend for it. 

This shaping phase is important. 

That’s not to say the other steps are unimportant ... just that the great creative work of the potter is in the initial shaping: throwing, slapping, wedging, squeezing. 

The other steps —the etching, the glazing, and the firing— must also happen, and happen correctly, or the initial work is for naught. But the shaping is so important that, just before it goes into the fire for that final stage, these artist do something supremely important: they sign their work by etching the year and their name on the bottom. 

My wheat mug is signed “Kelli 05.”

Think of my mug when you read this week’s Matthew passage. A lot of people assume this passage is about paying taxes ... and they conclude Jesus is in favor of us paying them. Sadly, they are missing the point. 

Oh sure, Jesus does tell them to return the coin to Caesar. So, in a sense, He is telling them to pay the tax. But there is a much more important point. We can be forgiven for missing that point: the Pharisees did ... and so did His disciples.

We, like they, think this confrontation was about taxes and choosing sides in a conflict. Look back at the scenario. It's clear what belongs to Caesar in that encounter: it has his imprint on it. But what about the second part of what Jesus says? What is it that should be given to God?

Us.

We bear the imprint and inscription of God. Like my mug, each of us is unique in all the world ... and we are signed and dated by the one who formed us. 

It’s us. God wants us.

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Some parts of this reflection are borrowed from Coin Trick, a reflection that appeared in October of 2017.

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Join us on Zoom Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We “assemble” at 8:00 for a great hour of Bible, discussion, and, a lot more than you might think, laughter. So, grab yourself a coffee (or breakfast beverage of choice) and join us.

Contact me beforehand so I can send you the Zoom link and advise our gatekeeper to let you in.

SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK

Proper 24 (29) October 18, 2020

Find them here: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=164

Exodus 33:12-23

Psalm 99

Isaiah 45:1-7

Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13)

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Matthew 22:15-22

Driving on the Ocean Floor (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I am driving along the ocean floor and thinking about perspective. 

 

Technically it’s a seabed. To the casual observer, what I know to be a seabed would appear to be desert valleys surrounded by mountains. My eyes show breathtaking mountain views, sculpted cliff-sides, and high, jagged peaks ... and a paved highway winding its way through the connecting valleys. All around me are the signs of desert life: cacti, scrub, juniper, dry ground, and dry air. 

But, it’s also a seabed. You need to trust me on this. 

 

Turn back the clock ~265 million years and the very place I am driving is far beneath the waves of the Permian Sea. On the one hand, I’m driving on dry land. But on the other hand, I am simultaneously driving on the bed of the Permian Sea. It can be a bit disorienting to juggle these two thoughts.

 

I can’t help but wonder if this kind of confusion might account for the behavior of God’s chosen people. God told the Israelites He would deliver them from Pharaoh, would "go before" them, would provide for their needs, would "drive out" the peoples living in the Promised Land so the Children of Israel could then occupy it ... Plan A, if you will.

Jacob's descendants kept insisting they knew better than God; their Plan B. They kept returning to the worship of the Egyptian gods. They fought battles to take the Promised Land. They wanted a king of their own (See the Exodus 32 and Psalm 106  passages). 

 

So, God kept reminding them that it was He who brought them out of Egypt. God reminded them that He would provide for them. God used miracles to do so.

 

And yet, year by year, they moved further and further away, while God kept trying to keep their hearts pointed at Him. When they went to battle without His approval, they lost. When their King disobeyed, God replaced that king with His own choice. Even God's prophets kept reminding them of Plan A: trust God for your needs and trust Him to handle your enemies.

 

God can see it all. God understands, fully. And God asks us to trust him when it comes to facts not presently in evidence. This week’s scriptures revolve around this idea of trusting God, depending on God’s promises, having faith that what God has told us is the truth (see the Isaiah passage). 

 

Jesus and those he sent keep pointing us back to God's Plan A: love your enemies and pray for them, trust God with your concerns (See the Philippians passage). Instead of filling our minds with things like revenge, He points us to the best thoughts; the kinds of thoughts we can think all day every day ... if we're not busy planning the downfall of our enemies!

 

For some reason, though, we humans keep insisting there must be a Plan B ... the plan we come up with that is not God's plan. Why do we do that?

If we’re driving through the Big Bend, what we see is mountains, valleys, cacti, scrub brush, and desert life. But, if we’re willing to allow a different perspective —to believe what we’ve been told— we can also see something from a different time: an ocean teeming with aquatic life.   

 

God has a better perspective from which to “see” all that is true and real, much of which we cannot perceive. And so, God asks us to trust in His plan, to believe what we’ve been told, to stop trying to live our own "Plan B." 

We, too, can choose to follow Plan A.

 

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PHOTO: Steve Orr (the Big Bend near Fort Davis, Texas)

Different versions of this reflection appeared in prior years as There is no Plan B (2017) and Plan A (2014).

Info about the Permian Sea: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/when-texas-was-bottom-sea-180953653/

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We again gather (via Zoom) for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast on Friday morning. Join us at 8:00 a.m. for Bible, prayer, discussion, and laughter. 

Let me know if you plan to attend so I can send you the Zoom link and alert our Zoom gatekeeper to let you in.

Enjoy the week!

Steve

SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK

Proper 23 (28) (October 11, 2020)

Read them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=163

Exodus 32:1-14

Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23

Isaiah 25:1-9

Psalm 23

Philippians 4:1-9

Matthew 22:1-14

 

You know (You Just Don’t Know You Know) (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

A teenage girl helped revolutionize an industry, and her legacy lives on. You know her. You just don’t know you know. 

Margie Belcher wanted, more than anything in the world, to have a career as a dancer. That desire had already driven her to study and perfect her dancing skills from a young age, and she had become quite good by the time she reached her teen years. Eventually, she grew up, married another dancer, and they enjoyed a full life of dancing; on the stage, in films, and they even had their own television show.

But none of that is why I'm convinced you know her.

In the mid-1930's, Walt Disney hired the teenaged Margie to come to his studio and dance for his animators. No one had ever made a full length animated film before it, and even in the short cartoons of the day, no one had gone to such lengths to ensure the animated characters moved like real people. When questioned about how watching her dance helped them complete the cartoon they were working on, Disney declared, quite forcefully, "We are not making a cartoon! We are making art!" 

What they were making was the first full-length animated motion picture: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. If you've seen it, you've seen Margie Belcher. When Snow White walks, when she sits or stands, when she dances: that's Margie. 

Margie was the motion model for Snow White.  

Knowing this story changes how we see that first-ever animated film. From now on, whenever you see Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, or even just a clip of Snow White doing something, you will recall that a teenage girl named Margie  —a real girl—  is behind every move. Knowing about Margie, though, doesn’t change the film. It changes us. 

Real life is like that, too. There are many things we know, but know incompletely. We spend our days seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling. We use our senses to help us understand our experiences. And, most of the time, that's the whole of it. Ever once in a while, though, someone reveals something to us that changes how we think about things. 

It’s that way with scripture. We enjoy a certain level of familiarity with scripture. But, the more we read of it, the more we understand. That’s the point of the last half of this week’s Psalm 19. The Psalm assures us that reading scripture provides wisdom (even to those with the greatest need of it), rejoices the heart, enhances understanding, revives the soul.

Spending time in the Bible changes us. It’s like young Margie. Her early dance moves were a bit awkward. But as she continued to revisit them, they became smoother, more natural. The more she did it, the better she got. In time, dance became almost second nature to her. Through persistence, Margie became very good. Then, others noticed and invited her to bring her dancing into their lives. 

And that is why we continue to read the Bible. Our persistence in it leads us to pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” 

You knew that. You just didn’t know you knew. 

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PHOTO + More about Margie and Disney: https://diabloballet.org/2012/05/26/how-a-champion-dancer-brought-an-animated-classic-to-life/

A different version of this reflection appeared in September 2015 as You Just Don't Know You Know.

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SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK

Proper 22 (27) (October 4, 2020) 

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Psalm 19

Isaiah 5:1-7

Psalm 80:7-15

Philippians 3:4b-14

Matthew 21:33-46

Link to these scriptures here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=162

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Let me know if you want to join us for DaySpring’s ZOOM Lectionary Breakfast, Friday morning. We still gather at 8:00 a.m. for an hour of revelation, discussion, and, a staple, laughter. 

I will need to give your name to our Zoom Host so they can let you through the gateway. 

Enjoy the week!

Steve