The House That Shouldn’t Be There (a Steve Orr Epiphany reflection)

We had heard the rumors ... but they just seemed too amazing to be true. 

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 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 and led the rest of us to it, that “land between the rivers” had been transformed. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) had turned those rivers into lakes. Now, it’s the Land Between the Lakes (LBL), a modern recreational playground. Long gone are the moonshiners and poor farmers. Some shacks still stand along nearly impassable dirt tracks far from the modern highway that traverses it.

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

And then we came over a rise and there it was.

We suddenly found ourselves staring at a large, multi-story home situated on the banks of the Lake Barkley. It had seen better days, but it was still 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 one.

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 scripture. “Have you not heard? Do you not know?” They are rhetorical. Isaiah is not expecting an answer. They are there to remind the Israelites of something important. 

They had been hearing of God all their lives. There was a long, documented history of God doing amazing things among them. 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 words God gave them. You can put your faith in them. So, seek what the scriptures speak of, ask for it, knock doors until you gain entry. Those words are not rumor. One day, you will crest a rise and there it will be.

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NOTE: If you’re interested in knowing more about the Bogard House and our adventures there, let me know and I’ll get it to you. 

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Join us Friday morning at 8:00. DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast is a great time to grab a cup of your favorite breakfast beverage and explore some scripture. We read, discuss, and laugh. It’s a perfect way to start your weekend. 

Blessings,

Steve 

Contact me for the Zoom link.

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak. 

SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=64

Isaiah 40:21-31

Psalm z147:1-11, 20c

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Mark 1:29-39

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany