If You Come To A Fork In The Road (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I like pithy sayings. The shorter, the better. Recalling them helps keep me focused on what is important. For example, the Yogi Berra advice in the title: “If you come to a fork in the road: take it!” We laughed when he originally said it. But, then, we eventually saw  some real wisdom buried in that humor: don’t dither forever over a choice; make it and move on.

I also love this thought I once heard from a Texan: “If all you can do is all you can do, then all you can do is enough.” That’s a real comfort in stressful times.

“First, do no harm” does an excellent job of summing up the medical world’s much longer Hippocratic Oath, and it works as another great guideline for my own personal operating procedures. 

A while back, I learned one that comes from a story in the Jewish Talmud. It’s about a rabbi who was challenged, one day, by a non-Jew. This person pledged to convert to Judaism if the rabbi could express the entire Torah while standing on one foot. It wasn’t a true pledge. The challenger was actually mocking the rabbi. 

Nevertheless, the rabbi immediately stood on one foot, and said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor.” This is sometimes called “The Silver Rule.” I think any follower of Jesus can recognize how similar this is to “The Golden Rule” (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”) In fact, I think this so-called “Silver Rule” may better capture the true spirit of the more famous one. 

Working out some explanation is worthwhile. As hard as it may be to believe, some people end up doing bad things to others in the name of “The Golden Rule.”

I write this comparison of “rules” and true meanings because of this week’s passage from 2 Corinthians. The Apostle Paul was in the middle of asking the members of the church at Corinth to supply funds for the relief of other Jesus followers (in other places) who were having a great financial need. 

I have often heard the passage used to guilt people into giving money to a church or ministry. Often left out is the explanation Paul supplies: “I do not mean there should be relief for others and pressure on you.”

He goes on to say he only wants them to give “out of their abundance” to those others who are in need, rather than put themselves in poverty to help others. And, he would expect a reciprocal arrangement should they ever be in need and wanting other churches to send money to them. 

Maybe it’s a subtle point, but I just keep meeting people who think they must impoverish themselves or they can’t be “real” Christians. I feel it needs to be underscored. God loves us and, for the most part, only asks of us what we can do. If we are stretched, it is only because we are capable of it. 

So, taking all this into account, here’s my new entry to my personal operating procedures: “In doing your good, do no harm, even to yourself.” 

I think that sums it up nicely. 

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PHOTO CREDIT: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcZ-vWdLnCc

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Friday morning, we have another great hour of scripture, laughter, prayer, discussion, and fellowship at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Join us at 8:00 via Zoom. 

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=208

2Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Psalm 130

Lamentations 3:22-33

Psalm 30

2Corinthians 8:7-15

Mark 5:21-43

Proper 8 (13) (June 27, 2021)

God’s Game of Thrones: David (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

He had a great idea … that got him fired.

It was a new level of computer animation. He pitched it as something the company should do. And that’s when he got fired. His boss said it was because he was “screwing around with crazy ideas instead of doing his job.” 

End of story.

People get fired every day; sometimes justly, sometimes otherwise. It certainly feels like it's the end. Still, given a little time, we eventually discover that what seems like the end of our story is really just the beginning of another chapter.

Our young animator, though disappointed in his company's response, was unwilling to be defeated by it. He went looking for more receptive ears ... and he found them.

In the person of Steve Jobs.

Soon, he was at the center of a revolution in animation. Before long, he was a producer of such hits as Toy Story and Finding Nemo. They say that one man's trash is another man's treasure. In this case, it was Disney's trash that became Pixar's treasure.

But even that isn't the end of the story. When Disney later acquired Pixar, that former employee returned to Disney and became the head of Disney’s animation.

In this week's scriptures, we see two chapters in the story of Israel’s King Saul and future King David. Those were some dark times: scary situations with adversaries, rejection by the King; with worse times ahead.

God's story for David had many more chapters to go. Despite how bad things got, though, David remained confident in God. And, as we know, God honored David's faith.

There can be hard times, even very dark times, in our lives. But we must remember: our lives come in seasons and our stories are told in chapters. Be patient. Allow the time for God's plan to unfold. You never know what is just around the corner.

But God knows. 

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PHOTO: Steve Orr

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Summer is a great time to join us at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Currently, we gather Friday morning on Zoom at 8:00. Good folk; good discussion of the Lex scriptures. A perfect hour to launch the weekend. 

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.

Blessings,

Steve 

SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK  Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=207

1 Samuel 17:(1a, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49

Psalm 9:9-20               —or—

1 Samuel 17:57-18:5, 18:10-16 

Psalm 133

Job 38:1-11

Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32

2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Mark 4:35-41

Proper 7 (12) (June 20, 2021)

The Game of Thrones and King Saul ( a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I stopped reading The Game of Thrones after finishing the first book, never to pick up another.

Without revealing any spoilers, here is why. The title refers to the often terrible things people will do in pursuit of power; the alliances that are made and broken; all the acts people will perform to feed their all-consuming need to rule. As bad as all that can be, I didn’t stop reading the series because of those things. I stopped because the author kept killing off characters ... characters I cared about.

Among the foundational things writers are taught, there is a maxim: "Kill your darlings." It's supposed to be an editorial act, the eliminating by the author of his/her personal favorites; those that, quite often, actually detract from the story being told. The best writers do it all the time. And it is very rare for those assassinated darlings to ever return. But, I didn't stop reading The Game of Thrones novels because the author was killing off his darlings. I stopped because he was killing off mine! He had killed off so many of my favorite characters by the end of the first novel, I couldn't go on. As I have come to learn, he kept killing them off through all seven books.  

I am not naive. I know that, in real life, the "game of thrones," whatever form it takes, is serious business. The desire to rule can be very intoxicating to those who "play." It's just that I believe that, in reality, there is someone else in the picture, someone not present in those Game of Thrones novels. Consider this week’s 1st Samuel scripture. God makes it clear to the Prophet Samual that He is is very serious about who leads His people. He expects obedience and loyalty from the one who occupies the "throne." But God is patient, as well. God gives leaders chance after chance to get it right. True, God may already have laid the plan for who will replace them, but the story doesn’t stop there.

God removes His spirit from Saul and bestows it on Jesse's youngest; David, the last person any contemporary would have picked for King. That is, if they had thought of David at all, something which his own father failed to do. David was the runt, the youngest, the smallest: how could he become a king? But, all that aside, though hand-chosen by God to lead God’s people, David did not immediately ascend to the throne. 

In fact, God allowed Saul to occupy the throne for quite a long time after He had already decided to replace him. Now, why should he do that? Why not remove Saul, immediately? When we stop and think about it, we realize that God gave Saul such a long lead time so Saul might choose true repentance. But, the throne meant more to Saul than his relationship with God. For Saul, the game of thrones was over. God had already decided to take the throne from him. But, for a good long while, Saul could still have chosen to relinquish the throne, with all the games surrounding it. He could have returned the throne to God and sought forgiveness for his disobedience.

“God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart." God exhibits grace toward even those who have broken covenant with Him, patiently waiting, giving them a chance to repent. And therein lies the true difference between many a fiction author and the author of our salvation: 

God wants His darlings to live. 

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PHOTO: “Dragon” Copenhagen, Denmark 2018 by Steve Orr

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Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Bring your favorite breakfast beverage to the Zoom call. We kick off at 8:00, visiting and catching up. That’s followed by a little prayer time, reading scriptures, and discussing how we could live by them. It’s a wonderful hour … and all too short. 

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=206

1 Samuel 15:34 - 16:13

Psalm 20

Ezekiel 17:22-24

Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15

2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17

Mark 4:26-34

Proper 6 (11) (June 14, 2015)

Paradox on the Frio (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

The Frio River is cold ... really cold ... take-your-breath-away cold. It’s headwaters are in a valley a bit west of San Antonio, Texas ... and that’s where we find the paradox. 

On the west side of those headwaters is a cliff that towers over the little river; its pocks, notches, and caves —starkly etched by the morning sun— are all but invisible when the sun slips away at end of day. That cliff is the site of the paradox.

You see, there are hawks above the Frio.

Hawks do a lot of gliding. They catch the lift of rising thermals, warm thrusts of air that allow them to gently spiral up, up, up ... until they finally tilt over to glide or dive. Hawks are hunters. They repeat this process, over and over, to help them spot and then claim their prey. This is how they get their food.

Above the Frio, the hawks perform as expected. They corkscrew up on those uplifting winds alongside the face of that cliff. Then, when they reach the end of that thermal, they either glide along the cliff face in a long, slow decent, or they dive hard and fast toward their target. Eventually, as they near the bottom of their passage, those hawks catch another thermal and start a new ascent.

I watched them do this for hours ... gliding above the length of the Frio, swooping back toward the headwaters, searching for that next thermal to carry them aloft to their hunting height. 

The paradox, of course, is how there are thermals, at all.

It’s counterintuitive. The Frio remains shockingly cold all year round, even though the Texas heat usually exceeds 100° Fahrenheit throughout the summer months. 

The air above that river should not even be warm, much less hot enough to lift hawks above the lip of the cliff ... and yet, there they are. Somehow, God has contrived to place extreme Texas heat and extreme cold next to one another and make them both do wonderful things. Neither appears limited by the other in any way. How? God only knows.

God does some amazing things, and we can observe them  —even participate in them—  if we’re open to paradoxes. And there’s a great example in this week’s scriptures. 

The 2 Corinthians passage has this formula: Expansion of Grace = Increase in Thanksgiving (to the glory of God). As each person receives that extension of grace, it doesn't result in only the addition of more thanksgiving; rather, the thanksgiving increases exponentially. Like those hawks above the Frio, grace increases thanksgiving in ever-rising spirals. 

It’s counterintuitive. Mysterious. Beautiful. And God is glorified. 

How? God only knows.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Orr (Hawk and cliff face in Texas, just above the Frio River)

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Friday morning is when we gather for DaySpring’s next Lectionary Breakfast. Join us, via Zoom, for fellowship, scripture discussion, and some real joy. We start at 8:00. BYOBB (Bring your own breakfast beverage). 

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=205

1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15)

Psalm 138

Genesis 3:8-15

Psalm 130

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

Mark 3:20-35

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 5 (10) (June 6, 2021)