Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

 

As anyone can tell you, I am not a morning person. 

I have to gradually transition from sleep, in stages; gently trading pieces of sleepiness for pieces of wakefulness. I am like a deep sea diver, slowly ascending from the depths. I will eventually come to the surface. But, oh, I am slow to take hold of the day. So, the thought of coffee and some breakfast is an essential lever to get me from horizontal to vertical.

That may be why this week's passage from John 21 is one of my favorites. Reeling from recent events, restless, frustrated and stressed, the Apostles needed—something. One night, still a bit shell-shocked after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter declares, "I'm going fishing." The rest of the guys, at loose ends, exhausted from the "not knowing" of whatever is coming next, decide to go with him. That night's fishing doesn't produce a single fish. But that's not really the point of fishing, is it?

When Jesus arrives early the next morning, he changes everything. He helps them catch a great deal of fish, and then says, "Come, and eat breakfast." Jesus cooked breakfast for his people. He called them to breakfast. They came and they ate. 

I love the ordinariness of this episode. 

It reminds me of when God fed Elijah in 1Kings 19, strengthening him for the 40-day journey that was still ahead of him and, as a result, for all of his future actions as a prophet of God in this world. God gave him what he needed: a nap and some food. For the Apostles, being front and center for the most important events in history was extremely stressful. They needed to go fishing and eat some breakfast. They needed a great big dose of ordinary, and that’s what Jesus gave them.

Sometimes, what we need the most is a simple thing: a nap, some food, a quiet moment, a pat on the back, a hug. To borrow from Stephen Covey, we need to take time to “sharpen the saw.” And in case that’s not clear: We’re the saw. 

God doesn't ask of us what we cannot do. It's just that we often fail to perceive what we are really capable of. If we will but take it, God provisions us so we can carry out what he has planned. God gets us what we need. 

Come, and eat breakfast.

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Just for fun (“How To Make Turkish Coffee”):

https://foolproofliving.com/how-to-make-turkish-coffee/

IMAGE (and a deeper dive into the history of coffee): 

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20201119-how-coffee-forever-changed-britain

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We continue this Easter season Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Join us at 8:00 for an hour of scripture, food, fellowship and discussion. Laughter is common. We meet on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place.

Many Blessings!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Read them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=135

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_ThirdSundayofEaster.pdf

Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)

Psalm 30

Revelation 5:11-14

John 21:1-19

Third Sunday of Easter (May 1, 2022)

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To March Into Hell (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

 

If not for the musical, The Man of La Mancha, I might never have read Cervantes’ classic novel, Don Quixote. And I would have missed something important—about knights and what seems like an impossible quest. 

In the story, a confused, elderly Don Quixote thinks himself a knight and goes on a quest in late 16th century Spain. Or is he confused? As he sings in the musical:

"Hear me now 

Oh thou bleak and unbearable world, 

Thou art base and debauched as can be; 

And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled 

Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee! 

Hear me, heathens and wizards 

And serpents of sin! 

All your dastardly doings are past, 

For a holy endeavor is now to begin 

And virtue shall triumph at last! 

I am I, Don Quixote, 

The Lord of La Mancha, 

My destiny calls and I go …

Onward to glory I go!"

The point of all this: We need to broaden our concepts of what it means to be a knight. It's not about the armor, the jousting, or the swords. Rather, it is about the quest—and the kind of people who go on quests.

We meet some knights in this week’s selection from Acts. Peter and the other Apostles are dragged before Israel’s leaders. There, they are chastised because, even though ordered not to, they dared to tell everyone about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Despite appearances, this is actually a contest between good knights and evil men. Weapons are brandished—spiritual weapons. It's not the confused tilting at windmills of Don Quixote. But make no mistake about it, when Peter responds to the Chief Priest, a gauntlet is hurled down!

These Apostles are on a quest. They are "armed" with the Holy Spirit, and no amount of priestly command or threat is going to keep them from going "onward to glory!" There’s another Man of La Mancha song, The Impossible Dream, that perfectly captures the quest these Jesus followers went on.

"To dream ... the impossible dream ...

To fight ... the unbeatable foe ...

To bear ... with unbearable sorrow ...

To run ... where the brave dare not go ...

To right ... the unrightable wrong ...

To love ... pure and chaste from afar ...

To try ... when your arms are too weary ...

To reach ... the unreachable star ... 

“This is my quest, to follow that star ... 

No matter how hopeless, no matter how far ... 

To fight for the right, without question or pause ... 

To be willing to march into Hell, for a Heavenly cause ... 

“And the world will be better for this: 

That one man, scorned and covered with scars, 

Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, 

To reach ... the unreachable star!"

To dream big dreams, to stand against seemingly unbeatable foes, to bear one another’s sorrows, to right wrongs, to love purely, to keep trying and to never lose faith. Perhaps all that seems impossible, but it’s not. Because Jesus, scorned and covered with scars, marched into hell for a heavenly cause—the heavenly cause—and returned triumphant, we can now reach what was once unreachable.

Now, we are the knights engaged in the heavenly endeavor. This is our quest. 

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ART: 

https://blogs.baylor.edu/artsandsciences/2015/12/11/on-don-quixote/

Hear Josh Groban sing The Impossible Dream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0uTz7uur8I

Ricky Comeaux sings Man of La Mancha:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00qlmnZ_DkI

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We meet DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast Friday morning on Zoom** or in person at Our Breakfast Place. Join us from 8:00 to 9:00. We'll have some good food, read some great scripture, and enjoy each other’s company. 

I promise: no gauntlet throwing. 

Many Blessings!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Read them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=134

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_SecondSundayofEaster.pdf

Acts 5:27-32

Psalm 118:14-29 or Psalm 150

Revelation 1:4-8

John 20:19-31

Second Sunday of Easter (April 24, 2022)

Game Changer (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

We could actually turn back time! All it took was one little phrase.

Do you remember the games we played as children? There were all those "magic" phrases that ruled our interactions, like “Ollie, ollie  income free!” and “Tag! You’re it!” Somehow, everyone just seemed to accept they had authority ("No do-overs!"). There was a time when yelling "No tag backs!" could ward off pulling double duty as "it" and when yelling "King's X!" could bring any game or activity to a complete halt.

We yelled "King's X" when something unanticipated arose, a game-changer if you will. It could be something as simple as a bee flying onto the field. Or, it could be something far more complex, such as realizing some of us were playing by different rules. We stopped whatever we were doing until everyone could agree that it was OK to continue the game; until the "norm" was restored or reset. By calling “King’s X,” we could roll back anything as if it had never happened.

When we were kids, we said a lot of things and in a lot of ways that had meaning to us. We had elaborate languages, games, and conducts that made perfect sense to us—then. As adults, we recall the power these had during our childhood, while also recognizing that few adult situations will bend to their authority.

It is this time of year, when we are focused on crucifixion and resurrection, that the phrase "King's X" always comes to my mind. I recall that verse in 1 Corinthians indicating the “rulers of this world” did not understand God’s plan for Jesus. That if they had, “they would not have crucified our glorious Lord."

I can't help but think those "rulers of this world" wished they could have called out “King's X!" when it finally began to sink in what all their evil machinations had actually produced. What they intended for evil, God intended for eternal good. Not only did they not see it coming, they made it happen!

So, no.  

Satan and those who implemented his plans weren’t able to cry "King's X!" They couldn’t turn back the clock and take a different approach to Jesus. As any child could tell them, once Jesus rose from the grave, there were "No do-overs!"

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GRAPHIC: Steve Orr and Adobe CC Express

Cher singing If I Could Turn Back Time (with lyrics): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq_BAHIAuNw

Robert Frost using King’s X in an anti-nuclear poem:

Having invented a new Holocaust

And been the first with it to win a war,

How they make haste to cry with fingers crossed

King's X -- no fair to use it anymore!

"U.S. 1946 King's X" 

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If you're in Waco, join us Friday morning at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom** for some good food and something even better. We will be there at 8:00 for about an hour of thought-provoking, idea storming, thrill-inducing moments.  

And absolutely full of hope.

Many Blessings!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Read them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=132

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_ResurrectionoftheLord.pdf

Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 25:6-9

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8

Resurrection of the lord

First Sunday of Easter (April 17, 2022)

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Horse Thieves for Jesus (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

The most sobering moment in Lonesome Dove is the fate of former Texas Ranger Jake Spoon. From respected lawmen … to horse thief: How the mighty fall. As he is about to be hanged for being a horse thief, he tells his former friends and former fellow lawmen, he’d "rather be hung by my friends than by a bunch o' ... strangers." 

That's one of the saddest things I've ever heard.

Horse thieving. In the Old West, a perpetrator could be legally shot if caught in the act, and those that were captured faced the hangman. People sometimes try to update the reference by suggesting it's like someone stealing a car. I grant you that the sense of violation would be the same. But to steal a horse in the Old West usually meant stranding someone out in the wild with a very real chance they would die. 

So, not the same.

In the mildest sense, a horse thief has deprived a person or family of something they use to produce and maintain their livelihood. Might as well just steal their money. But it was worse than stealing money, really. It was also stealing future money, stealing whatever resources that horse could have helped provide over time.

And that brings us to this week’s scripture from Luke. We celebrate that "triumphal entry" as Palm Sunday. Before the entry into Jerusalem, and before all those palms lined the road, there was the matter of the colt. Jesus directed two of his disciples to take a colt from a nearby village. In fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of that colt. But what about the acquisition of the colt? Did Jesus tell his disciples to steal the colt? And is that what they, in fact, did?

Were they horse thieves for Jesus?

To most believers, this sounds ludicrous. But there are many outside the faith who take the passage at face value. And because of their influence, it is worth our time to investigate a bit. How do we answer the charge unless we give some thought to it?

The most significant defense here is that no one ever charged Jesus or his disciples with theft. Plus, they were caught in the act. If the colt’s owner thought he was being burgled, why not raise an alarm? It’s more likely the use of the colt—similar to the “upper room” later used by Jesus and crew for the Passover meal—was prearranged. Jesus was well known in the area. After all, He had recently raised one of their neighbors from the dead.

Perhaps the biggest danger, here, is that some think it’s a license to steal. They point to this passage as justification for "securing" whatever is needed by those who serve God. They imagine a sort of "eminent domain" for Christians; proof they can take whatever from whomever because “it will help the cause.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. Stealing is not just criminal; it's a sin. "Thou shalt not steal" is one of the original Ten Commandments, and it still applies. For believers, how we accomplish God’s work is just as important as the end result.

A horse thief is still a horse thief. 

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PHOTO: 

http://russellcushman.blogspot.com/2012/11/texas-ranger-badges-and-those-that-want.html?m=1

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You can make whatever kind of entry you want when you join us Friday mornings at Lectionary Breakfast. It doesn't have to be "triumphal." We meet at 8:00 at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom** for what I keep calling "an hour like no other." Stop in some Friday morning and find out what I mean by that.

Enjoy the week!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Read them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=123

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_LiturgyofthePalms.pdf

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Luke 19:28-40

Liturgy of the Palms (April 10, 2022)

Working Nine to Five (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

At least five days a week, for all of my childhood, my mother put on her armor and went off to do battle. 

The armor: her hair, make-up, and wardrobe. Plus, of course, her brain, her personality, and her drive. The battle: her attempt to make some kind of career progress in a field where every level of management was almost 100 percent men. 

In those days, for women, such jobs were rare. 

Having grown up with little, my mother became motivated at a very young age to have something of her own, to gather enough resources to run her own life. And that meant having a paying job. 

But she persevered. A part of that was diligence, hard work, good work; but a big part of that, as anyone in management can tell you, is looking the part. 

My mother was focused. She had a plan. And she used everything at her disposal to pursue her objective. She even went so far as to rest her head each night on a satin pillow because it preserved that armor for the coming day. 

But, here's the thing: Though she achieved some successes in her career, she never believed she had "arrived," never came to a point where she felt it was time to "rest on her laurels." She continued to pursue her objective of ever improving accomplishment, and she continued moving in the direction of her goal.

In this week's scriptures, Paul's letter to the Philippians sets the same example for us in the pursuit of our relationship with the Lord. We must press on. We must not assume we have "arrived." Sure, our "battle armor" differs from what my mother used in pursuit of her career. But, like her, we are to bring every bit of ourselves to the process.

We are expected to actively pursue spiritual maturity, pressing on until the day we are finally told, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

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GRAPHIC:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/559924166167297532/

Dolly Parton sings Working 9 to 5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq1JD-bcGTo

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If you're in Waco on Friday morning, join us at 8:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We share a meal and the pleasure of talking about how the words of the Bible actually work in our real lives. We'll be on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place.

Blessings,

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Read them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=122

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_FifthSundayinLent.pdf

Isaiah 43:16-21

Psalm 126

Philippians 3:4b-14

John 12:1-8

Fifth Sunday in Lent (April 4, 2022)