Lost in the Darkness (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

"The world had teeth and it could bite you with them anytime it wanted."

—The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

That quote is from one of my favorite novels. I highly recommend it to anyone who has children, or who loves baseball, or who loves Stand By Me or Shawshank Redemption (all by the same author), or who loves an excellently written suspense tale.

 

Or who loves God.

Early in the novel, nine-year-old Trisha becomes lost. A wrong turn takes her into the wilderness surrounding the Appalachian Trail where it crosses the Maine-New Hampshire border. Disoriented, she wanders farther and farther away from civilization—and into danger. Despite her best efforts, she is just not capable of making it on her own.

 

And that's where Tom Gordon comes into the story. A “closer” for the Boston Red Sox, Gordon was often brought to the pitcher’s mound near the end of a tight ballgame to ensure victory. Trisha loves Tom Gordon and the Red Sox.

 

Faced with mosquitos, loneliness, wasps, hunger, fear, illness, hallucinations—and even grizzlier threats—Trisha depends on her love of Gordon to lift her spirits. Imagining what he would do is all that keeps her going.

 

Trisha is lost. But even though there seems no possibility of rescue, she is not abandoned. Someone is looking for her. Similarly, the people in this week's Isaiah and Matthew selections live in deepening darkness, the very shadow of death. Everything is bad. There seems no possibility of rescue. 

 

But then, they see a great light.  

 

Sometimes, we get lost. We find ourselves in deep darkness. It could be darkness from the culture that surrounds us, or it could be a darkness we carry with us. But we don’t have to stay lost in the darkness. Instead, like the people in this week’s scriptures, we need to be looking for a light to lead us. We are not abandoned. 

 

We can rise from our deep darkness. We just need to follow that dawning light, the DaySpring—Jesus.

 

 

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PHOTO (Appalachian Trail Conservancy): 

https://appalachiantrail.org/trailway-news/

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Will you be in Waco Friday morning? DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast group meets at 8:00 at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom.** We would love for you to join us for some illumination as we enjoy great food, scriptures, and each other. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=15

 

Print them here:

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

 

Isaiah 9:1-4

Psalm 27:1, 4-9

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Matthew 4:12-23

Third Sunday after the Epiphany (January 22, 2023)