The Winters of My Discontent (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I lived in Greater Boston for 17 and 1/2 years. Or, as I think of it, 18 winters. 

 

I am not a winter person.

 

There are, of course, positives when it comes to New England winters. But it didn’t take long for the harsh realities to overtake the positives: constantly slick surfaces, impassable roads, power outages, being late to everything—never, ever getting warm enough. Worst of all, at least for me, that claustrophobic—almost overwhelming—sensation winter would never end. 

We made some wonderful, life-long friends, there. We miss them every day. But I do not miss winter. 

 

Summer in New England, and the few weeks that bookend either side of it, is a lovely time—very Robert Frost. So, when winter does finally end, everyone feels an uplift in spirit. Joy fills every heart. A kind of collective amnesia overtakes, clouding the harsher memories of winter.

Deep in the bleak days of winter, though, instead of dwelling on their momentary difficulties, they look ahead. People’s thoughts turn to the spring to come, the green grass, blooming flowers, and the planting of gardens. They think of the warm days of summer and the coming (though still far distant) harvest. 

They have hope.

They know that every inch of snow piled upon the ground throughout the winter is actually stored water, just waiting for spring to release it. Water that brings life to the land, the plants, the animals, and all of us humans who can’t survive without it.

This week’s Romans passage talks about a "hope that does not disappoint." Such hope is more than just a wish. It's a confidence that good is coming, is already on its way, will certainly arrive. The passage asserts that enduring our sufferings will grow character, the kind of character that can rest in the belief that our faith is not misplaced. 

Our faith is our storehouse of hope. And it will see us through the winter.

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PHOTO: Adobe Express 

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We, too, have that hope that does not disappoint. Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place. We meet at 8:00 for an hour that feeds us, physically and spiritually, and from which we draw hope for the days ahead.

 

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=146

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Ax_Proper6.pdf

 

Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7)

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19

Exodus 19:2-8a

Psalm 100

Romans 5:1-8

Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

Proper 6 (11) Third Sunday After Pentecost (June 18, 2023)