Tag Backs, Do-Overs & King's X (a Steve Orr Easter reflection)

Were any of these part of your childhood?

 

·      "Ready or not, here I come!” 

·      "Ollie, Ollie in-come free!"

·      "Tag! You're it!"

·      "No tag backs!" 

·      "King's X!"

·      “No do-overs!”

 

As adults, we recall the power these phrases had when we were kids. We also recognize that few adult situations actually bend to their authority. There was a time, though, when calling out "no tag backs" could ward off pulling double duty as "it," and 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. This could be something as simple as a bee flying onto the field. Or it could be a far more complex situation, such as when some of us realized others were playing by different rules. “King’s X” was a truce term similar to “time out.” We stopped whatever we were doing until everyone could agree that it was okay to continue with the game; until the "norm" was either restored or reset.

 

"King's X" returns to top of mind when reading this week’s scriptures from Mark and John with their focus on resurrection. I’m reminded of a revelation in 1 Corinthians Chapter 2: "But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord."

 

No doubt those "rulers" wished they could have yelled out "King's X!" Imagine their shock when what their evil machinations had actually produced with the crucifixion of Jesus began to sink in. Not only did they not see it coming, they facilitated it! Their "Game of Graves" had been turned upside down by the resurrection. What they intended for evil, God intended for eternal good. 

 

But, no. No King's X.

 

And, just in case it wasn’t clear to them when Jesus rose from the grave, let’s declare it now:

"No do-overs!"

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PHOTO: Hourglass or Sandglass from the Metropolitan Museum of Art 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/191871

Tempus Fugit Article: The hourglass as a symbolic reminder of “the difficulty of reclaiming lost opportunities.”

http://www.inspiredantiquity.com/2023/07/tempus-fugit-symbolism-of-hourglass.html?m=1

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Join us at 8:00 on Good Friday, either on Zoom or in person at Our Breakfast Place for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Enjoy an hour of scripture, discussion, and laughter. A good Friday indeed.

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Here’s the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

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=85

 

Print them here:

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

 

Acts 10:34-43

Isaiah 25:6-9

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

John 20:1-18

Mark 16:1-8

Easter (March 31, 2024) “Resurrection of the Lord”

 

The Thrill of Hope (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

We disagree, we Jesus folk. Still, there are a few things upon which, regardless of the Christian tradition we follow, we all agree. 

One of them is described in this week’s Mark 11 and John 12 passages: One day Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. And, for one brief shining moment, the crowd saw him as he truly was: their King.

 

Imagine the city swelled with visitors readying for the upcoming Passover. Now imagine a man living near the city gate. He started his day having to shoulder his way through the crowds so he could select the lamb for his own family's Passover meal. Now, enjoying the relatively spacious elbow room of his rooftop, he is cooking that lamb. A part of his mind is on the story of the first Passover and how, because of the blood of those first Passover lambs, the Angel of Death passed over the homes of his ancestors.  

 

Another part of his mind is considering what everyone has been talking about: this man, Jesus, who supposedly walks on water, heals the sick, and even raises the dead! Everyone has been speculating. Maybe—just maybe, at long last—their deliverance has come. Maybe this Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King who will throw off the shackle of Rome.

 

The man’s thoughts are interrupted. He hears a commotion, over by the city gate. He raises his eyes to take in something that, at first, he can hardly believe. He sees a man riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. He sees a growing crowd pulling off their cloaks and laying them, along with young palm fronds, onto the path before the donkey.

 

He feels a frisson of energy charge up his spine.  

 

Everything is there just as predicted by the prophets: the donkey, the crowds, the shouts of "Hosanna!" “Save us!” and "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of The Lord!" Suddenly he finds himself running down the steps, out the door, toward the gate; hears his own voice joining those of strangers and neighbors in joyful expression of what has been pent up for so long! 

 

He is shouting and laughing and crying, living to the fullest the greatest moment of his life. All is well!! All will be well! At last, at last. Their savior has come.

 

People with a great desire to believe in their hope are charged with an energy that is truly mind-blowing in its intensity. It’s the thrill of hope. If we can even come close to that in our own joy, we will begin to understand the truth of our current relationship with God. But if we slide over this scene in scripture, we miss that thrill of hope. We must go back for it. 

 

If we truly are believers, then this is how we must see Jesus, triumphantly arriving as our King.

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PHOTO: From The Art Institute of Chicago. Coin depicting Caesar Tiberius wearing the Laureate, the best known crown at the time Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/5602/aureus-coin-portraying-emperor-tiberius

 

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Join us at 8:00 Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We gather on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. What happens when we gather is unique. We explore scriptures for the coming Sunday’s sermon. We read, we discuss, and we laugh. Truly, an hour like no other. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Here’s the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

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

 

March 24, 2024 - Sixth Sunday in Lent

 

Liturgy of the Palms

Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Mark 11:1-11 or John 12:12-16

 

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=76

 

Print them here:

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

 

 

Liturgy of the Passion

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 31:9-16

Philippians 2:5-11

Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39 (40-47)

 

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=77

 

Print them here:

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

The Art of War (a Steve Orr Lent reflection)

It was all a lie.

 

Sun Tzu, the guy who wrote the book on war, believed deception was a key to winning. 

 

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."

 

In other words: lie.

 

And that’s exactly what the Allied Forces did in fighting the Germans in World War II. 

Recruits with skills in drawing, painting, stage craft, theatrical lighting, sound production, and the like were assigned to the “23rd Headquarters Special Troops,” a non-combat unit. During the last year and a half of that war, the 23rd had one of the strangest jobs in the military: it had to bring to life Sun Tzu's precept on deception. 

Using radio scripts, sound trucks, loudspeakers, and deceptive visuals (like inflatable tanks), they created illusions, delivering a false understanding to the enemy. At times, Command needed the enemy to believe invasion forces were massing a hundred miles south of the actual location. The 23rd took care of that. If Command needed the enemy to think the army was closer than it actually was, the 23rd took care of that. The enemy was watching and listening—and acting on what they saw and heard. 

 

The 23rd was a “Ghost Army.” And it was incredibly successful. (For more on this Ghost Army, see the links below)

 

Our enemy uses deception on us, too. In this week's selection from Psalm 51, there are many negatives. Satan would be very pleased if we became dispirited by such things as being sinners, having done evil and fearing God's judgment for having done so. Satan wants us to believe God is further away than He actually is. Our enemy wants us to believe: “God cannot possibly love me!” He employs deception to convince us of it. He "shows" us the big guns pointed at us and makes us worry about the impact such things will have on our lives. It is all designed to look and sound like assaults we cannot survive, to distract us from our true ally, and to defeat us by any means.

Satan wages a war for our souls. He wishes to mislead us and distract us from this Psalm 51 truth: Even then, even under the unyielding Law of Moses, the Psalmist knew that God possessed steadfast love, could have mercy, could forgive, and could "blot out my transgressions." The Law of Moses taught that the nation’s sins could never be completely eliminated (only be rolled forward each year). The idea that sins could be "blotted out" was radical.

 

The Psalmist used his own sin to emphasize God’s boundless love. The Psalmist knew that God could actually create a clean heart in a living human, place a new and right spirit within, actually restore a person to the joy of salvation.

 

It has, of course, always been true: God can forgive our sins. God can make us new and whole, can completely ignore what we've done. God can continually energize our newly installed spirit, teaching us wisdom in our most secret inner being so we continue in a state of grace-filled forgiveness.

 

Satan never wants us to know that. He will use his ghost army to keep us from remembering that God is greater than our failings, draws near to us when we seek Him, and loves us more than we can even love ourselves.

 

But we know we are at war, and we are not deceived. 

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GHOST ARMY PHOTOS and story: http://www.messynessychic.com/2015/05/14/the-ghost-army-of-wwii-that-duped-hitler/

 

MORE ABOUT THE GHOST ARMY (a PBS Special, a book, and a possible movie): http://www.ghostarmy.org/

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DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast is Friday morning. Join us on Zoom** or in person at Our Breakfast Place. Food, fellowship, Bible, laughter. Our official start time is 8:00, but a few of us come a minute or two early. Our official end time is 9:00. But we’re having such a good time, it’s really hard to leave. 

 

Blessings,

Steve

 

 **Here’s the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89947678414

 

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=75

 

Print them here:

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

 

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Psalm 51:1-12 or Psalm 119:9-16

Hebrews 5:5-10

John 12:20-33

Fifth Sunday in Lent (March 17, 2024)