A Walk in the Clouds (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Did film critic Roger Ebert know he was saving A Walk in The Clouds from the dustbin of obscurity? He called it “a glorious romantic fantasy, aflame with passion and bittersweet longing.” Other critics didn’t see what he saw. Ebert also said: “One needs perhaps to have a little of these qualities in one's soul to respond fully to the film…that to me sang with innocence and trust.” Perhaps that explains the other critics’ reviews: not enough passion and bittersweet longing.

 

The story: Paul, a veteran fresh from the trauma of World War II, befriends Victoria, a pregnant woman on her way home from college. She’s been abandoned by the man she thought loved her. Now she fears a harsh reaction from her father, the strong-willed master of their family, and of their family vineyard “The Clouds.” Paul agrees to temporarily pose as her husband, and she hopes this will blunt her father’s anger.

 

But don’t let any of this drama distract you: It’s really all about the vineyard. The family’s entire existence revolves around it. Each day is filled with everything it takes to keep the vines healthy and producing the varietals needed for a great wine. The challenges are constant. Before the film is over, an existential crisis threatens the vineyard.

 

At the heart of it all is the original vine, the root. Without it, the vineyard would be lost.

 

It’s the same for the vineyard in this week’s Isaiah and Psalm 80 passages. It represents God’s people. His vineyard also needs its root to flourish: It cannot survive on its own. Sadly, God’s people keep failing and then begging to be forgiven. All that rootless vineyard will produce is wild grapes, useless for making wine.

 

Eventually, God has had enough and says He is giving up on His vineyard. After that, animals, plants, and even the weather work to destroy it.

Centuries pass before someone appears to end that heartbreaking cycle. As we know, that cycle-breaker is Jesus, the promised Messiah, the root, the original vine. Without Him, the vineyard will be entirely lost, cut off from God.

 

Jesus said, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who He is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” (John15:5-8, The Message)

 

Is what Jesus said sentimental? Definitely. Idealistic? Maybe. Too simple for a cynic to believe? Perhaps. But it absolutely sings with innocence and trust. And nothing could be more true.

 

Because Jesus volunteered to be the new vine, He now sits to the right of God. When God looks to His right, he sees the son He loves, the true vine, and not those wild grapes of His wrath. 

 

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Check out Roger Ebert’s review here: 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/a-walk-in-the-clouds-1995

Like The Wizard of Oz and It’s a Wonderful Life films before it—both box office flops—the film’s following expanded greatly after moving to smaller screens. 

Check out A Walk in The Clouds here: 

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0114887/?ref_=m_nv_sr_1

 

PHOTO: Adobe Express 

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Friday mornings are a treat. DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast meets at 8:00 and includes an hour of scripture, discussion, food, prayer, and laughter. Join us on Zoom** or at Our Breakfast Place. 

No grapes will be subjected to wrath at this meeting.

Blessings,

Steve

 

**Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

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

 

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=384&z=p&d=69

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Cx_Proper15.pdf

 

Isaiah 5:1-7

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19

Jeremiah 23:23-29

Psalm 82

Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Luke 12:49-56

Proper 15 (20) (August 17, 2025)

Who is Doug, and Why Would Anyone Want To Fry Him? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

I was so naive.

 

I might have expected language challenges if we had moved to, say, Scotland. But not from a move within the USA. I had supposed we would only have to factor in the New England accent.

 

From the very beginning of our time in the Boston area, we could not communicate. 

We had to learn all-new terminology. A shopping cart was a “carriage.” Sprinkles on ice cream? “Jimmies.” A milkshake was a “frappe,” and a water fountain was a “bubbler.” Those small cardboard cups of ice cream with the little wooden spoon? “Hoodsies.” And don’t get me started on the drama that followed ordering a “double dip” in an ice cream shop when we should have requested two scoops.

 

While trying to join a new culture, we were getting lost in a battle of words. Something had to change. Many people still approach change with an us-versus-them attitude. But here’s a long-known general truth: When change encounters culture, culture wins. Knowing that truth, we realized we weren’t going to change them. In many ways, we had to allow the culture to change us. And so it didn’t take long for us to fall into the habit of assuming we just didn’t understand—especially when a strange word appeared before us. 

 

We became conditioned. 

 

Hopefully, that explains my response when I saw the sign reading: FRIED DOUG. I admit thinking: Who is Doug, and why would anyone want to fry him? But by then, I no longer critically questioned the terms and practices of my new culture. Even if I didn’t understand the what and why, I assumed FRIED DOUG must mean, well, something. 

 

Or must it? My FRIED DOUG clarity came just moments later when the crowd moved aside. As it parted, I could then see all of the sign. There, immediately to the right of “DOUG,” was the letter “H.” 

 

Oh. 

FRIED DOUGH made a lot more sense than FRIED DOUG. In my defense, I had never even heard of fried dough. But the true root cause of my misunderstanding was much more subtle. My own habit—my conditioning—had tricked me into believing there was one meaning, when in fact, there was another. 

 

Something similar was happening with God’s people when Isaiah confronted them in this week’s scripture. God rejected their religious practices en masse. In fact, God told them those actions and observances had become a burden, and He had grown weary of bearing them! God rejected their prayers, their gatherings, their festivals—every part of what they did or said as worshippers. 

 

To a religious person, that’s got to sound harsh. 

 

Why would God reject their worship? What had they done to warrant such a reaction? I’m sure they attempted, much as we do, to properly perform each religious practice. Where had they gone wrong?

 

Answer: They fell into a habit.

 

Their culture required certain religious practices of them. They had been conditioned to do them, and so ... they did them. Over time, the behaviors that made those religious practices meaningful had fallen away. God said their hands were bloody from doing evil. They could only restore themselves by serving justice, rescuing the oppressed, defending the orphan, and pleading for the widow.

 

They needed the clarity the prophet Isaiah was providing. Like the “H” in my FRIED DOUG sign, they were missing something essential. Without that missing piece, their worship was worse than meaningless. The object of their worship no longer wanted to hear from them. If they wanted their religion to be acceptable to God, they had to actually do good. 

 

They were going to have to make some serious adjustments. The question is: Do we?

 

 

 

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“Forty Boston Slang Words and Expressions You Should Know”:  

https://www.timeout.com/boston/news/40-boston-slang-words-and-expressions-you-should-know-090121

 

PHOTOS of Daddy’s Fried Dough: 

http://www.daddysfrieddough.com/about-us.html

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DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast will meet Friday morning on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place. We start at 8:00 and enjoy a wonderful time of scripture, prayer, food, and fellowship.

 

Meet us by the bubbler with Jimmie’s on your frappe. 

Blessings,

Steve

 

**Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

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

 

 

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK 

Find them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=384&z=p&d=68

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Cx_Proper14.pdf

 

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23

Genesis 15:1-6

Psalm 33:12-22

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Luke 12:32-40

Proper 14 (19) (August 10, 2025)