Attack of the Birds! (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

It's not really giving anything away to reveal that the film The Birds concerns birds run amuck. Of his 1963 movie masterpiece, director Alfred Hitchcock said, "It could be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made!" 

Even though it looks a bit dated now, especially in the area of special effects, the terror of unexplained bird attacks comes through undiminished! 

The film’s source material is less widely known. Evan Hunter (known to many as Ed McBain, the author of more than 60 police procedural novels set in the fictional 87th Precinct) wrote the screenplay. He was asked to base it on the 1952 novelette by Daphne Du Maurier. 

 

Even less well known is that Hitchcock lived near an actual event of unexplained bird attacks that took place on the California coast in 1961. Equally as weird is that such events occurred at least two more times along the California coast in subsequent years, triggering serious scientific investigation into the phenomena. Some later instances of aggressive avian behavior were discovered to be due to the birds ingesting poisonous algae.

 

In the Bible, we have no such instances. In fact, birds have other, less threatening roles in scripture.  

 

Witness the humble sparrow. People purchased sparrows to use as sacrifices in the Temple. When Jesus referenced them during His ministry, He pointed out that His audience could buy "two for a penny" and "five for two pennies." The Law of Supply and Demand would suggest that, at that price, they must have been very common indeed. In this week's scriptures, sparrows and swallows stand in for the common and most humble among us. 

Psalm 84 declares that at God’s altar, even the sparrow finds a home, that the swallow builds a nest “where she may lay her young.” The point: Everyone, even the lowliest, even those marked for sacrifice, are welcome to rest in God’s house.

 

In the Luke passage, Jesus clarifies: The humble (like the despised tax collector) are far more welcome in God's house than those (like the Pharisee) who are pleased with their own moral performance and look down on other people.

 

Perhaps you haven’t lived a life filled with excitement and rewards. Perhaps you aren’t the model of moral perfection. Maybe quite the opposite. If you find yourself feeling like an imposter, feeling that your own complement of shortcomings may overwhelm you, and that you can only cry to God for mercy, know that God welcomes you as He does the sparrow. 

 

Come and rest. There is always a place for you at God’s altar.

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PHOTO of sparrow: Adobe Express, filtered through Photoshop Express 

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Join us for food and fellowship on Friday mornings at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet on Zoom* and in person at Our Breakfast Place. All are welcome.

 

And should there be, you know, some kind of unexplained bird attack, well, at least we're inside… 

 

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=81

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Cx_Proper25.pdf

Joel 2:23-32

Psalm 65

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

Psalm 84:1-7

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Luke 18:9-14

Proper 25 (30) (October 26, 2025)

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Han Solo and the Pestering Widow (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Han Solo is one of the most compelling characters of the Star Wars saga. Whether you consider him a hero of the revolution or an enemy of the state, his journey is worth following all the way to the end.

When we first meet Han in the original Star Wars film, he is hanging out in a bar with his…um…“peers.” Obi-Wan Kenobi describes the Mos Eisley Cantina as “a wretched hive of scum and villainy.” Han seems to belong in that hive. Cheat, braggart, smuggler. Ruthless. That’s the Han we meet.  

 

And, he is a liar. 

 

Wait. What? Sure: cheat, braggart, smuggler, even ruthless. (After all, Han shot first.*) But liar? Where does that come from?

 

Han brags to Luke and Obi-Wan that his spaceship is more than fast enough to meet their needs. He claims, "It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs."

 

Astronomers and astrophysicists shuddered.

 

Scientifically speaking, that can’t possibly be how fast the spaceship made the Kessel Run. A parsec is actually a measurement of distance, not speed. One parsec is roughly 3.26 light-years (about 19 trillion miles). So, if Han wasn't bragging about the speed of his ship, what did he mean?  

 

Well, the Internet is full of answers.

 

Many serious scientists have weighed in on this, and their answers run the gamut. One theory: Han took a short-cut through a dangerous region of space to reduce the distance, an action a more risk-averse pilot would not take. One scientist talked of wormholes (or hyperspace). One wrote a very learned paper on why it had to be time-travel.

 

In the case of Han Solo, it’s unlikely there will ever be an answer that is acceptable to everyone. However, Star Wars author George Lucas is on record with his answer: His note in the script says Han’s brag was "obvious misinformation.")

 

And who knows better than the author?

 

The situation is similar to what happens when we read the words of Jesus. That’s especially true when He tells a parable as He did in this week’s Luke passage. We often get caught up in the details of the parable—completely missing the reason Jesus told the parable.

Read the passage. Then consider some of the questions usually raised about it. What are we supposed to make of the hard-hearted judge and the widow who pesters him? There are only eight verses, but the debates about the meaning of this parable are, seemingly, infinite. Is the judge God? Are we the widow? Are we supposed to act like the judge? Should we seek justice like the widow—keep pestering until we get our way? Is it important for us to figure out who her adversary is, so we can apply it to our lives? And what is Jesus trying to tell us with that last statement about faith? Or was the parable told just for the benefit of the twelve apostles, and not for us?

 

On and on the debates go—all of it, in my opinion, missing the point.

 

The passage opens with: "Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart.“ Luke indicates the purpose right there in the very first verse. If you read the parable and come away with any other meaning than that we "should always pray and not lose heart," then you have drifted from what Jesus meant for His audience to take away from the parable. 

 

And who knows better than the author?

 

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PHOTO by Steve Orr (Library in Hotel 1928, Waco, Texas)

*Memory refresher-Han & Greedo in the Cantina:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjGZ8ABEFhI

 

 

Script note: Han was lying about the 12 parsecs:

https://imsdb.com/scripts/Star-Wars-A-New-Hope.html

 

 

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DaySpring continues to meet for Lectionary Breakfast every Friday morning on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. Join us at 8:00 for some excellent earth-based foods and some celestial discussions.

 

Astrophysicists are welcome, but must limit themselves to words we can all understand. 

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=80

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Cx_Proper24.pdf

Jeremiah 31:27-34

Psalm 119:97-104

Genesis 32:22-31

Psalm 121

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Luke 18:1-8

Proper 24 (29) (October 19, 2025)

A How-To Guide: Outlanders and Sassenachs (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Consider Claire Randall of the Outlander novels. Claire fell through time from 1945 England to 18th Century Scotland. Surrounded by Highlanders, and stuck with her clearly British accent, she was a Sassenach. It’s a term used by locals to label outlanders: that is, anyone who is “from away." She's wasn’t one of them—and they reminded her of it every single day. 

 

Are you an outlander? Do you ever feel like you've been exiled from all that brings you comfort? Do you sometimes find yourself surrounded by folks who seem like they’re a tribe, but not one to which you can belong?

That's so uncomfortable, and so filled with rejection it can become unbearable. I think all of us have had this kind of experience to some degree: at school or on the playground, at work, in the neighborhood, in our towns—even, sadly, at church. We don't seem to know the lingo, and even if we want to assimilate, no one seems interested in helping us. We feel different—and truly, we are different.

 

What are we supposed to do? Keep a stiff upper lip? Remain calm and carry on? The answer might lie with Claire. Until she can return to her home and her previous life, she must find a way to fit in.

 

God’s guidance to the banished Israelites in this week's scriptures is all about how they might fit in. God wanted them to fit into a place that was foreign in every sense of the word. In language, culture, and societal position, those exiles were outlanders. God’s message through the prophet Jeremiah told them how to act while they remained in Babylon. At last they knew what God expected of them while they were being outlanders—true strangers in a strange land. 

 

God’s message to them: Get married and have children. Encourage your children to marry and have children. Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat the produce. In other words, settle in. Of most importance: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

 

When circumstance or other people—or our own choices—make us sassenachs and outlanders, we must not let that immobilize us. We must keep living as best we can. We must grow, flourish even—settle in and bloom where we’re planted.

 

Most important, we must seek the best for those among whom we are the sassenachs and outlanders. Even going so far as to pray to God for their well-being. Their welfare is our welfare. 

 

That's loving your neighbor as yourself.

 

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PHOTO: “A Stewart (Stuart) Clan Tartan Plaid” by Steve Orr

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon:

https://www.amazon.com/Outlander-4-Copy-Boxed-Set-Dragonfly/dp/1101887486/ref=sr_1_2?crid=RI3B7B1IRHPW&keywords=Outlander&qid=1664986179&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjA2IiwicXNhIjoiNC43OCIsInFzcCI6IjQuMzgifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=outlander%2Cstripbooks%2C110&sr=1-2

 

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Friday morning is a great time for you to join us at Dayspring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We start at 8:00, sharing our mealtime at Our Breakfast Place (and on Zoom**). We continue with scripture, discussion, and some of the best fellowship anywhere. We're supposed to finish at 9:00, and some do, but some stay longer. It's that good. 

 

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=79

 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Cx_Proper23.pdf

 

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

Psalm 66:1-12

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c

Psalm 111

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Luke 17:11-19

Proper 23 (28) (October 12, 2025)