Do Even the Mighty Fall? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Whether it’s a corporation, a political leader, or a superstar, there comes a day when they are no longer on the top of the heap. Do you recall when you first realized this? For me, it was when as a teen I read Shelley’s little poem about mighty Ozymandias. Arrogant and grandiose, his hubris was off the charts. See the link, below, to read the poem and learn his fate.* 

 

Later in life I read about Jim Collins, who made a career of exploring the rise of the mighty. He started tracking the life cycles of corporations with his groundbreaking book Built to Last. Next was his huge bestseller, Good to Great (I highly recommend this). Finally, he turned his searchlight on How the Mighty Fall. The results of that research? Turns out that, like mountain climbing, there are only a few ways to the top, but all sorts of ways to reach the bottom. Those descents can be painful, bruising and—often—fatal. Collins writes that a "company can indeed look like the picture of health on the outside yet already be in decline, dangerously on the cusp of a huge fall." 

 

Are there ways to see that fall coming? Collins and crew found there are some usual stages through which the mighty descend on their way to the bottom. If brought to their attention, knowing these stages might allow companies to reverse course before they are too far gone. The first three are particularly instructive:

 

Stage 1: Hubris Born of Success 

Stage 2: Undisciplined Pursuit of More 

Stage 3: Denial of Risk and Peril 

 

In the Bible, these “stages” are all present in the nations that surrounded Israel and were constantly conspiring to bring about its downfall. But God sent warnings to those nations. God showed them their hubris, their unbridled appetite, and the risks they were incurring by conspiring against His will.

 

This week's scriptures, especially Psalm 2, tell of God's sovereignty and the authority He has conferred on His Anointed One (Jesus). God makes it clear: He is the authority, and He has anointed His chosen. Kings, rulers, judges, and everyone else must recognize both His sovereignty and His anointed. 

 

Collins discovered how corporations can avoid an early decline by bringing wisdom to the equation. Likewise, everyone—both mighty and otherwise—would be wise to recognize God’s sovereignty over our lives. 

 

Nothing in this life lasts forever. Even the mighty fall. A decline in position and power is part and parcel with living this life. And every human faces such declines. But how we navigate life, the quality of our experience as we ride its ups and downs, rests in our relationship with God. 

 

And that does last forever. 

 

 

_________________________

PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

BONUS MATERIAL

* Shelley’s poem about Ozymandias, plus a funny rewrite by humorist Ogden Nash:

https://muddlet.wordpress.com/2018/01/07/ozymandias-ogdeniasis/

 

A very brief piece about the real Ozymandias (thought to be Ramses II of Exodus fame):

https://vahshatedil.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/ozymandias-…-two-versions-ii/

 

And for us armchair archaeologists, here’s a longer look at Moses and the Pharaohs:

https://armstronginstitute.org/1041-is-this-moses#:~:text=It%20puts%20her%20sickly%20husband,first%20part%20of%20Exodus%202.&text=Finally%2C%20in%20this%20scheme%2C%20I,princely%20figure%20within%20her%20administration.

 

 

_________________________

 

Join us Friday morning at 8:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet on Zoom** and at Our Breakfast Place. We chew on some scripture and chow down on some great food.

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=17134&z=e&d=23

 

Print them here:

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

 

Exodus 24:12-18

Psalm 2 or Psalm 99

2 Peter 1:16-21

Matthew 17:1-9

Transfiguration Sunday (February 15, 2026)

 

_________________________

Thunderously Loud, Blindingly Bright (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

I clearly remember the first time I heard—and was shaken by—a rocket engine. The testing of them is a fairly common experience for those of us living near SpaceX. That deep-throated roar has been known to shake pictures off walls, objects off shelves, and nappers off couches. 

 

During that first test, there was one question on the mind of every person: What is happening?!  It kept happening, though. In time, our adrenaline levels eventually stopped shrieking "Emergency!" Soon, we downgraded to: "Oh, that again." It was still loud, and it still shook houses. But nothing bad followed all that noise; nothing momentous occurred. 

 

The excitement waned. 

 

We settled down.  

 

We got used to it.

 

That's the situation confronted by the prophet Isaiah in this week's scriptures. God had been active in the lives of the Jewish people for centuries. God had previously presented as a giant pillar of fire or a great whirlwind (think: tornado or hurricane). Sometimes God appeared with such a roar that ordinary people were afraid to approach. 

 

God could be blindingly bright, thunderously loud. 

 

Eventually, though, people came to take God for granted. Oh, they still did the religious things. They fasted, made sacrifices, participated in worship. And, in their minds, that was enough. 

 

They had moved past the excitement of following God's commandments for living. They quarreled and fought with each other. They let the hungry get even hungrier. They denied justice to those who were falsely imprisoned. They were supposed to bring the homeless into their own homes, to free the oppressed, and to be caring for their relatives—but, no. 

 

No time for any of that stuff; too busy being busy. And all the time they were wondering where God had gotten to. 

 

Because they no longer did as God asked, God instructed Isaiah to "Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion!" Nothing else was getting their attention. They could no longer hear the roar, no longer see the light.

 

What about us? Are we deaf to that roar, blind to that light? Where do we go to experience God’s presence? Where do we modern folk fit into this message?

 

Consider this week’s Matthew passage: Jesus “flips the script.” Instead of encouraging his listeners to change their ways so they can experience God’s bright light, He tells them they are the light of the world and that they must not hide their light. They must act in such a way that everyone can see their light. How? They are to do good works (see the Isaiah passage) in such a way that everyone will give the glory to God. 

 

God’s bright light isn’t gone. It’s just experienced differently. It’s up to us to ensure people see it. People need to be able to identify us, without having to turn over a bushel to check the strength and quality of our light. We need to be obvious. We need to be, unmistakably, the people of God. 

 

 

_________________________

PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

_________________________

 

Ears to hear…

 

Katy Perry’s Firework:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KSbwHzlcgs8&pp=ygUaa2F0eSBwZXJyeSBmaXJld29yayBseXJpY3M%3D

 

Colbie Caillat’s Brighter Than the Sun:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MYkudx096Pg&pp=ygUrY29sYmllIGNhaWxsYXQgYnJpZ2h0ZXIgdGhhbiB0aGUgc3VuIGx5cmljcw%3D%3D

 

________________________

 

As we move through the season of Epiphany, join us Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Fat Tuesday will be upon us before you know it, and then Ash Wednesday and Lent. Next thing you know, we'll be celebrating Easter. 

 

Take time to fellowship with us on Zoom* or at Our Breakfast Place. We start at 8:00 and finish around 9:00. We eat, we laugh, we pray, and we spend some quality time in God's word. Hearing the roar. Seeing the light. 

 

Rocket Scientists welcome.

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=17134&z=e&d=18

 

Print them here:

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

 

Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12)

Psalm 112:1-9 (10)

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

Matthew 5:13-20

Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (February 8, 2026)

 

Just Three (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

The first thing I was taught when learning to juggle: Start with “balls” that don’t bounce.

 

That's how real jugglers start out. Long before they juggle complicated things—like pins or chainsaws—they must first learn the craft. They start small, with two or three balls. Preferably, those “balls” are actually small stuffed bags that don't bounce away when they—inevitably—fall to the ground. 

 

Most people can learn to juggle three small, same-sized objects. Of course, success is not automatic—it takes practice. 

 

But it's not complicated.

 

The complicated stuff comes later—much later. Jugglers must first become really good at getting those three relatively small things to do as they should. In short: Don't have too many balls in the air. The more complicated routines must wait until after mastering the beginner level.

In a way, this week's Micah selection is also about juggling. He asks the reader to consider how someone shows proper respect to God. Are special, increasingly difficult, sacrifices required to impress God? What kind of sacrifice would be big enough, dangerous enough, meaningful enough to cancel out a person's sin?

Micah already knows the surprisingly simple answer and quickly reveals it: Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

See? Not complicated.

Sure, there are people—a very few—who are called to do more complicated things in life. But that's not most of us. The challenge before most of us God-followers is this: to begin with a few, relatively simple actions, and to not skip the beginner level.

 

Do you have too many balls in the air?

 

For most of us, God is only asking this: Keep just those three in motion, all at the same time. To consistently: act justly, be merciful, and walk humbly in God's presence. 

 

You may find, as have I, that there's plenty of challenge in that.

_________________________

PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

 

_________________________

 

I hope you can join us Friday morning at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We're on Zoom* and at Our Breakfast Place reading scripture, praying, eating, and laughing from 8:00 to 9:00.

No chainsaws will be juggled at this gathering. Seriously, just leave them at home.

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=17134&z=e&d=16

 

Print them here:

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

 

Micah 6:1-8

Psalm 15

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Matthew 5:1-12

Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany (February 1, 2026)