Hope in Deep Winter (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

On our minds in winter: When is summer? In the northern hemisphere, many consider Memorial Day weekend the unofficial start. Meteorologists start summer on June 1. And then of course, there is the traditional start: Summer Solstice, which lands on June 21 this year. And, because of their long winters, New Englanders hold out for July 4. 

Whenever it starts for you, summer is a lovely time. When winter finally ends, we feel an uplift in spirit. Joy swells the heart. A kind of collective amnesia overtakes, clouding the harsher memories of winter.

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

 

We have hope.

 

We know that every inch—every foot in some places—of snow piled upon the ground over the long winter is actually a storehouse. It’s water, just waiting for warmer weather to release it. Water that brings life to the land, the plants, the animals, and all of us humans who could not survive without it.

 

In this week’s Romans passage, the apostle Paul talks about a "hope that does not disappoint," one that has more substance than a mere wish. It's a confidence that good is coming, is on its way, will certainly arrive, may already be present in some other form. Paul asserts that enduring our sufferings will grow our character, the kind of character that can rest in the belief that our faith is not misplaced. 

 

It’s our storehouse of hope. And it will see us through the winters of our lives.

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PHOTO: Steve Orr

BONUS MATERIAL:

Astronomical Summer: This is the summer most of us have heard about. In the northern hemisphere, it starts at the Summer Solstice, usually June 20 or 21, sometimes called the longest day. This occurs when the northern half of the Earth is tilted toward the sun and the southern half is tilted away from the sun. The National Weather Service has a great illustration at: 

https://www.weather.gov/cle/seasons

Meteorological Summer: You might hear this term on your local weather report. It refers to what Meteorologists consider the hottest three months of the year: June, July, and August. It starts on June 1. This one-pager from NOAA compares Astronomical seasons and Meteorological seasons:

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-seasons

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We, too, have that hope that does not disappoint. Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast on Zoom* or in Waco 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.

We are expecting weather. So, dress appropriately.

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=p&d=60

 

Print them from here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/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 14, 2026)

Lawlessness? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

The 1968 film Wild in the Streets was released to wild acclaim—among teenagers. Adults? Not so much. The plot: voting age lowered to 14, drug use legalized, and 20-year-old rock star Max Frost elected President. 

What could go wrong?

 

Teen reaction: great soundtrack! 

Adult reaction: anarchy!

 

For most of us, orderly is the way. We like order. We especially like law and order. We feel safer knowing the law is there to protect us from all the things that might do us harm. But when the Bible talks about “the law,” it means something altogether different. 

That difference is what the apostle Paul was addressing in this week’s reading from the letter to the Romans. The first-century Jewish Christians reading that letter were struggling with just how much of their old life (and their old religion) they should bring forward into this new way. Before Jesus, “the law” was a huge part of their lives. It covered every aspect. When God gave the Law to Moses, its purpose was to help shape the children of Israel into a separate nation, to help them become utterly different from other people groups. 

Devotion to those rules became how they measured their relationship with God. In their minds, it was what made them God’s chosen people. But over many generations, the Israelites kept adding law layers, making it increasingly difficult to actually follow.

This Romans passage—with statements like “the law brings wrath” and “where there is no law there is no transgression”—probably left them a bit unnerved. If you read the passage and find assurance that our faith is what connects us to God, excellent. It’s what Paul intended his readers to get from it.

 

Along these lines, in the Matthew passage, Jesus quotes the Hosea passage when He says: “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’" He was pointing away from the Law of Moses and toward a life lived by faith.

Lawlessness is a good thing in the spiritual sense—as long as we remember to grab hold of faith as we release our grip on “the law.” With faith, there is no need for it. In fact, it can actually get in our way of living by faith. 

Letting go of “the law” does not have to lead to anarchy, in life or in our relationship with God and His people. Yes, it's a little scary. But take a deep breath—and let it go.

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PHOTO: Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

 

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If you dare, listen to Max Frost and the Troopers herald revolution and anarchy in “The Shape of Things to Come” from the movie Wild in the Streets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSInh0W7FHs&list=RDEM_EajN8_sH5niFDPm-5UQmQ&start_radio=1&rv=6kidWiTBsQk

Roger Ebert reviews Wild in the Streets:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wild-in-the-streets-1968

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Can you be with us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We're learning to do good as we peruse God's word, discuss it among ourselves, and continue replacing bad habits with good ones. Join us at 8:00 on Zoom* or at Our Breakfast Place for food, fellowship, and fun—all squeezed into an hour like no other.

Previous dietary restrictions no longer apply.

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=p&d=59

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Ax_Proper5.pdf

Genesis 12:1-9

Psalm 33:1-12

Hosea 5:15-6:6

Psalm 50:7-15

Romans 4:13-25

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Proper 5 (10) Second Sunday After Pentecost (June 7, 2026)

Brawler, Drunkard, Christian (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Never heard of Sam Houston? I’m not surprised. Before I moved to Texas, I had never heard of him, either. In fact, if I hadn’t moved to Texas, it’s likely I never would have. 

A leader in the Texas Revolution, he served as the first and third President of the Republic of Texas, shepherded the treaty that later joined Texas to the United States, was a U.S. Senator from the State of Texas, and then served Texas as Governor.

 

Sam was a complex, complicated person; a wayward youth and a wild adult. He was known for his drunkenness, womanizing, and brawling. 

 

What is often overlooked: his spiritual side. 

When Sam moved to Texas, it was still part of Mexico. No one could own land without becoming a Catholic. Mexican dictator Santa Anna required everyone to practice that one religion. So, Sam was baptized into the Catholic Church. Later in life, once Texas had freed itself from the requirements of Santa Anna, Sam experienced a conversion not tied to politics. 

 

What happened? A person.

 

When Sam married Margaret Lea, a woman 26 years his junior, there was frank and open skepticism. But they were happily married 23 years, until Sam's death. Margaret's impact on Sam's life was deep and broad. He made changes he believed were important to his new life (for example, he became a tea-totaler, not even keeping alcohol for guests). Under her discipleship, Sam slowly began to move in the direction of the Lord.

 

Still, it was only after Sam moved his family to the bustling village of Independence, Texas, so his daughters could attend Baylor University that he seriously considered conversion. On November 19, 1854, more than 14 years after marrying Margaret, Sam was baptized in Independence's Little Rocky Creek. Absent the previous coercion, he chose to commit his life to the Lord. 

What made the difference: the constant, calm, considerate teaching of Margaret, the example she set for Sam as wife and mother, and her own faith in the Lord. It took 14 years of her life, and many, many more of his to arrive at that juncture. 

For those 14 years, Margaret was discipling Sam. The process she followed with him is rooted in what Jesus told His disciples in this week's Matthew passage. Jesus directed those disciples to go and make more disciples, to teach these new disciples to obey the commands Jesus had given. They were to baptize the new disciples in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And, finally, make sure they know that Jesus will be with them always, right up to the very end.

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PHOTO: Keith King

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Join us Friday morning on Zoom* and in person at Our Breakfast Place from 8:00 to 9:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. There's plenty of good food, plenty of good fellowship, and plenty of good scripture. 

 

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=p&d=52

Print them here:

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

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Psalm 8

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Matthew 28:16-20

Trinity Sunday (May 31, 2026)

Unsuited to the Task? (a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is about a group chosen to go on a great quest.

 

As is common in such quests, the fellowship—charged with shepherding the Ring of Power to its destruction in the volcanic fires of Mount Doom—is packed with persons of great stature. There are great warriors—current royals, future royals, the brave, the bold—and some Hobbits. 

 

Those hairy-footed little Hobbits—not the royal, the brave, or the bold—are the focus of the story. They are from a pleasant backwater of Middle Earth called The Shire. These little beings live generally low-key, unsophisticated lives, taking joy from eating and drinking and other homely activities. They lead the kinds of lives where Second Breakfast may well be the high point of the day.

 

And yet, Tolkien chose Hobbits to actually bear the powerful and corrupting Ring of Power to its intended unmaking. Much debated: Why were the Hobbits entrusted with such a crucial task?

 

It reminds me of the crowd’s reaction at Pentecost to those Jesus chose as the bearers of His Good News. In this week’s Acts passage, they are empowered to speak in many languages by the Holy Spirit, which appears like “tongues of fire” above their heads. Quickly connecting the flames to when God issued the Ten Commandments, the crowd members were “utterly amazed” that those speaking were “Galileans.” 

I know it’s not a movie script, but I think the Bible translators may have really undersold the crowd's reaction. Shouldn't there be an exclamation point in there somewhere?

 

Umm, Galileans? Really?!

 

That pretty much sums up the general response of ... well, almost everyone who encountered this band of Jesus-followers. They were considered unsophisticated and ill-suited to the tasks they had been assigned. Nathanael was likely not the first (nor the last, I’m sure) to ask: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?

 

And yet, these rough people are the ones Jesus chose.

 

In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf chose the Hobbits to take the ring to its doom because they could bear it. Every other member of the fellowship—the royal, the brave, the bold—would likely succumb to the corruption that comes from possessing such great power.  

 

I don't think we know why Jesus chose the Galileans for the core of His group. But maybe it was for a similar reason. None of the seemingly obvious choices, as it turned out, were really appropriate.

 

The person judged least likely to succeed is often the one needed for the most difficult task. Never forget: God chooses whom God chooses—and God often chooses “the least of these.”

 

 

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PHOTO: “One ring to rule them all” —Adobe Express filtered through Photoshop Express 

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Be with us Friday morning as we prepare for Pentecost Sunday. DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast begins at 8:00 and finishes in about an hour (or sooner if you need to leave…but you'll find it's more fun to stay). We're on Zoom* and at Our Breakfast Place. Come and enjoy good food, friendly people, laughter, and time in the scriptures.

We're not expecting any tongues of fire, but Cholula Hot Sauce is available upon request.

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=s&d=51

 

Print them here:

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

 

Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21

John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39

Day of Pentecost (May 24, 2026)