The Court of Good Deeds (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

Without preamble, the tall man fixed his eyes on Bob and asked in the voice of one who was accustomed to speaking only with the most cultured members of society, "What did you do and how do you plead?"

Bob had no idea how to respond to that. Finally, after a few seconds, he cleared his throat and said, "Begging your pardon, sir, I do not know how to answer you. I do not know why I am here, nor, for that matter, what "here" is."

"Come, come, man. Surely you heard the Bailiff. This is the Court of Good Deeds," explained the tall man. "I am Chief Justice. You have been brought here to answer for your crimes. Now, please, can we move on? My brothers and I have other things to which we must attend."

Bob was starting to get it, or at least a glimmer of it. "Are you telling me there is a law against performing good deeds and that I have broken it?"

At this, one of the other . . . Justices, Bob presumed . . . spoke. He was short and thick, but spoke with the same cultured, pleasant sounding voice as the first. "It is most disingenuous of you to pretend ignorance of the law. I can assure you. Acting this way is not the path to obtaining our sympathy."

In response, Bob stated, "If I am brought before this . . . um, tribunal to answer for helping an elderly man regain his footing after a fall, then I can confirm I did so. However, I cannot understand how such an act caused me to be brought before judges. How can an act of kindness be a crime?"

The third justice, a man who was neither tall nor short, but upon whom appeared a continuous scowl, asked, "Did you have a permit?"

"A permit, sir?" asked Bob. "Where would someone obtain a permit to perform good deeds?" Bob asked this somewhat facetiously, thinking, even then, that this might be some kind of prank.

"You would obtain the permit from this court, of course," said the tall justice. "Where else? You need only apply, state your untended good deed, and pay the fee. It couldn't be simpler. And if you had done so, none of this morning's unpleasantness would be necessary. As it is, we are now inconvenienced with having to deal with the matter."

"But," replied Bob, "How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? By the time one came here, applied and obtained your permission, the person in need might have come to even greater harm. How, in your laws, does one, acting in God's love, assist another on the spur of the moment?"

All three justices, and even the Bailiff, were stymied. No one had ever claimed to perform a good deed, without premeditation and their approval, in the name of "God's love." Angered that they could think of no good response, they dismissed Bob, warning him to to conform to the law and not to discuss the morning's proceedings with anyone.

Bob walked from the cavernous chamber and back out onto the street. As he started away from the court, he spotted a young woman struggling with groceries and three small children. Stepping from the shadow of the court's edifice, he entered the sunlight, grinned, and headed her way.

______________________________

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 26, 2015)
First reading
Acts 4:5-12
Psalm
Psalm 23
Second reading
1 John 3:16-24
Gospel
John 10:11-18

______________________________

I hope you can be with us Friday morning for Lectionary Breakfast. We start at 8:00-ish, sharp, and are always done not one minute later than a few minutes after 9:00. The good folks at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant ready the meeting room for us each time, deliver the food of our choice, and provide great service. We have a blast!

Don't judge us.

Enjoy the week!
Steve

Run For Your Life (a Lectionary Reflection by Steve Orr)

The news was bad, about as bad as it gets. His life was forfeit. It appeared nothing could be done to change that. So. Decision time.

Fight, flight, or fold?

Some of us recall the television show, Run For Your Life, where, in the first episode, successful attorney Paul Bryan is told by his doctor that he has less than two years to live. Faced with a hopeless situation, he elects to "take the money and run." For 85 more episodes we follow Paul Bryan (perfectly portrayed by Ben Gazzara) as he travels the globe attempting to do all those things, go all those places that might, in modern parlance, constitute his "bucket list."

This show worked a lot like Route 66; each episode finding the main character embroiled in some situation, but rarely in the same place and rarely with people he had met before. One week he might be stuck in middle America because his car broke down, and the next he might be enlisted by US intelligence to perform some task behind the Iron Curtain (Why, yes, it . . ahem . . . WAS a long time ago).

For those who have never seen it, this is one of the best shows television has offered us, regardless of year. Great writing, great acting, and a who's who of Hollywood stars on their way up. Definitely worth your viewing time.

And that brings me to this week's Lectionary scriptures. In the 1st Kings passage Elijah, coming off the victory at Mount Carmel, suddenly finds his life threatened, and not by just anybody. He has been threatened by Queen Jezebel, a woman who has a reputation of delivering on her threats.

Like Joseph before him (and many others before and after), Elijah elects to run from the confrontation. It seems counter-intuitive, especially following Mount Carmel's mind-blowing victory. But, run he does.

Paul Bryan COULD have chosen differently. He could have stayed right where he was, just accepted the bad hand he had been dealt. "Fold" is always an option. But he chose, instead, to take a different path, to "run for his life." And because of his choice, adventures ensued. Elijah, too, ran from his troubles . . . right into the arms of God.

There are times when we need to press on, but there are also times when the thing to do is run the other way. Or if not run, then walk, or maybe just step off for a bit . . . and seek an audience with the one who is "a very present help in trouble." (Psalms 46:1 NKJV)

###############################
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu

READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 7 (12) (June 23, 2013)

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a
Psalm 42 and 43
Isaiah 65:1-9
Psalm 22:19-28
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 8:26-39