The Adam Family (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

"They're creepy and they're kooky,
Mysterious and spooky,
They're altogether ooky,
The Addams Family." (1)

The Addams Family began "life" in 1938 as a cartoon in the New Yorker, and continued to appear there for the next 50 years. For a portion of the world's population that is The Addams Family. For most of us, though, what springs to mind is the catchy theme song and the finger snaps of the the mid-1960s TV show.

Cartoonist Charles Addams, the creator of this strange little family, did not name any of the characters until asked to do so just prior to casting of the 1964 TV show. Still, for those of us who recall the cartoons, each member of the family was distinctive. To quote their creator:

"Gomez and Pugsley are enthusiastic. Morticia is even in disposition, muted, witty, sometimes deadly. Grandma Frump is foolishly good-natured. Wednesday is her mother's daughter. A closely knit family, the real head being Morticia—although each of the others is a definite character—except for Grandma, who is easily led. Many of the troubles they have as a family are due to Grandma’s fumbling, weak character. The house is a wreck, of course, but this is a house-proud family just the same and every trap door is in good repair. Money is no problem.—" (2)

For many, only John Astin and Carolyn Jones could be Gomez and Morticia. While others are in the Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston camp. And then there's Wednesday ("Wednesday's child is full of woe."): Christina Ricci so inhabited the character, it's almost impossible to find someone who can name the other actors who played her.

I write this thinking of a line spoken by one of the Morticia's (Huston, I believe): "Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly." When I heard her say it, I was struck by the universality of it: perspective is often the most overlooked of things.

In this week's Lectionary passage from Luke, the religious leaders, righteously in their view, criticize Jesus for welcoming "tax collectors and sinners" to listen to his teaching. Jesus responds by telling them a couple of short parables about the finding of a lost sheep and a lost coin, making the point that what we value in this life is what we expend our energy on.

Today, we find what Jesus says next to be very encouraging, but to those critical religious leaders it was a slap in the face: "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:7 NRSV) That's what they should have been thinking: and you can rest assured they felt indicted as soon as Jesus pointed it out.

We humans are kind of like the Addams Family: we can be creepy and kooky, often mysterious, and altogether "ooky" in our relations with one another. And yet, the citizens of heaven are rejoicing each time we turn toward God.

The Adam family.

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 19 (24) (September 11, 2016)
First reading and Psalm
Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Psalm 14
Alternate First reading and Psalm
Exodus 32:7-14
Psalm 51:1-10
Second reading
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Gospel
Luke 15:1-10

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If you would like to read a 9/11 reflection, click on the Spiritual Reflection on the right titled, "Fireworks on the Charles."

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It's still pretty early for Halloween, but you can expect some real treats Friday morning at Lectionary Breakfast. We're still meeting at 8:00 at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant. Join us for an unusual hour where we eat, read scripture, and explore those things that make us the Adam family.

Blessings,
Steve

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(1) source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/theaddamsfamilylyrics.html
(2) Miserocchi, H. Kevin; Charles Addams (2010-03-31). The Addams Family: An Evilution. Pomegranate Books. ISBN 978-0-7649-5388-0.

The Door and the Vine (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

Something strange happened one night.

I was in my dorm room, talking to a girl on the telephone. In the dark.

But none of that is the strange part. In fact, I often talked on the phone with girls, and I often conversed past sunset, too engrossed in the conversation to take notice that the room had grown dark. No, that was all normal. The strange part had to do with the door.

It opened.

Which should not have happened.

Our dorm room doors always locked, automatically, when closed. You needed a key to open one of these doors. And my key was in my pocket. Yet, while I sat, motionless now, mouth hanging open, voiceless, in my dorm room, in the dark, I watched as the door swung silently open, painting my floor with a rectangle of light from the hallway.

Next, one of my fellow students stepped into the room just as silently as my opening door and my now voiceless conversation. He . . . the only word for it was . . . crept . . . to the center of the room, glancing about, pausing for a longer time as his eye fell on the bed. Ensuring, I assumed, that the bed was empty. I observed him for a few more seconds. Then, reaching above and behind me, I flipped on the room lights.

He jumped.

Then, finally seeing me sitting in the chair just inside the door, he looked me right in the eye and said, "Sorry. Wrong room." He then walked past me, out the door, and down the hall toward his own room.

I thought about that strange occurrence for quite a while; about two hours. Then, I called campus security and reported what had occurred.

Perhaps you're wondering why I waited so long to make that call. The reason is this: Bob (not his real name) had been sent to our small christian college by his family because he "needed better companions" who would serve as "positive influences" to help steer him away from some "troubling choices" he had made back home. In short: they sent him to a christian college in hopes it would turn him from a life of crime.

I hesitated so long because I knew all this about Bob and suspected that "turning him in" to the Dean of Men for breaking into my room would surely lead to his dismissal. And I would be the cause of that. It might well mean he had exhausted his last chance.

But in the end, I did do just that. Things had gone missing from various dorm rooms for weeks. Others were being violated by someone who had no respect for the rules or for their fellow human beings. I could not afford to not report the strange situation.

Sometimes in life we encounter a person who, due to poor choices, is like the branch in this week's Lectionary passage from John 15; a branch that has to be cut off because it no longer produces acceptable fruit. It is always a moment of profound sadness to realize we may play a role in the events that leads to them being cut off from the very associations that could benefit them. If only they would choose the better path.

It makes God sad when He must remove a branch from the Vine, from the ONLY means to life. But, God expects fruit to be produced when we are connected to His Vine. Those who DO produce fruit will have unproductive areas of their lives trimmed away.

And those who do not produce acceptable fruit will be wholly removed and sent away.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fifth Sunday of Easter (May 3, 2015)
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/

Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 23:25-31
1John 4:7-22
John 15:1-8
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It's Lectionary Breakfast time! We meet Friday mornings at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant from 8:00 - 9:00. Join us for scripture, laughter, and tasty food.

You're welcome, always.

Enjoy the week!
Steve

Photo by Martin Pope (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/6563482/How-to-prune-vines.html)