Saturday, June 25, 2022

Jesus and Tractors (A Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I'm pretty sure where it went wrong was when they had the 11-year-old drive the tractor. 


We were at the farm of some family friends, helping with spring planting. The idea, in theory, was a simple one: Use the tractor to pull a disking sledge through the field to make furrows. Once it was done, we could walk down each row, pressing one seed into the soil about every eight inches. 

So there we were, townies and farm folk, children and adults, working together to get a crop into the ground. Two of us were age 11 that spring, the oldest of the bunch. My friend was the farm boy. I was the townie. 

The first pass of the tractor and sledge made some progress, but the ground was still hard from winter. For those of you who know farming, it was harrowed, but not furrowed. Another pass was needed. That’s when the father asked his son to drive the tractor. 

A big smile on his face, my friend climbed up onto the seat, placed one hand on the steering wheel and one on the large gearshift knob. Wrestling it into reverse, he backed that tractor away from the fence line like a pro. He stopped, planning to turn and pull forward. 

That's when it got stuck in reverse. 

No matter what he did, he could not get the thing into any forward gear. To be fair, it was an old tractor. It might have happened to anyone. It was just my friend's bad luck it happened as he was about to plow his first set of furrows. His turn was over before he had even gone 10 feet. 

Farms run on hard work, good tools, and windows of opportunity. It wasn't like they could just quit for the day. Neither the good weather nor the presence of additional farm hands (even townies like us) could be relied upon. A solution had to be found.

That's when the farmer had his idea: He would drive the tractor backwards. The sledge would now be in front, so to speak, but the principle was the same. The disks would be pressed into the soil and the field would be tilled. All he had to do was look back over his shoulder as he drove the tractor backward through the field. 

It worked pretty well … for the first row. 

But while backing through the second row, something caused the tractor to swerve. The sledge backed over part of the row he had just finished plowing. He managed to straighten out the tractor, but not before doing more damage to the already completed row. 

After the same thing happened twice more, he gave up. 

That was the end of plowing, at least for that day. A mechanic was called, and we were told, ”You kids go play.” Which we did. 

I recalled this incident when I read the words of Jesus in this week’s passage from Luke. His said a person was unfit for the Kingdom of God if they put their hand to the plow and then looked back. It sounded like Jesus was condemning any potential followers who wished to tell their families goodbye. But did Jesus really say we can't follow him unless we disconnect from our families?  

No. A little sleuthing finds that what Jesus is warning against is someone continually focusing on their previous life while also trying to be His disciple. It just won't work. It would be like trying to plow a field while looking back. You might be able to keep your furrows straight for a short time, but eventually it would all end up crooked. 

Not unlike trying to plow with a tractor stuck in reverse. 

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PHOTO: Steve Orr

We’re taking a summer break. There is no Lectionary Breakfast this Friday. The next DaySpring Lectionary Breakfast will be July 29, 2022. Enjoy your summer!

Blessings,
Steve

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Read them here: 
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_Proper8.pdf

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14
Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20
1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21
Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Luke 9:51-62

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BONUS MATERIAL:
When I was 11 years old, it was common for children of all ages to work on family farms. Second, it was common for friends to drive out from town to help on farms. Third, it was common (and perfectly legal) for 10-year-old children to operate farm machinery, including tractors and pickup trucks. 

AXIOM OF THE DAY:
In theory, theory and reality are the same. In reality, they're not.

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Saturday, June 18, 2022

So, I Woke Up in the Seventh Grade (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

When I tell the story of my life, I often start with, “I woke up in the seventh grade.” 


I say that because that’s when I realized I had no guide in my life. I didn’t know if this was a common awakening among middle schoolers. I just knew that I had concluded I would need to take charge of my day-to-day, orient myself to the landscape, and devise the plans for my future. It was up to me to figure out how. 

So, as a start, I created some rules to help me get where I needed to go. Here’s two  examples:
🔸I will always do my homework. 
Rarely had anyone even asked if I had homework, much less had I completed it. It was time someone did that; and that someone was going to have to be me. 
🔸I will never skip class. 
I figured I would learn more by being there.   

Over the years, I created many such rules, and they became the way I did life. In time, using my rules, I completed public school, then junior college, and eventually, a Bachelor of Science. That collection of rules was essential to shaping me into an adult. 

Once I reached adulthood, though, I no longer needed those rules. I needed an entirely different approach to life, one that was far more flexible than the structures I had used to become an adult. Malcolm Goldsmith shared a similar conclusion in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. And he is right. My adult life works on a totally different level and in a totally different way. 

This is not to say that rules are unimportant or that they are no longer useful. This is about subtlety and nuance. When I entered the working world, I sometimes had “homework” to complete before returning to work the next day. I did that work. But I didn’t do it because I had a rule to follow about doing it. I did it because I had chosen to follow a certain path in my work life, and doing that work was a reflection of my commitment. 

This mirrors what we find in this week’s selection from Galatians. The Apostle Paul makes the point that the Law of Moses served as our “disciplinarian“ until Jesus came to justify us through faith. My early “life rules” restricted me, but they also guarded me until such time as I could learn an entirely new way to live. This is the role served by the Law of Moses. It set stringent restrictions on God’s chosen, shaping them into people who could receive Jesus when He finally walked among them. They became a people who could embrace His radical, more adult approach to living. 

Alternately, if we continue trying to live our lives by subjecting ourselves to the Law of Moses, then basing everything on love might seem impractical, unworkable, even impossible. Living a life made up of love rather than rules—that would seem radical to a Law-follower. In fact, it only works properly if we start with faith. We cannot hope and we cannot love—we cannot even make sense of Jesus’ teachings—without first believing in Jesus. 

The Apostle Paul teaches us that we can’t actually follow those rules, that we will always fail in the attempt no matter how hard we try. That’s why he calls on us to move on, grow up, and do the right things for the right reason—our faith in Jesus and his radical call to do all out of love. 

We need to accept the truth about those rules. Yes, they got us to Jesus. But they can’t take us any further. 


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PHOTO (and a humorous take on rules and laws in Paul Dickson’s The Official Rules). Here’s his author page on Amazon:


And, if you don’t mind a little 80s Christian rock music, here’s PETRA singing Beyond Belief (with lyrics on the screen): 


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When DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast meets Friday mornings, we enjoy good food, read challenging scriptures, and enjoy fellowship while sharing our thoughts. We meet both on Zoom** and in the function room at Our Breakfast Place restaurant from 8:00 to 9:00. 

It’s nice. Join us. 

Blessings,
Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Read them here: 

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

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Friday, June 10, 2022

No James Bond?! (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

 

When Ian Fleming delivered his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, to the publisher, they were reluctant to publish it. It was so different from existing spy novels. Plus, it seemed so ... well, unbelievable. In fact, if not for the intervention of Fleming’s brother, who had been published by those folks, we might never have had James Bond. 

Let that sink in. 

Today, with James Bond books and movies all about us, it seems strange to think someone balked at launching Agent 007. He is the template for modern spies, certainly for Cold War spies. Without Bond, would we even have Jason Bourne? The whole genre of spy fiction might not exist. 

So, what was the problem?

It lay in the genius of the thing. Fleming, a former British Naval Intelligence Officer (i.e., spy), created a fictional character as an amalgam of actual spies. Bond was a mashup of Fleming and other clandestine operatives he knew and had worked with. The tales of 007 reflected actual spy missions. 

There had never been anything quite like it. 

Today, we have a special appreciation for that kind of fact-based fiction. Today, when a former “operative” writes a book about spy stuff, publishers are all over it. And it’s all because of that original publisher’s experience with that first James Bond novel. The initial print run of that hardback sold out in less than a month. A second printing that same month also sold out that same month! Next, a third printing of 8,000 hardback copies quickly sold out. By then, they understood what they had: a gold mine. 

This—valuing the words of those with experience—is the mindset we need to bring to Wisdom.  

Wisdom calls to anyone who will hear her. She offers to share her benefits with anyone and everyone. They are open to all. We need only seek her. 

That’s the central message from this week’s selection from Proverbs chapter 8. But it’s not the only message we find there. After making her appeal, she does something we lovers of modern spy novels can appreciate: she shares her bona fides. Wisdom tells us she is the real deal, that she’s not some hack offering the philosophy du jour or just telling us what we want to hear. 

So, what’s in her resume?

•The first of God’s creation, before the beginning of the earth.
•When God established the heavens, she was there.
•During creation, she was next to God, serving as a master craftsman and director of the work.
•God delighted in her.
•She delighted in God’s inhabited world and the human race.

Why seek Wisdom? Why trust in her to be our guide? God’s wisdom is so different from the existing experience of the world. At first it seems … well, unbelievable. But God’s wisdom call to anyone who will hear her. 

 And remember, she was there when it all began. She had a role in creation. She knows, first hand, what was intended, and knows the purpose within the design. 

Even a Cold War spy could trust a resume like that.


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PHOTO (Agent 007 playing golf with bad guy Goldfinger. Read this brief article to find out why golf mattered to Bond and his creator): 

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Once again, DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast is meeting Friday morning at Our Breakfast Place and on Zoom.** We start at 8:00, enjoying an hour of great fellowship, good food, Bible study, and a “robust exchange of ideas.” Join us!

Blessings,
Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Read them here: 

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15

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Friday, June 3, 2022

Who Let These Hobbits In Here? (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

 

Um … Hobbits? Really?!

That pretty much sums up the response of … well, just about everyone when they learned the Hobbits would be the bearers of The One Ring. 

If you don’t know the basic story of the Lord of the Rings (LOTR), here’s the short version: a powerful ring must be taken to Mordor to be unmade in the volcanic fires of Mount Doom. Specially selected representatives of various groups have been assembled to accomplish this task. These are leaders, warriors, the bold and the brave. They are all stunned to learn that the ring will be placed in the care of Hobbits for the journey. 

In LOTR (and J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel The Hobbit), the central characters are hairy-footed little Hobbits from a pleasant backwater of Middle Earth called The Shire. Outside of the adventures recounted by Tolkien, these little beings live low-key, unsophisticated lives; taking joy from eating and drinking and other homely activities. They are small, humble, ordinary people. They live the kinds of lives where Second Breakfast may well be the high point of the day.

And yet, Tolkien has the Wizard Gandalf choose Hobbits to bear the corrupting "Ring of Power" to its unmaking. Even when it’s not asked aloud in some form, a question hangs in the air for much of the journey: Why are Hobbits entrusted with such a crucial task?

It reminds me of the reaction of the crowd at Pentecost to those chosen by Jesus as the bearers of his Good News: "Utterly amazed, they asked: 'Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?'" Now, I know the Bible is not a movie script, but I think the translators of Acts chapter two have really undersold the crowd's reaction. Shouldn't there be an exclamation point in there somewhere?!

Um, Galileans? Really?!  

That pretty much sums up the general response of ... well, just about everyone who encountered this band of Jesus-followers. Everyone considered them unsophisticated and ill-suited to the tasks they had been given. Nathan was not the first (nor likely the last!) to ask, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” And yet, these rough people are the ones Jesus chose.

In LOTR, Gandalf chose the Hobbits to take the ring to its doom because they could bear it. Every other candidate 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 His inner circle. But maybe it was for a similar reason. As it turned out, none of the seemingly obvious choices were really appropriate.

Sometimes, the very person you need is the one that the powerful and sophisticated would walk right by without a first glance.

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A little bonus content. It’s not in this week’s Lectionary, but it definitely applies:

“Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.”
‭‭—1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:26-29‬ ‭NRSV‬‬

PHOTO (and a little about why Hobbits bore the ring): 


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Join us at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast this Friday morning? As usual, we'll gather both online via Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. We meet at 8:00 for some good food and great discussion.

No sophistication required. 😎

Blessings,
Steve


**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Read them here: 

Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21
John 14:8-17, (25-27)
Day of Pentecost (June 5, 2022) 

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Saturday, May 28, 2022

Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Can’t Lose? (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

 

I was never an athlete.  

The closest I came to team sports was one brief summer in Little League. That was a disaster: couldn't hit, couldn't run, couldn't pay attention (best draw the curtain on that right now). 

Then, starting in the 7th Grade, my fellow students and I spent a portion of every other school day participating in a 40-minute version of whatever sport was in season. Yes: the dreaded Phys-Ed. In the fall, we played football in PE (didn’t understand the rules, so I was always a Lineman). In the winter, we played basketball (couldn't move and dribble—terrible shooter). On rainy days, we played dodgeball (big and slow, easy target). And in the spring, we played baseball (see above) and/or track and field (still hate this).  

And when we weren’t doing these things, we were subjected to a form of torture called conditioning. It was the part I hated the most: sit-ups, chin-ups, rope climbs, push-ups, running up and down the bleachers. Imitating sports wasn't so bad: You got knocked down, you got up, you got knocked down again—simple. Exercising just to exercise? Madness.

Everything changed in my thirties, though. I joined a gym and hired a trainer. I actually paid someone to lead me through the very activities I hated for those six years I was forced to take PE class. Why did I do this? Spend two, three nights per week at a gym? In short: I had goals. There were things I wanted to do—improve my health, lose weight, shape up—and I needed a coach’s insight to ensure I reached those goals. 

When I read this week's scriptures, I saw a parallel between two of the passages and all my times at the gym. When I’m working out, I am focused on that moment. My coach, though, is thinking about all of it: where I've been; what I'm doing right then; how that activity, in concert with others the trainer has planned, moves me toward my objectives—and, of course, what's next. 

It's kind of like that for the disciples in the Luke and Acts 1 passages. They are told to expect someone who will serve as teacher and guide, someone who will help them achieve the goals set before them. They didn't know what was coming. But they believed the one who told them a helper would come, and they acted from within that belief.

Even now, when I’m nearing the end of my treadmill time, I start thinking about stopping early. Part of me—the really tired part—suggests I don’t really need to keep at this, that it’s just too hard, that it doesn’t really benefit me. But then, I hear the calm voices of my trainers from over the years encouraging me: "You can do this. Just a bit more. Almost there." They knew what I was capable of, knew how much more I could bring to the task, knew how much more would be required of me before I could rest.  

The Spirit is like that with us. When the going gets hard, we need to listen for that voice deep inside: "You can do this. Just a bit more. Almost there."



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PHOTO: Steve Orr dressed for Little League

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We're getting together Friday mornings at 8:00 for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast.  Join us on Zoom** or in person at the Our Breakfast Place. Great food, great Bible discussions, and great fellowship.   

No sit-ups required.

Blessings,
Steve


**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Ascension of the Lord (May 26, 2022)
Acts 1:1-11

Psalm 47 or Psalm 93

Ephesians 1:15-23

Luke 24:44-53


Read them here: 


Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Cx_AscensionoftheLord.pdf

 

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Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 29, 2022)

Acts 16:16-34

Psalm 97

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

John 17:20-26


Read them here: 
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Saturday, May 21, 2022

Semicolon Tattoos and Groundhog Day (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

 


In the movie, Groundhog Day, Weatherman Phil Connors woke up 13,395 times to find he was still in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, forced to repeat the same day over and over. Every day was—still Groundhog Day!

Whether it’s 10 years worth of days or, as Director Harold Ramis later said, “more like 30 or 40 years,” that’s a really long time to be trapped in a repetitive nightmare. 

In his endless holiday repeat, Weatherman Phil works his way through various stages. The first few times, he’s just confused. Eventually, though, he steals, acts maliciously, exploits those around him, cheats at Jeopardy, indulges every whim and vice. He even kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog), leading authorities on a high speed car chase. And then, after who knows how many thousand Groundhog Days, Phil becomes depressed. He is so depressed at his inability to break free from the shackles of this seemingly endless redundancy that he  attempts suicide.

Over and over and over. 

That’s where the semicolon comes in. When writers decide it’s time to pause, but aren’t ready to end the sentence, they use a semicolon. It’s a way of letting the reader know there’s more to come. 

Recently, some who have attempted suicide are getting a semicolon tattoo inked onto their skin, often at the site of their last unsuccessful attempt. They wear that tattoo to send a message that this is not the end, to declare they have chosen to continue on. They want to make something clear to everyone, especially themselves.

There’s more to come. 

When Jesus encountered the invalid in this week’s Gospel of John passage, that man needed a semicolon in his life. He was living on the edge—literally, on the edge. He was near the healing waters of the Pool of Bethesda, but not right by the pool. That distance, small as it was, meant he could never make it to the water in time to be healed. He had been suffering like that for 38 years. That means he woke up every day for about 13,880 days facing the same horrible existence. He faced all this, alone. He had no one to help him get to the pool. So, 13,880 occurrences of never being healed.

That’s a very long time to be stuck in what surely seems like an endless loop. A person would likely become depressed. This man had been living this way for something like 14,000 days, relief just a few feet away. And yet, it might as well had been miles away for all the good it did him. He could not break out of his endless loop. 

Is it any wonder he couldn’t give Jesus a straight answer when asked, "Do you want to be made well?"

That happens to a lot of people. They have lived so long in their struggle, they no longer recognize hope when it appears before them. After so many days, weeks, and years of no relief, their faith has worn thin.

For this man, though, Jesus inserted a semicolon. 

Jesus did not just heal the man. He sent him on his way. The message was clear. The man was not to linger at that location any longer. His situation had changed. He was to continue on. After 38 years of endless days, there was, suddenly, more to come. 

There’s a message here for us, too. Regardless of our circumstance, Jesus brings a semicolon to our lives. We are to continue on. 

There is definitely more to come. 


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PHOTO (and the story of semicolons and suicide): 


A great little article “The Sanctifying Silliness of Groundhog Day”: 

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Please join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast, Friday morning. We meet online on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. It’s a quick hour from 8:00 to 9:00. It includes breakfast we order from the menu, scriptures we read aloud, and unfettered discussion. We say what we think, and we grow from listening to each other. 


And there’s laughing. 


Blessings,
Steve


**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Acts 16:9-15
Psalm 67
Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
John 14:23-29 or John 5:1-9

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Thursday, May 12, 2022

Mel Brooks and the 15 Commandments (a Steve Orr Scripture reflection)

 

One of my favorite film moments comes from Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part One. In the scene, Moses comes down from the mountain cradling three stone tablets. As he steps forward to tell the Israelites of the commandments God has sent for them to follow, he says, “The Lord Jehovah has given unto you these 15 (A tablet falls and shatters. Moses quickly holds up the remaining two tablets) ... 10! ... 10 commandments for all to obey!”

Watch that film clip here:

While the scene is funny, it also gets at something that has been on our minds ever since Moses came down the mountain: Was that it, just the 10? Are you one of the folks who wishes there were more than 10 Commandments? Do you believe we would benefit from just a bit more guidance from God? Maybe an 11th commandment? There have been many attempts over the millennia to add that extra layer of direction. 

This is a big part of what Peter smacked up against in this week’s selection from the Book of Acts. After baptizing some non-Jews, effectively including them as followers of Jesus, Peter is ”called on the carpet” for breaking several well-known Jewish “laws” in the process. He finds himself in trouble with “circumcised believers,” that is, people who closely follow Jewish codes of conduct and also believe Jesus is the son of God. Peter’s answer? He didn’t choose these people, God did. 

What those “circumcised believers” had forgotten is this: God made the rules, and God can amend them or make new ones at any time. In fact, Jesus did this kind of thing quite regularly: “You have heard (fill in the blank), but I say….” 

So. Is there an 11th? Maybe. I think there’s one ... but it’s not a commandant for everyone. We find it in this week’s selection from the Gospel of John: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." 

Well, there’s your 11th Commandment. 

It’s only given to followers of Jesus. And, differently from loving our neighbors and loving our enemies (each with its own challenges), this one is just about how believers are to treat each other. Jesus already knew that the “tent” of believers was going to get not only a lot bigger, but also a lot stranger than any of His earliest followers could imagine. He knew they (and we) were going to need that extra commandment.

We tend to love our neighbors and our enemies—at a certain distance. Oh, it’s not supposed to be that way, but it is the way most of us approach the matter. It’s pretty difficult, though, for us to hold other believers at a distance. We’re all scrunched up in here, together. 

We need that commandment. 

Here’s why: If we believers can learn to really love each other, we can start to learn how to love our neighbors. And if we can get to where we really love our neighbors, up close and personal, we can start the process of learning how to love our enemies. And if we can actively love our enemies—well, there’s no end to that kind of love. 

No more commandments needed. 


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Another Friday morning gathering of DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. Can you join us? We meet online on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. It’s a quick hour from 8:00 to 9:00. Somehow, we cram in tasty food, interesting discussions, a prayer, and some Bible reading. Oh, and we tend to get tickled a lot (not sure what it says about us that we find some of this funny, but there you go.)


Blessings,
Steve


**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 148
Revelation 21:1-6
John 13:31-35


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