Robert Redford’s Better Way (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

 How you say it matters.

There's a great scene in the movie, The Candidate. Robert Redford plays first time senatorial candidate Bill McKay. He has recently given in to his campaign advisors and adopted a slogan: "McKay—the better way." In the scene, he slumps in the back seat of a car, exhausted from a very long day of campaigning that is far from over. He repeatedly mumbles part of the slogan, each time changing the emphasis: "Got to be a better way ... Got to be a better way ... Got to be a better way ... Got to be a better way." In the front seat, two of his handlers give each other the eye, wondering if he has gone over the edge. 

And so, Robert Redford underscored for me, in an unforgettable way, that how we read the words of others matters. Changing which words or syllables to emphasize in a sentence or phrase can completely change their meaning.

In that light, I call on you to read with care the words of God in this week's scripture from Job, especially the opening sentences. Many a translator has rendered Job 38:2-3 to "read" almost conversationally. Consider the New Revised Standard Version: "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me." 

I found this same kind of mild rendering in many translations and versions. The word translated as "counsel" actually indicates God's design or purposes. See? That already changes the meaning. Some translations substituted "advice" for "counsel," making it even more bland. With the exception of Job 19:25, these final chapters are the most important in the book, and among the most important in the Bible. They are all about the sovereignty of God. “Hearing" them correctly makes a difference.

Below is my understanding of the meaning of those two key verses, the ones that set the tone for the remainder of God's response to Job.

"Who dares? Who dares cloud my design in darkness? Step forward and brace yourself. Now it is my turn to interrogate you. Perhaps you think you can teach me."

Now, go read the rest of it. Let me know if you agree … or if you "hear" it differently. I welcome your comments and thoughts.

______________________________

PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Orr

Learn about The Candidate here: 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068334/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

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We’re back! Join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast on Zoom** or in person at Our Breakfast Place. We gather at 8:00 for a wonderful hour of scripture, discussion, and more laughter than is seemly.

Blessings,

Steve 

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=224

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper24.pdf

Job 38:1-7, (34-41)

Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c

Isaiah 53:4-12

Psalm 91:9-16

Hebrews 5:1-10

Mark 10:35-45

Proper 24 (29) (October 17, 2021)

Crying Over Spilt Milk (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

All we could do was watch as the old man trudged along the sidewalk opposite our junior high school. 

It was a closed campus. 

Tall, thin, not-recently-shaven; he wore one of those sleeveless undershirts with the scoop neck, a pair of grey, shapeless pants that had been washed too often, leather shoes that had seen better days, no socks. He was carrying a low-sided cardboard box packed with three half-gallons of milk and a loaf of bread. 

Carrying is not the right word. He was laden with it. From his slow, wobbly gate, anyone could see he had more than his ancient limbs could handle. Each step was a struggle. I could see the thin, ropey muscles of his arms starkly etched against the parchment of his skin. 

To say the old man struggled would be to use too light a word. “Struggled,” “wrestled,” “fought”; we’ve managed somehow to leech the weight and power out of these words. All that’s left me, that truly describes these events, is “battle.” That day I witnessed a man battle against his own body with all the ferocity of a soldier charging the enemy. He gave it his all with each wavering step, knees slightly bent against the weight of his burden, determination painted in rivulets of sweat coursing down his face.

I don’t think any of us was shocked when the first milk carton tumbled.

It all seemed to move in some sort of horror-film-slow-motion; the corner of the box buckling just a little, the milk carton starting to tip over the edge, the old man reactively tugging everything up, causing the falling carton to start a slow end-over-end spin as it floated out of the box and toward the sidewalk.

It hit with a slapping sound we all could hear.

And … nothing happened. The carton landed on its bottom, with no apparent damage. Everyone breathed. The moment of horror had passed. The relief that flooded though us was so strong, so palpable. 

Then, as we were just beginning to think of returning to our previous activities, the old man knelt to pick up the errant milk carton … and the second carton began its tumble from the box.

Stephen King fans will recognize this as a “Cujo” moment, that instant when —the good guys having finally won the day and realizing they have somehow survived; a moment of abject and profound relief— evil surges back for another bite! Long before I ever read Stephen King, long before I ever saw one of those just-can’t-kill-the-bad-guy movies, I experienced this horror. 

Right then, I knew: he was not going to make it. I wanted him to make it, but he just could not do it. How does a man who has difficulty just walking pick up a carton of milk without dropping the rest of his load?

This time the top of the carton struck the concrete sidewalk. Milk spewed in every direction. Milk splattered his feet, his legs, his shirt; droplets dotted his face. 

Back then we were a resolute lot, especially people of his generation. So, he soldiered on. He had lived through some trying times; World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, Korea. Even my generation had been taught what to do in a situation like this: no crying over spilt milk.

And he didn’t cry. He passed his hand over his face, wiping away a few droplets of milk. He reached for the first, upright milk carton, placed it back in the box, and then slowly, carefully managed to raise himself back to a standing position without further crisis.

He resumed his slow, unsteady shuffle; not looking back at his failure, leaving it behind him in the way we had all been taught. In all this time, he had not taken as much as 15 steps. Now, he resumed putting one foot before the other, wobbly but resolute. 

One step. 

Two. 

Three.

I’m not sure what actually happened. Maybe the first milk carton had sustained some damage when it landed upright on the sidewalk and had sprung a slow leak. Maybe all of his efforts had just exhausted the man. Whatever the cause, on his sixth step away from the milk spill, the box caved in the middle.

It happened very fast. The two sides of the box flipped up to meet each other in the middle. The bread and surviving milk cartons flew forward from the old man’s grasp. And he did grasp, at all of it. He actually got one hand on one of the cartons, but it slipped right through.

In a flash, chaos. 

Before him on the sidewalk were two burst milk cartons; a loaf of bread split open and sopping wet with milk, one of the cartons having landed directly on it before spilling and soaking the loaf. And then … while grasping the folded and useless piece of cardboard … then the old man cried.

——————————

In this week’s scriptures, we find both Job and Jesus suffering. Job thought God was the source of his misery, and he just wanted it all to end. He believed he could successfully plead his case if he could just come before God ... if only God could be found. The Psalmist somehow foresaw Jesus suffering at the hands of Roman Soldiers, tapped into the moment when Jesus felt so abandoned by God He cried out: “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?”

I wasn’t there when Job nearly crumpled under the weight of the troubles Satan piled on him. I wasn’t there when the Psalmist prophesied the crucifixion of Jesus in Psalm 22. But I was there when that old man, alone in his struggle, tried so hard, but lost it all, anyway. That is carved into my memory. That gives me a sense of the isolation suffered by Job and Jesus ... the crushing sense that God had abandoned them in the time of their greatest need. 

Not only was God aware of Job’s trials —hearing every word his servant Job spoke as he suffered— God had to hear His own son shout out His sense of abandonment as he died in pain. 

If all we had was that, how sad our lives would be. But, the Hebrews selection reminds us that Jesus “in every respect has been tested as we are….” And that because He can “sympathize  with our weaknesses,” we can find help when we need it most.

Do you find yourself in deep distress? Is life, sometimes, just too hard? Do your friends, like Job’s, think you are at fault for the trouble you’re in? Do you, sometimes, think they might be right? In those moments when you feel isolated, abandoned, disregarded, uncared for; unable to find God ... hold on. Even though you feel utterly alone in your suffering, you are not alone. God is there, has been there all along. 

You. Are. Not. Alone. 

_________________________

PHOTO CREDIT: Adobe Spark Post and Adobe Photoshop Express 

The story of the old man is selected from a memoir entitled Incident at 10th and Clark. Locate the link on the right side of the page to read the full memoir (02Memoir-Incident at 10th and Clark):  

http://steveorr.blogspot.com

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Sadly, there is no in-person gathering this Friday. So, join us (on Zoom only) for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We gather at 8:00 for an hour of scripture, discussion, and laughter.

Blessings,

Steve 

Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=223

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper23.pdf

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Psalm 22:1-15

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15

Psalm 90:12-17

Hebrews 4:12-16

Mark 10:17-31

Proper 23 (28) (October 14, 2018)

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The Director and the Stage Manager (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I had been elevated ... by the only person with the power and authority to do that.

Were you ever in a play or a musical? Onstage, I mean? For some people, that’s a fun experience. Others find it terrifying. For some, it’s the thrill of a lifetime. The few times I was onstage were cringe worthy experiences; forgotten lines being the main problem. 

My happy place was backstage.

The audience can see and hear much of the production. But, the backstage part is usually never noticed at all. For weeks on end, the stage crews build everything that will appear onstage; the walls, doorways, buildings, platforms, etc. Others dedicate their time and talents to costuming, lighting, sound, marketing, ticket sales ... on and on. 

In my theatre days, we didn’t have the phrase, “It takes a village.” But, that’s what it takes. 

It was here, in my part of the theatre, that one of the most important moments of my life would occur. We had finally come to Dress Rehearsal; the night before Opening Night; the night before the public would actually appear to serve as the final arbiters of all our work. As Stage Manager, it was my job to ensure we were ready. 

I surveyed the people under my charge, They were all diligently performing their tasks; from lighting and sound preparation, to the last minute checks of a large house that had to move about the stage on concealed wheels; to those making sure the actors were at the spots where they entered onstage.

That’s when the Director came and asked the question I was expecting: “Are you ready?” He had asked that question before, and I had always answered honestly, even if the answer was that we were not 100% ready. Complete honesty was the only way that relationship could work. That night, though, I could say, with great satisfaction, “Yes. We are ready.” 

He looked me in the eye, saw that I was certain, and then spoke the words that would mean so much to my young life (and all the years to follow). “Good. Then, the show is yours.”

He had never said anything like that, before. 

In my head, I was thinking something like, “How can it be my show? This is his show!” But, no. The Director was going to be sitting in the audience for the performance; as, in fact, were all the other directors, designers, teachers ... all those who had worked so hard to hone this into art. None of them would be on the stage for the performance. None of them would be backstage. Whatever we delivered to the audience from this point, it was entirely up to us.

From that point, I was in charge. 

Though I hadn’t been consciously aware of it, I was one of those pieces being honed over the preceding weeks and months. He had been preparing me for this, the moment when I would be fully in charge of whatever we brought to that audience.

No one had ever said anything even remotely like that to me in my entire life.

No one had ever placed me in charge of anything. The impact on me was ... transformative. And, even though there were many ups and downs over the next few nights —and, indeed, over the rest of my life— that moment, and all it meant, remained with me. It has been a reservoir of confidence to draw on in good times and bad. 

I had been elevated ... by the only person with the power and authority to do so: The Director. 

I recalled that moment when reading this week’s Hebrews selection; where the writer is explaining about Jesus. God, the only person with the power and authority to do so, elevated Jesus to be “the heir of all things,” to inherit a name above any angel, to be the one who “sustains all things by His powerful word,” to sit down “at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

And how did that come to be? Jesus obeyed. 

He obeyed God in all He did in His three decades, here. He willingly became the ”pioneer” of our salvation through suffering and death. Because of his unfailing obedience, Jesus now speaks for God. 

It’s His show.

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PHOTO CREDIT (scene from Fiddler in the Roof):

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth864926/?q=Fiddler

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We’ll be at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast, this Friday morning at 8:00.

Join us on Zoom** or in person at Our Breakfast Place (formerly the Egg and I). It’s a fun hour. Good food, good folk. We eat. We talk scripture. We laugh.

Blessings,

Steve 

 **Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=222 

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper22.pdf

Job 1:1, 2:1-10

Psalm 26

Genesis 2:18-24

Psalm 8

Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Mark 10:2-16

Proper 22 (27) (October 3, 2021)

Y: The Last Man & the End of Christianity (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Y: The Last Man (coming soon to a streaming device near you) is the fictional story of what happens after the men on Earth mysteriously drop dead all at the same moment. Chaos ensues. Planes fall from the sky. Vehicles careen out of control. Governments collapse all across the globe. 

But, not every plane; some were piloted by women. Not every vehicle; many were being driven by women at that moment. In the United States, our succession plan quickly moves women into the leadership jobs no longer filled by men. For the first time, we have a woman President. In short order, the women take over … well, everything. 

The book is a tour de force of “what if” storytelling. As author Brian K. Vaughn explores this brave new world, there are mysteries to solve. What caused all the men to die? How will life change? In what ways will life go on as before? And, what about that persistent rumor that one man survived?

Day to day living does go on, of course. Across the globe, governments form and reform. The U.S. Congress is still a contentious place filled with people of differing political views. Right wing extremist groups are taken over by right wing extremist women. Cultures and political views are not limited to people with Y chromosomes. 

And therein lies the problem. 

The author makes us readers stumble in Y: The Last Man when he addresses religion. His mistake? The Christian church just stops when all the men die. 

It’s a jarring moment. 

Clearly, he thinks women are only Christians because men force them. How anyone could see our world as it is and then reach that conclusion is a puzzle. Far more women are Christians than men. Many Christian churches have women in their leadership roles, including Pastors, Priests, Bishops, Elders, and Deacons.

This week’s passage from Esther has me thinking about the many women of God in the Bible: Ruth, Esther, Deborah, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Lydia, Priscilla, to list a few. These women led nations, established Christian congregations; we’re prophets, evangelists, apostles, and deacons. What connects them is this: each chose to cast her lot with God … and not because any man forced her to. 

The women who love God have done, and continue to do, amazing things in this world. As long as humans walk the Earth, women will continue to worship God … whether men are there or not. 

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GRAPHIC CREDIT (Before there was the new TV series, Y: The Last Man was a massive, award-winning, 60-issue graphic novel. Here is a brief article about the story.): 

http://myetvmedia.com/feature/y-the-last-man/

Often overlooked in apocalyptic stories as ideal transportation, bicycles are an ideal transport and are, literally, everywhere: https://smile.amazon.com/Zombie-Survival-Guide-Complete-Protection-ebook/dp/B000FBJAOG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32PLCQBT1252U&dchild=1&keywords=the+zombie+survival+guide+by+max+brooks&qid=1632680888&sprefix=The+zombie+%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-1

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Join us at 8:00 Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. It’s a fun hour of scripture, discussion, and, of course, laughter. 

Blessings,

Steve 

Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=221

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper21.pdf

Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22

Psalm 124

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

Psalm 19:7-14

James 5:13-20

Mark 9:38-50

Proper 21 (26) (September 26, 2021)

My Errors Have Been My Tutors (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

I was a clumsy kid.

How clumsy? My parents always said I could trip over the flowers in the rug. Quite often, my shoulders clipped our corners and door-frames. I was always knocking over some cup of liquid. And, I could always count on, somehow, knocking my fork off the table.  

To be clear, these things didn’t last a lifetime. After a while, I learned how to pick up the front of my shoes when I walked, seriously limiting sprawling before my peers. I did eventually figure out that I could swing a bit wider than my eyes told me to when coming near these corners and portals. Result? All but eliminated that painful shoulder bruising (plus, you know, the whole embarrassment in front of my peers. 

Solving the problem of knocking over liquids presented more of a challenge. I couldn’t seem to cure that one. So, to compensate, I developed the ability to quickly grab the container as it was still tilting over. I’m really good at this mid-spill save and you can witness my ability at almost any meal. The fork thing? Well … it’s still a thing. But I think I’ve narrowed down the culprit to long sleeves. Some things are probably always going to be a work in progress.

I am what someone —a kind person, anyway— might call an “experiential learner” ... I make a lot of mistakes. 

But, my errors are my tutors. I learn from my mistakes. 

That’s a subtlety that may be overlooked in this week’s James passage. James says: We don’t have because we don’t ask God for what we want. And, even when we do ask God, we don’t receive because we ask for selfish reasons.

James is talking about the problems that keep popping up when we want what already belongs to others; bitter envy, selfish ambition, contentiousness … murder, even. He wants believers to understand we have gone about these things backwards. Instead of coveting and then fighting to get what we desire, we, instead, need to go to God with our requests. 

Plus, we can apply the correct process (ask God), but still not receive it because we are only asking for selfish reasons. James is implying we need to follow the Golden Rule.

We need to realize that asking God to give us something that already belongs to someone else is never going to work. 

Turns out: there is a right way and a wrong way to ask. And we can learn that right way. 

We are to ask while in the presence of God. That means we are to be praying and listening, being still before God. And, if we ask while living the Golden Rule  —i.e., seeking for others what we wish for ourselves ... just another way of saying, "Love your neighbor as yourself."—  we will receive ... as promised.

Finally, it’s OK if we struggle with this a bit. We’re probably not going to excel at this when we first begin. Seriously, it’s OK. Our errors can be our tutors.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Orr archives

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What are you doing Friday morning? Can you join us at DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We meet at 8:00 on ZOOM** and in the function room at Our Breakfast Place. It’s an hour like no other. We come away refreshed and fortified. 

Enjoy the week!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=220

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper20.pdf

Proverbs 31:10-31

Psalm 1

Jeremiah 11:18-20

Psalm 54

James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a

Mark 9:30-37

Proper 20 (25) (September 23, 2018)

Them or Me: Surviving Boston Drivers (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Having transferred to the Northeast for work, I spent the first several weeks absolutely terrified by Boston drivers.

Not so much by their bad driving  —though it was truly bad—  but more by their unpredictability. I had no idea what they would do next. And yet, I had to enter that fray at least twice every working day.

When I voiced my concern to a friend at church, he touched my arm and said, gently, “I can help.” He shared with me an essential bit of wisdom that, in time, gave me some much needed confidence. Soon, I was driving all over the Boston area without undue fear (a little fear was still good).

What he shared was this: in the mind of every Boston driver is one thought: “Can ‘I’ make it?”

Suddenly, it all made a kind of crazy sense. What I soon learned to do was watch, not the cars, but the faces of those nearby drivers. Directional signals? Forget it. Lane location? Meaningless. Where were they looking? That told me everything I needed to know.

I learned (1) those Boston drivers were not going to change (no matter how much I wanted them to change, and no matter how much they needed to change), and (2) I learned a lesson about people and imparted wisdom. Sometimes the wisdom is for them ... and sometimes the wisdom is for me. 

With regard to Boston drivers, I was the one who must change, and my friend’s wisdom helped me do it.

It’s an important lesson to keep in mind while reading this week’s scriptures (all related to wisdom). It is easy to conclude that the wisdom of the scriptures is for them ... that is, someone other than me.

Well, of course, not me. None of us wants to think of ourselves as unwise. And yet ... do you ever read a passage and immediately think of someone who would benefit from adopting that code or mode of conduct? Someone who is not you? Personally, I’m still working on this one. I used to do it all the time. 

I have realized that all of this week's scriptures are about me, for me ... not them. So, I’ve been re-reading the passages with me in mind ... not someone else. 

My takeaway: heed Wisdom's call, and choose to accept the instruction that leads to life.

_________________________

PHOTO CREDIT (and an article explaining why Boston traffic is SO BAD): 

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2017/04/30/boston-traffic/

The Boston Driver’s Handbook is a hilarious read (and essential should you ever want to drive in Boston). See it here: https://www.amazon.com/Boston-Drivers-Handbook-Streets-Almost/dp/0306813262/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536798162&sr=8-1&keywords=the+boston+drivers+handbook

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Join us in the function room at Our Breakfast Place or on Zoom** Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. As usual, we gather at 8:00 for an hour-ish of visiting, reading scripture, praying, and discussing. 

Bring your own breakfast beverage to Zoom … but, be careful; still lots of laughing.

Blessings!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=219

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper19.pdf

Proverbs 1:20-33

Psalm 19

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 116:1-9

James 3:1-12

Mark 8:27-38

Proper 19 (24) (September 12, 2021)

Atticus Finch, Richard Dawkins, Doctor Who, and me (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Atticus Finch is the number one movie hero of all time. (Indiana Jones is second. George Bailey is only ninth. Superman is a distant 26th.) 

Not bad for a fictional lawyer. 

You likely recall that in the movie, To Kill A Mockingbird, Gregory Peck portrays Mr. Finch: attorney, widower, and single father of two. Central to the story is that Finch does the unthinkable in Depression Era Alabama: he defends a black man accused of beating and sexually assaulting a white woman.

The impact To Kill A Mockingbird has had on the law as a vocation is huge. Many an attorney has pointed to Atticus Finch as the reason they chose to pursue a career in law. 

But, perhaps you've heard, in Go Set A Watchmen, Harper Lee's sort-of sequel, Atticus is no longer so heroic. In fact, daughter Jean Louise (Scout) is shocked to learn her father is less the racial hero than she remembered from childhood. 

In this sense, we can compare Atticus to David. Most of us quickly recall David-the-Psalmist, or David-the-shepherd, or David-the-giant-killer. Some might, upon reflection, mention David-the-King or maybe David-the-military-leader. But, for most of us, David-the-rapist is not our go-to memory of him. David-the-failed-father doesn't pop up often, either. And, well, really, who wants to remember David-the-murderer?

But we should. 

Atticus is less than ideal to his grown daughter, but it is not likely he has devolved since he defended Tom Robinson in the 1930's. His racial prejudices had to have existed, then. The truth of it is this: in service to the law, Atticus stepped around the enculturated racial prejudice of his time to provide a vigorous defense of a black man.

It is here I find I may be in agreement with scientist and renowned atheist Richard Dawkins when he writes: "Nothing is wrong with peace and love. It is all the more regrettable that so many of Christ's followers seem to disagree." It is sobering to find that an atheist sees us so clearly, sees us for how our human-ness has "over topped" what we have been taught concerning such fundamental spiritual matters as “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Here is the short of it: we're all human. And, by virtue of that state, complex. None of us is afforded the luxury of remaining the same person throughout our life. We change. But we are still, to one degree or another, the people we have been. Yes, ideally, we mature as we accumulate life experiences; learning, hopefully, to be better people, to lessen our lesser natures and to increase our better ones.

To borrow from Doctor Who, "We all change, when you think about it, we're all different people; all through our lives. And that's okay … so long as you remember all the people that you used to be." 

When we think of David, and of the Atticus Finch's we know, and of each other, we must do so with a large serving of mercy. As is brought home so clearly in this week's James 2 passage, we must love our neighbors as ourselves, regardless of our prejudices … or theirs.

It helps if we keep in mind all of the people we have been in this life.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. —James 2:13

_________________________

Clip from To Kill A Mockingbird:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7CX_5D6y6E

PHOTO CREDIT and interesting read about the “changed” Atticus Finch: 

https://www.tomvmorris.com/blog/2015/7/20/is-atticus-finch-still-a-hero?format=amp

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It's not yet fall, but the promise of it is here. I hope you can join us one of these cooler Friday mornings for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet for about an hour at 8:00 on Zoom**  and at Our Breakfast Place (formerly “Egg and I"). We spend our time enjoying each other's company, eating some great food, and discussing the Word. 

Enjoy the week!

Steve

**Contact me for the Zoom link

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

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK

Find them here: 

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=218

Print them here:

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/pdf//Bx_Proper18.pdf

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

Psalm 125

Isaiah 35:4-7a

Psalm 146

James 2:1-20

Mark 7:24-37

Proper 18 (23) (September 5, 2021)