(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) In the summer of 1962, I met a god. It was a comic-book god, but the encounter was thrilling just the same. That’s when Marvel changed the world, launching Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor: The God of Thunder. I was a "tween"—not yet a teenager, no longer a little child. Junior high and high school still loomed ahead. I was a ripe target for the angst-filled storylines of Spider-Man and his alter-ego, high school science nerd Pet

If someone asks me, “What do you have in mind,” the person is not interested in the contents of my brain, which is where our thoughts are stored. They (he/she) want to know what I wish to do, or to clarify what I have just said. Dorothy Sayers, in her book The Mind of the Maker (Harper and Row, 1941), reminds us that thinking with the mind is not simply an illusion. She quotes Sir Arthur Eddington (Nature of the Physical World) as follows: “It is because the mind, the weave

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) We don't always like our real lives. We struggle with how to live a good life, often fighting inclinations to do things we know we should not, and sometimes losing that fight. In a pretend life, we are completely in control. So, it's nice to pretend from time to time, to "get away" for a while from the pressures of this life. It can be fun, and even a relief. I have one of those pretend lives. It’s in a different time—actually, a diff

Remember him—before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken;before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well,and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12.6-7 This series will mainly deal with metaphors of life and living. It is God who has given us life, and he decided to do so long ago, even while we were still in the womb of our mother. Note Psalm 139.13: “For y

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection) In the early days of social media, my account kept suggesting I become friends with celebrated actor Ashley Judd. Yes, that Ashley Judd, daughter of music star Naomi Judd and sister to country music legend Wynonna Judd. That friending suggestion popped up with some regularity. Eventually I just couldn’t resist: I clicked on the link. The screen quickly displayed a message informing me that Ashley couldn't be friends with me because she alrea

I am ending Part 1 of my “metaphors” section with an essay or martyrs, people who die intentionally for a cause. It may be due to religious, political or personal beliefs, but the result is certain death. A source on Wikipedia defines it this way: “A martyr is an individual who suffers persecution, severe loss, or death for refusing to renounce their religious, political, or deeply held beliefs. Originating from the Greek word "witness," it signifies someone whose sacrifice a

(a Steve Orr scripture reflection) There has always been a “Big Bad.” It’s been with us for so long, we’ve woven it into our stories. And in those stories, there have always been heroes to fight it. Knights to battle the dragons. Dark Knights to defeat the criminals. But it was Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her “Scooby Gang” of vampire-stakers who first named it the “Big Bad.” In their stories, it was never just the monsters they fought each week. It was something truly w

Mockups of the “Grim Reaper” have him appearing dour and cheerless as he (usually) goes about his task as a mythical personification of death. He mostly wears a black robe and carries a scythe, which he uses to separate the soul from the body, his harvest for the afterlife. The Grim Reaper is a blend from older European traditions and was referred to in connections with the Bubonic Plague (the Black Death) that once ravaged the European continent. He is symbolic, a western

(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.

There is a myth that St. Peter is heaven’s gatekeeper. It originated from a literal interpretation of Matthew 16:19, where Jesus granted Peter "the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Catholic tradition interprets this as Peter’s complete authority over the Church and perhaps depicting him as giving a thumbs up or thumbs down at the “pearly gates.” An alternative phrase to meeting St. Peter is to “meet our maker,” and it can point to a future judgment by God. We can also talk a