Making the Lightning Flash

Stephen Orr
10 hours ago
3 min read

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

Have you ever gone to the well and found it empty? The well of thoughts, that is. For some of us, reaching into our thoughts for small talk at social gatherings produces … exactly nothing. Public speakers, poets, songwriters—lots of us—go to that well and come away empty.

An empty well is one of the reasons I fell in love with the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago. The first time I heard the group, they were performing “25 or 6 to 4.” * I was blown out of the water. Perhaps the most interesting thing about that song is that its lyrics are a product of an empty well.

Waiting for the break of day

Searching for something to say

Flashing lights against the sky

Giving up I close my eyes

Sitting cross-legged on the floor

25 or 6 to 4

Robert Lamm, keyboard player, singer, and founding member of Chicago, wrote “25 or 6 to 4” early one morning while looking down on Los Angeles from the Hollywood Hills. He was trying to write a song—and he was struggling. His well of thoughts gave him nothing useful. Eventually he decided to write a song about the process of writing the song he was writing. (Did you follow that? No? Well … it was the '60s.)

He had been sitting up all night, trying to come up with something, anything. The title reflects the time of day—3:35 or 3:34 a.m. Because more traditional lyrics wouldn’t come, he wrote down what he was experiencing.

I think David, the author of this week’s Psalm 29, would understand. He wrote a song encouraging the people to honor their powerful God. But David was not satisfied with simple encouragement. He needed the song to say more. Did David go to that well and come up empty? Maybe. Writing songs can be hard. What I do know is that, like Robert Lamm, David turned to descriptions to complete his lyrics. He included floods, storms, earthquakes, mighty winds, thunder, and … flashing lights against the sky.

Like all songwriters, David had the option to simply list those mighty events—or not. The difference for the Psalmist was this: When he focused on the Lord, his “well” was never truly empty. What he saw and heard was the presence of God all about him. David saw God in the storm. He saw God commanding the mighty waters. David wanted those who read and sang his songs to make that transition, to move from simply seeing the world to experiencing God in every moment.

The lesson for us: Look beyond what our senses report to us. Remember: Robert Lamm wasn’t the only psalmist who saw flashing lights against the sky. But it’s David who wrote: “The Lord’s voice makes the lightning flash!”

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* Follow this link to hear Chicago perform “25 or 6 to 4” (with lyrics)

You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang perform “25 or 6 to 4!”

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Join us Friday morning as we gather for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. We meet on Zoom* and in person at Our Breakfast Place at 8:00. Lots of laughter mixed with good food, scripture, and good discussions.

Blessings,

Steve

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEKS

Read them here

Print them here

Isaiah 42:1-9

Psalm 29

Acts 10:34-43

Matthew 3:13-17

Baptism of the Lord (January 11, 2026)

Chart of readings for Epiphany through Transfiguration Sunday