Wildfire
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
(a Steve Orr Bible reflection)
In late summer 1942, the United States government force-purchased more than 60,000 Tennessee acres near the Appalachian foothills. Many of those acres had been farms. Earth was leveled, streets were laid, foundations were poured, and buildings rose.
No one was told why.
The "whatever it is" needed people: cooks, launderers, janitors, trash collectors, typists, file clerks, carpenters, lifeguards, teachers, plumbers, nurses, doctors, librarians, pastors, musicians, coaches—the kinds of people needed to run and occupy a city.
No one was told why.
More than 75,000 people, though not told what they would be doing—or even where—agreed to work in a place without a name. It was all done in secret. Only after being hired and actually arriving on site was each told the details of his or her specific job. They were forbidden to discuss even that small part with anyone, even with each other.
No one was told why.
Over the next three years, the folks who worked and lived there began calling this nameless place “Oak Ridge.”
In late summer 1945, everything changed. On August 6, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Japan. At the time, it was the greatest explosion ever from a device deployed against an enemy nation.
That news was stunning to the people of Oak Ridge, and it spread like wildfire.
What they had been doing at Oak Ridge those three years was supporting the Manhattan Project. Oak Ridge had become, in fact, the headquarters of the Manhattan Project. They were producing plutonium and enriching uranium—making "the blowing up parts" of the first atomic bombs.
Despite the fact they were not allowed to know, and even though they had no idea of the implications of their work, each came and did their part day after day. The "big picture" was knowable only in retrospect. Then, finally, they really knew their why.
The three years of Jesus' earthly ministry were somewhat like the Oak Ridge experience: men and women drawn into an enterprise that was not really understood. The reality—and its implications(!)—far too enormous for them to truly grasp.
It was only later that even the inner circle came to understand more fully what had come before. We read of it in this week's Acts passage. Peter draws together the facts—known, but not previously understood—and lays out the full picture for everyone at Pentecost.
As prophesied, God came down, allowed himself to be crucified as a sacrifice, and did not stay dead. What sealed it was the witness of Peter and the other apostles. Everyone could now know how it all fit together to make the greatest spiritual explosion of all time.
It was good news, and it spread like wildfire.
_________________________
PHOTO (and access to a brief YouTube video about life in Oak Ridge)
For more on the Secret City, I recommend these excellent reads:
The Last Reunion: The Class of 1952 Comes Home to the Secret City by Jay Searcy
The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan
Hope to see you Friday morning as we gather for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast on Zoom* and in person at Our Breakfast Place. Join us at 8:00 for some tasty treats, plus an excellent breakfast.
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 WEEK
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
Second Sunday of Easter (April 12, 2026)