A Parable (sort of)

Caged Lion Watching

Why don’t I tremble in fear while watching lions pace toward me at the zoo?  Safety is the simple answer.  I know (at least experience has taught me) that the lion cannot get out of his enclosure.  The zoo authorities reassure me that this wild beast cannot do me any harm and so I am free to simply observe. Standing there in my semi-expensive water repelling shorts, my cool flip-flops, nice (un-ironed shirt), while sipping on my designer coffee I can watch the lion pace back and forth.  If I concentrate enough I can even begin to marvel at his beauty and incredible power. I might even comment to someone near by or surreptitiously listen in on another’s inspired comments. The first few times of observing the king of the beasts brings me joy enough; for it seems worth the money and the time.  After a while it just gets a bit boring, this non-olympic event called “observing”, and so I look for a tad more action.  Maybe we can feed the lion and watch it tear the meat to shreds, or what if we put a lion tamer in the cage? Now something like that would be worth my while. Overall I want to be in a safe place, and I feel reassured when I hear the Zookeeper say, “you are in a safe place”.  I know that the Zookeeper is under quite a bit of pressure to make this viewing of the lion appealing enough for me to return, but as long as it is the best show in town, I guess that I will keep going.  Don’t ask me to be more than a paying observer.  Make sure that I am always safe. Keep me interested or I may start going down the road to the aquarium because I hear that the sharks are pretty amazing, a little scary, but still safe…

What if the Lion could get out of the enclosure?  Can He? Do I really want Him to get out?

I have heard that people used to go watch the Lion at the Zoo because that was just what you did.  It was a matter of discipline rather than entertainment value.  It seems to me that whatever the reason might be, the core problem remains the same.  It is how we view the Zoo; we see it as a zoo. Caged lion watching is safe.  The Lion is not…safe, that is.

What if there was a place where I could go and walk with the Lion?  What if there was a place that I could hear His voice?  I would surely tremble.  I would fall on my face and plead with Him to not consume me. I would cringe as His terrible velvet paws gently wiped away tears and sorrow. I might even say something like, “woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips.”  What I can tell you for sure is that Caged Lion Watching would seem utterly empty and perhaps irreverent?

Stephen F. Scarrow
August 8, 2012