Hello Wesley,
I have had several ask about the allegory of the forest. Here it is.
I went to John Chestnut Park before sunrise on Tuesday and parked where I knew there was an open field. I could hear the sound of the antlers of two buck raking one another, each trying to proclaim dominance. When the sun came up, I saw there were actually six deer in the field. The two buck, two does and two fawns who had just lost their spots. The buck fought fiercely and I could hear them snorting at one another. Each was certain he had the dominant claim to the territory and the harem. One of the does ran over to the buck, almost as if to intervene, and the two buck instantly stopped fighting and together ran her off. The fawns were off playing and accidently got too close to the fighting buck. Again, the buck stopped fighting and together ran off the children as if to say this is grown up
stuff we are doing here.
I began my walk and noticed a cardinal on a palm branch, all alone and simply waiting for the next seed to drop, confident in the coming provision. A little further along there were three does, not a care in the world, grazing near one of the pavilions, everyone getting along splendidly.
The allegory mirrors society, people in power, politics, the church, and even my drive into church down I-4 every day. We cannot seem to overcome our innate need for domination, at least some cannot. The church should not see itself from a position of power. We are called to be with the persecuted, even more, we are called to be the persecuted. As often as I try to intervene, I just get run off. So be it. I will be OK even if I walk alone.
I love being your pastor,
Ernie