by Cliff Smith
This is my retelling of an old story.
A great lion, a king of the jungle was out walking one day, surveying his kingdom and visiting his subjects. As he came down a hill into a pleasant valley he saw a strange sight. There was a field of sheep, and there, in the middle, frolicking and gamboling with the sheep, was a young lion.
The king went up to the young lion and reprimanded him: “What do you think you’re doing? Explain yourself!”. The other replied “Please don’t eat me Mr Lion, I’m only a little sheep and I’m very afraid of you.”
“What nonsense! You must cease this pretence immediately! This is unseemly behaviour. You should be ashamed of yourself, acting like this.”
“But I’m not pretending. I really am just a sheep, the same as all these other sheep. And I’m scared of lions.”
The king of beasts knew there was only one way to show the young lion the truth. “I will not allow you to stay here. You must come with me”, he said, and together they walked through the long grasses and down to the lake. The water was calm and still and very very deep. As the young lion gazed down he saw his reflection, and then he knew he was a lion.
In this time of reflection, let us remember that we are not here to imitate the foolish ways of the world. Our calling is to a nobler truth. We have seen The Lion, as CS Lewis put it. Let us look into the deep waters of our hearts, and remember who we are.
cheers Cliff
it’s no mean challenge to bring a sense of nobility to life (especially in my workplace).
I think it’s also very relevant to recognize the potential fear and suffering you can cause, if your not being as fully self aware as poss, even though i don’t think this is your intended message here.
it is true, though, by stepping into our own freedom and human glory, that we can bestow freedom and glory on others, respect
By: subo on February 25, 2009
at 12:20 am
Hiya, Cliff. This is so true of life in general. How many noble ideals are crushed under the weight of cynicism? If you scratch the surface of many a cynic, you will find a person who once had strong ideals and wanted to play their part in making this human society a better place to live. But one discouraging word too many has knocked that out of them and made them conform to the ‘foolish ways of the world.’ We have to keep reminding ourselves that there is a nobler vision to aspire to because we so easily forget.
By: Carole on February 25, 2009
at 12:09 pm
I like this picture of the lions and the sheep. Although I often feel more like a sheep than a lion and a lost one at that! But I suppose the point of the story is that we are chosen to be something special in the world. That is quite a challenging message to hear I think. I went to an ashing service this evening for the first time, I found there is something powerful about this ritual of being marked out with the sign of the cross. It was a moving moment amongst the more usual ephemera of an anglican service. I’m still wearing my ashes and part of me doesn’t want to wash it off.
By: sanctuarybath on February 25, 2009
at 10:27 pm
i saw a woman at the bus stop with an ashes mark, thats powerful
By: subo on February 26, 2009
at 12:29 am
I read this today from Colossians: ” Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
So my question is – how do we do this ‘taking off the old self’ ? If only it was as simple as taking off the woolly sheep disguise and clothing ourselves in a lion skin…
By: Clare on February 26, 2009
at 9:52 pm
Perhaps the passage from Colossians feels overwhelming when we are in a place where we feel alone. Paul was writing to a community and it’s through community – Christ’s body, the church – that we find we can begin throw off our old selves. As we are united with Christ, and with each other, we are no longer alone.
By: Gavin on February 27, 2009
at 9:11 am
deep thinking Gavin, I can see how this might happen, if the church was a really down to earth, accepting place
for me this fits together with the commandment to love one another, and not to judge. so that we can feel free to grow into our renewed self
By: subo on February 27, 2009
at 3:23 pm
I find this tricky when I read the passage I could see no reason why the lion couldn’t be with the sheep!, I really liked the idea!. I don’t see the lion as lying but as being in touch with another side to his personality, a milder side , why can’t he be more sheep like than lion?. I like your idea Gavin of being part of community- maybe that’s what the lion was seeking and found a community amongst the sheep
By: soniamain on March 1, 2009
at 10:53 am
haha that made me laugh Sonia, you are a proper radical! hm well doesn’t it say somewhere the lion will lie down with the lamb? not just yet though judging by the David Attenborough tv programme I was just watching….!
By: sanctuarybath on March 1, 2009
at 7:57 pm
Gavin I like the community angle and in a ideal world this would be true…but don’t you think so often it is with other people we feel the most need to cover up and pretend to be better than we are – especially in a church context?
By: sanctuarybath on March 1, 2009
at 8:00 pm
Sorry to bring in Westlife here. I hope it doesn’t spoil your day:
“You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up… To more than I can be. ”
Any questions?
By: Cliff on March 1, 2009
at 8:28 pm
here you go cliff… a link to a cartoon i remember from childhood, called ‘lambert the sheepish lion’… i even remembered the song quite well in my head, even though it must be at least 35 years since i last saw it… amazing!
it’s your story! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRtKAQJUc3g
By: jonbirch on March 6, 2009
at 7:35 pm
As I was saying, you’re a genius. I’ve never seen this before. Isn’t it like “The Lion King”? Lambert looks like the wicked uncle lion, and the rock looks just like Pride Rock.
I think the story is traditional, but I was thinking of The Lion King. I love that film. It never fails to move me.
I think there is a conspiracy of distractions designed to make us forget how strong and brilliant we are. We need to stop and remind ourselves sometimes of our royal priesthood.
By: Cliff on March 6, 2009
at 10:00 pm
This is now me by the way. Cliff
By: cliffsmudge on March 6, 2009
at 11:30 pm
haha!!! i think ‘you raise me up’ is a great song. it could never ruin my day, even with westlife doing it.
it was used at george best’s funeral and it has a great inspirational lyric. very moving. a little like the poem ‘if’ by kipling, it is good to have things to aspire to. ‘you raise me up’ is not how i often feel, but it is something i want to experience and maybe have on occasion and certainly that i aspire to.
By: jonbirch on March 7, 2009
at 1:31 pm
i think what sonia says is true too. but it is a different metaphor. metaphors are like that.
By: jonbirch on March 7, 2009
at 1:33 pm
Lambert the Sheepish Lion – love it! From the days when Disney produced lovely heartwarming cartoons instead of computer generated tripe with Eddie Murphy voiceovers delivering tiresome smartass one-liners…kids today are so deprived!
By: Carole on March 7, 2009
at 2:52 pm
PS Am I the only one to have felt a twinge of sympathy for Lambert’s real mum?
By: Carole on March 7, 2009
at 2:53 pm
Hm.. and I wonder if the lamb he was exchanged with got on as well with the lion pride….????!!!!!?
By: sanctuarybath on March 7, 2009
at 3:14 pm
i have to correct you carole. the awful stuff you refer to is not disney or pixar, but others not doing the job half as well. toy story, monsters inc., the incredibles etc… are all beautifully made heart warming movies. shrek etc. are as you say ‘tripe’.
sorry to be a pedant, but as a fan of the genre, i thought you should know who was really to blame! pixar are astonishing in their output. others are not so caring about their work.
By: jonbirch on March 7, 2009
at 3:20 pm
Jon, I stand corrected
.
I suppose, in my eyes, they are tainted by association. Having had to sit through so many of these films over the years I have to say, none of them do it for me quite like Lady and the Tramp and others of that ilk. Maybe it is about age and rose tinted specs.
By: Carole on March 7, 2009
at 3:50 pm
or my personal favourite, the jungle book. that soundtrack and those songs!
By: jonbirch on March 7, 2009
at 7:30 pm
Love the Jungle Book of course. But don’t be so hard on Shrek – at least Shrek 1. Did you know it’s a retelling of the story of Sir Gawain and the loathly woman – a truly splendid story which I commend to your attention.
http://www.silver-branch.org/ssbcreations/GawainLL.html
By: cliffsmudge on March 7, 2009
at 9:02 pm
By: jonbirch on March 9, 2009
at 10:43 am